ferret mixing

Question
QUESTION: Hiya, i hope you can help me with my problem. I've had ferrets for 12 years and have never had a problem mixing them before. I used to have 2 jills and 1 hob ferret living together unfortunately the hob died and then a few years later one of the jills died so i was left with just one jill who lived on her own for a few months (she is not spade). recently, i built her a massive cage so decided to get her some friends and i rescued 3 males all neutered who were already in a group for about 6 months at the rehoming center. however when i put them with her she doesn't like them everytime they go near her they try and grab her neck and she has scratches on her neck from this. now she sleeps on her own and will only come out when they are asleep, everytime they come near her she hisses at them and hides away. do you have any suggestions on how to mix them? or is it a lost cause? i don't want to take them back as i love them already but i don't want my jill to feel she cant walk around her own home please help. Thankyou. Victoria.

ANSWER: If you ferret isn't spayed and is not being bred then you need to get her to a vet ASAP to be spayed.  Female ferrets get a type of anemia that is fatal if they are not bred.  That needs to be step 1.  It can take awhile for ferrets to adjust to new cage mates.  Give it time.  If they are younger, she may just think they have too much energy.  As they settle down and she gets used to them, they will figure it out.  Patience is the key.

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QUESTION: thankyou for the reply no she is not spade i have been getting her the jill jab until now but i plan to have her spade do you think they will pester her less if i do? also the males are a couple of years younger than her but still all adults around 4 yrs old. thankyou.

Answer
Phew.  Ok, the age difference probably makes a little bit of a difference, but her being "whole" may make them pester her a bit more than usual.  I often have ferret introductions that take minutes and everyone is fine or can take months before they all really settle in and get along.  She may adjust her schedule for a while to avoid them, but I think it time she will start to spend more time with them.