How do you switch them?

[konotashi]

I have kind of been thinking about how to switch from kibble to whole prey, but now I'm really thinking about it.

How do you make a mouse/chick/quail/rat look appetizing to a ferret?

[Heather]

I switched to raw first with all my guys but that isn't necessary, there have been several on board who have gone to prey. Check out some of the threads in the mentoring section, they might give you some ideas. You can start with pinkies, try live and see if they will make a kill ( make sure you're up to this as the first kill often isn't the most cleanly done), if they kill they may not eat it (if it's not kibble they don't recognise it as food), so then becomes the game of many guesses.....dousing the rodent in their favourite oil...cutting it open to reveal meat inside, tying a string to the now dead rodent and playing catch it.
Have you signed up for a mentor? The program is going to open again, hopefully by the end of the month. It's an idea I've also offered some ideas which you can think on, if you've got any questions about these ideas or if you've got some other ideas and want to ask about them, please feel free to ask Good luck
ciao

[sherrylynne]

Since he's so young, he should take to raw easily, and then chopping up pinkies to mix in would make a quick switch. But I'm like Heather- I started them with the raw first, then transitioned to whole prey.

[konotashi]

So I can just make it a game, and if that doesn't work, see if he'll eat chopped pieces? Hopefully it'll be an easy transition.

[sherrylynne]

Anything is worth a try when you're trying to get them to switch!

[Heather]

Switching isn't as much a science as a game of "how much can I frustrate you and let me count the way ....SURPRISE I like this".
I've had ferrets who I thought would give me tons of grief...because of age and other factors who switched on their own without any work. I've also had younger ferrets who were just monsters...so maybe it's the day, the lunar cycle....I'm not sure but go at it with a little bit of humour and a lot of dedermination and you will win. You may find things about yourself and your furbabies that you never knew but if you consider it a journey with a set beginning and a set end, all the little detours in the middle are just an adventure .
ciao