BRINGING JILLS OUT OF SEASON

[Sparrow Hawker]

I'm seriously thinking about getting a hob and having him vasectomised (hoblet). I have always had my jills jabbed which is fine as I belong to a club and a group of us have them all jabbed together around March-April time, this cuts down on the cost.

But over the last few years its becoming more common for jills to come back into season. Last year all my ferrets came back into season and considering it's about £20 a shot from a vet (does totally depend on what vet you see :roll: ) it's not cheap.

There's the option of having them spayed of course but I would like to give a hoblet a try first.

I have heard all sorts of stories and some people think there is an increase chance of pyometra (infection of the womb) but after having a chat with the vet he recommended me getting a hoblet as I keep quite a few jills and said there's a risk with any form of bringing a jill out of season.

Does anyone else use a hoblet to bring there jills out of season? any problems?

All The Best,

HH

[Bod]

I used a hoblet for the last three years to bring my two Jills out of season. You still get the rough and tumble associated with mating i.e bite marks on the neck etc so you run the risk of infection. I used a mates hoblet for the task but it wasn't available this year as it had died. Normally had to use him twice a year though as you say the Jills normally come into season twice a year if they don't have young.
I decided to have the Jills spayed cost me £84 for the two plus £18 for the Jill jabs (which they didn't like at all).
I have had a Jill in the past which had a womb infection and also they tend to go anaemic. So in the future any new Jills I have will be spayed before their first season.
Cheaper in the long run unless you want to add to the ferret population.

[RabbitHawker]

If you have several jills I would go for a hoblet.
The jill jabs work, but about 10% of jills will need a second one during the summer. There may be an increased risk of pyometra, but it is hard to assess the risk accurately.
If you just have 1 or 2 good jills consider spaying, probably the best long term option.
Don't share a hoblet with another ferreter as there is a risk of passing on diseases such as Alution disease.
Chris

[Sparrow Hawker]

Cheers Bod and Rabbit Hawker thanks for the advice.

Bod did the jill recover from the womb infection?

Got 6 jills at present think I will get a hob shortly and get him done. As you said Chris, I try not to mix my ferrets with others due to the risk of Aleution Disease. Any new stock I get I test for AD by using a test kit.

All The Best,

HH

[Ian Wileman]

I tend to think you get the best of both worlds if you add a SMALL number of ferrets to the population (although this year it was a lot for me as I had pre-orders). I allow jills to mate and give birth, then if I have no orders for ferrets I cull all the hobs within the first couple of days. I have one jill that will allow you to go through her babies within a couple of hours! This is often better for the jill, as large litters of strong hobs are a lot to contend with, and jills tend to sell on much easier.

THis year, through a little forethought, I have managed to sell all my babies a month before they are due to leave.

[HawkMan69UK]

maybe a little off subject but when the fox got my babies the other day will that bring the jill back into season...because the male tried to mate her yesterday but i have split them up now????????

[Mary Quite Contrary]

I thought it was called a hobble not a hoblet.

Anyway my hob services my Jill's and a friend's and it works fine with no problems......he has contracted a few STDs but that's what you get if you sleep with lots of females.

[Sparrow Hawker]

A hobble is a castrated male he's got his bits chopped off so can't perform to take jills out of season.

All The Best,

HH

[Mary Quite Contrary]

so he has no balls , but a hoblet has no pipes.

[Jiff]

when i were a lad i only used to keep one ferret at a time,usualy a jill,(i know ferrets are social but at 13 one was enough) i never took any action when she broke down,but with one ferret you can keep right on top of things, as time whent by and i got my own place i started keeping more, jills in season were lined as there was a demand at that time,however as the demand dried up i had a young hob done by the vet, i used him alot untill he was past it i never (touch wood) have had a problem with womb infection in fact i'm privaledged enough not to have had a ferret die male or female of un-natural causes,i wouldnt have a female done by the vet as then you elliminate you're options for the future,this time arround with all this in mind,i opted for all males,i now have three i have no intention of wanting to breed so it suits me fine and does away with the head ache of spring/summer apart from needing to split the gits up, for anyone just starting out don't forget the males also come into season,when this happens sparks will fly,first the petty squables which then become major headaches untill eventualy the daddie of the hutch tries to use the more submisive as his bitch, not much fun for the latter (being kneck bitten and raped whenever the daddie gets a bit of sun on his back). although easy to keep happy during hunting months the ferret now becomes a complex and difficult to please creature, all the best to you ferret lads,and as a point i would go for the hoblet every time. :wink:

[Goldie]

untill eventualy the daddie of the hutch tries to use the more submisive as his bitch, not much fun for the latter (being kneck bitten and raped whenever the daddie gets a bit of sun on his backi :

Vivid picture in my mind of Macho Hob strutting about the cage shoting
WHO'S THE DADDY :lol: :lol: :lol:

[MickeyDredd]

so he has no balls , but a hoblet has no pipes.

Hoblet still has pipes but he can't play no tunes :lol:

[Bill]

How much does the vasectomy usually cost?

[Goldie]

about £60 the last time i checked, but will differ from vet to vet

[Ian Wileman]

£90 up here

[Dave G]

mmm i looked up the local ferret rescue and well lets just say their only to happy for me to drop off my jill and let a castrated hob have his wicked way and cost **** all so theres an idea for you lads and lasses

[Ian Wileman]

I may be wrong mate, but as far as I am aware, a castrated hob will not bring your jill out of season. What you need is a vasectomised hob.

