Leeping A Litter

[jcm 2,326]

When breeding ferrets does anyone keep a full litter ?

[pie-eater 377]

When breeding ferrets does anyone keep a full litter ?

 

Id consider it if it was a small litter, wouldn't want 13 kits though.

[gnipper 5,944]

Depends how many and what genders you require and what she gives birth to. If I wanted a couple of jills out of a certain jill I'd cull the rest.

[darkwood 41]

Ferret litters ihouse two jills together i put the one i want to breed from with the hob.then one week later put the one i dont want a litter from with the hob. Then keep the two jills together .when the second jill has its pups i cull them and any that i dont want from the first litter,and leave the two jills to rear the pups

[Jamie m 668]

I'm leeping this year ???

[pie-eater 377]

Ferret litters ihouse two jills together i put the one i want to breed from with the hob.then one week later put the one i dont want a litter from with the hob. Then keep the two jills together .when the second jill has its pups i cull them and any that i dont want from the first litter,and leave the two jills to rear the pups

 

Whats the point in breeding from a jill only to cull the entire litter? I can understand culling a few out of one litter but to breed an entire litter just so the first litter has 2 mothers seems a bit cruel and pointless to me.

Edited February 27, 2015 by pie-eater

[Mochastorm 68]

It's not a method I would use, but I can see the logic in it. The second jill is brought out of season in a natural way by having a litter. Therefore none of the hormonal and health issues. If the two jills are okay with each other there is a natural and a surrogate nursing mother to raise the kitts. The biggest advantage is less kitts to be homed during the summer, and you only breed from your best stock. Far less cruel to cull a litter than send them off to homes where the may endure a lifetime of poor care.

[pie-eater 377]

It's not a method I would use, but I can see the logic in it. The second jill is brought out of season in a natural way by having a litter. Therefore none of the hormonal and health issues. If the two jills are okay with each other there is a natural and a surrogate nursing mother to raise the kitts. The biggest advantage is less kitts to be homed during the summer, and you only breed from your best stock. Far less cruel to cull a litter than send them off to homes where the may endure a lifetime of poor care

 

True it is better to cull ferrets than send them off to bad homes but if its a litter that didn't need to be bred then it still seems wrong to me. If youre culling part of the litter from the jill you wanted to breed from then I don't see why the few kits you keep will need 2 mothers.

Edited February 27, 2015 by pie-eater

[darkwood 41]

As mochastorm says this method takes a jill out of season but still gives her the experiance of motherhood.the result is strong healthy kits that are actualy wanted

[Jamie m 668]

Ferret litters ihouse two jills together i put the one i want to breed from with the hob.then one week later put the one i dont want a litter from with the hob. Then keep the two jills together .when the second jill has its pups i cull them and any that i dont want from the first litter,and leave the two jills to rear the pups

Utter Tosh

[neil b 2,264]

Il be keeping all the Jill's out of my litter this year to replace ageing stock.

[pie-eater 377]

As mochastorm says this method takes a jill out of season but still gives her the experiance of motherhood.the result is strong healthy kits that are actualy wanted

 

Id breed one and get the other jabbed or mated with a snipped hob. Ferrets don't need 2 mothers to grow strong and healthy.

[Mochastorm 68]

I don't think litters need two mothers, and having the two of them together can lead to infanticide, but it gives both jills the chance to go through the full cycle. I use a vasectomised hob, but occasionally from time to time some of the jills have had major hormonal upsets. Last year I thought I was going to lose a favourite. She lost a lot of hair, her condition was such that I was considering having her put to sleep. I've found that a jill that has gone through a natural cycle of mating, pregnancy and then care of a litter does not suffer the same problems. I personally don't breed any litters and rely upon shopping around other ferret keepers to replace stock. There's no heartache for me trying to home surplus stock or sort out extra cages. I make a few phone calls and pay about a tenner for a new ferret kitt. If you buy from a working home and it's the right type for you and your ground, they usually make the grade.

Edited February 27, 2015 by Mochastorm

[jok 3,035]

Crikey. What a bag of worms that opened. A certain German leader had much the same idea. Look what happened to that tw--. When we go to buy a new young ferret, have we any idea of it's breeding other than the sellers word. Doubt it guys. Realistically we all have 'the perfect ferret' and would breed from him or her for our own satisfaction. I doubt any one of us could truthfully say, before culling, that this kit is no good. What I'm trying to say is that we ain't THE BIG MAN Upstairs. I think every little thing deserves a chance. If you breed a litter, have a go at moving what you don't want on to new guys to the sport. They deserve a chance as well. Just my thoughts guys. Jok.

[Mochastorm 68]

I'm not saying that the culled litters are useless and it's not about playing God, but being responsible. In a few months this site will be full of people trying to home young ferrets. There aren't enough good homes for them in my opinion, and far too many being bred. I honestly believe that most ferrets, however bred, will work to a fashion. The original post was about keeping and rearing a whole litter. There are certainly problems, what about next season when you have a dozen or more ferrets all related, jills and hobs coming into season. You'll need plenty of space to get them all separated, jill jabbed, seen to by a vasectomised hob, or god forbid mated and start all over again. Apart from the larger professional outfits nobody needs, or can deal with so many ferrets.