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Post by selzdaze on Mar 7, 2009 11:17:29 GMT -5
I've heard a lot of people say that althought their ferrets will eat mice, chicken and rat pups happily, they seem reluctant to eat bigger rats. my guys are eating kibble with raw and prey thrown in a few times a week for supplement/enrichment, and had never had rat larger than a pup before. I was placing a bulk order for frozen chicks and some mice, and decided to risk it and buy a bag of large weaner rats too. The bags come with minimum of 50 aminals, so it was a bit of a risk! I pulled two out last night to thaw, figuring that if they're not so keen, two isn't much to waste and the rest could be ground into soup mix. I just took the rats up for them to try, hoping they'd like them. Well, they loved them! They snatched them from the plate and were dragged away to stash...5 ferrets, 2 rats = lots of squabbling as to who gets them! I've never heard my guys be so vocal and sqeuaky unless it was new introductions! They all got into tug-of-wars, and umm...literally tore the rats to pieces. THey're all contentedly munching away now. I'm really chuffed - I was expecting FuzzButt to recognise them as food because of her background before we got her, but I didn't think the others would be anywhere as interested! I guess ratties are now going to have to be a common inclusion in their diet! I've got more willing now to try a few other things, like hamsters and guinea pigs, as I think they have a chance at being accepted too
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Post by goingpostal on Mar 7, 2009 15:59:25 GMT -5
Awesome! I can totally imagine the racket. I heard ungodly screaming one day in my ferret room, ran up there expecting someone hurt and found two at the top of a cage fighting over a mouse. How long did it take them to clean a rat that size up completely with 5? I've never fed rats, they are way too spendy here and I can only get live adults.
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Post by selzdaze on Mar 7, 2009 18:33:58 GMT -5
I checked on them after about 40 minutes, they'd eaten most of one, and had eaten a few bits of the other (feet, tail and face for some reason). I'll check them again in the morning and take out anything thats left.
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Post by Heather on Mar 8, 2009 0:18:32 GMT -5
congratulations!! My guys love ratties too. Looks like they're were a total success. I found that my guys would eat all the ages of rats but were not particularly fond of the older retired breeders. It didn't appear to be the size that detered them, but they didn't seem to be able to tear them apart as easily, perhaps they were tough but other than that they usually look forward to their rat feasts ciao
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