The Angora Ferret

First let me state I am no expert nor will I ever claim to be. I have written this from what I have learned during my time spent with these wonderful creatures. I am not associated with any business of selling or promoting angora ferrets nor would I want to be. What is written on these pages is solely written by me only for the purpose of education and the sharing of my research into the background of the angora ferret.

The word "ferret" translates to "iller" (Swedish), "ilder" (both for Danish and Norwegian) but, when you translate those words back into English it comes back “polecat.” Here is where I get confused, what is the difference between ferret (tamiller), polecat, or wild polecat ferret? Anyone care to explain? Is a ferret (tamiller) a polecat or is a polecat a wild ferret or is it a polecat as in the British term for a standard sable (brown) ferret?

The first angora ferret

The first angora ferret (history as I know it) came from Norway. It was bred from a Scottish and Norwegian ferret. Hence a ferret with long hair (later named Angora) was born some 30 or more years ago. To see if the same results could be accomplished inbreeding of the line had to be done. That was over 30 years ago and inbreeding is not practiced today. A Swedish farmer later brought a few of these long-haired ferrets over to Sweden and continued the breeding. The Angora ferrets today are still not popular in Sweden (only a few truly love them). Most people see them as a “negative” animal and believe that everything about them is simply a defect.

What makes Angora ferrets different from standard ferrets are four traits:
1: long hair (length can vary),
2: no undercoat,
3: hair on, in or around the nose area,
4: double cleft nose.

All four traits are what make the Angora Ferret different from the standard ferret. Plus let me state that they are TRAITS, not defects. If you take away the four traits that make an Angora an Angora, you have a standard short hair.

Misconceptions

I have read many negative things in regards to the full angora mothers, one being that make horrible mother and will kill and eat their young. A full Angora female, makes an excellent mother and will do anything in her power to raise her young, but, she either has no milk or very little and can not feed her young properly. Sad, but true, this is why a foster mother is needed.

A short hair female (sometimes referred to half angora) that has angora in her background directly or generations’ back has absolutely no problem with milk.

For the Angora male hobs it has been said they have lack of urge or after a certain age they have no urge at all. Well amongst my crew I have not seen this. Even with some of my old farts they still had the will power. I guess I just have ……………………

Misconceptions, lack of undercoat does not mean that they get colder faster or that they cannot handle the cold like ferrets with undercoats. In my opinion they handle the cold by growing a thicker coat.

Pirjo adds:
When I read the text I came to think about a theory I heard a time ago about the angoras and their coat.... it goes like this...

The coat is very thick, and serves as an isolator, since it is thick it preserves a layer of warm air in between the coat and the skin (just like when we humans have layer on layer of clothes, it is not the layers of clothes that keeps us warm, it is the layers of warm air in between the layers), and that keeps the angora actually even warmer in winter than the shorthaired ferret (since the undercoat can get wet and the cover hair is not as thick as on the angoras). Also the texture of the fur is slightly different from the shorthair, and repels wetness better.... But, this is just a theory I heard....

Hair in, on, or around the nose, does not make them more prone to asthma, colds, or lung infections. Though certain groups have said that Angora’s are less likely to get the same diseases as the standard ferrets. This is not true they can get the same diseases/illnesses as any other ferret. They are no different. But they do hide illnesses/diseases meaning sometimes you don’t know they are sick until they are really sick. So always have regular check-ups.

It has also been stated that due to the angora’s breeding they have a tendency to be bitters. Or is it due to the breeding of polecat in their background. Well as I stated in the beginning what is meant by the word polecat, color, wild ferret, or is there another species named polecat. I have asked this question but no one seems to give me an answer, they just continue to use the same word "polecat". But what can make a bitter is the lack of handling. Farm ferrets raised in large groups and lack of human contact will bite out of fear. I am not saying all farm raised ferrets are like this, but if they have no human contact we humans can seem very scary to them at first. A ferret privately raised and handled from day one (or a little after depending on mommy) will grow up to be a sweetheart.

It is said that the Angora have a higher energy level, well actually I would have to say this is not true, when compared to my other Swedish ferrets the energy level is the same. Otherwise I have to go on hearsay from what people in the US who have both the American and Swedish ferret, they say the Swedish has the higher energy level.

All in all I myself have always stated that the Angora ferret was a normal ferret just with long hair, no undercoat, nose hair, and double cleft nose. You can always ask yourself what make a DEW different from an Albino, answer is eye color but does this make either one of them any less a ferret, because of their eye colors? The same with an Angora, they are not any less or more of a ferret because they have long hair. They are simply are what they are “a ferret”.