Jills with litter in same nest

[Tumbleweed 1]

We have one jill who is pregnant and one we don't intend to breed this year (don't want too many babies as this will be our first litter so the other jill has had a jab). Anyway, these jills have been living together since they were kits, although they are unrelated. They are great friends and get on very well together.

 

Will it be possible to keep them together when the pregnant jill has her kits or will there be problems? There seems to be a mix of advice online so wondered if anyone had experience of this situation on here.

 

It is a two tier hutch so I could possibly block access to the lower part for a couple of weeks until the kits are bigger.

Edited June 8, 2008 by Tumbleweed

[The one 8,589]

When ive had two of mine together and ones had kitts and the others not due for a week or so there not been a problem but maybe the maternal instincts kick in .It might no work out if your second jills not preggers ,You can only try it and see and still time to get a second litter out a jill if the worst happens

[stubby 175]

I'll second that,

I've had two jills both expecting, have litters together and get on fine,

 

a young jill I have looked like she may have had probs a few days ago, put her mum back in with her, who she gets on great with, and the young jill attacked the mum within seconds, so split them up, the young jill has gone on to have her full litter, and is doing fine on her own

[mantha 2]

i done this last year and only the one jill was having a litter and evrything was fine all raised and healthy.

[olliedakennard 0]

Do you guys think three pregnant jills would be alright together or should i split them up this is for my mate so please can you help atb ollie

[Tumbleweed 1]

Thanks for your replies.

 

I think I will keep them together and watch carefully. They are great friends and always snuggle together, there has never been any sign of either being bad tempered towards the other to date. The one due to have kits is the slightly dominant of the two.

 

I've read online that sometimes the other jill makes a good surrogate aunt and helps to care for the kits, yet in other places they warn that the kits will be eaten if another ferret is nearby!

 

The hob is living in a seperate hutch. I'm guessing she's pregnant as he's not the slightest bit interested in her now and her swelling has reduced a lot over the last day or two.

 

Was she late to come into season? I've been reading that lots of litters are arriving.

[Guest little_lloyd]

I have my jill and her kits, with her mother who was mated but did not have kits and they get on fine and look after each other anf the kits together.

[stubby 175]

Do you guys think three pregnant jills would be alright together or should i split them up this is for my mate so please can you help atb ollie

 

the only trouble there mate, is if a breeding record is wanting to be kept, so future breeding can be worked out, who's who etc, the 3 jills, with 3 litters all together and he wont know, who's is who's

[The one 8,589]

Do you guys think three pregnant jills would be alright together or should i split them up this is for my mate so please can you help atb ollie

 

 

If theres plenty room in the sleeping area it should work out alright but are all the jills due roughly the same time as if theres a big time differnce you might lose the smallest kitts

[Tumbleweed 1]

Update - Well, the ferret we hadn't intended to breed escaped soon after they came into season and was missing for a few days before coming home on her own accord (after we'd frantically searched the neighbourhood...). Anyway she got herself preg on her adventures...

 

We weren't sure if it was a phantom preg as she wasn't as tired, hungry or big as the jill we did breed so we left them together as planned.

 

Anyway, both jills gave birth today! The one who wasn't supposed to have kits had 10 this morning and the other had hers this evening. They are in the same nest, both feeding the kits and wrapped around in a big circle with kits in the middle. They look very cosy. Neither has shown any sign of distress or aggression.

 

They only problem is not knowing whose kits are whose and both have had big litters, I counted at least twenty kits so the second one must have had around 12 kits.

 

Has anyone had their kits in a shared nest before? I have come across the odd story but info is a bit sparse. I'm assuming now they've got through the birth and settled to feed the most dangerous time for the kits is over in regards to the mum's rejecting them.

[stubby 175]

cant Imagine the jills rejecting them for any reason, other than interfearance from yourself (unintended) from keep looking at them, normally placid jills, can turn nasty towards fingers, when theres kitts in the nest, so be careful

 

have at the moment in my court, 2, 2yr old ferts, 1, 1yr old daughter, and her 12 kitts, all doing fine, the 2, 2yrs old's are acting as surrogates they are a mum and aunt to the jill, and up untill the kitts were around 3 weeks old, there was 2 snipped hobs and a castrated hob in there also

[bullet 132]

last year i left two jills together when they had young, but after three weeks old they started to get eaten by the jills! wont be doing it again

[The one 8,589]

last year i left two jills together when they had young, but after three weeks old they started to get eaten by the jills! wont be doing it again

 

Christ that's a bit old for jills to be eating them there might have been another problem and the kitts started dying and the jills where eating them to keep the nest area clean

[Tumbleweed 1]

Both jills are very friendly, although I'm not pushing that at the moment.

 

I was watching them earlier and they seem to take turns coming out to feed and they are curling around the kits on opposite sides to make a nice circle around them. I have no idea if any have died or not but there seem to be plenty of lively looking kits. Although there are a lot, some are suckling and most of the rest seem to be asleep as if satisfied.

I've no concerns about them being together at this time ,

[Tumbleweed 1]

Kits at four days old .

 

Edited May 30, 2008 by Tumbleweed