Ferrets Mammals 
MY EXPERIENCE WITH FERRETS 
A year ago my father brought me a pair of ferrets. 
They were then about eight months old, and they 
proved to be the most interesting pets I have ever 
had. We got them because we were overrun with 
rats, and wanted to try them for rat hunting. They 
are relatives of the English polecat and of the Amer- 
ican mink and weasel, and are much like them in 
their habits, they will not hunt or kill their cousins. 
Female ferrets are called ‘‘Jills’, so we called our 
two Jack and Jill. My big brother made a box or 
hutch four feet long, two feet wide and two feet high 
with half-inch mesh wire on part of the side and on 
a large door on top. At first we had a box in the 
back for them to sleep in, but later we found that 
they ought to have a dark room, so we put in a parti- 
tion about fifteen inches from the end with a two 
inch hole for a door. We put in hay or straw for 
their bedroom, and coarse sawdust in the front room. 
They are very neat and clean in their habits, using 
only one corner of their hutch for a toilet room; but 
of course they have the strong odor of all their family. 
It is better to paint the floor and at least six inches 
of the wall of the hutch, as it is thus easier to clean. 
The hutches and dishes have to be kept very clean, 
especially in hot weather. If kept clean the ferrets 
are never sick except that sometimes the young ones 
get a kind of distemper, that is nearly always fatal. 
The first winter we kept them in the house and 
after they got used to us and a little tame, we let 
them run in a big sitting-room. They had lots of fun 
exploring it. They do not seem to see much, but 
smell everything. They liked to hide behind papa’s 
big desk, and would crawl into the fireplace wood- 
box, and into ma’s stocking basket for a nap. If 
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