
I have now owned my ferrets for around five days. Each time I get them out of their box for a ramble, they appear to have become more nimble, speedy and fun. When I first bought them, they were just fluffy maggots, writhing around in an insensible mess. Now that they have had their first taste of raw rabbit, they are different animals altogether.
Drawing the dead rabbit and throwing the grass bag away, I placed the carcass next to a wellington boot where they were both playing. Cautious little faces emerged to tentatively sniff at the bunny, then it was game on. They lunged into the open chest, hauled out the juciest pieces of liver and spent the next ten minutes squabbling over who was to get the biggest piece. Since then, they have eaten bacon and an entire chicken drumstick, gobbling down the meat with a hilarious relish.
Looking online for information on ferrets, I was initially quite confused. There is so much conflicting information out there about how they should be fed and where they should be kept, but it soon became obvious that most of that information does not apply to me. Ferrets are the third most popular domestic animal in America after cats and dogs, and an entire false science concerning how they should best be kept as “pets” has come into being.
I certainly intend to look after my ferrets as well as I can, but watching them get stuck into a rabbit carcass showed that they are as wild as the heather. I may be able to train them not to bite me, but that is all I’m after insofar as social etiquette is concerned. The little hobs are going to be used to kill rabbits, not dangle from a velour hammock suspended in a plastic cage, and they are never going to be welcome indoors.
Although I thought I would as I bought them, I have no regrets about the experience so far. They really are brilliant little buggers.