>From: Anna Curry <[log in to unmask]> >Subject: Hobs and Jills for sale or not????? >Now my question. There was a hob and a jill for sale at the ferret show. >I was concerned when I saw this but quickly assumed that you needed a >breeders license to purchase them. Is this true or can anyone purchase >a hob and a jill without a license. Some of us don't use the silly sounding gib and sprite so all ferrets are hobs and jills. But in Maryland no you don't need a breeder's license. Nor in Virginia. But there also is not a huge ferret over-population problem. Just a spotty distribution problem. Many breeders including most of those you would have met at that show have neutering clauses in sales contracts. But we breeders prefer that ferrets be allowed to mature properly before they get neutered. >From: Mia and Patrick Emery <[log in to unmask]> >Subject: Breeding and ....money?? >This year alone we are $1700 down. Dang! Wish we were that close! >From: "[log in to unmask]" <[log in to unmask]> >Subject: thanks,castration,breeders >Im curious as to how many ferret breeders make their customers sign >contracts regarding their ferrets. See above. Quite a few but not all. Its not too much different between dog and ferret breeders. Both good and bad. We have the high quality breeders and the clueless. >From: brenda schrecengost <[log in to unmask]> >Subject: Rats and Ferrets Most rats are afraid of their nartural enemy the polecat and ferrets smell a lot like polecats. But they would like the food. Get a large enough airtight plastic container to keep the rats from the bags of food. Undescented ferrets though are probably better as rat repellants. Until the invention of pesticides ferrets and terriers were the priamry methods of rat control. Rats would be in a building. Ferrets would be released at the top of the walls. The rats would flee in terror to be caught by the terriers. -bill -- bill and diane killian zen and the art of ferrets http://www.zenferret.com/ mailto:[log in to unmask] [Posted in FML issue 2526]