ferret kits

[Guest ferreting king]

hey all i went out to the kits this morning and 3 hobs are dead. they are 6 weeks old on sunday. my jill gave birth to 11 but 2 died within the first week. i only have 6 now, 3 hobs and 3 jills but the ones that i found dead this morning are 3 hobs but i was handeling all of them yesterday and there was no problems at all, the mother hasnt killed them because there were no marks, i have checked for fleas, always hade water and food and im thinking that the jill has run out of milk

 

 

 

any ideas?

[hairybull 3]

What condition were they in if you were handling them yesterday- were they fat and fluffy or a bit on the light side?? At 6 weeks they should all be on solids which means ALOT of meat/biscuits etc in the cage everyday or twice a day, at this age they go through enormous amounts of food, and shouldn't be relying on their mum for their tucker, they should come out at feed time and look after themselves. If they are fed ok and in good condition maybe just a virus or something

[socks 32,253]

THEM YOUNG KITS NEED A LOT OF WATER AND FOOD TO KEEP THEM GOING AND THEY SHOULD CERTAINLY BE OFF THEIR MOTHERS MILK BY NOW ... ALSO I KNOW THE KITS ARE IN A HUTCH IN A GARAGE .... HOW HOT IS IT IN THERE .........

[king 11,671]

there was a few boys saying on a thread lately about putting a frozen bottle of water in the hutch if they get to hot they can go and lay by it which i think is a good idea ....i have got my 3 hutches in my double garage with the doors closed in this weather. theres a thick concrete floor in there and its very cold all year round. and when its about 27 degrees out side its about 12 degrees inside the garage the floor keeps the garage nice and cool so its ideal to keep the ferrets cool and i can feed meat in the middle of the day because theres no flys in there.....

[Guest Bigbob]

Heat can kill them quickly like that and if your feeding them meat was it fresh or starting to turn in the hot weather kitts cant handle anything like a adult ferret can

[Guest ferreting king]

the door is always open sock they are in a shed

 

fresh water and meat 3 times a day, they are not on the light side they are fluffy and a big on the fat side

 

some of them do take a little off their mother but they are more into the meat

[DiStuRBeD 0]

there was a few boys saying on a thread lately about putting a frozen bottle of water in the hutch if they get to hot they can go and lay by it which i think is a good idea ....i have got my 3 hutches in my double garage with the doors closed in this weather. theres a thick concrete floor in there and its very cold all year round. and when its about 27 degrees out side its about 12 degrees inside the garage the floor keeps the garage nice and cool so its ideal to keep the ferrets cool and i can feed meat in the middle of the day because theres no flys in there.....

 

 

we do that here, but a good hot day is close to 40 degrees celcius, and they can die at 30 or over

 

how about insulation in their hutch area too, or if its a shed then insulate the roof with good stuff, help keep the heat out it amazing how good soem insulation is

 

i dont know anythig about raising kits, but if 3 all went at the same time it must be bad...

[Guest wickidweasel]

I lost one at 6 weeks a while ago it does just happen sometimes. The only things i could put 3 down to are diet, heat or a virus its strange that they were the same sex tho make sure they all get a share of the goods the mother could be favouring some over others or they could be getting pushed about by more dominant kits

[king 11,671]

bring them down mate but i will have to charge £40 per night per ferret b&b plus they get a bowl of milk every 3 days and some nice fresh bunnies

[king 11,671]

good he is settling in fine bullet. see u at 12 mate