ferrets mating

[sheribee]

ok, my hob will not leave my jill alone, he is constantly bonking her!!
She squeels and screams so loud, and when i go to get her out she is shaking all over!!
I know their mating habbits are supposed to be like he is killing her, but is it not too early and why is it constant??
Im worried about her as he neck is very red and he has drawn blood. They are fab ferrets and so friendly and great pals to each other, any thoughts or experience would be greatly appreciated!! xx

[Eve]

Have you had them neutered or are you trying to breed them?

Could you provide him with some other stimulation to try and distract his attention in case he is getting bored?

If it is having such a bad effect on the jill then can you separate them for now save for lots of supervised playtimes and provide a lot of other stimulation so neither get bored or lonely?

[Schutzengel]

Ferrets are gorgeous and make lovely pets, but normally if you had 2 or 3 jills (as with working ferrets), they usually live quiet happily together. Most ferret keepers just keep one hob for breeding purposes, and are allowed out to play chasing with the jills, in a pen, but the hob usually has a hutch of his own. If you only have the two and don't want them to breed, then it is possible for the hob to have a vasectomy.

[sheribee]

They live together and come out in our house for a few hours everyday for playtime ( they r nuts!!)
Both are intact, as we would like to let our jill have 1 litter, just for us, not to sell as we want to work the kits once old enough, our 2 are just pets and spend lots of time with our girls so i dont want them getting a taste for hunting and blood.
They have a huge enclosure indoors, which they r in at the mo coz its cold and i dont like my babies out in this weather, and they have another big enclosure outside.
I would hate to seperate them as they love to snuggle together but i hate to hear her screaming so much xx

[Schutzengel]

My friend keeps working ferrets, they're lovely, but some are more friendly and handleable than others. I'll see what I can find out for you, and get back to you. It's upsetting that your jill is getting so distressed, especially as they get on so well otherwise.

[josaphine32]

We had this with our ferrets last year , we got advice and in the end had to seperate them, he then had his nuts off and the jill got spade,,,,,we still had to seperate them for at least 3 months after as they are still receptive until there hormones settle, our poor jill lost so much waite and was a nervous wreck, but this year thankfully we have heard no screaming at all,