Post by josiesmom on Jan 26, 2010 21:09:27 GMT -5
I feed live prey of all sorts to my ferrets but mice are the majority of the offerings. I feed live because:
A) it enriches my ferrets lives
B) Its a good way to analyze the health and condition of the prey ( prekilled frozen & packaged- you have no way of knowing the health of that animal BEFORE it was processed. Once packaged all the mice take on the same appearance. Live mice you can see their movements, feel their muscle tone, check for mites and external parasites, you can see any tunors under their skin or abnormal movements, dullness of eye or nasal discharge.
c) the food doesn't get any fresher than killed that instant so bacterial concerns are really minimized!
(with prekilled/processed you have no way to know how long the animal was dead before being frozen.
d) a freshly killed mouse empties its bladder on the killing floor, whereas a supposed "humanely gassed" mouse gets doused in urine when the numerous other mice in the same gas chamber die and empty their bladder - and no way are those now dead mice washed free of the urine!
e) after watching first hand two of my ferret die a wretched death from insulioma (and likely will have to watch a few more succumb to this horrible kibble caused disease) feeding live prey is MUCH easier on my conscience knowing the mice I have raised ( or harbored) lived a healthy, enriched life above and beyond what they'd get in a pet shop tank and that their good health will contribute to the health of my ferrets.
f) Frankly some animal's lot in life is to eat, some is to get eaten. I say a prayer of thanks to every prey item fed for the nourishment their bodies will be transferring to my ferrets.
g) I've made a committment to my ferrets to offer them the very best that I can and that to me entails offering them the chance to become the very best that nature intended them to be! THat means to allow them to hunt and kill rodents, insects, invertebrates, small birds and even fish! For these opportunities my ferrets offer me a much closer bond, I understand them better, they gain proper outlets for their desire and need to burrow, dig, bite and gnaw so the rest of my things stay safe from their teeth and claws! I get kisses and smooches and extreme biters have turned into relaxed cuddle bugs. Timid, scared ferrets have become emboldened and more confident and yes, this is just one more benefit to feeding live prey!
To those people who continually question ,"HOW COULD YOU FEED one animal to another?" I tend to reply, "How can you continue to offer your pets poison with a crunch when they are designed to eat other animals? Kibble got its start as an animal too. IF humans want to be vegetarians, fine! But my ferret is a predatory carnivore!"
Cheers,
Kim
A) it enriches my ferrets lives
B) Its a good way to analyze the health and condition of the prey ( prekilled frozen & packaged- you have no way of knowing the health of that animal BEFORE it was processed. Once packaged all the mice take on the same appearance. Live mice you can see their movements, feel their muscle tone, check for mites and external parasites, you can see any tunors under their skin or abnormal movements, dullness of eye or nasal discharge.
c) the food doesn't get any fresher than killed that instant so bacterial concerns are really minimized!
(with prekilled/processed you have no way to know how long the animal was dead before being frozen.
d) a freshly killed mouse empties its bladder on the killing floor, whereas a supposed "humanely gassed" mouse gets doused in urine when the numerous other mice in the same gas chamber die and empty their bladder - and no way are those now dead mice washed free of the urine!
e) after watching first hand two of my ferret die a wretched death from insulioma (and likely will have to watch a few more succumb to this horrible kibble caused disease) feeding live prey is MUCH easier on my conscience knowing the mice I have raised ( or harbored) lived a healthy, enriched life above and beyond what they'd get in a pet shop tank and that their good health will contribute to the health of my ferrets.
f) Frankly some animal's lot in life is to eat, some is to get eaten. I say a prayer of thanks to every prey item fed for the nourishment their bodies will be transferring to my ferrets.
g) I've made a committment to my ferrets to offer them the very best that I can and that to me entails offering them the chance to become the very best that nature intended them to be! THat means to allow them to hunt and kill rodents, insects, invertebrates, small birds and even fish! For these opportunities my ferrets offer me a much closer bond, I understand them better, they gain proper outlets for their desire and need to burrow, dig, bite and gnaw so the rest of my things stay safe from their teeth and claws! I get kisses and smooches and extreme biters have turned into relaxed cuddle bugs. Timid, scared ferrets have become emboldened and more confident and yes, this is just one more benefit to feeding live prey!
To those people who continually question ,"HOW COULD YOU FEED one animal to another?" I tend to reply, "How can you continue to offer your pets poison with a crunch when they are designed to eat other animals? Kibble got its start as an animal too. IF humans want to be vegetarians, fine! But my ferret is a predatory carnivore!"
Cheers,
Kim