Dear Annonymous Inquisitive Ferret Friend, I'll be happy to share my view. >Everyone always insists "you can't make money breeding ferrets", unless of >course you are a mass breeder such as Path Valley or Marshall Farms. Does >anyone disagree with this statement? I don't disagree - I agree, there is not profit in small hobby breeding. >The reason I ask is I know there are a lot of people that run shelters that >also breed ferrets "on-the-side", but is this considered a hobby or as a >legitimate form of fund raising? Hobby >...how many breeders do you have compared to shelter ferrets and how many >kits are produced per year? myself - 2-3 jills, producing 1 litter a year if they are in the mood. Shelter ferrets used to number 10-20 per month, 150 per year. >Do you seperate the costs of your breeding ferrets from the shelter >ferrets, and not just lump all care and supplies together? No >Do you physically keep your breeding ferrets seperate from the shelter >ferrets (in a different room, for example)?< Yes >Are your breeders considered pets (and get that special interaction with >you that pets get) or are they more of an investment? Pets, and spoiled rotten >When you list you shelter numbers, do you include breeders and pets, or >just list the actual shelter animals? Adoption numbers included kits sold, because I adopted them out under the same contract as my shelter ferrets, with the exception of the followup for spay/neutering. Take in numbers included breeder ferrets, because if after they were retired from breeding, and did not get along socially with my altered pets, I would adopt them out. You can only keep so many ferrets depending on your lifestlye, and i felt it was better for solitary ferrets to be in single ferret homes. >1. Only breeding ferrets that are not "nippy" - YES >2. Only breeding ferrets with known backgrounds and acquired specifically > for breeding (not individuals that have come in as shelter ferrets) - YES >3. Following the health of kits and curtailing the breeding of lines that > have shown medical problems - YES >4. All kits are sold to good homes before they are ___ age - NOT REALLY. >5. Breeders and their kits are cleaned and handled daily - YES >6. Kits are left with their mother for ____ weeks before they are sold - 8 TO 10 WEEKS >7. Kits are sterilized at an appropriate age - YES >8. Breeders are retired after a certain age and become your pets or are > adopted out. - YES Pam Grant [Posted in FML issue 2026]