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Aggressive nursing jill

<strong>Q) One of my favourite jills has had a litter of kits, which are now two-and-half weeks old. However, the nursing jill won’t let me go anywhere near the nest. This seems to be out of character, as other ferrets I have bred in the past have been fine. Am I doing something wrong? J. WILLMOT By email</strong>

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A) Nature can cause animals to be unpredictable at times. If a mothering jill ferret is becoming agitated or stressed out at any human interference, it is always best to leave her alone and let nature take its course, as in most cases she knows what she is doing. The result of too much prying and interference is that many ferrets abandon or, worse still, kill their litter when feeling threatened.

Let mother do what she does best and, after the kits are past the critical four-week point, there will be plenty of time to play with the youngsters, especially once they have been weaned. Now you must concentrate on giving the mother the best food, shelter and security she needs to raise her offspring.