Quail_Antwerp: Words from the Barnyard...

[2dream]

QA - Great to have you back. Glad you got your new babies home safely and all is well.

Pets as gifts is a very real problem around the country. I totally agree with you and everyone else on that. From the cute little chickies at Easter to puppies and kittens for Birthdays and Christmas gifts and everything in between. People just don't think.

I guess it is like frugal SS living. Most people don't think about that either. They just want more stuff they don't really need and will probably never use after the first few times.

 

[FarmerChick]

animals are now considered disposable items.
sad but true. again, in this world, like everything else is becoming.

 

[roosmom]

We always wanted a ferret. I'll let you know QA!!!

 

[Quail_Antwerp]

We always wanted a ferret. I'll let you know QA!!!

NOT ONE OF MINE!!! lolol

But I would love to help you find a great shelter kid!

I am so Anti-Petstore pets it is not funny! and I wasn't always like that. My first ferret, Meeko, was a petstore purchase...that was before I knew about rescues and shelters. My second ferret, Snickers, we saved him from sure death. I paid $30 for him. DH said I shouldn't have paid one red cent for him, but truth is, I would have done anything to get him out of where he was.

Mocha was a surrender. Her owners bought her from a petstore as a kit, she bit their kid (DUH she was a teething baby herself!) so they surrendered her.

And ya'll know the story behind my two new kids. I will never buy from a petstore again. Any ferrets I get from here on out will be either shelter kids or rescues. That's it.

Oh and in February we will be adopting number 6. His name is Chance and he lives in a shelter in Tennessee. My friend runs the shelter and she is bringing Chance up to us in February.

 

[FarmerChick]

QA
how hard are they to care for? they sure seem like the type of critter that truly requires interaction.

do they require alot of vet time?

just wondering?

 

[Quail_Antwerp]

Well, to be completely honest, they are more work than the chickens. A lot of people think they can just be left in a cage and take them out when they want to pet them or play with them.

Truth is, MOST ferrets are incredibly social! They sleep a lot, but when they are awake and not in a cage they are bouncing off the walls and doing what is known as the weasel war dance. They can bristle up their tail like a cat when scared, surprised, or just really excited. My girl Mocha runs the first 15 minutes or so every morning with a bottle brush tail!

Ideally, ferrets should have 3-4 hours a day out of their cage to run and play. It keeps them happy and healthy and builds muscle tone in their back legs.

As for vet care, they do need distemper and rabies shots. The pet store kits have usually already had their first distemper and been neutered and descented. New owners normally need to take a kit in for 2 more rounds of distemper and rabies by 6 months of age. After that it's a yearly booster. BUT ferrets can and do swallow things they shouldn't resulting in blockages and if they can't pass it out, requires surgery. Other things that can afflict ferrets are insulinoma (opposite of diabetes in people) and adrenal disease. Both of these illness require routine vet care and medicines.

Snickers is deaf as a post and has a badly enlarged spleen. I could have him operated on and remove the spleen, but as long as it isn't affecting his abilities to go potty, the vet recommended I leave him as he is. He's 5 years old, so at the most, he only has 3 good years left. Ferrets life span is only 7-8 years, but some have lived longer. Snickers is not guaranteed to even survive the operation for a splenectomy.

I clean the cage at least 1-2 times a week, sometimes more, and daily scoop poo out of the litter box. Cage cleaning is a complete tear down scrub down, and bedding is changed as often as needed.

Ferrets should NOT use cat litter. It can cause respiratory illness with them. I use wood pellets from TSC that people burn in pellet stoves. One 40 pound bag has lasted for several months. Nor should they eat just any food. They need a high protein diet and no wheat or corn products if at all possible. My ferrets get a food that is 45% protein. That's really good. Common misconception is ferrets can eat cat food. Well, they can, but cat food helps make them have bad smelly poops!

Ferrets should only have a bath 1 every six months or no more than 1 time a month. More than that causes their natural oils to be released in force, therefore increasing their odor.

Ferrets like blankets, hammocks, sleep sacks, things they can hide in, and they like to steal LOL River, Mocha, and Snickers are my little thieves!

 

[FarmerChick]

WOW QA
you are a wealth of ferret info. that is alot of maintenance for a high powered little critter.

I was surprised when you said only 7-8 years of life. I just thought alot longer for some reason...like 12-15.

I guess they run on high energy and burn thru life..LOL


thanks for the info. I had no idea they were up to that level of social and maintenance. You do know alot, hmm..maybe you are already a ferret rescue center all by yourself..LOL--COOL

 

[Quail_Antwerp]

hmm..maybe you are already a ferret rescue center all by yourself..LOL--COOL

Have seriously thought about it! One of the shelters here in Ohio recently closed. All of the ferrets that were in the shelter are now in foster homes and the former director is in a completely different state. That was what was best for her, though.

There are up to as many as 20 ferrets on craigslist at any one time just in Ohio. It's really sad. Even sadder is the owners listing them are more interested in trying to make a fast buck than finding them a good home.

 

[keljonma]

Hey, QA! I never thought about ferrets as pets. I guess the only thing I remember about ferrets is that Jennifer Aniston movie, Along Came Polly!

How are the chickerdoodles handling the weather? Do you have much snow? I could never get Louisa, Polk or Quincy to go out much when we had snow everywhere! Of course, Elizabeth and Monroe would go out in any weather...

 

[Quail_Antwerp]

The chickerdoodles are doing wonderfully!! I will have to try to remember to get recent pics of them tomorrow. Her Royal Highness Elizabeth popped herself over the run today and into the bantam run. She was helping herself to their breakfast! LOL it was quite funny.

I have had no problems with them coming out in the snow. They (except her Royal Highness this morning) patiently wait at their gate for me to come open it up and let them out. Then they very diligently go back into their pen and tuck themselves into bed and wait for me to come tell them good night. They still squawk at me if I try to pat them, but they are getting more used to me now.