Post by Forum Administrator on Nov 1, 2008 4:16:50 GMT -5
As most of us know, variety in a raw diet is ESSENTIAL. It guarentees that your ferret doesnt get nutritional deficiency or excess. Most of us are only able to feed the "basics":
Chicken, Turkey, Beef, Pork, and Lamb
But here are some tips to add a little more "bang" into your ferret's diet.
1. If you feed treats, stick with freeze-dried or jerkey treats. Only buy MEAT ONLY treats. Try to buy meat (treats) that your ferret doesnt eat in its regular diet. For example, I can't feed duck in their raw diet (cant find affordable duk rmbs), so I offer my guys duck JERKEY as treats (which I can find at my local petstore). Look for freeze-dried beef lung, vennison jerkey, duck jerkey, bonito flakes (fish), freeze-dried salmon treats (in the cat aisle), etc. Remember: treats should make up no more then 10% of the diet. So dont go too crazy with these treats.
2. If you feed an oil switch from olive oil or ferretone (which are both based on PLANT oils) to something more natural: Emu Oil, Fish Oil, or Vivify (which contains some emu oil). Dont over feed these oils, just a drop or so per day, or a few drops per week. But when you DO feed the oil, switch it up. Feed emu oil one time, fish oil another. It varys the nutrients your ferret is getting
3. If you normally feed the following "basic" meats that are available at most grocery stores: beef, turkey, pork, chicken, and lamb, try scouring craigslist to see if anyone has some freezer-burned "exotic" meat that they want to sell, such as rabbit/quail/duk/venison. Freezerburned meat is OK as long as it doesnt make up a significant portion of the diet. Placing an add in the paper or on craigslist is a good way to get "exotic" meat for cheap
4. Check out an online raw dealer such as Hare Today, Gone Tommorow or Prey4Pets (google for more info on both providors). They sell ALOT of weird meats (although some of these meats are ground) everything from buffalo to goat! Hare Today is (IMO) VERY affordable per pound and the shipping is very modest too (considering that you are shipping frozen meat). If you feel comfortable and you can afford it, give online ordering a shot. Hint: Hare today is a GREAT place to find all those "weird" organs you have been scouring the grocery store to find
5. Check out a local ethnic market. These are a treasure trove of "weird" meats. Never been to one? Try and look up to see if one is in your area, and give it a shot! You never know what weird new meats you can find!
Feel free to add your comments, or additional tips. Getting variety into your ferret's raw diet doesnt have to be difficult, it can be fun! Sometimes you just have to be a little creative
Chicken, Turkey, Beef, Pork, and Lamb
But here are some tips to add a little more "bang" into your ferret's diet.
1. If you feed treats, stick with freeze-dried or jerkey treats. Only buy MEAT ONLY treats. Try to buy meat (treats) that your ferret doesnt eat in its regular diet. For example, I can't feed duck in their raw diet (cant find affordable duk rmbs), so I offer my guys duck JERKEY as treats (which I can find at my local petstore). Look for freeze-dried beef lung, vennison jerkey, duck jerkey, bonito flakes (fish), freeze-dried salmon treats (in the cat aisle), etc. Remember: treats should make up no more then 10% of the diet. So dont go too crazy with these treats.
2. If you feed an oil switch from olive oil or ferretone (which are both based on PLANT oils) to something more natural: Emu Oil, Fish Oil, or Vivify (which contains some emu oil). Dont over feed these oils, just a drop or so per day, or a few drops per week. But when you DO feed the oil, switch it up. Feed emu oil one time, fish oil another. It varys the nutrients your ferret is getting
3. If you normally feed the following "basic" meats that are available at most grocery stores: beef, turkey, pork, chicken, and lamb, try scouring craigslist to see if anyone has some freezer-burned "exotic" meat that they want to sell, such as rabbit/quail/duk/venison. Freezerburned meat is OK as long as it doesnt make up a significant portion of the diet. Placing an add in the paper or on craigslist is a good way to get "exotic" meat for cheap
4. Check out an online raw dealer such as Hare Today, Gone Tommorow or Prey4Pets (google for more info on both providors). They sell ALOT of weird meats (although some of these meats are ground) everything from buffalo to goat! Hare Today is (IMO) VERY affordable per pound and the shipping is very modest too (considering that you are shipping frozen meat). If you feel comfortable and you can afford it, give online ordering a shot. Hint: Hare today is a GREAT place to find all those "weird" organs you have been scouring the grocery store to find
5. Check out a local ethnic market. These are a treasure trove of "weird" meats. Never been to one? Try and look up to see if one is in your area, and give it a shot! You never know what weird new meats you can find!
Feel free to add your comments, or additional tips. Getting variety into your ferret's raw diet doesnt have to be difficult, it can be fun! Sometimes you just have to be a little creative