[Sparrow Hawker]

Ian's right, a Castrated hob thats a hob (hobble) with his testicles chopped off cannot perform and take a jill out of season. A hob (hoblet) that has been vasectomised (had the snip) can bring a jill out of season.

All The Best,

HH

[Ben C]

I'll do any of em for free!!! :)

[Dave G]

sorry chap thats wot i ment a vasectomised hob chopped off nuts ends snipped lost me mind for a minute lol

[Dave G]

just read a article on jill ferrets coming into season and this chap recons he never mates his jills as theres too many unwanted ferrets about and has never had any probs with his jills he says they just stay in season longer all he does is put shreaded news paper for bedding instead of straw and gets rid of the saw dust from the floor so the jills don,t get any infections from dust or straw ????

[Ian Wileman]

I know of someone else who puts a wire rack in his cages to do a similar thing. This is all well and good if you can be certain that is only hygiene that accounts for the death of jills during the breeding season.

[Dave G]

mmm worth thinking about Ian might try it my self as i only have a young jill so will see but if she works her little socks off might change me mind

[Sprout]

Cage hygiene will have virtually no effect on whether the Jill becomes anaemic or develops an infection of the uterus. The persistantly high hormone levels suppress the bone marrow causing anaemia and the long term effects on the uterus eventually result in pyometra (it is not an ascending infection from the environment). I also wouldn;'t recommend sending the Jill to a rescue centre for mating, the risk of passing infection from ferret to ferret would be too great for all involved. BenC ight be an option though?? :wink:

[Ian Wileman]

Cage hygiene will have virtually no effect on whether the Jill becomes anaemic or develops an infection of the uterus. :wink:

That was the point I was trying to make, without upsetting anyone.

This is all well and good if you [highlight=red:1beea801fa]can be certain [/highlight:1beea801fa]that it is only hygiene that accounts for the death of jills

There may be an odd person out there who is lucky enough to get away with it, but I would not risk the lives of my workers (pets to Michelle - I would be risking my life in the process), and I must be honest, I like having the kits around in the spring and summer. I have bred 28 this year, and could have sold 40 easily. About half went to pet homes, half to working.

[Darren]

i have a young hob that will become a hoblet & he will bring the jills out ov season

[Ian Wileman]

YOU are a hoblet Darren.

[Sprout]

Sorry Ian, misread your post.

[Darren]

Ian...ur a very offensive balding aging dwarf & obviously the love child of Johnny

[Ian Wileman]

Darren, this thread is going off track now because of YOU. :evil:

[Coedhirion]

My friend and I share a vasect. hob, the ferrets mix in same boxes out hunting any way) it has worked very well. The jills do tend to come in to season twice, but we bring them out as soon as noticed and they are very fit and healthy. It cost £30 for him to have the snip 2 years ago.
Rang a local vet the other day to have a second done and they quoted £129 !!!! Told them I wanted it snipped not gold plated and they put the phone down ??? :cry: :?:

[Sprout]

Sounds a bit expensive but then £30 sounds very cheap! It is a VERY DIFFICULT operation to do, it's not as simple as snip the cord, you've got to find the cord in the first place!! remove a small section and not damage the blood vessels. A horrible operation to perform!

[Coedhirion]

worked for a vet 4 a while, and the bit that scares them the most around here is the risk of putting small animals out, in case they dont come round, spose its cos they are more used to sheep, horses and cow doses :lol:

Any way its cheaper to get a colt castrated and the same price as the snip on a ram !!!!??????????????? :roll: :roll: :roll:

[Sprout]

Not really, small animals are a greater anaesthetic risk for a number of reasons. Being smaller and having a higher metabolic rate they require a larger dose weight: weight compared to cows etc but the biggest problem is they lose a lot of body heat quickly. Even so, the anaesthetic risk is greater in smaller animals but still the surgery is not easy to do either.

[Coedhirion]

aaaawwwww are you the vet on here??? I know all that but come on £129 gee I could send em 3, they can practice on the first 2 etc. We did it all many, many, many years ago (when I was young) without the fancy monitors an stuff an very few pegged it an it all appeared 2 work just fine. No worse than a little puddy cat!!

[Sprout]

??? I was actually agreeing with you, just trying to explain the reasoning. I agree £129 is more than we charge by some margin. I was just saying it's not easy to do correctly!!!! Fancy monitors don't make it any easier or harder to do, just SAFER! Nice to see you care that much for your ferrets if you are prepared to sacrifice 2 to get one vasectomised!

[Coedhirion]

JOKE...If the vets a propper vet an charging THAT much it wouldnt happen...???????? if he's that bad he's probably got a few spares tucked out the back for emergencies :rolleyes:

[Coedhirion]

Oh an at least I think enough of my ferrets not to leave them in season for weeks or months :!:

[Sprout]

OK, I'll stop jumping down your throat now :oops:

[Coedhirion]

Got a few nice hobs going spare Sprout, if your interested. :lol: One nice silvermit hob that was thought incapable did his stuff with 2 ladies and produced some nice silvers and black eyed whites, so best laid plans went to the wall. Most of the intended homes for the expected kits all jumped on the pretty silver ones instead!!! ah well, will know next year!!! So 4 poor little albino hobs looking for kind working homes, with all mod cons and they are rather partial to a TV and fireside too. :lol: :yawinkle:

[Kornie]

When trinity caught her stoat one thing I did notice is how compact and tightly woven the "insides" are. Really well put together a freind of mine once said. They must be similar.