Hi, All, I have been a digest receiving member of this list for a few months, but generally treat it as a source of information rather than a place to talk about my ferrets. When I lose a ferret I feel better for reading about how others in similar situations feel. When one of my animals (sorry, *not* kids) has a health problem, I look here before going to the vet. It is a valuable service to me in more ways than one. I consider ferrets a hobby. I find it offensive that people who care about Ferrets are leaving so much of the breeding in the hands of commercial interests such as Marshall Farms. I don't object because these businesses do that bad a job, but because they are driven by monetary interests, as we all are in our professions, rather than fascination w/ ferts. I breed ferrets because I enjoy having kits around, and because I am interested in genetics. This spring/summer I expect 7 litters, and will give away most of the young- anyone I have seen on this list is welcome to 1 or 2, when in the Orlando area. The reason I'm finally adding my $0.02 here is because I would like to see a string on ferret genetics, colors and coats. I have read and worked out a few things, but have no experience of Angoras, for instance. My 'greatest achievement' as a breeder has been to develop a Cinnamon Blaze. I got lucky in a cross between a Panda carrying albino and a Cinnamon- 3 of 4 young were Cinnamons, w/ a very slight white stripe on the head. The male is now my biggest ferret, and has been bred 6 times this spring to my females and others from my stock. This trio has no known in-breeding, but records are only complete for the last 3 generations. Since they are full brother and sister, I need out-crosses. This year, the girls have been bred to a Cinnamon 2nd cousin. Is there anyone in the southeast who has a good cross? I think the albino/cinnamon relationship is pretty well understood, but DEW/panda/blaze are not clear to me. My experience says that Panda is a partial dominant, frequently expressed only partially as a Blaze. DEW seems related, but I haven't seen enough of them to make an educated guess at the genetics. Anyone? For the record, all my Blazes can hear, and the Pandas seem partially deaf. The Old Man of the line is either extremely deaf, or doesn't give a damn for trumpet music. Has anyone seen a relation between biting and ferret genetics? I have thought some strains gentler than others, but the obvious difference is how much they are handled when young. Is long hair a partially dominant trait, as it seems to be in most animals? I'd love to try for a Cinnamon Blaze Angora! Even in fish, long fins are usually a dominant. Is there a separate marbling trait in ferrets? I hear names like Patches, etc., here, but don't know if it is a distinct color variation, or comes from the appearance of some silvers/pandas/blazes. Later 8^), Paul [Posted in FML issue 1898]