roadkill Posted August 9, 2006 Report Share Posted August 9, 2006 I was going to get a couple of ferrets at the beginning of the year but all of my plans fell through .. I have now purchased a hutch and am looking for a pair of ferrets... Questions i have are..... 1 , do i get a pair of hobs or jills??? ( i don't want to mate ) 2, what do i kit the hutch out with ( hay sawdust etc. )? 3, what do i feed them ... dead bate or food in a pack? -- cant think of any more at the mo but im sure i will be back with some more lol cheers roadkill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lurcherboy Posted August 9, 2006 Report Share Posted August 9, 2006 Absolute novice like yourself mate but this is what I have done. Got two jills from a PW member. Another PW man built my court and I bought a cheap hutch from sleeping quarters (which i now regret) Bought a large bag of Feed after the fly infestion from feeding raw meat etc. Hopefully others will give you more advice. LB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stealth Stalker Posted August 9, 2006 Report Share Posted August 9, 2006 Roadkill I've recentley got 2 ferrets kindly given to me By Pelt man off the forum. I went for 2 Jills, I'm aware they will need to be mated when in season either by a castrated/ vacectomised male. I put straw in their bed area with sawdust on the base of the hutch. They will find a corner & use this area as their toilet, if you have a prefered corner put some **** there to encourage them to use it. And put plenty of pipes & tubes for them to dart in & out of. Mine love this. I feed mine mainly rabbit & pigeon with a little dry food occasionly, don't forget to supply them with plenty of fresh drinking water. Good luck I'm sure you will enjoy them. SS Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roadkill Posted August 9, 2006 Author Report Share Posted August 9, 2006 went for 2 Jills, I'm aware they will need to be mated when in season either by a castrated/ vacectomised male. How come you have to get them mated? just thinking if i will be better off with two hobs.. Can any one tell me the pros and cons between hobs and jills? cheers for the help so far guys much appriciated Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lurcherboy Posted August 9, 2006 Report Share Posted August 9, 2006 went for 2 Jills, I'm aware they will need to be mated when in season either by a castrated/ vacectomised male. How come you have to get them mated? just thinking if i will be better off with two hobs.. Can any one tell me the pros and cons between hobs and jills? cheers for the help so far guys much appriciated The hobs will probably fight ( 2 bulls in a field ) The jills will need to be 'seen to' as they may get health problems and phantom pregnancies. This may result in one having a maternal instinct over the other who may not like the attention. Where are all the ferret experts when you need them And I use hay as well. Costs a £ a bail and is changed every week. LB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stealth Stalker Posted August 9, 2006 Report Share Posted August 9, 2006 You need to mate the jills to take them out of season, otherwise they can get serious problems & die I think its some form of leukimia they can get. I've probably over dramatised this. I'm sure there are other better informed people on the subject on here. I've read that when working the ferrets underground a jill being smaller than the hob can get over a rabbit in a stop end and flush them out where as the hob being bigger tends to eat them from the **** up. The downside to the jills being smaller is they can get kicked around by a big buck rabbit. As I say I'm deffinatly no expert on this and look forward to the veiws of all the other ferrety people on here. SS Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DOLLSEYES Posted August 10, 2006 Report Share Posted August 10, 2006 If you get 2 jills you should have them took out of season,there are 3 ways of which to do this:- 1. mate them.but you are left with youngsters to get rid of. 2. mate them with a vacesectomied hob,no youngsters,but its trying to find someone in your area with a suitable hob. 3. Take them to the vets for a jill jab which is a hormone injection and costs £10-£15 and is the method i prefer. If you get 2 hobs and keep them entire you will have to split them up in the spring as they will fight and is the case if you have them vacectamised.so the only real answer is to have them castrated. So if i were starting out again from scratch and wanted 2 ferrets i would go for 2 jills and when they come into season usually in the early spring i would take them to the vets and have them jabbed. I hope this helps you and the above is only my opinion,i'm sure other people will have differnt opinions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
magman Posted August 10, 2006 Report Share Posted August 10, 2006 Roadkill alway,s had small jill,s due to the size , don't have to dig as often . be careful of hay to sharp and pointy , had a jill loose an eye on hay . also have found tick,s in hay . use to feed mine meat just keep an eye out for the fly,s as LB said . hope this is of some use Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cranfield Posted August 10, 2006 Report Share Posted August 10, 2006 If I could only have two ferrets, I would have jills, for the reasons others have mentioned. DOLLSEYES suggestion of the Vet jab when they come into season is a good one. The health implications of jills not being mated is often overstated, I have never lost a jill that wasn't mated when she came into season, although they can lose condition and get very listless. However, I have heard of this happening. Sawdust in the main run area, although you can use shredded newspaper (cheap shredder from Tescos). Straw in the bedding area. Regularly clean all areas and you won't have a smell problem. Feed fresh meat if possible, dry food is OK as well, but do vary the food. Always have clean, cool, fresh water available. The drinking bottles that clip onto the wire are fine, but they do need cleaning out regularly, as they get a slime inside, they also get hot in the sun. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whitey Posted August 10, 2006 Report Share Posted August 10, 2006 It's not really an answer to your question, and I don't know if you've got it already, but I found James McKay's book, 'The Complete Guide to Ferrets' very useful to read myself as a newcomer to the animals. It answered most of my questions, and it's on Amazon for under a tenner at the moment. I have still managed to make a number of mistakes (me being me) but each time I have had to put them down to me not reading the book thoroughly enough! