Customer Reviews

Complete Guide to Ferrets

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2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

James McKay's book is a refreshing change to the largely irrelevant fare from the US that we serious UK Ferreters have had to endure over recent years. Having searched high and low for a decent work of reference that answered the questions that I needed to resolve I was delighted to read Mr.McKay's book and felt that a fair assesment of it in the proper context was due.

The guide itself is comprehensive and fascinating covering the following points within its pages:

Origins of the Ferret, Selection of stock, Housing, Handling, Taming and Training, Feeding, Breeding, Working, Showing, Racing and Ferrest as Pets, Ailments and First Aid, Genetics.

For me the book has been useful in helping me look after my Ferrets from the perspective of the individual who appreciates and respects the Ferret for not only its qualities as a companion but also their tenacious hunting skills.

But the guide goes far beyond the basic use for which I have it, every time I refer to it I happen across more nuggets of information that are both fascinating and useful.

It must be born in mind that the Ferret itself and the culture surrounding the Ferret in the UK are vastly different from that in the US. In the UK the Ferret has largely been associated with the working class and as a way of obtaining food, not as a play thing or merely a pet. Having stated this, Ferrets in the UK are enjoying something of a rise in popularity as pets and recent articles in the Media (Independent on Sunday, October, 98') estimate Ferret owners numbering 1.5 to 2 million in England alone.

Mr.McKay's work deals with the husbandry of the Ferret to a degree the like of which I have never seen in any "pet guide book". Even going to the extent of covering the musculature and genetics of the animal, vital details for the serious breeder.

As an owner of Ferrets who uses them to hunt both Rabbits and Rats, this work has proven invaluable. It must be born in mind that with the extremely tight controls over the use of firearms in the UK, the Ferret offers an extremely ecologically sound and effective way of controlling both Rabbits and Rats, pests which cause so much damage to British Farming. McKay's guide will take you comprehensivley through all that you need to know to work your Ferrets, for both your and their enjoyment.

In the final analysis, if you are looking for a book covering the keeping of Ferrets as pets in the US, then this book is most likely not for you in my opinion. However if you're a British Ferret keeper, having them either as pets or working them, then I thouroughly commend this book to you.

In "The Complete Guide to Ferrets," by James McKay, we're first treated with evidence of a big ego with such statements like, "The first historical mention of a ferret _that I can find_..." (emphasis added) as if he were the last word on ferret origins. This immediately raised the warning flags-big egos tend to carry misinformation. Which gets demonstrated within a few pages when we see how naive James McKay is about the ferret situation in the United States. Later we are treated to such "deeply informative" statements as "Treat with the utmost suspicion anyone trying to sell adult ferrets." Though there is some element of truth to the caution, typically, sweeping statements that aren't qualified also tend to ring false. I've seen many adult ferrets in shelters who are very nice animals that would make great pets. Indeed well-mannered 1- to 2-year-olds are often recommended for beginners for they tend to be easier to handle and train than kits. Another "winner" is "...there's no such thing as a bad ferret, simply too many bad owners of ferrets!" Nice quaint line, which again has some element of truth, but also lacks depth of insight in the range of behavioral tendencies that ferrets can attain. Breeders often seek ferrets that don't bite in pursuit of more docile offspring, just one of many indications that "badness" can stem from both parties. There are many other problems with this book-a tendency for leaden writing that isn't engaging, and some of his methods for raising ferrets seem barbaric, even if they work for him. The only reason that I even give this book two stars is because James McKay makes a good effort at the biological details of ferrets, including his Appendix I, "Ferret Facts and Figures" which would do well in any ferret book, and he lists a nice bibliography.

I purchased both James McKay's books and two ferrets from Mr. McKay when I lived in England and know first hand he is the man in the know! This book is better than any other book out there (US or UK). It details proper husbandry techniques and practices. I find the UK method of modern ferret keeping superior to US, in most US homes the ferrets are kept by themselves in crampt cages; in this magnificent book it informs you of their gregarious nature and need for a somewhat large cage. GOOD WORK JAMES!

I like to read many books on the same subject, because different authors may provide different information depending on when the books were written and where; finding this book, which was written more from a European perspective in ferret keeping, was a real gem!

This is the main thing you must keep in mind when reading this book - do not critisize or discount it when comparing techniques and advice to American ferret keeping. As long as you are aware of this, you'll enjoy the book, as if provides a brief history of ferrets, housing, taming, first-aid, breeding, showing/racing and even genetics.

I compare the way the author writes with passion to the well-known Green Tree Python breeder, Greg Maxwell. This isn't your typical ferret book in that it shows pictures of ferrets wearing sweaters, playing with toys, etc, but there are plenty of those to go around (I have quite a few of those on my shelf, too!) I really liked the sectons on 'working and hunting' since they certainly offer some insight to the subjects in America, where most people (myself included), were ignorant of much of the domestic ferret's first use as a small game hunter.

Overall this book is very insightful and informative of ferrets; it should be a definite read for anyone who is open-minded and interested in ferrets, especially on a more international perspective.

