Hi! If your'e sticking with the commercial ground diest, then you really don't need to teach your kids to eat raw meaty bones. The only drawback is that their teeth may not be as clean. I remedy this by cleaning their teeth about 4 times per year ( but I do feed ome raw meaty bones). I just scruff them and scrape off any tartar with a dental tool. You may need to clean more often. I have a weekely routine of checking teeth, nails, ears, etc on a weekly basis. If I see any build-up, I scrape it off . Here's the other trick...I usually clean only one side of the mouth in any given cleaning session. That way the ferrets tolerate the "abuse"
.
You'll notice that teeth stay a whole lot cleaner when no kibble is fed....the sugars in kibble stick to teeth like glue. Another tip that helps is feeding freeze-dried raw treats that are kind of tough and chewy. Jerky-like meats work well on teeth , and my kids love those dried treats. I usually give them each a a piece after each meal (ferret breath mints?
)
From what I hear, Hare Today has fresher commercial diet than Nature's Variety. I just buy the NV because I can get it locally (convenience is a good thing in my case!)
When using frozen diets (even whole prey), the nutrients degade over time when frozen. I recommend giving a little extra liver and heart meats a couple times per week. In your case, I recommend chopping them into small pieces and mixing them in with with the ground food. I also mix about 2-5 drops of either fish oil (salmon or sardine oil, but not cod liver oil) into their food at least once a day. I use more oil when I'm not including the liver and/or heart. If you hate the fish oil thing, you can use flax seed oil. The refrigerated kind is superior to non-refrigerated. Keep all oils refrigerated. The other alternative to frozen organ meats is reeze-dried versions. Freeze-dried actually degrades lees over time than the frozen. I think hare today may carry some freeze-diried organ meats as well. Always keep in mind that anything a ferret can pick up and carryy away will probably end up under the sofa a couple imes per week
. But, you can always moisten and chop the freeze-dried meats and mix them in with meals as necessary.
Also, the only other recommendation is to mix a capsule of taurine into their food several days per week. You can even do this daily since the body eliminates any extra that is not used. We don't know what the ferret's taurine requirement is. But cats wil die on a rabbit-only diet (frozen) since rabbit is low in taurine and taurine degrades when frozen. Since ferrets are obligate carnivores like cats, we asume ferrets need taurine as well.
More poop tips...the poop thing usually continues to improve over a fairly long period of time. The ground egg shell helps when things get a little yucky. But let's face it, we're feeding ground raw meat. And like hamburger, the ground meat can harbor more bacteria - and the amount of bacteria in each batch of food will vary as will each ferret's immune response depending on stress, exposure, etc. So every once in a while, one of my brats might get some "yucky poops" that persist in spite of the egg shell. When this happens, I try some laxatone with a couple days with colloial silver. This has saved me a few vet trips over the years. (Of course, any severe diarrhea, especially if couple with a ferret that does not feel well, requires a trip to the vet.)
I posted a thread about this (I think I might have already told you about it ) under the Medical section - the thread is called
"Homeopathic Poop Protocol".
It sounds like everything is going really well for you with your feeding program. In fact, I haven't even had to give any real help - just a few tips and recommendations regarding things I've discovered about my kids - and all ferrets are different!!!!
If you plan to stick with a commercial raw/dreeze-dried diet, then there is no official "graduation". With the Raw meaty bone approach, eating big chunks of meat, organs, bones can be a big hurdle for some ferrets. Plus, you need to develop a feeding schedule, etc. to ensure a balanced diet. In many respects, the commercial raw feeding program offers quite a few benefits, although it is less natural. As always, Please let me know if you have any qustions about anything.
You are very close to taking off on your own since you've clearly achieved the following goals:
1. Al of your kids are eating raw diet consistently. (Nobody's holding out, although you may still get a few dirty looks here and there!
2. You're offering a complete, well-balanced diet with no need to include raw meaty bones, feeding schedules, etc.
3. You've arrived at a feeding solution that works well for you and your family members (nothing rotting under the couch!!!)
4. Your ferret are having no health issues with the diet.
5. They are eating a variety of meats to ensure a good mix of nutrients
6. You unerstand about the risks with frozen foods (nutrient degredation) as well as some options for filling in any potential nutrient gaps.
7. This seems to be working well for you.
At this point, I'm here for you until you feel comfortable without a mentor. Here are a few option on how we can move forward....
1. I can keep working with you until feel you have no need for regular mentoring
2. You can "practice" your feeding methods over a targeted timeframe (such as the next 2 weeks?) without needing to post unless you have a quetion or issue. If all dgoes well, you can "graduate" at the end of that timeframe.
3. If you feel you're ready to be on your own now, that's an option as well.
In your case (commercial raw feeder), graduating means we close this thread. But, there are sections on the forum for posting questions, and you can ALWAYS PM me or any other mentor directly if you have any questions or concerns. So you're never really on your own
. We're always here!!!
Just let me know where you feel you're at with this, and we'll proceed accordingly!
-jennifer