Ferret attack

[Jyrrah]

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And no, I wouldn't call you a bad owner. You cared enough to give them time outside of thier cages. You enriched thier lives by not keeping them in a small area that rarely changes. That's more than a few ferret owners I know would do. Ferrets are experts at finding ways to get into trouble. You could put in every waking hour trying to ferret proof a room then in five minutes a ferret will get into something they shouldn't and probably weasel war dance across the room because they outsmarted you.

 

[Jyrrah]

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I may be mistaken, but I think that ferrets and European polecats are closely related. Polecats are wild, and ferrets are their domesticated cousins. However, it is common for people to refer to them all as ferrets. I know that here we have wild ferrets, the black footed ferret. I know we have them locally because one of my barn cats had a dead baby one once.

Polecats are like skunks. Polecats have 2 white stripes where skunks only have 1.
Chris

For reference here is a European polecat picture and a Sable ferret picture. You were probably thinking of a Striped Polecat. The Striped Polecat inhabits Africa though.

 

[Jyrrah]

Looking back over my earlier posts I've really got to learn when to just shut up.

Back on the subject of trapping the ferret. Cat food usually does the trick but banter makes an excellent point. Any sort of squeaky toy will bring a ferret running. I hope you catch the ferret soon.

 

[Quail_Antwerp]

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A squeaky toy may work, unless the ferret is deaf. I have a silver blaze panda ferret who is as deaf as a post. We literally have to get infront of him and wave our hands in his face to get his attention, touch him, or pound our hands on the floor so he feels the vibration.

I don't think it would be a domestic ferret that had escaped simply because a domestic ferret wouldn't kill that many chickens at one time.

 

[CityGirlintheCountry]

Jyrrah- I was actually just thinking you made a very nice, very clear post clearing up some common misconceptions in California. I don't know much about the ferrets in England, other than they are tougher than American ferrets. I know they are still used for hunting in England and that is illegal here in the states. Most American ferrets are big, gooshy lap critters. At least all of mine have been. They might visciously attack a Froot Loop bush, but that's about it. For a brief while (until MY hunting was successful), they even cohabitated happily with a wild mouse.
Again, I don't know much about English ferrets and I am very sorry for your chicken loss, Joy1. No matter what killed them, you are grieving. I am so sorry.

Thank you Jyrrah for writing a calm, informative, helpful post. No need to shut up. You are playing sweetly!

 

[Joy1]

I managed to catch the ferret you will all be glad to hear.

 

[silkiechicken]

That's great. Good you got your problem caught.

 

[Moonwalker]

Just to add to the posts about ferrets being outlawed. Many apartments and such that allow small pets ban ferrets due to their Houdini traits. Many ferrets also have an almost pathological foot fetish (hence the nickname "Toe-Sharks!) and can give quite a nasty nip, even in play.
American bred ferrets are deliberately bred for docility, IF you get them from a good breeder (Marshall Farms is my reccomendation. They tattoo them so you can tell they are MF)In Europe they are still used to hunt rabbits.

 

[Jyrrah]

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If you get a ferret from a pet shop odds are it came from Marshalls. They're the largest ferret breeder in the US for both pets and scientific research.

 

[LynneP]

Ferrets have been used in the UK and Europe for centuries to control rodents around farms. I'm so sorry you lost your birds, if there are ferrets in your district you need enhanced biosecurity...