# Little Kits!



## Yaazmahn (Aug 23, 2011)

Hey, I'm posting on behalf of a friend (they're internet connection has been cut) who has been, quite frankly rather irresponsible, so before you carry on reading this, please note, THEY ARE NOT MY FERRETS! I don't need any lecturing on care of ferrets THEY ARE NOT MINE. Just after some friendly advice guys, I know how some of you can get on here 

Basically, they have 5 female ferrets and two males, one of which has been done, the other hasn't. One female has already had kits on Thursday, at an estimate there is five kits - another is most certainly pregnant (bulging belly, teats etc.) and is ready to 'pop' within the week. If the other 3 are pregnant, there is potential for a large amount of kits.

Of course, all these little kits are going to need new homes, we don't want them ending up in an animal shelter, ferrets often look alike, particularly the polecats/sables. When people come to view the kits (they're saying viewings available at 5 weeks old, would anyone suggest a different age or is this ok?) How can my friend mark the kits so that they know who's kit is who's, is there some sort of tag that an initial can be written on and attached to say, the kits leg? or some kind of paint marking that is safe for the kits skin? any links to where said tags can be bought would be much appreciated.


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## DKDREAM (Sep 15, 2008)

Hi wow that is a lot of kits  I am sorry to say if all females have been with that male they will 99% be pregnant. You can mark each kit by either painting a nail with nail varnish OR you can use food colouring on ears. This is very very sad I hope all the kits get caring loving homes. I will help anyway way I can for the kits sake, but I find your friend an awful person, why let them become pregnant in the 1st place.


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## Yaazmahn (Aug 23, 2011)

While I complete agree with you, I'm trying to do what I can to help and have very very strongly advised getting the other male done. Hopefully for the mother ferret and kits sake the other litters won't be too large either, imagine if all five had 10 kits? 50 kits!! It's ridiculous. 

Thanks for the advice about the nail varnish and food colouring, I shall be letting them know, if they need any more advice I will be sure to post on here to help out the kits.


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## DKDREAM (Sep 15, 2008)

The mothers would benefit from Lactol milk while feeding young, what are the ferrets currently fed? do they know that the females will come into season yearly and must be brought out of season, otherwise over a prolonged time they will die.


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## Silver Jill (Mar 22, 2011)

Hi and welcome Yaazmahn. Your friend is lucky that you are helping her out here with some sound advice, and you have come to the right Forum here!  I can't really add any more than DKDREAM has already mentioned to you, other than when I bred my one and only litter, my jill gave birth to 14 kits and I kept the whole litter! If a jill is undernourished, or if she is young and it is her first litter, then she might have a small litter of say 5 kits. It is essential to keep an entire hob away from jills, and a good idea to have him castrated. Good Luck with helping your friend and please let us know how you get on. Take care


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## thedogsmother (Aug 28, 2008)

Hi yaazmahn it might be a good idea to suggest to your friend that he has the remaining boy vasectomised. That way he will be able to bring the girls out of season next time and they wouldn't have to split the group or have the girls neutered.
Hope you/they manage to find good homes for them between you, and all the girls and their kits stay healthy.


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## DKDREAM (Sep 15, 2008)

thedogsmother said:


> Hi yaazmahn it might be a good idea to suggest to your friend that he has the remaining boy vasectomised. That way he will be able to bring the girls out of season next time and they wouldn't have to split the group or have the girls neutered.
> Hope you/they manage to find good homes for them between you, and all the girls and their kits stay healthy.


this is the cheapest and most sensible thing to do, If your friend does this, use him on 1 girl wait 6 weeks if she dosent have kits then use him on another and then if she doesn't he is classed as safe to use.


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## Yaazmahn (Aug 23, 2011)

Hi again guys, the mother who is nursing kits is fed on a mixture of chicken mince, a small amount of liver and is given one day old chick a day (which she has been storing rather than eating). She also has chicken necks and some kind of chicken mix available for her, but as far as I'm aware, she has had neither of them yet. We are currently asking around to see if either of us can obtain some pigeons for her and they are thinking of rats/mice. As mentioned in a previous post, I have very strongly suggested to them about getting the other hob vasectomised, but of course, I can only suggest and hope for the best. They're aware that the jills need to be bought out of season  I will let them know about the lactol.