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigbob Posted August 10, 2006 Report Share Posted August 10, 2006 Get your self a hob and a jill then get the hob snipped and they can live together all year round and he will bring the jill out of season as required . Getting the jill done with the jill jab repeatedly can cause hard lumps under the skin where they have been jabbed .Shaving is a good all round bedding as straw and hay can harbour tick in the hollow stems .And at this time of year feed a good dry food as meat goes of quickly and causes problems with flies .Is there nobody near you to ask and help you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lurcherboy Posted August 10, 2006 Report Share Posted August 10, 2006 This is for real. There was an article in Countrymans Weekly a few months ago in which the author stated the he 'rubbed the jills off' first thing in the morning LB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mossy835 Posted August 10, 2006 Report Share Posted August 10, 2006 i have had gills, and never mated them and not lost any of them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slipster Posted August 10, 2006 Report Share Posted August 10, 2006 "This is for real. There was an article in Countrymans Weekly a few months ago in which the author stated the he 'rubbed the jills off' first thing in the morning " LB My missus would not be impressed with me She already thinks everyone on here is very suspect Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lurcherboy Posted August 10, 2006 Report Share Posted August 10, 2006 "This is for real. There was an article in Countrymans Weekly a few months ago in which the author stated the he 'rubbed the jills off' first thing in the morning " LB My missus would not be impressed with me She already thinks everyone on here is very suspect Sorry Slipster LB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ferret Master Posted August 10, 2006 Report Share Posted August 10, 2006 Hi, Bare in mind that not all jills will be small. I have one jill Grace who to put it quite frankly is BIG. She is bigger than a fair few hobs I have seen and very strong and muscular(she has no problem beating the cat up). I was trying to harness her up for a walk earlier and she had a squirming fit (like the little **** do when tring to fit a ferret finder on them when ferreting) and was too strong to hold still unlike my littler jills. A bit of Ferretvite kept her still though. It comes down to the size of the parents generally. If the hob is particularly big and the jill likewise then you will get big kits. Nippy's mum was tiny and not much bigger than a rat but her dad was huge and more the size of a cat so it will be a mixture of the two as she is medium sized to small. If you want bigger stronger jills then look for big parents. All my jills are spayed as I was not going to breed them and it is just easier that way as I will never have the problem of them coming into season. If you are just starting out I would reccomend you do this as you will not be wanting kits too soon. FM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tiercel Posted August 10, 2006 Report Share Posted August 10, 2006 Having kept Ferrets for over 45 years off and on, I feel I may be qualified to give an opinion here. Hob or Jill? I believe it's personal preference. If you want to clear shallow warrens quickly and don't mind a dig get a Hob. Use it with a collar as soon as it's steady in one place, a couple of shovels of soil and you may have a couple or rabbits or more in the bag. If on the other hand you want to ferret in amongst trees with all the root problems that occur in that situation then a Jill is ideal for that type of work. Mating Jills: There are two good reasons why you should mate Jills when they come in season. 1 They can suffer from a calcium deficiency with the prolonged oestrus. Remedy: Feed a calcium supplement with their food. 2 Through prolonged oestrus their vulvas stay enlarged. That can allow bacteria and other organisms to enter into the body of the Ferret and cause infections. ( the most usual cause of Jills dieing when not being mated) Remedy: Keep quarters scrupulously clean. Unmated Jills. There is no reason what so ever why Jills that have not been mated cannot have a long and happy life. As long as you practice the principles of good husbandry, they can, and do live to a ripe age (well for a ferret that is). One last word. Again this is down to personal preference. The Polecat the wild counterpart of the domestic Ferret in this country. Feeds on small animals or birds that it can catch. It is a whole carcass eater in that it gets all the roughage it needs from the intestines of what it eats. There for it follows in my opinion that the natural diet of the domestic Ferret would be the same. That is why i will only feed my Ferrets whole carcass meat. The easiest and cheapest supply of that is culled D.O.C which are a good stand by. But by no means a diet in it's self. There are so many food options available to ferret owners that shoot. Breasted Pigeon carcass, ( ferrets are surprisingly tolerant to lead shot ) Crows, Feral pigeon, (although these should be frozen first to kill the bacteria that they are all plagued with) Rabbits and Squirrels all make good feeding for these tenacious little animals. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
henry d Posted August 10, 2006 Report Share Posted August 10, 2006 Excellent post TC (nice to have you back ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank Posted August 11, 2006 Report Share Posted August 11, 2006 Thats eactly what i feed my ferts on, whole carcasses. Altough, this time of the year, with flies and all, i leave feeding them this till eveining time and take out any uneaten food in the morning. Complete ferret food is good too, i feed them this in the morning, last the whole day, till the evening, when they get the carcasses. Frank. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeff Posted August 13, 2006 Report Share Posted August 13, 2006 roadkill if you want a couple of ferrets pm me i have 7 kits at 5 wks old and 5 at 3 1/2 weeks old. I wont want anything for them as long as they go to a good home thats good enough for me. I keep 4 jills and 1 hob and have only had the 2 litters. I have had no problems with the 2 unmated jills, the advice given by tiercel and frank pretty much sums up how i keep my ferrets this time of year. mine are feed on raw meat but through out the summer it is skinned and i only give them enough food for 1 feed and i check the sleeping boxs daily for left overs. If you no what you have given them it is easy to find anything that is uneaten and remove it. My ferret hutches are built into a shed and in the summer i put netting on the door opening to stop flies getting in and hang those stick fly catching things up as well. This and clean out daily (twice aday in the case of the jills with young) works for me. Hope this helps. cheers Jeff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.