Mischief Maker Ferretry is located on the Shropshire/Powys border, on a picturesque hillside.
I am a vet and a hobby breeder of miniature ferrets, otherwise frequently referred to as 'micros'. I have a long standing love of small furries and used to keep and rescue rats before I strayed into the world of ferrets.
In January 2012 I brought my first ferret home, the very tiny Mouse. She came to me with no name and her only history was that she had been sold with a job lot
of ferreting equipment. Mouse was covered in physical injuries and would scream whenever a ferret came near her.
I decided she needed a small size friend and took Mouse with me to choose her friend. Mouse picked the plainest, fattest, little sable jill. I named her Panda
and Mouse adored her.
At Panda's first season with me I decided to breed her and Panda's litter were wonderful; 7 little bundles of naughtiness.
Out of the litter, Parsley and Mara stayed with me. I thoroughly enjoyed the experience and decided breeding ferrets was for me.
Devastatingly, 6 months later Panda developed a malignant adrenal gland tumour and was put to sleep, and this halted my plans to breed.
After losing Panda, I decided if I was ever to breed any more litters I would need new bloodlines as I could not risk the possibility of a genetic health problem in the line, and losing Panda at just over 2 years old was enough to stop me considering breeding Parsley or Mara.
In January 2014 I decided I wanted to breed miniature ferrets, and set out to find and bring home some of the best miniatures in the country.
I started with a trio: Mischief, Princess and Marley.
Mouse has been my ultimate inspiration for the type of ferret I aim to breed. She had a wonderful quiet temperament and could be handed to anyone and would simply
lick.
Mischief is very similar to Mouse, right down to being a champion dead-sleeper, which is how she became the namesake of our line!
I have to find something I love in every ferret I breed, otherwise I won't breed that particular ferret.
In late 2014, I went in search of unrelated miniature ferrets to ensure that Mischief's daughters could have litters when their time came, and I have been fortunate enough to meet some great people passionate about their ferrets, and find some amazing little ferrets to carry on the Mischief Maker line.