|
Post by suds on Aug 3, 2008 12:15:45 GMT -5
mite be a silly question but we have alot of wild rabbit here I see a dozen or so every morning in my backayrd when i leave for work it wouldnt be hard to trap 1 once in a while . do i need to be concerned of anything like rabbies with a wild game verses farm grown ? Also while on the subject of wild game what about squirrel meat ?would it be ok for ferrets diets ? just a few thoughts on saving money when i switch to raw / whole prey diet
|
|
|
Post by whipple on Aug 3, 2008 12:53:42 GMT -5
I'd like to know too. I actually had someone offer me mice from traps. I declined. Never know what wild house mice get into.
|
|
|
Post by reedgirl20 on Aug 3, 2008 13:14:24 GMT -5
The main thing you need to worry about with wild rabbits is parasites. They are generally loaded with fleas and they also carry tapeworms. The fleas on rabbits are known to carry tularemia, which is transmissible to humans as well.
That being said, if you are willing to butcher and skin the rabbits and then freeze the meat for a month that will kill any transmissible organisms.
|
|
|
Post by suds on Aug 3, 2008 19:44:28 GMT -5
what is tularemia ? I never heard of it .
|
|
|
Post by josiesmom on Aug 4, 2008 15:57:32 GMT -5
This is a bacterial infection- will this bacterial colony set up shop to the point of being detrimental within the 3 hours the ferret needs to digest the rabbit meat?
Wouldn't normal handling of the wild rabbit ( gloves, hand washing, discarding of the hide be sufficient to prevent human infection? I say discarding of the hide, because this would get rid of the flea issue.
Domestic rabbits get fleas also and as is shown in the wikepedia definition, Deer flies can be carriers of this bacteria - considering the prevalence of deer flies, I'd say that if Tuleremia is a HUGE problem- we'd see much more of it!
From Wikepedia: Tularemia (also known as "rabbit fever", "deer-fly fever", "Ohara fever" and "Francis disease") is a serious infectious disease caused by the bacterium Francisella tularensis. F. tularensis is a small gram-negative non-motile coccobacillus. The bacterium has several subspecies with varying degrees of virulence. The most important of those is F. tularensis tularensis (Type A), which is found in lagomorphs in North America and is highly virulent for humans and domestic rabbits. F. tularensis palaearctica (Type B) occurs mainly in aquatic rodents (beavers, muskrats) in North America and in hares and small rodents in northern Eurasia. It is less virulent for humans and rabbits.[1] The primary vectors are ticks and deer flies, but the disease can also be spread through other arthropods. The disease is named after Tulare County, California. The disease is endemic in North America, and parts of Europe and Asia. The most common mode of transmission is via arthropod vectors. Rodents, rabbits, hares often serve as reservoir hosts.[2] but waterborne infection accounts for 5 to 10% of all tularemia in the US.[3] Tularemia can also be transmitted by biting flies, particularly the deer fly Chrysops discalis. Individual flies can remain infective for 14 days and ticks for over two years. Tularemia may also be spread by direct contact with contaminated animals or material, by ingestion of poorly cooked flesh of infected animals or contaminated water, or by inhalation. The most likely method for bioterrorist transmission is through an aerosol.
In the United States, although records show that tularemia was never particularly common, incidence rates continued to drop over the course of the 20th century so that between 1990 and 2000, the rate was less than 1 per 1,000,000, meaning the disease is extremely rare in the US today.[4]
There are several folks who live in the UK that allow their ferrets to eat wild rabbit without any problems.
Cheers, Kim
|
|
|
Post by Heather on Aug 4, 2008 18:07:28 GMT -5
Wouldn't freezing for a period of time kill this. I can remember hearing...this is years ago, when I lived up north that this occurred in cycles. People wouldn't hunt rabbit for one season. They said that one would notice a huge abundance of rabbits and then the following season there would be none. Now I know my father taught me to clean rabbit with gloves on, I don't know if cooking it killed the bacteria or not, so I'm not sure if you could kill it by freezing. It would certainly be worth looking into. I believe that there would also be a huge decline in predators after the increase in rabbits but that might also be in direct relationship to the decrease in prey.
|
|
|
Post by suds on Aug 4, 2008 20:32:52 GMT -5
ok now i am more confused which dont take much to confuse actually . But I live in heavy populated residentail area with lots of free roaming pets could theese pets like cats and dogs be carrying theese flea's to ?and creat the same risk? I do remember as a kid we would skin Rabbits with gloves and leave the hides to bleach in the sun for few day before we are allowed to mess with them I never knew why maybe this is the reason. I asked about the squirrels becuase. I catch 2 or 3 a month in live traps in my attic and a few in my shed I was just taking them to a wild refuge a few miles away and releasing them they realy are pest around here . But had a thought it was free meat as well a differnt kind of meat and bones . If I skinned them and frose whole would it kill the bacterial? or should they be gutted to ?
|
|
|
Post by tss on Aug 4, 2008 21:00:04 GMT -5
Freezing will not kill any bacteria, it only puts it into suspended animation until the meat is thawed. Then they start breeding again.
