lots of thinking
Jun. 1st, 2008 03:37 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
alonewiththemoonSo today we visited Ferrets of New England, the ferret breeder up in Methuen. It was wonderful to hold weasels again. Those unfixed males are so big--it's not just their size, but their shape is much more robust, with thick legs and a deep chest. They are also very cuddly and fluffy. And the babies were of course utterly adorable. At six weeks old, the mother was about done weaning them so their attention was more focused on the outside world. One used her teeth a little but that's pretty normal. They were just so sweet and charmingly determined to explore their world. I've been getting excited about having a more challenging sort of ferret again. Nothing against any of my Marshall Farm boys, but my Canadians had that spark of something extra, a sort of self-assurance and fierce verve that I missed. These ferrets would almost certainly have that. The father of this litter is British, and the mother showed a lot of personality. Her ferrets are also used to eating fresh meat, which means I could provide a healthier diet than just kibble.
But... while on one level I loved them, I didn't fall in love with them. None of them said to me "take me home." M agreed on this, although we did both like one of the girls who lightly dozed in his arms, and I do keep thinking about her a bit. Apart from the instant bonding factor (which might be too much to expect of babies anyway), one drawback for me is that they are all the same color, which is a small thing but I'd like to be able to easily tell my ferrets apart, or know which one I'm looking at if the other isn't in the room for comparison. Another is that they are all girls, and I kind of wanted one girl and one boy, or two boys. I'm also thinking hard about the challenges that go into bringing kits into the home, and questioning whether we wouldn't be better off with "teenagers" or young adults. One of the great things about getting kits from a breeder is that we could wait to neuter the ferrets until they were physically mature, but the downside to that is living with ferrets in heat and dealing with getting them taken out of heat (either by a vasectomized hob or by hormone injection--the former can be rough on the female, the latter might be linked to ovarian cancer). And finally, while money isn't really much of a factor, the breeder ferrets would end up being very expensive, not just at the time of purchase but later when neutering surgery was needed (I'd be astonished if Angell were less than $500 per ferret and not at all surprised if it were considerably more). Also, it's not technically legal to own unfixed ferrets, though I don't think my vets would bust me on that.
So I *think* we're going to look at shelter ferrets and see if we can find some that are relatively younger. It looks like South Shore Ferret Care have a bonded male-female pair available that they describe as young, so I think I will contact them and see what's up with that. I think I feel better about adoption in the long run--I was feeling a bit selfish wanting babies when there are so many ferrets who need homes. Even the breeder told us that adoption was something to be considered (she really liked us, btw--that wasn't a brush off on her part). The Mass. Ferret Friends are participating in an adoption day next Saturday at the Waltham Petco, so maybe we could check out the available ferrets there. Shelter ferrets do come with their own yet to be discovered problems, but they would be neutered, have all their shots, etc., so the set-up cost is likely to be lower.
I feel like this is all happening so quickly and wonder if we're ready--but really, all we'd need besides the ferrets themselves is food, we've got everything else already. I just feel caught in this strange place between wanting to get ferrets for whom we could set up as perfect as possible lives from the start, versus feeling like adopting is the nobler thing to do. I'm not sure my heart can stand knowing that there's shelter ferrets that need homes. The breeder kits already have a home, and I can guarantee that whether we buy any or not, they will all be sold this season and have lovely homes with experienced ferret people (the breeder will only sell kits to those with experience). Today was a bit like a peek into a world that I wish I could stay in, but I'd have to forget the real world to do it.
But... while on one level I loved them, I didn't fall in love with them. None of them said to me "take me home." M agreed on this, although we did both like one of the girls who lightly dozed in his arms, and I do keep thinking about her a bit. Apart from the instant bonding factor (which might be too much to expect of babies anyway), one drawback for me is that they are all the same color, which is a small thing but I'd like to be able to easily tell my ferrets apart, or know which one I'm looking at if the other isn't in the room for comparison. Another is that they are all girls, and I kind of wanted one girl and one boy, or two boys. I'm also thinking hard about the challenges that go into bringing kits into the home, and questioning whether we wouldn't be better off with "teenagers" or young adults. One of the great things about getting kits from a breeder is that we could wait to neuter the ferrets until they were physically mature, but the downside to that is living with ferrets in heat and dealing with getting them taken out of heat (either by a vasectomized hob or by hormone injection--the former can be rough on the female, the latter might be linked to ovarian cancer). And finally, while money isn't really much of a factor, the breeder ferrets would end up being very expensive, not just at the time of purchase but later when neutering surgery was needed (I'd be astonished if Angell were less than $500 per ferret and not at all surprised if it were considerably more). Also, it's not technically legal to own unfixed ferrets, though I don't think my vets would bust me on that.
So I *think* we're going to look at shelter ferrets and see if we can find some that are relatively younger. It looks like South Shore Ferret Care have a bonded male-female pair available that they describe as young, so I think I will contact them and see what's up with that. I think I feel better about adoption in the long run--I was feeling a bit selfish wanting babies when there are so many ferrets who need homes. Even the breeder told us that adoption was something to be considered (she really liked us, btw--that wasn't a brush off on her part). The Mass. Ferret Friends are participating in an adoption day next Saturday at the Waltham Petco, so maybe we could check out the available ferrets there. Shelter ferrets do come with their own yet to be discovered problems, but they would be neutered, have all their shots, etc., so the set-up cost is likely to be lower.
I feel like this is all happening so quickly and wonder if we're ready--but really, all we'd need besides the ferrets themselves is food, we've got everything else already. I just feel caught in this strange place between wanting to get ferrets for whom we could set up as perfect as possible lives from the start, versus feeling like adopting is the nobler thing to do. I'm not sure my heart can stand knowing that there's shelter ferrets that need homes. The breeder kits already have a home, and I can guarantee that whether we buy any or not, they will all be sold this season and have lovely homes with experienced ferret people (the breeder will only sell kits to those with experience). Today was a bit like a peek into a world that I wish I could stay in, but I'd have to forget the real world to do it.
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no subject
Date: 2008-06-01 09:58 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-06-01 11:40 pm (UTC)The breeder does have another litter that was too young to be handled today (they were cute little wigglers though!), mixed colors and genders, so I may see about going back up in a few more weeks to visit with those babies and see what they are like. I think she said she's planning to breed one more litter this year as well. I have already contacted that shelter to see what's up with those ferrets they have on petfinder, or what else they might have. (It's the same place I donated Seti's leftover food and medications to, so they know me)
no subject
Date: 2008-06-01 11:57 pm (UTC)i totally sympathize on the compromise aspect, and encourage you to get one you know you're gonna love wholeheartedly right away. my cat and i had an adjustment period where i wanted another cat and he knew i wasn't his real cat mom (who is in korea). now we love each other and we snuggle each other, but there was a good 3 months of glaring.
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Date: 2008-06-02 02:18 pm (UTC)follow your gut...
Date: 2008-06-02 03:54 pm (UTC)