Abs Story

April 19, 1996

Well, Abs finally did it...after six long weeks Abs gave birth. On April 19, 1996 I woke up at about 2:30 in the morning. Walking downstairs I faintly heard little squeaks coming from the corner where Abs cage lay. Running over to her I see she was finally having her little babies. After looking closely for a moment to size up the situation, I immediately turn the heat up, put a blanket over the cage and run upstairs to wake Andrea.

Upon both of us getting to her cage we saw three little pink kits squirming around and two kits that appeared to be still born. We immediately removed the still born kits, removed there birth sack, placed them on a blanket and covered them up. As much of a loss as it was we still had 3 kits to help out anyway we could.

There was a lot of blood on the cage floor and Abs blankets. Deciding Abs gave birth to 5 kits a day and a half early, we changed the bedding in her cage. Oh, but Abs was a little busier than we had expected. She hid two more kits underneath another blanket for a total of 7 kits. We watched as Abs cleaned these little guys and gals up, then after about 20-30 minutes she started contracting again. Out popped another one. It couldn't get much better than this...until one of the kits that we removed from the cage started to twitch and then to let out little cries. We immediately put the kit back in the cage and tallied up. 7 live kits, 1 still birth. Then she (Abs) started to contract again, unfortunately another still born. Then even more contractions.

Till all was said and done, Abs had a total of 12 kits. 10 alive and crying, 2 still births by 5:30 a.m. Such a big litter for a first time mother! Needless to say, Abs was totally wiped out from this. Some of the kits were being born as she slept. We had to help deliver the last two as well as cut the umbilical cords on 8 of them. We had our first litter at last.

April 21, 1996

Over the course of two days we lost 7 of the 10 kits. The three that have made it thus far are the largest and seemingly the strongest out of the whole litter. I wish I knew why we lost so many but there were so many factors stacked against them and we must focus our energy now on the three that made it.

April 28, 1996

Well it has been more than a week since the birth of our 3 little ones, 2 males and a female. They are very healthy little eaters having just about doubled in size.

May 7, 1996

Our little guys and gal are now almost two and a half weeks old. Their muscle coordination is getting better. No more frantic head swaying to find a nipple. So far it looks like we will have a light colored blaze girl, a light blaze boy and a chocolate or black sable boy. Still a little to soon to tell. We were able to see the teeth starting to come in on our dark male when he yawned.

May 20, 1996

We are now close to halfway into our fourth week. We are now feeding the kits Mush. They started out on a bottle for about 3 days, then graduated to "Mush on a Plate". The boys are pretty messy, while the female is so pristine about not getting any on her. The sable male is becoming a slight nipper, but that is easily corrected.

May 21, 1996

The kids are starting to play and it has to be one of the cutest things. They are still working on there motor control, but it appears that they will soon be hoppen around. Today we caught the first glimpse of the Sables eyes. My guess is that they should all be open by the end of the week (Week 5).

Memorial Day, 1996

Abs (mom) has been acting a little strange lately. Whenever we let the kids out to eat and then put them back in the cage with her, she goes nuts. Abs takes one of the kits by the scruff and drags him in circles too many times to keep count. She (Abs) also sprayed once. Getting us a bit worried. We have to cover the cage and leave the room for her to calm down and sleep.

May 30, 1996

Well, week 6 is just around the corner. We added a low hamock to the cage, but I guess they are still used to the floor. An update about the "Trip Around the Cage" Tour by Abs...We talked with Pat (Our breeder, see below)a couple of times and she has not experienced this. Pat had other breeders at her house, and they were also discombobulated by the whole thing as well. She (Pat) suggested feeding the kits inside the cage with Abs. This has helped a little. I guess Abs is just an overprotective mother.

June 04, 1996

Seems like little 'ole Mom settled down a bit. Abs is a little more lax now when the kids are out. We have come up with a name for our blaze boy and a couple for our little girl; The blaze male is now "Spur" and we're tossing around "Kitiara" and "Takhisis" (pronounced Tah-Key-Sis) for the girl. The sable male (Who our friend Gene is getting) was named "Sid". The kids are taking a liking to their moms food.

June 22, 1996

Well we are now at week 9, everything is going ok. The two males are starting to really go at each other a bit, and the girl (who we have named Kitiara) jumps in between then for a little fun. Sid will be going to our friends in about a week and Spur will hopefully settle down with his aggression.

July 25, 1996

Everyone is doing great! Spur is pretty stupid, Kit is one of the cutest I have seen and Sid is a nut as well according to Gene. There really is not much more to say, but Email us if you would like any more info!

We cannot forget to say "Thank You" to Pat Musick of Treasured Ferrets for bringing such a wonderful little girl into our life. She has been a BIG help with Abs and her litter. If you are looking for well bred ferrets, give her a call. Kits when available, Stud service to approved Jills.