Rabbit and squirrels are fine, just freeze for a minimum of 1 month. Make sure you know how to skin and gut them cleanly.
|
|
|
Post by josiesmom on Aug 5, 2008 22:05:27 GMT -5
My personal take on this particular situation would be if you want to supply your ferrets with wild caught meat sources do so. Take proper precautions regarding the preparation of the animals for eating- do NOT let your ferrets kill the wild animals. Instead dispatch the animals yourself and using appropriate protective gear ( rubber gloves, hand sanitizer, sanitary prep area and utensils) butcher the animals, inspect the animals before and during the butchering process for any skin lesions or abnormal looking tissues. If you see any, discard the animal or burn it. Tularemia takes 1 to 21 days to incubate and I can't seem to find anything specific to mustelids, except that they are susceptible to Tularemia and SOMETIMES it can be fatal. That being said, I don't see in areas (like New Zealand) where wild hares and rabbits as well as other rodents are prime sources of ferret nourishment that there is any significant reporting of mortality due to Tularemia. There are four strains of Tularemia bacteria and each has a differing intensity of virulence. It is always more sensational to raise points regarding the most severe, but as research is showing, it really isn't that prevalent. Even with people in close proximity to infected animals ( trappers) Tularemia isn't as life threatening as some would make it seem. Should you be concerned? Yes, but to my mind, no more concerned than with making certain the meat you purchase from the store is properly handled and stored before feeding. Regarding the freezing issue- if freezing doesn't actually kill the bacteria - then why bother destroying the nutrients within the meat by freezing? Just feed it if the meat looks healthy! This pic shows numerous small white to yellow spots on the liver of a beaver infected with Tularemia: www.unbc.ca/nlui/wildlife_diseases_bc/tularemia_liver_damage_beaver.jpgwildlife1.wildlifeinformation.org/s/00Ref/bookref36_fieldmanualofwildlifediseases/12/B36Fig12.7_JR.jpgthis page describes tularemia in plain english: www.unbc.ca/nlui/wildlife_diseases/tularemia.htmthese pages show tularemia lesions on humans: history.amedd.army.mil/booksdocs/wwii/communicablediseasesV5/chapter9figure12.jpgpathmicro.med.sc.edu/ghaffar/tularemia.jpgWhat it all boils down to is to do what you are comfortable with, use common sense and take precautions! hope this helps! Cheers, Kim I say save your gas money spent relocating the squirrels and offer them as well as the rabbits!
|
|
|
Post by tss on Aug 6, 2008 9:59:19 GMT -5
The freezing SHOULD be done though, to kill off the parasites. Ferrets are so small you really wouldn't want to risk them getting any worms.
|
|
|
Post by theslave on Aug 6, 2008 15:49:02 GMT -5
I have been feeding fresh (still warm from dispatch!) rabbit to ferts for ages and never had a problem. I do, however, gut the rabbit whilst they tuck into the breast meat at first. I only really worry about ticks/mites/fleas etc when I see them on the rabbits, with mites I watch for baldness, for fleas when the rabbit is cut open they gather to the incision (warmest place possible) and with ticks, well...they arnt hard to spot. I also feed squirrel meat sometimes but never feed teeth, feet or guts.
|
|
|
Post by reedgirl20 on Aug 6, 2008 21:44:10 GMT -5
I don't believe the tularemia would be a problem for the ferrets as long as you skin the carcass to rid it of fleas/ticks. The main concern I have is for public health. Here is Oregon and California it is a concern. Different areas have different prevalences of the disease. I used to hunt and feed out rabbit all the time to my dogs. However, I have also personally know two people who have gotten the disease from flea bites when processing the bodies. One person was severely ill, one only had a nasty skin lesion. If you are carefull in processing the body the meat itself should be fine for ferrets. Tapeworms are also a concern but if you freeze the meat it will kill the larval forms of the parasites.
|
|
|
Post by tss on Aug 7, 2008 12:13:20 GMT -5
To keep the fleas from biting you you can kill the rabbit and put it in a bag right away then freeze it for a couple days to kill the fleas.. Then thaw it out and skin it.
|
|