Article: When the kits are born, they are only two inches long and are completely dependent on their mother. Their eyes and ears are sealed shut, and they have only the slightest amount of pink fur on their bodies. You can start handling them when they are about one week old, keeping in mind their complete dependence on their mother. You may have to wait longer than a week if the jill doesn't seem thrilled with you being near the cage as she cares for her babies. You don't want your eagerness to handle the kits to be the reason she becomes scared and eats some of her babies. Because kits are so small when they are born, you can probably hold each one in one hand. As the kits get bigger, you would pick them up by gently grasping them between their neck and shoulders with one hand and supporting their hind legs with the other hand. Hold the kits for only a few seconds before placing them back in their cage. When the kits are about a month old, hold them for longer (a few minutes) and speak softly to them. Do not interrupt feeding time to hold the kits. Start introducing the kits to solid ferret food when they are about three weeks old. They will still be nursing at this point. They will also still have their baby teeth, so you should soak the solid food in water before feeding it to them. It may help to put the softened food in the refrigerator to let it soften a little more. You could try feeding the kits baby food as well. Ferrets can be picky eaters, so you may need to add some kitten milk replacer to the kibble to make it a little tastier. Check the label for the ferret food: it should be high in protein and low in carbohydrates. The protein source should be meat based, such as chicken. Cat foods are usually not ideal to feed ferrets, since they do not have enough fat to meet a ferret's nutritional needs. The kits should be weaned they are about six weeks old. Their adult teeth will start growing in by this age, so you can start soaking their food in less and less water until you can feed them completely dry food. A kit will have its full set of adult teeth by about nine months of age. Keep in mind that kits should stay with their mother until 12 weeks of age. Although they will be able to eat solid food and should be more comfortable with human handling by six weeks of age, they should stay under their mother's care for a little while longer. Your veterinarian should look over each kit to make sure it is healthy and growing well. The kits' physical examinations will include checks for parasites, ear mites, fleas, and birth defects. Your veterinarian will make treatment recommendations based on the results of the physical examination. The kits will also need to receive several vaccinations: canine distemper vaccine at two and three months, and the rabies vaccine at three and four months. Before you make the kits ready for adoption, you should train them in a few areas, such as potty training and training them not to bite. A simple way to potty train the kits is to watch first where they usually go to the bathroom. Place a litter box in that area and encourage them to use the litter box. It may help to give them a little treat each time they use it so they associate the litter box with something good. Ideal litters contain no dust. Examples include recycled paper pellets and fine softwood shavings. If the wood shavings contain cedar, the amount will likely be too small to cause toxicity in your kits. Clumping litter is not recommended because the kits can make a mess of it and possibly inhale it into their lungs. Kits tend to explore their new world with their mouths, which means they will probably want to bite or nip at just about everything. The biting and nipping are also ways that kits establish hierarchy with their litter mates. To discourage inappropriate biting behavior, give the kit a firm 'No!' if it bites when you pick it up. It may take a long time for the kits to get the message that they're not supposed to bite you, but they will eventually learn. Do not cuddle the kits until they learn not to bite. Discouraging a kit from biting at a young age will help them become better socialized by the time they are old enough to be adopted. Kits that are well trained and socialized will not bite and nip as much when they become adults. However, they will probably continue to nip at their toys and other cage items throughout their lives.

What is a summary?
Handle the kits. Feed the kits. Wean the kits. Take the kits to the veterinarian. Potty train the kits. Stop inappropriate biting behavior.