MY COLLECTION OF FERRET BOOKS
- The Ferret & Ferreting Handbook by James McKay (Signed H/B)
- Ferret Husbandry, Medicine & Surgery by John H.Lewington (P/B) (2nd Edition)
- The Complete Book of Ferrets by Porter & Brown (P/B)
- The Guide to Owning a Ferret by Mary Field (P/B)
- Ferrets Health, Husbandry & Diseases by Maggie Lloyd (P/B)
- Ferrets and Ferreting by Ian Brodie (H/B)
- Ferrets as a New Pet by Greg Ovechka (P/B)
- Complete Guide to Ferrets by James McKay (P/B)
- Pet Owner’s Guide to the Ferret by Dennis Kelsey-Wood (H/B)
- Ferrets by Wendy Winsted (H/B) x2!
- Your First Ferret by Colin Jeal (P/B)
- Introduction to Ferrets-James Wellbeloved by James McKay (P/B)
- All about your Ferret by Sheila Crompton (P/B)
- Ferrets-A Complete Owners Manual by Chuck & Fox Morton (P/B) x2!!
- Working Ferrets - Selection, Training & Sport by Jackie Drakeford (P/B)
- Ferrets -Taking their Work & Welfare into the 21st Century by Simon Whitehead (Signed P/B)
- Ferreting for the Future by Simon Whitehead (Signed P/B)
- A Step by Step book about Ferrets by Jay & Mary Field (P/B)
- The Ferret by About Pets (P/B)
- Ferrets! By Karen Dale Dustman (P/B)
- Ferrets for Dummies by Kim Schilling (P/B)
- Keeping Ferrets by Eric French (H/B)
- The Ferret Handbook by Buscis & Somerville (P/B)
I have been "collecting" ferret books for many years now. Books are expensive and I have found the best place to search is on E-Bay. I recently purchased four ferret books from the same seller, all second hand but in excellent condition, for £18 including P&P. If I had bought them in a shop they would have cost me at least £35, so I was very pleased with my purchases. If however you are after a specific book then I would recommend going to Amazon, their prices are very competitive!
Sadly a high proportion of the ferret books available are written and published in the USA. I say sadly because a lot of what they recommend over there isn't what we recommend over here in the UK ferret world in general. For example in a number of the American ferret books which I have read they recommend purchasing from breeders, de-scenting, de-clawing, tooth cutting, cleaning ears with cotton buds, regular bathing, rabies vaccinations and annual x-rays to name but a few! However I am not saying that there is nothing to be learnt from our American cousins and the way they look after their ferrets. On the other side of the coin, or should I say the Atlantic, there are also available some older English ferret books which advise you to feed your ferret on milk and bread slops, keep them in small rabbit hutches and don't think of recommending that a Jill has a Jill jab or advise any neutering!
I initially read my ferret books from cover to cover and then store them safely for future reference. But if I was only allowed to have in my possession three ferret books, then I would choose: Ferret Husbandry, Medicine & Surgery by John H. Lewington (2nd Edition), Ferrets Health, Husbandry & Diseases by Maggie Lloyd and Ferrets for Dummies by Kim Schilling. One thing I must point out is that my ferrets live indoors and are pets. If I worked my ferrets the three books I would then choose would be: Working Ferrets - Selection, Training & Sport by Jackie Drakeford, Ferreting for the Future by Simon Whitehead and Ferret Husbandry, Medicine & Surgery by John H.Lewington (2nd Edition).
Remember though, however many books you might have they don’t make up for the first hand experience and knowledge that you will gain when you have ferrets of your own. Life is never predictable and certainly not dull with a ferret in it and never let anyone lead you to believe that they know everything there is to know about ferrets, verbally or in a book, because there will always be a ferret that will teach them differently!