HUTCHES AND NESTS. 37 



may be taken off in the summer or warm days. 

 Put enough straw in the nest for the ferret to 

 burrow in and you will find that in this way 

 they will do better than by throwing the straw 

 in a heap in one corner. 



The ferret will use one corner of the pen and 

 this should be cleaned up every day, so there will 

 be no dampness, as dampness causes what we 

 call foot rot, and is a bad disease for a ferret to 

 have. If not taken care of, the feet become very 

 tender and sore, the toe nails grow very long, 

 and, in fact, the whole foot rots. This disease 

 may be cured by this simple remedy : The foot 

 should be soaked in w^arm water until the scab 

 becomes spongy, then take a little lard with 

 powdered sulphur and turpentine mixed together, 

 apply this freely to the feet and after a few appli- 

 cations the disease will go away. If they are 

 cared for properly, they will not have this disease. 

 Dampness is what causes it. Change the earth 

 in the bottom of the pen once or twice a year; 

 also have their bedding changed often and the 

 ferret will do well. 



The description here given is recommended 

 by one of the largest raisers of Northern Ohio 

 who has been a successful ferret man for many 

 years. Where only a few ferrets are kept for 

 hunting or rat killing a good hutch can be built 



