- Dec 21, 2009
- 448
- 15
- 121
In addition to our rapidly maturing flock of 2 RIRs, 2 GSLs and 2 BJGs, we have a cranky 18 year old cat Squeeky, our Chief chicken herder..16 month pug Gus, and a boodle of four (rescue) ferrets.
My Daughter is to blame for the ferrets. When she moved back home from school in AZ, she brought a male ferret named Dritz along with her. He caught my attention and it wasn't long until she was dropping him off for weekends over here, where he had the romp of the house. He was newspaper trained and he faithfully pooped on the papers, and was just a riot to watch around the house.
For my 50th birthday, and I suspect partially to give herself a chance to enjoy her own ferret, my daughter gave me a rescue ferret from the local shelter, and from there it was off to the races. I have four ferrets now, very comfortably ensconced in a nice 2 level"Ferret Nation" cage. They are all rescue ferrets, and we even scored a second like cage through the shelter, because people constantly abandon the ferrets and the cages. We bought a donated cage for a fraction of the price of a new one, and my daughter has her boodle of five living in it.
We use the front bedroom of out house as the ferret room. It's a 10 x 10 room and I have built a panel that fits in the doorway the blocks the lower half of the door, so we can let the ferrets out for an evening run, which gives me a chance to clean their cage, change laundry, etc.
To date, our pug Gus has never romped alone with a ferret. I have taken our most mellow fellow (Felonius Weasel) and held him while the two of them sniffed each other over. Felonius has had his whole nose up to his eyeballs buried in Gus's ear, (it was a truly hilarious thing to see...) while Gus had his whole face buried in Felonius's butt...somehow there was an even trade in that transaction, and it was between the two of them in any case. They both seem satisfied and that's what counts. We have had a number of regular visits between the two, and they are pretty good friends now. Gus is in the ferret room regularly, checking them out in the cage, and they do the same to him. It's been 16 months now, so they are well accustomed to each other, but prudence dictates that the cage stays between them
Since Gus is still so young I am very cautious about him and ferrets. They look a lot like many of Gus's playtoys, and his jaws are so powerful, I worry that he would hurt one playing with it without intending to. I walk him off the leash now and then, but I am ready to rein him in if need be. The trust is building, but we ain't there yet. When he is three or so, and I can walk him without a leash we might try ferrets, but only under supervision.
Tonight I put the ferrets back in the cage after cleaning it up, gave them all cookies, put the gate away and turned off the light as usual. Twenty minutes later the Missus is calling for me, and as I walked into the hall she meets me with a ferret in her hand, while another one scoots past my bare feet on her way to the catfood dish, with Gus in hot, (but moderated) pursuit. Two of them had escaped ; one female, Pandamonium or Panda for short, and our big Canuckistani male Porgy. Panda is pretty small, but Porgy weighs three pounds, and he's the one Gus confronted in the Office.
Turns out I didn't latch the bottom door of the cage, and when one of them pressed against it, it popped right open, and out they went. My wife realized they were out because Gus had one cornered, and was yipping at him, but not biting or attacking at all... more wanting to play, and letting Mom know that something wasn't right with this weasel running around loose in the office!! Porgy had a bit of a puffed tail when the Missus rescued him, and Panda's only mission was to raid the catfood dish no matter what, so nobody was the worse for wear. I got them back in the cage, gave Panda a mealworm snack and all was well.
I'm particularly pleased at Gus' performance!! We have been extremely careful not to put him in a position with the ferrets that he wasn't ready to deal with, and tonight proves to me he is a lot more mature than we expected him to be. Believe me, a frantic ferret is a temptation for any small dog; but a 2 pound ferret against a 24 pound pug is not a good match, but I think his training to date and the many butt-sniffing sessions have proved to be a plus and let Our Boy get through this one with flying colors....we are both pleased and relieved, and I think this bodes well for his future relations with chickens....
Cheers!
My Daughter is to blame for the ferrets. When she moved back home from school in AZ, she brought a male ferret named Dritz along with her. He caught my attention and it wasn't long until she was dropping him off for weekends over here, where he had the romp of the house. He was newspaper trained and he faithfully pooped on the papers, and was just a riot to watch around the house.
For my 50th birthday, and I suspect partially to give herself a chance to enjoy her own ferret, my daughter gave me a rescue ferret from the local shelter, and from there it was off to the races. I have four ferrets now, very comfortably ensconced in a nice 2 level"Ferret Nation" cage. They are all rescue ferrets, and we even scored a second like cage through the shelter, because people constantly abandon the ferrets and the cages. We bought a donated cage for a fraction of the price of a new one, and my daughter has her boodle of five living in it.
We use the front bedroom of out house as the ferret room. It's a 10 x 10 room and I have built a panel that fits in the doorway the blocks the lower half of the door, so we can let the ferrets out for an evening run, which gives me a chance to clean their cage, change laundry, etc.
To date, our pug Gus has never romped alone with a ferret. I have taken our most mellow fellow (Felonius Weasel) and held him while the two of them sniffed each other over. Felonius has had his whole nose up to his eyeballs buried in Gus's ear, (it was a truly hilarious thing to see...) while Gus had his whole face buried in Felonius's butt...somehow there was an even trade in that transaction, and it was between the two of them in any case. They both seem satisfied and that's what counts. We have had a number of regular visits between the two, and they are pretty good friends now. Gus is in the ferret room regularly, checking them out in the cage, and they do the same to him. It's been 16 months now, so they are well accustomed to each other, but prudence dictates that the cage stays between them
Since Gus is still so young I am very cautious about him and ferrets. They look a lot like many of Gus's playtoys, and his jaws are so powerful, I worry that he would hurt one playing with it without intending to. I walk him off the leash now and then, but I am ready to rein him in if need be. The trust is building, but we ain't there yet. When he is three or so, and I can walk him without a leash we might try ferrets, but only under supervision.
Tonight I put the ferrets back in the cage after cleaning it up, gave them all cookies, put the gate away and turned off the light as usual. Twenty minutes later the Missus is calling for me, and as I walked into the hall she meets me with a ferret in her hand, while another one scoots past my bare feet on her way to the catfood dish, with Gus in hot, (but moderated) pursuit. Two of them had escaped ; one female, Pandamonium or Panda for short, and our big Canuckistani male Porgy. Panda is pretty small, but Porgy weighs three pounds, and he's the one Gus confronted in the Office.
Turns out I didn't latch the bottom door of the cage, and when one of them pressed against it, it popped right open, and out they went. My wife realized they were out because Gus had one cornered, and was yipping at him, but not biting or attacking at all... more wanting to play, and letting Mom know that something wasn't right with this weasel running around loose in the office!! Porgy had a bit of a puffed tail when the Missus rescued him, and Panda's only mission was to raid the catfood dish no matter what, so nobody was the worse for wear. I got them back in the cage, gave Panda a mealworm snack and all was well.
I'm particularly pleased at Gus' performance!! We have been extremely careful not to put him in a position with the ferrets that he wasn't ready to deal with, and tonight proves to me he is a lot more mature than we expected him to be. Believe me, a frantic ferret is a temptation for any small dog; but a 2 pound ferret against a 24 pound pug is not a good match, but I think his training to date and the many butt-sniffing sessions have proved to be a plus and let Our Boy get through this one with flying colors....we are both pleased and relieved, and I think this bodes well for his future relations with chickens....
Cheers!
