# Colour??



## tashax (Jun 25, 2011)

Are these dark polecat/polecat or am i barking up the wrong tree :lol:

Preloved | ferret kits - boys and girls for sale in Belper, Derbyshire, UK


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## DKDREAM (Sep 15, 2008)

they're light polecats those. They will always remain light too.


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## oscar1658 (Oct 5, 2012)

i do love polecat markings the best if i'm honest  dkdream, i was told my oscar was half polecat half ferret, would you say that was correct?


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## DKDREAM (Sep 15, 2008)

oscar1658 said:


> i do love polecat markings the best if i'm honest  dkdream, i was told my oscar was half polecat half ferret, would you say that was correct?


what they would mean is he is half wild polecat and half domestic, this is just a sales gimick so you think hes more special, Oscar is a very nice Dark Polecat or as they are being sold European Polecat


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## oscar1658 (Oct 5, 2012)

haha thankyou for your explaination  ive had the breeder tell me that about him and many people discussing him after, thankyou for clearing this up


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## DKDREAM (Sep 15, 2008)

oscar1658 said:


> haha thankyou for your explaination  ive had the breeder tell me that about him and many people discussing him after, thankyou for clearing this up


No worries at all, he is a nice looking ferret, a bit small in build but thats just personal choice other then that he is nice.


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## oscar1658 (Oct 5, 2012)

I left him until 1 year until i neutered him, he weighed 6 pounds at the time - quite a chunky monkey but since hes been neutered in march last year hes shrank a lot, gone slender and much smaller...its interesting the changes they get


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## DKDREAM (Sep 15, 2008)

oscar1658 said:


> I left him until 1 year until i neutered him, he weighed 6 pounds at the time - quite a chunky monkey but since hes been neutered in march last year hes shrank a lot, gone slender and much smaller...its interesting the changes they get


I never neuter (apart from rescues) so I can't really offer an opinion why he has went so much smaller. I didn't mean any offence at all in my comment, he is a nice ferret


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## we love bsh's (Mar 28, 2011)

So what is the difference between polecat and ferret? how do you tell?


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## oscar1658 (Oct 5, 2012)

ohh dont worry, non was taken  i'm just interested in the changes they make with neutering and coat changes, i think they are ever changing animals arnt they? haha. I can only assume they change when neutered because they dont need the stamina and strength with breeding anyone, i hear they spend quite a long time dragging the jill before breeding if thats correct? i wouldnt expect oscar to manage that now at all, he needs his mummy to start on cutting up raw chicken to encourage him to eat!


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## DKDREAM (Sep 15, 2008)

we love bsh's said:


> So what is the difference between polecat and ferret? how do you tell?


Polecats will have solid black noses and a golden undercoat. ferret x polecat will have a patchy nose most of the time and the undercoat will be white


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## oscar1658 (Oct 5, 2012)

the difference from what ive heard myself its complecated isnt it? or maybe i'm slightly dense  but theres a lot flying around of polecat and polecat marked ferrets, i only assume the polcats take on the wild polecats features like the white tipped ears, white patch on mouth, black-brown nose, dark coat etc


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## DKDREAM (Sep 15, 2008)

oscar1658 said:


> ohh dont worry, non was taken  i'm just interested in the changes they make with neutering and coat changes, i think they are ever changing animals arnt they? haha. I can only assume they change when neutered because they dont need the stamina and strength with breeding anyone, i hear they spend quite a long time dragging the jill before breeding if thats correct? i wouldnt expect oscar to manage that now at all, he needs his mummy to start on cutting up raw chicken to encourage him to eat!


Males will drag the female by her neck and hold her in a position until he has finished his deed with her. awww he seems spoilt, mine get chicken wings whole i make them chew it up themselves


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## DKDREAM (Sep 15, 2008)

oscar1658 said:


> the difference from what ive heard myself its complecated isnt it? or maybe i'm slightly dense  but theres a lot flying around of polecat and polecat marked ferrets, i only assume the polcats take on the wild polecats features like the white tipped ears, white patch on mouth, black-brown nose, dark coat etc


yeah your right and a lot of people lie about it to sell them, as it is actually illegal to trap and breed polecats, hence why i just call them dark polecats as that is what they are to me.


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## we love bsh's (Mar 28, 2011)

DKDREAM said:


> Polecats will have solid black noses and a golden undercoat. ferret x polecat will have a patchy nose most of the time and the undercoat will be white


ok thanx so would it be correct to think that ferrets could not ever have black noses..ever? Why?

Are polecats bigger?


