Ferret Boy wrote <I asked the pet store manager how old they were, and he told me Marshall was now shipping them out at *4* weeks! > My neighborhood pet store received 2 of these little MF 4-week-olds last week, supposedly not directly from Marshall Farms, but from a distributor so they would not have to buy too many. One of the 2 is still unsold with a slightly prolapsed rectum (1/8 inch) which I think the proprietors are trying to ignore. This tiny baby gently puts its teeth around fingers and the proprietors promptly thump it on the nose to teach it not to bite! I explained this method is a mistake but I think they're trying to ignore me too. Speaking of ignoring people, only one breeder on this list responded to my concern about breeding practices that produce deaf ferrets. Thank you, Flemming Farms, for sharing my concern. I appreciate your careful breeding and selling practices with regard to deafness and hope other breeders are like you in trying to provide what's best for ferrets. Alice [Posted in FML issue 2223]