Do mother ferrets stay with their young?

Answer 1

The black footed mother ferret stays with her offspring for about 6 months until they are independent, then disperse to their own territories. Female ferrets usually stay close to their mother's burrow, while male ferrets travel great distances to establish their own territories.

Answer 2

The female mother ferret called a "Dam" does all the rearing of her offspring that are called "kits". She has a litter of 6-8 young (kits), 42 days after mating. The dam will start preparing her nest about two weeks before birth. The female nurses and cares for the young, the male has no role in raising the kits. The young are born blind, deaf and helpless and covered with a fine white fur, totally dependent on their mother for about three weeks. Kits weight at birth five to fifteen grams. If the female ferret feels that her kits are threatened in any way from an human or animal, she might cannibalize or eat them. She does that to come into heat again, rather that letting a predator get them. About 3 weeks of age, the kits will began to eat solid food, while continuing to nurse. Their hearing develops and eyes are opened at about 4 weeks. Kits are mature enough to be weaned at about 6 - 8 weeks and leave the mother.

At birth it is important that you do not handle the kits, and do not disturb the nest unnecessarily for at least five to seven days. Be cautious when approaching the nest, the mother is very protective of her kits and may bite you. If the Dam feels that her litter is threatened or faced with the threat that a predator will kill and eat her young, she does not surrender her litter, but will kill and eat them.

Most Dam's (mom ferret) are very good mothers and will train their babies when it's time to start eating solid food, she will drag them to the food bowl, and will litter train them as well. Kits must be socialized by humans after 27 days of age.

Baby ferrets still with the mom? They need to be in a safe secure place with nesting materials - In the UK for outdoor courts they use cubs and nesting boxes (shoe size box with a round hole for access). In the US - a mom ferret with kits need to be kept in a separate pen or cage from other ferrets.

Acquiring a baby ferret - how do you take care of one

Care of a young ferret different than a kitten or puppy. Any ferret needs to have good quality ferret food and water available at all time, in addition, they require a large living space such as a cage or kennel to live in with adequate bedding (they sleep up to 14 hours per day). The sleeping area should be in a dark, quiet area. A ferret is a very social animal and needs to have human interaction and to get out and play for at least 4 hours every day or they will become sick, antisocial, aggressive or depressed. It is important to ferret-proof it's environment and to provide safe ferret toys.

Baby ferrets require some additional care, as does any baby animal. They need training just like a puppy to make sure they're well behaved - they need to be taught not to bite, to use their litter pan, etc... Depending on how young your kit is, they may need their food softened with a bit of water so the hard kibbles don't hurt their new teeth and gum's. Make sure your ferret has a soft blanket to snuggle into as they have a very strong burrowing instinct. Above all, give a baby ferret lots of love and be sure that you can take care of it throughout its lifespan, they can live up to ten years and form a strong bond with their owner.

Black footed ferrets are bred in zoos to insure the species survival from becoming extinct.

refer to related question for black footed ferrets

Answer 3

They usually carry them around by the scruff. So technically yes