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## DKDREAM (Sep 15, 2008)

we love bsh's said:


> ok thanx so would it be correct to think that ferrets could not ever have black noses..ever? Why?
> 
> Are polecats bigger?


ferrets can have black noses but they wont be as strong unless selectively bred. I dont think there is any difference, usually wild polecats are smaller and are more aggressive. it is actually quite hard to tell if a ferret has pure polecat in it (wild) as not all wild polecats have a black nose, its more to do with selective breeding


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## oscar1658 (Oct 5, 2012)

ah really? i wouldnt see the point in lying about the babies if i was a breeder dont you think? i personally favour the polecat look but thats just me out of how many weasel lovers, wow it sounds of a violent thing them breeding i have to say  yes hes very spoilt so to speak - he was kibble fed as a kit and i was told that may affect him wanting raw meat but expensive as it was its very worth the effort into encouraging him, teeth and all do benefit dont they?  mind you i do wish it was as easy feeding it to him as yours seem to warm up to it! i bet feeding times an interesting time?


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## DKDREAM (Sep 15, 2008)

One colour that has came about that is totally un natural is the "Black self ferret" these are polecat x mink to get the rich black colour, a lot have a bluey/green tinge in the eyes. it is believed that its caused through inbreeding


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## we love bsh's (Mar 28, 2011)

Im even more confused lol they must be very closely related to beable to breed together maybe a bit like wolfs and GSD's ??


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## DKDREAM (Sep 15, 2008)

oscar1658 said:


> ah really? i wouldnt see the point in lying about the babies if i was a breeder dont you think? i personally favour the polecat look but thats just me out of how many weasel lovers, wow it sounds of a violent thing them breeding i have to say  yes hes very spoilt so to speak - he was kibble fed as a kit and i was told that may affect him wanting raw meat but expensive as it was its very worth the effort into encouraging him, teeth and all do benefit dont they?  mind you i do wish it was as easy feeding it to him as yours seem to warm up to it! i bet feeding times an interesting time?


if they just call them dark polecats they get £25 a kit if they say European polecat they can ask 50, that is the difference. Kibble is good to help put weight on them but the raw meat is great for keeping teeth clean and the jaws strong. They also love sardines in sunflower oil.


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## DKDREAM (Sep 15, 2008)

we love bsh's said:


> Im even more confused lol they must be very closely related to beable to breed together maybe a bit like wolfs and GSD's ??


mink and polecats can breed yeah as they are the same family. if you look up black self ferrets you will see how much of a mink they resemble. Males have such feminine heads.


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## we love bsh's (Mar 28, 2011)

DKDREAM said:


> mink and polecats can breed yeah as they are the same family. if you look up black self ferrets you will see how much of a mink they resemble. Males have such feminine heads.


ill av a look nice..bet there lovely.


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## oscar1658 (Oct 5, 2012)

ahh i see  sardines in sunflower oil, thankyou! Ive heard of this mink cross, humans are forever trying to find new things to sell and explore arnt they?


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## DKDREAM (Sep 15, 2008)

These are photos of the internet not mine, I would never ever own such a ferret if they can be called that.


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## DKDREAM (Sep 15, 2008)

oscar1658 said:


> ahh i see  sardines in sunflower oil, thankyou! Ive heard of this mink cross, humans are forever trying to find new things to sell and explore arnt they?


sadly yeah, even if its wrong what they are doing


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## we love bsh's (Mar 28, 2011)

I love the black ferrets..

I googled ferrets then polecats i can see the polecats are darker although some of the ferrets looked same colour of some of the polecat pics.


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## we love bsh's (Mar 28, 2011)

DKDREAM said:


> These are photos of the internet not mine, I would never ever own such a ferret if they can be called that.


Yes their eyes are a sort of teal colour arnt they.


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## DKDREAM (Sep 15, 2008)

you can sometimes get a dark polecat ferret but usually the really dark ones people claim have wild in them. my argument is how do you know a wild polecat is black.


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## oscar1658 (Oct 5, 2012)

oh wow they do have blue eyes, very strange that...maybe if they didnt introduce mink here in the first place it wouldnt shimmied people from the idea? those darn mischievious minks eating all our wildlife


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## DKDREAM (Sep 15, 2008)

I dont get why people cant be happy with dark polecats like Oscar,Tia and co to me they are what beautiful polecats are (all ferrets are) but some people can't appreciate them and want more


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## oscar1658 (Oct 5, 2012)

very true, its all driven by profit isnt it? people always want new and interesting animals which usually leads to inbreeding things doesnt it?


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