SPORTING ANSWERS

Responsible breeding

FERRETING

Q My first ever ferreting season has now finished and my jills have come into season, but I am unsure whether I should breed from a couple of them or not? I want to be a responsible breeder, so am keen to hear your opinion. Do you breed from your stock a lot?

A It is refreshing to hear from someone who has a responsible attitude about whether to breed his ferrets. I rarely breed from my ferrets but when I do, I carefully consider which hob I am going to use and look back several generations — not only at the given individual. A lot of my hob ferrets are neutered, so I take all of the jills out of season if I am not breeding from them.

Removing the jills from their seasons is a responsible attitude to husbandry. To do this I use my hoblet (a neutered ferret) to mate with my jills. The act of mating (coitus) stops the build-up of oestrogen;