As the author of this book, I tried to leave the "ratings" field free, as I am obviously biased, but the system will not allow me to. However, the real reason for this "review" from myself is to correct the review from "A reader from central California", who obviously has never read my book! Firstly, this reader obviously believes that he knows a lot about ferrets, and yet cannot even get the specific name correct. He gives the name "Mustela furo", when, in fact, it is Mustela putorius furo. As he/she cannot get this proven scientific fact correct, readers would do well to give little or no credence to any of his remarks. He/she states that, in my book, I refer to ferrets as "vicious wild animals". Having written the book, and then re-read it looking specifically for this phrase, all I can find is my comment that "some would have us believe that ferrets are vicious, but those of us who really know this animal will know otherwise". Clearly, the Californian critic is misquoting me. In the book, I give much space to factual information on genetics, breeding, exhibiting/showing, racing and pet ferrets, and yet your correspondent states that I merely dismiss them as having no real value! As to my mixing up the species, I suggest that your correspondent remember the old saying that Brits and Yanks are "two nations separated by the same language". While to Americans a "turtle" is any chelonian, we Brits use three terms to separate them, viz (marine) turtles, (terrestrial) tortoises and (semi-aquatic) terrapins. Here in England (where we invented the English language) we NEVER use the term "ermine" for any animal, merely for the fur of the European stoat. True, many ferret owners (and I do not count myself among them), erroneously and confusingly do refer to polecat-coloured ferrets as "polecats", which the American fanciers refer to as "sable", a word which is actually the name of an arctic relative of the ferret - VERY confusing for those of us who speak English and have a zoological training. Here in the UK, pet ferret keepers DO keep their animals (ie ferrets) indoors, giving them free run of the human home. I am also informed by several US ferret keepers that the practice is fairly common in the US, too. My book was written specifically for the UK and European markets, in the same way as US books are written for the US market. Very few Brits would want to spend time, effort and money abusing their ferrets by dressing them in human style clothing, even though a US compnay is now trying to persuade us to do so. Ferret keeping in the US and in the UK are different. Consequently, our books are different. My book represents the best practices of this country, while one has to assume that US books do the same for the US market. I have always purchased and read every book on ferrets and ferreting that I can find, including American books. I read these foreign books not to learn about the UK ferret, but to learn about the way in which this little carnivore is thought of any treated in the US. I am not at all happy with many of the seemingly common US practices detailed in most US books, but have to shrug these concerns off as "cultural differences". I cannot reconcile the fact that California will allow its residents to legally own a wide range of firearms and many truly exotic animals, and yet ban the keeping of the domestic ferret. Perhaps readers should consider the fact that, here in the UK, we have not overbred our ferrets to the degree whereby we have developed many deleterious conditions in our stock; the Americans have. The average lifespan for a ferret in the UK is over ten years (many upto 14 years), while US veterinarian publications state that the average life expectancy for an American ferret is often less than half of that. That is obviously one reason why the US ferret fancy has had to import ferrets from all over the world, including many from myself.

Written in the UK, this is not a book for anyone living in the US or anyone wanting to learn more about ferrets as pets. I'd rate this book lower simply for all the inaccurate and false information put forth by a "leading authority on ferrets" whose organization's stated motto is "Improving the ferret's lot through education." By any pet ferret (Mustela furo) owner's standards James McKay fails on both claims.

McKay, writing from a typically myopic European perspective, portrays ferrets here as little more than useful hunting tools with no real value in and of themselves. He dismisses the value of their as pets and gives the condescending impression that this is simply just another American novelty. He seems to contradicts himself by stating they are "friendly as any cat ever could be" in one place and then describing them vicious wild animals in another.

This may be because he never differentiates between ferrets in the US who have been bred docile for use as animal companions since ferreting rabbits was made federally illegal and those in the UK where the sport (if you can call it that) of ferreting is what they are used for. Often he mixes up various Mustela species (e.g. polecats, ermines, & black-footed ferrets) calling them all simply ferrets.

The Introduction and 1st chapter "Origins," including information on ferrets in the US and the black-footed ferret, are so factually flawed as to put his credibility as an expert on ferrets seriously in question. Unfortunately for those in the US printing bad information damages the hard educational efforts with informed research to debunk the many myths that exist about ferrets in this country today.

Since his concern is primarily with ferreting and not with any type of relationship, his suggestions for housing ferrets are aimed at outdoor hutches. His ignorance about keeping ferrets as indoor pets is illustrated by his suggestion to allow ferrets unsupervised free roam of the home. Although there is some mention as to being careful not to step on them, he gives lip-service to proper "ferret-proofing."

At first glance this book appears to be a comprehensive guide to all aspects about ferrets, but further reading provides little useful information among prodigious amounts of fluff. There is an extensive bibliography in the back, but the absence of foot-notes and the amount of misinformation tends to make me believe he has read little and understands less.

Barrons publishes two titles, Ferrets: Everything About Purchase, Care, Nutrition, Diseases, Behavior, and Breeding (Barron's Complete Pet Owner's Manuals) & Training Your Pet Ferret, that are both under 100 pages yet contain up-to-date information and excellent advice compared to the McKays 160 pages. I'd recommend new ferret owners to get both. Even those who might be drawn to Complete Guide to Ferrets [sic] due to it's claim of extensive information on all ferret issues and/or currently have ferrets will also find these to contain gems of obvious yet often overlooked information useful for you and your fuzzie.