ferret on ear

[smokin 0]

righto this is my first season with kits - have an approx 3yo albino jill whos a doddle, and a 13 week old hob and jill - the hob is a big softy most of the time with the odd nip - the biggest worry with him is hes an escape artist trying to make a run at every oppotunity. the youn jill however has a mean side - short, frequent periods of handling shes ok the odd finger nip nothing worse than a pup bite, the longer you hadle her the more excited she gets - playful im sure but can be a pain - 2-3 foot leaps accross the shed onto your shoulders/legs,tshirt etc - tonight she went to far and decided i needed an extra ear piercing- it wasnt painful but bled a fair bit (still dabbing with a milton wipe now!!

so - how do you deal with it - firstly - getting her off - hard to see what you are doing really im sure it could have been worse it might just be next time. second, stoppng her biting in the first place - been doing the daily handling and think its going well - hardest part is keeping watch on 3 when im feeding etc due to the nature of my setup but other than that its all been good in the hood! - can i be doing more to help prevent another bloodbath, like i say the hob is much more placid when handled - the odd slight nip - he does get excited when you let him run out and is reluctant to be re homed after but isnt nasty when picked up - the jill just seems to get way over the top after being let out for too long - is it just something theyll grow out of if i keep up wth the handling or should i be more assertive in some way??

 

right

back in for round 2....

 

 

atb

 

chris

[Kay 3,709]

remove what she is launching herself off , or if your getting down on the floor then stand up , she is trying it on . when she does it stick her in an empty carry box with nothing in it , also just a quick handling of her , some ferrets dont like being picked up for more than a few seconds .

 

I would also meat feed before doing any handling at all, also if there being let into a run from a hutch then allow them a good hour to run off there energy then go & try the handling , there bound to be wound up when they know its playtime

[smokin 0]

cheers for replies - i could tryboth - i have an 8foot run under a 4 foot hutch i n the shed- i let em into the run whilst cleaning out and preparing for feeding - they get fed outside of both most days - sometimes they get most of the day in the run part i like to mix it up a bit keep em interested. - feeding mainly dry food (vitalin 40% protein) and tripe at the moment with the odd bit of 'kill here and there (not getting out with the gun anywhere as much as i should be!!)-lets see how it goes!!

[scarecrow243 24]

Hi i have two big hobs and they are very energetic i feed them then about an hour or two later after they have had a nap i take them in the house and let them run about the room chaseing each other till they start to slow down then i sit on the floor and play with them they have never bit to hard to cause bleeding when they do bite to hard i make the breathing sound they make and they stop one has even had my ear lobe in its mouth without even a scratch, ps i have done this every day since they were 8 weeks old

[The one 8,595]

She still young mate spend as much time with her as possible after youv'e fed her handle her and keep handling her she will settle down soon

[Kay 3,709]

cheers for replies - i could tryboth - i have an 8foot run under a 4 foot hutch i n the shed- i let em into the run whilst cleaning out and preparing for feeding - they get fed outside of both most days - sometimes they get most of the day in the run part i like to mix it up a bit keep em interested. - feeding mainly dry food (vitalin 40% protein) and tripe at the moment with the odd bit of 'kill here and there (not getting out with the gun anywhere as much as i should be!!)-lets see how it goes!!

 

What i would do is feed the tripe then let them play for a while to burn up the excitment , then see if she still launches herself at you , some of my kits were jumping at me in the 6 foot run i had , bit there in a smaller one now so cant do it