Problems Introducing New Ferrets

[Sirius 1,391]

I have kept ferrets communally in a big court for sometime, but I have recently introduced two new silver Jill's which are a year old. My existing lot are 4 Jill's and a hob. Two Jill have been seriously scrapping with the new Jill's to the point I have had to move them to another run. I reintroduced one Jill today and still they are scrapping not so bad this time but not ideal. The two new silvers are now living in the nest box with the rest sleeping outside in the hammock in the court.

I am determined to persevere any advice? I have only ever had this problem with one nasty Jill before and she went to rainbow bridge.

Edited August 9, 2013 by Sirius

[Jamie m 668]

Pecking order made worse by the breeding season might be worth waiting till back end September even then will be a noisey Afair for a while , had it myself . Even had unrest In my own ranks when a Jill decides its her turn to rule the court . Woman hey ,

[The one 8,595]

Might be as above i used to shuffle my jills round into and out of the hutch with the snipped hob had the odd scrap but nothing major , if you want them to live in a commune you got to leave them and not prolong it taking them in and out they need to settle there place in the ranking and just get on with it , It will sound noisy but unless there really killing themselves and theres blood and cuts everywhere it will sound worse than it really is

[Sirius 1,391]

Well it's two weeks now and I am fed up of listening to the punch ups and finding the silvers like soggy messes in the corner of the court. I will split the silvers on with a hob and try again in a few weeks. Never had this so bad over the years!

Edited August 11, 2013 by Sirius

[skycat 6,174]

Personally I wouldn't have left them for two weeks: hardly fair on the ones that are getting a hiding is it? Likely to damage their temperaments if nothing else. We've only ever had one jill we bought in that wasn't tolerated by the others. They never did accept her and in the end we had to let her go: not really into keeping one ferret on its own. She settled straight into her new home with never a problem with her new court mates. Some are just odd I guess, though whether it was ours or the new jill I'll never know as we've not bought any in since then.

[heritage 202]

Sirius.,several years ago I had the same problem and there is only one way I found to resolve the situation.......clean out the court & move round it's contents to create a different environment to what the ferrets are used to.....put the "new" ferrets in there for a week until they settle, then introduce the most docile / less dominant ferret you have., (presumably the hob) after a week or so introduce the most docile of the Jill's you have and leave for a week.......keep repeating this process until there all in there together....watch your Jill's before you start this process & you will see there's always 1 or possibly 2 that kick off first, these should be the ones introduced last whilst the new "pack" forms.....best of luck.

[Sirius 1,391]

Personally I wouldn't have left them for two weeks: hardly fair on the ones that are getting a hiding is it? Likely to damage their temperaments if nothing else. We've only ever had one jill we bought in that wasn't tolerated by the others. They never did accept her and in the end we had to let her go: not really into keeping one ferret on its own. She settled straight into her new home with never a problem with her new court mates. Some are just odd I guess, though whether it was ours or the new jill I'll never know as we've not bought any in since then.

I have been splitting them off and introducing them in various different combinations. Don't worry they haven't been beaten up for two weeks solid :-) I have had this once before and it ended with a one way ticket to rainbow bridge, I just won't tolerate it.

[Sirius 1,391]

Cheers Heritage I may try that process. For now silvers and the hob live in the small run and the four others live in the big court.

[skycat 6,174]

Another thought: we always have to isolate our hobs for the duration of the breeding season. If your jills haven't been bred from (jab, vasectomised hob or just left in season?) their hormones are going to be all over the place and most likely responsible for the issues you're having. Might it be worth waiting until the days are shortening before trying to introduce new ferrets?

 

Like heritage's idea though, but even so, I'd wait until they are all out of breeding mode.