Droitwich Ferret Welfare

Ferrets are carnivores and belong to the mustelidae family which includes weasels, stoats, wild polecats, martens, mink, badgers and otters. The ferret we know today is a domesticated species of polecat. However, today when we speak of poleys or polecats it is not because they have been bred from wild polecats but because they have similar markings. Mustelidae are characterised by their curious, lively and fun-loving natures despite wide-spread public perception to the contrary.

Names: Ferret, Fert, Fitch, Fitcher, Fitchet, Stinkmart, Stinkmarten, Foulmart, Foulmarten, and Fulimart. Most of these terms have fallen into disuse.

Hob or Jack: Male, intact ferret (ie. the ferret has not been neutered)

Hobble: Male, neutered ferret (ie. the testicles have been surgically removed)

Hoblet: Male, vasectomised ferret (i.e. the tube transporting sperm from the testicles to the penis has been surgically cut. He will be willing and able to mate but he will be infertile, hence no unwanted litters of kits)

Jill: Female ferret – often used to describe both an intact female and a  spayed female

Sprite: Female, spayed ferret (i.e. the ferret has had her reproductive organs surgically removed rendering her infertile. She will not come into season.)

Kit: A young ferret, male or female, under nine months old. Kits achieve maturity any time after nine months of age, usually in the spring of the year following their birth.  Kits are born blind and almost naked but develop coats by the fourth week when they begin to venture out of the nest. They begin to eat solids at around 3 weeks of age and  are weaned when they are 6 to 8 weeks old.

Litter: The kits born from one jill. An average litter is 6 - 8 kits but can be as many as twelve.

Business: The collective term for a group of ferrets

Court: The name given to ferret housing equipped with sleeping quarters and a large run.

Size / Weight: Hobs can be twice as large as jills. Both vary enormously in size and weight but an adult hob is likely to weigh up to 2.5 kg  and measure up to 60 cm including the tail.

Life Span: 8 – 10 years on average. As ferrets grow in popularity as pets they are enjoying better husbandry and health care, thus extending their lifespan considerably.

Breeding: Ferrets will come into season with increasing hours of daylight and the main breeding season continues from March to September. Hobs develop enlarged testicles whilst the jill’s vulva swells noticeably. (Ferrets kept in artificial light may come into season earlier).

Oestrus: Jills remain in oestrus (in season) continuously until mated or until the end of the season if they are neither mated nor given a hormone injection. Leaving a jill in season for a prolonged period is dangerous and can be fatal because she will become anaemic. Ovulation is induced by mating. The jill’s vulva will begin to reduce in size after a week and usually returns to normal size within three weeks.

Colours

There are many different colours of ferrets ranging from true albino with pink eyes to dark, almost black, with a facial mask.

In between there are dark-eyed whites, silvers with a ticked coat, lovely sandy or champagne coloured ferrets - sometimes called “lemons” – and mitted polecat marked ferrets with a striking white bib and white paws.

Although there are many variations the colour of the coat has nothing whatsoever to do with either their working ability or their temperament.