Please meet........

[dandysmom]

Awww, cute boys! They do look a bit apprehensive now, but sure they'll settle in well and be so much fun! Tink's our expert, know she'll be able to help with any questions.

[angieh]

They look very cute - hope you manage to train their "nippiness" out of them.

[Tink]

OMG!!!!!!!!!!! Babies!!!!!
Very cute!!!
Of course feel free to ask me and questions, I will be more than happy to help if I can.
As far as the nipping, you will have to correct them as their mother would. Scruff them when they nip (it doesn't hurt them, I promise) and hiss. Keep eye contact. When they have decided you are the boss and you have won that bout they will either yawn, give a big sigh of defeat, or break eye contact. Then you can release them but don't do it until they "submit" in one of those ways.
Then go about your business and ignore them for a minute or two afterwards to show them biting does not mean attention.
Most of all you must be consistent with your reaction.
They need to understand your skin is much thinner than a fellow ferrets and what might feel fine for them is painful for you.
If you watch them closely, when they play they will scruff each other and drag to show dominance. If your scruff and hiss method isn't working with the nipping add a bit of dragging as well. Just enough to show you are the alpha.
None of this hurts them it is just their language. Let me know if these don't work, I know some other methods as well but what I described above is the basic thing to begin with.
And..congratulations!!! They will enrich your life so much

[Tink]

As far as the bulking up, well to start with..what are you feeding them?
Some general things you can supplement with to get their weight up is kitten replacer milk, heavy whipping cream, and "duck soup" (if you need help with recipes let me know). Eggs are also very good for them as are pieces of boiled chicken. Even some canned cat foods (as long as they are primarily meat). Rabbit, duck, chicken, turkey..anything like that. You might have to experiment with these two to see what they like.

[Tink]

Also, next time you are at the grocery, you might want to browse the baby food aisle for meat based varieties. Chicken, turkey, and lamb would be good...Could also do wonders for supplementing and getting their weight up.
If they don't take to it right away, simply scruff and rub on their gums. Ferrets imprint on food and may not recognize it as food until you allow them to see it is not poison. They can be stubborn about trying new things but it's worth it in the long run. If they should ever get sick and need force feeding, this would be useful in the future as well.

[Tink]

Oh, and if you're one for reading..I've scoured all the ferret books and the one with the most up to date information is Ferrets for Dummies, 2nd (revised) edition. You could buy that or check it out from the library.
Okay, I'll shut up for now

[alexgirl73]

thank you so much Tink, I knew I could rely on you for advice on these little cuties. I have some cat/kitten milk, so will pop out and give them some of that now, I've also given them some mince last night and this morning. One of them is eating it, while the other is avoiding it like the plague lol. Tbh, after all the warnings their fosterer gave us, only one of them has tried to nip. and that was only 'cause I had to stick my hand down the back of the sofa to get him out lol, and let's be honest, most of us would nip if a great big hand came swooping at us!!

The eggs, should they be cooked, or given raw, and how often? Obviously with having the chickens, I have plenty of access to eggs lol.

Thanks for the advice Tink, and I'm sure I'll be back later for more xx

[Tink]

No problem.
The eggs can either be cooked or raw. If you are going to do raw I'd seperate the whites out and try to give them mostly yolk. You can give eggs as supplement up to three times a week (one egg per each). If you are going to cook the eggs you can leave the whites in just fine.