She is a first time mum and is rather young - she was only a kit this time last year herself, at a quick glance we've estimated five kits. They will be a week old on Thursday. She seems to be doing alright with them, as far as we can tell. Each Jill is in a two story hutch, the bottom one you cannot see into and naturally this is where the jill has had her kits, she will always come up to the top floor of the hutch when she can hear you and has no problem with you putting food into the hutch for her/changing the water, however I can see them possibly having a bit of a problem when they want to start handling the kits (they've said they're going to start this at 30 days?) as the mother has not had very much handeling herself (neither have the other ferrets for that matter, the two albino jills were 'rescued' from someone who was going to 'retire' them from working so they were never handelled very much with their previous owner (one of them bit my ear!!) one of the polecats came with the current mother so she is also quite young and the other polecat like the albino's came from a previous owner who did not do much handelling) they've said to me that they want to be handelling the kits for at least 6 times a day for roughly 10 minutes each, is this correct or do they need to re-think their method? they're rather undecided about how to teach the kits not to bite, they're hoping if people know that the kits have been handelled daily then they will be more desirable and find themselves homes, any that they find are very bitey they said they will suggest them as working ferrets rather than pets. 

What advice would you give about hand raising kits, when do you know that they need to be hand raised etc. They need to make themselves prepared for this in-case the occurrence happens. I know a young kit will need feeding lactose free milk every two hours but at this moment in time, that is the only advice I am able to give them about this.


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## DKDREAM (Sep 15, 2008)

Sadly if the kits are newborn it is very hard to hand rear them. Its virtually impossible. If the kit is 7-10 days you have a far better chance. Lactol is perfect.


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## Yaazmahn (Aug 23, 2011)

Thought I'd give you guys a little update on what's happening with this potentially mad situation. Thankfully, no other jills have given birth. There are three kits, an albino girl who opened her eyes today, a white possibly albino boy (hasn't got his eyes open yet) and a very pretty sable girl who has some bizarre white patches! I'm going to be taking the sable girl once she's ready at 12 weeks, leaving only two ferrets to find homes. Today the kits are going to be tried with some grown up food, they're beginning to move around a lot more and tumble around with each other. 

As mentioned previously a concern about the mother reacting to the kits being handled, she's been fine with it, she does get put in her transport box when the kits are being handled though. All seems to be good though! I'll see if I can get you guys some pictures


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## Silver Jill (Mar 22, 2011)

Hi again Yaazmahn ~ thank you for letting us know here how things are now with the kits and the Mum. Everything sounds positive now, and I am so pleased that things have got sorted out. Some pics would be great! Take care


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## Yaazmahn (Aug 23, 2011)

I'm going to have to retract part of my last 'statement' I went round to watch the kits first feed and get some pictures for them, as the kits were having their first feed..the Jill next to her was giving birth! I got told earlier today that they're 99% sure that there's 6 kits this time! fingerscrossed that there isn't anymore births. 
My little girl had her eyes open yesterday and the male, who is already bigger than the girls! started to crack his eyes open yesterday, so will more than likely have them open today, apparently he's also an albino.


**the second picture, the girl is on the left, she does have her eyes open, she's just blinked! the male is in the middle and my little girl on the right.


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## Silver Jill (Mar 22, 2011)

Hi again Yaazmahn and thank you for adding the photo's here. It is a pity that your friend didn't sort out a neutering programme when she initially got her Ferrets, but on saying this, the kits are beautiful as all baby animals are! I hope that homes can be found for those who have just been born, and that the Mother jill is coping and keeping well too. Take care.


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## DKDREAM (Sep 15, 2008)

Hi awww your little baby is so cute. Do you have other ferrets? if not could I suggest you take her sister too as ferrets do adore company of their own kind and if kept solo for a while it can be so tricky to introduce any new ferrets to them. your baby is a lovely polecat/silver mitt


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