Message Number: SG1567 | New FHL Archives Search
From: DaneeDV@aol.com
Date: 2002-09-27 21:44:46 UTC
Subject: RE: Distemper Vaccinations
To: ferrethealth@smartgroups.com
Message-ID: <c9.29110485.2ac62b4e@aol.com>

Sukie Wrote:
>Thanks, Katherine. I strongly think that I have been told by a vet of a >
journal article which said that maternal antibodies wore off in ferret kits >
at around 6 weeks,so that would also be a reference if I could find what >it
is, or someone else says.

I am not a vet, but I thought that the maternal antibodies were passed on, in
part, through the mother's milk, and therefore, when they wore off was
dependent on when the kits stopped nursing.
I have had jills wean their kits at 8 or 9 weeks, but I had other jills that
nursed until the kits were 15 or 16 weeks old. I realize that as the kits
start eating solid food, and nursing less, the amount of antibodies they
receive lessens. But, I generally watched how much the kits were nursing,
and started vaccinations accordingly.
Of course, since farm kits are removed from their mothers at 4 or 5 weeks of
age, they will lose the protection of maternal antibodies much earlier.
Danee
ADV - If your ferret hasn't been tested, you don't know!
For more information visit http://www.geocities.com/russiansmom