Transitioning feral to home and caring for ferals

Question
In the past 5-6 months I seem to have adopted a small group of feral/stray cats. One female, one of her offspring who is blind in one eye who is male (approx 6-8 months old), another male I believe to be the father, and a new litter of 2 kittens approx. 5 wks old (survivors from a litter of 4).  The blind kitten concerns me, he shows the most potential to be transitioned to pet status, I can pick him up, eats in front of me, allows petting, rubs against legs and comes when called, and continually tries to come into the house, which I have not allowed as yet as I have 3 other cats, one indoor, one who goes between house and screen house and one who goes between screen house and outside.  Ideally, since I also have 2 dogs in the house, I would like the blind kitten to live in the screen house and outside combo. What do you think?
Second question...I know I need to have the female neutered as soon as possible but don't want to take her away from the kittens she is still nursing.  What is the correct timetable to minimize trauma to her and the kittens?  I have been unable to approach the kittens at all at this point, should I wait to see whether or not they become more "friendly" to make a move to capture and neuter (cannot tell the sexes yet) or what?  
Thank you so much for any info you can give. I love cats but I can see at this rate that I'm going to have 20 or more in the next year and would like to nip this in the bud so to speak.

Answer
Hi Esther,

If the kittens are eating any solid food at this point, it would be in their best interest to try to capture them now. The younger they are when you make contact, the better the chances are that you can affect their personalities positively. If they're eating any solids, you have a maximum of a few weeks before they become extremely difficult to work with. I would even say that if they haven't started on solids and you might be willing to bottle feed, the end result would be worth separating them from mom now. It's a hard thing to do, but the kittens will be most friendly and adoptable, if that's your desire. Kittens won't become friendlier to people in general unless direct contact with humans is made, preferably before 5 weeks of age. Because you're their provider, they may establish some level of trust for you if you decide to take a more passive approach, but I would suspect you still won't be able to handle them easily.

If you're against removing them from mom, the best time to have her spayed is after she's completely weaned them and has not nursed for at least 10 days. This is safest for her, physically. The time will vary, since some mothers wean earlier than others. But remember, she can become pregnant at any time now. You may want to ask your vet how they feel about prescribing megestrol acetate for a feral you're feeding until she can be spayed. This drug can be mixed into her food and will prevent her from going into heat. It should only be used short-term.

The kittens can be neutered as young as 8 weeks, and certainly before 6 months. I prefer to neuter my guys and gals at four months of age.

Regarding the blind kitty, I think that's a fine idea. I don't know if anyone has ever discussed the importance of feline leukemia and feline AIDS testing with you. But these are two deadly, contagious viruses. You should have this kitty tested before he comes in contact with your other cats. If he's negative, he should be vaccinated, at least against leukemia, since you plan to still allow him out. Since you have ferals in the area, I strongly recommend vaccinating all of your cats that go outdoors.

Good luck!
Jessica