Im a newbie with some RAW questions:)

[flower08]

Hi guys I just added a 9wk old little girl to my family on saturday. I havent had one in 4 yrs since my poor little Boris died He was fed Marshall and so is my little girl! Ive been looking up alot of stuff and found out its pretty much crap in a bag I was lookin into RAW but Im afraid to do it. I just want her to get the right nutrition. Ive also heard its cheaper then kibble. If I dont do RAW I will go get a premium kibble like EVO small bites. Thank you guys sooo much in advance

[suds]

First being only 9 weeks old she will be very easy to switch to raw. The sooner you start giving her some raw meats even if its just as a treat or for a supplement the better so she dont imprint kibble as the only food.
look around and read as much as you can there is alot of good info here . Dont be afraid to ask questions we are a friendly bunch here who love to answer questions

goodluck on you research and look forward to seeing your post's

[Heather]

Hi and welcome. ;D
I'm sorry to hear about your loss of Boris, to loose one of these little ones breaks your heart every time...but we must be gluttons for punishment because we keep coming back for more .
At 9 weeks, your little one will switch like a dream. She's still learning and investigating Cheaper, well maybe. Depends what you want to do...I look at it costing about the same if I was buying high quality kibbles but...there is a but My vet bills have been cut in half, and when my guys do have to make use of my vet their recuperation time is halved. That accounts for a lot to me. Years ago, I to was scared to try...it's been over 10 yrs now. I've watched older ferrets get a new lease on life, abused ferrets regain health they may never have had. I've got a 10 yr old who was handed in this spring. Her owner felt that she wouldn't live out the summer, with some difficulty I got her to switch and she's quite the going concern. Her previous person wouldn't recognise her. She was skinny with no mucle tone and she slept 24/7 (a caged fert). She now has a thick dark shiny coat, clean teeth, she's put on weight (she now weighs 1.09 lbs up a whole 9 oz) she trundles around doing her own thing and screams at everyone that gets in her way Those are just a few advantages of feeding raw. As far as the fears, I do understand...really A ferrets digestive track is meant to deal with the bacteria that is in raw meat. That's what they are, carnivores and carnivores are meant to eat meat. My guys eat ground rmb (raw meat and bones), whole meats (frankenprey) and they have their own mouse factory and they eat frozen rats too. I try to cover all the bases by providing as much diversity in their diet as possible. Once again we are back to costs. Prey is a bit more expensive than whole meats and buying premade will also cost more. Some people buy their own grinders, others use meats that they can get at their grocers or from the local butchers. There are on line suppliers who can provide you with ground mixes to whole prey animals (depending where you live). You can check out local snake and reptile suppliers if you decide to go whole prey.
Check out our mentoring section if you need some ideas on how to switch your little one, read the various threads. If you don't want to do it alone, come check us out....get a mentor and share the load of switching.
I hope to see you around. Remember please feel free to ask questions. Good luck
ciao

[bigsis7]

Welcome!! Glad you found us! Your 9 week old ferret will be a breeze to switch!! They are so curious and some of the members on this forum have brought baby ferrets into their house and had them switched in 5 minutes! Raw feeding can be cheaper than kibble, but in the long run it will be much cheaper, because you won't have to go to the vet as often. Raw feeding keeps their teeth healthy, they don't smell as much, their coat becomes softer, they don't poop as much, and raw meat is easier for them to digest. Kibble is basically flavored cardboard. It has less water in it than a hard wood floor!! Well here are some links that should help you out around the site:

Post all questions about natural ferret diet here:
holisticferret.proboards80.com/index.cgi?board=newbquest

When you are ready to make the switch to a natural diet, fill out one of these forms:
holisticferret.proboards80.com/in....play&thread=822

and start a thread in this section (copy/paste the filled out form into your first post):
holisticferret.proboards80.com/index.cgi?board=newbie

Post all questions/updates on the progress of your ferret's diet switch in that one thread.

After making your initial post we will help you start the switch and we will assign you a "Holistic Ferret Mentor" to assist you and monitor your progress.

If you have any questions feel free to PM me!

[sherrylynne]

Hi, welcome to HF, and thank you for caring enough to check out a possible raw diet for your baby! So sorry to hear about the loss of you baby Boris. I know how I'd feel if I lost my Boris!
Please feel free to check us out, browse around, post questions, etc . We're a pretty friendly bunch here. And if you do decide to go raw, check out the mentor section! Although, as the others said, at her age, she'll be a VERY switch . And it will help with the nip training- it gives her something to work her teeth on