Dear belMarduk: A ferret was such a prized possession, you can be sure the sewing was temporary. My father once owned one, and earned a good bit of pocket money having his ferret flush rats out of barns, until some excited idiot stabbed it with a pitchfork.

The falconry site mentioned keeping hood constantly on very young falcon, until it got so tame it was not likely to just fly away and not return. Sewing the eyelids shut must have been quite a trick considering how crude their needles and threads must have been.