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Post by wmella85 on Sept 14, 2008 21:44:57 GMT -5
what are the protocols for feeding dairy. like milk and heavy cream. my boys always beg for what i am drinking and i had a glass of milk and didnt know if they could have a sip or two.....
but then i thought tha they drank their mommies milk.......so i dunno..... they were pretty adament. good source of calcium!
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Post by Forum Administrator on Sept 14, 2008 21:48:41 GMT -5
Here is the deal with dairy. When mammals are young they all have the ability to digest lactose (found in dairy) but as they age the ability to digest lactose goes away and they (generally) become lactose intolerant. Milk has lactose, while heavy whipping cream (I believe) does not. Milk also contains some sugar while heavy whipping cream does not.
Dairy products really arent a part of a ferret (or polecat's) natural diet. Honestly beyond infancy dairy isnt really a main part of ANY mammal's natural diet. Heck I don't even know if humans are "supposed" to be drinking milk, but we wont get into that.
That being said I think a few licks of heavy cream every now and then should be okay. I wouldnt want to see it as a staple of the diet but 1 tsp or so once a week per ferret certainly wouldnt hurt. Heavy cream is pretty fattening and works well to "fatten up" a sick ferret if it must be done rapidly.
I would stay away from milk (and pet milk) and go with organic, carageenan free heavy whipping cream, but again, in moderation. Treats shouldnt make up more the 5% of the ferret diet and they should always be animal based and sugar free (which the heavy cream is).
Hope this helps.
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Post by wmella85 on Sept 14, 2008 22:27:51 GMT -5
it does thanks! little buggers are just gonna hafta pout it out.  |
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