Quite a lot to report of the ferret front really.
The ferret extension run has been completed and securely attached to the ferret shed. It was only after this that I made a rather disturbing discovery. The ferret shed is rotting. And as if that wasn't bad enough, it's not only rotting - it's growing some kind of savage looking fungus!! This means I am unable to put my ferrets in it. If it was just that the wood was starting to rot I could still have put them out there but any kind of fungus is a big no no. Roo and Perry have a slight wheeziness to them anyway (big snores when sleeping!) and fungus is not something you want near an animal anyway. So, I've had to order a brand new ferret shed. I can't bring myself to admit how much it's going to cost me but suffice to say I'll be living on pasta and pulses for sometime. On the plus side it will be bigger and better than what they have now. It'll be 8' x 4' in total with a 3' inside area and a 5' outside area, plus of course, the 6' x 3' run that we recently built will be attached as well. Unfortunately this wont be arriving until May so until then my conservatory will remain a ferret paradise. This isn't ideal as really I'd be starting to acclimatise them back into outdoor living about now but as long as the weather remains typically british and crap they'll be fine in the conservatory for a bit longer.
A clicker training update next. Marigold is my key focus for this as we've discover the perfect treat that gets her attention. Mince. That ferret LOVES mince. It's fair to say she may have a mince problem! Anyway, 'click', mince, 'click', mince, 'click', mince... and so on. We've built up the association now so it's on to a target stick (a wooden spoon that I've been made to label so that it doesn't end up being used for human food!). Marigold shows promise so fingers crossed.
Despite being a good subject for clicker training, Marigold has actually been a very naughty little ferret! She savagely attacked Willow. There was much screaming from Wills, much 'skunking' from both of them and much sinking of teeth into my thumb. Willow is now seperate from the group - with Peregrine and Roo alternating as company for her. She seems quite happy with this arrangement - all she really does these days is eat and sleep anyway. She has seperate excerise time followed by snuggly cuddle time with me. I'm truly astonished she's still alive - there really is nothing of her now, she's lost muscle mass and her fur is sparse but when she is awake, she's still full of beans and remarkably speedy! I don't know how much longer she'll go on for but I've been convinced she's not long for this world since before Christmas.
Since the loss of Little Man, I've been very aware of the potential for this year to be a bit of a tragic one ferret wise. The problem with a group of ferrets of a similar age is that loss tends to be grouped - one after another. Peregrine's organs have enlarged to the point where I start to wonder about his welfare. He's starting to look very skinny up top, his spine is starting to become quite prominant and I'm concerned what these swollen organs are doing to his ribs. He's brightly and lively in himself, eating well and getting around remarkably well, and that just makes it all so much harder. If I wait until I know he is suffering then I'm guilty of allowing him to suffer, even if only for a short amount of time. If I let him go now, I'd be letting him go on a high, but it feels like I'm cutting him short. Sometimes he looks at me, and there is just something in his eyes, a sadness. Having just lost one ferret, it makes it that much harder to decide the fate of another. I'm giving myself a week to think about it.
To prevent this post from becoming too maudlin and morbid, I shall end with a video of Strauss who is truly JAWSOME!
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