Ferret Vaccinations

Question
Hello! I have recently brought two ferrets into our family -- one was born on 4/7 and the other on 5/30. I've located several vets in my area who claim to have ferret experience, but I'm getting conflicting information about vaccines. A few of them told me it's okay to have the younger one vaccinated for rabies at 8 weeks old.  Is that true?  I have read and was told by one vet that my younger ferret can't get his rabies vaccine until he is 3 months old, If that is the case, I would like to take them together for their first vet visit, which would mean waiting a month.

I take my older ferret for little walks in our yard with his leash. Will he be safe to be outside for the next month with only the initial distemper vaccine he received at Marshall Farms (at 5-6 weeks)?

I look forward to hearing from you. Thank you! :D

Answer
Hi Beckie and thank you for being a responsible ferret guardian.  :)

Rabies:  8 weeks is too young.  Recommended age is 12 weeks, then once a year.

Canine Distemper (CD):  5-6 weeks is way too young, and don't even get me started about the problems the ferret community has had over the years with Marshall Farms. Recommended protocol is a series of three injections at 8, 11, and 14 weeks, then once a year.  I would NOT recommend bringing your ferret outside until two weeks after the third and final injection of that initial series.

No ferret should be made available to people when younger than 10-12 weeks, although in most places 8 weeks is legal. We're working on that with the USDA.

Here are the official American Ferret Association vaccination protocols for both rabies and CD:

http://www.ferret.org/read/vaccinations.shtm

Good luck!
DG