Do you give vitamins on Natural Diet?

[fertsru]

OK, I think I tried everything I could think of with Kirby and he eats everything: different mice, different chicken parts and gizzards, ground turkey, Cornish hens, chicken soup with kibble, and if really hungry kibble. I try to keep his tummy full so he won't eat the kibble and soup because it's actually not meant for him but for the other two.

1. Does he need vitamins added to his raw/whole diet? Or he'd get enough from the bones and stuff?

Any more suggestion to his diet? (He didn't want a piece of a pork chop)

2. Can he get overweight? He is kind of big I think.

3. His poop, and especially urine stinks (differently from what it was from one of my Marshall's dooker on bad diet), is it because he is whole or because of the natural ingredients in his food?

[Zoshi]

Okay, now I'm hoping I'm not wrong with any of this, but I'll try to help as best as I can. I

Ideally, with him eating so many different foods, there shouldn't be a problem with vitamins/minerals.

If you want to keep him on a prey diet, then he'd be getting probably the best mix. Different aged mice and rats, rabbits, baby chicks and quail, are all pretty much nature's perfect nutrition package. Though, I don't know too much about feeding a prey diet, heh...

With a prey-model raw diet, things are a little different. He would be getting most, and ideally all of the nutrients/vitamins/minerals/etc. that he needs from the diet.
He should get one regular sized chicken liver, or a piece of beef/pork/lamb liver of the same size, one time per week. Liver has Vit. A, Iron... Zinc, I think... and some other things that I can't remember right now. xD He should also get another organ or two (Kidney, spleen, pancreas), roughly the same amount as the liver, once a week.

Dark meats off of chicken and turkey (legs, thighs), red meats, and hearts contain Taurine, which is essential for ferret health. Ferret's can't store taurine in their body, they use it when it's available and that's that. If you're feeding dark meat turkey/chicken, red meats, and chicken hearts regularly then there shouldn't be a problem with it.

I can't get my kids to eat hearts all the time, and one of my girls, Tikki, doesn't like red meats too much, so I supplement Taurine in their diet.

Another thing that is good for them is fish body oil, it contains Omega-3. I get salmon oil caplets and the kids get one a couple times a week. However, if you can get him to eat fish like sardines, mackerel, etc, for a meal once a week he'll be getting it from them. I think a meal of fish once a week should be enough.

I'd suggest getting him to try some red meats, beef and veal (veal is popular with my kids), maybe some lamb. If you have a place that you can get rabbit from, that would be good too. The more variety he gets, the better for him.

With weight... Well, right now you said he was... four months? That's pretty young, and he's chowing down with all the hunger a kit can have. The young ones eat like crazy, it's almost scary just how much they eat. xD He's probably going to be weighing more in the next few months, especially now, not only because he's still young and in his growing stages, but because winter is coming and he might just be packing away winter weight as well. I got my Mis at the end of April, he was 2 lbs at around 5 months old, and he's just over 3lbs now. He's starting to gain again now that the weather is getting colder.

I wouldn't worry about Kirby getting overweight. He probably won't settle into his "normal" weight until the spring now, and he might get a bit chubby over the winter. If he's getting enough exercise I don't think weight should be a problem.

I'm not sure about the poop and urine stink... For my guys it really depends on what they've eaten. If they've gotten salmon oil earlier, then their poops are a little fishy. xD Usually, the smell isn't that apparent, unless they've just gone.

Hope that helps! I'm not an expert, and I'm sure more knowledgeable people will come along.

[sherrylynne]

Since he's still intact, everything about him will smell stronger. And no, he shouldn't need anything added if he's getting a balanced diet. I gather he's eating liver as well?
And he's still a baby. Let him eat however much he wants. He's still growing. Coming upon his first winter, he'll really eat to pack on the winter weight, then come spring shed, he'll drop up to 40% of his body weight.

[fertsru]

No, he is not eating liver just because I haven't thought of it and never offered it. He'd eat an egg with some reluctance and ferotone topping.

I measured his length (41 cm) and divided it by his weight (1,700 gr), and came down to 24, the number representing his weight vs. length. I found out that up to 32 points is considered a normal range for a male. So, I'm no longer worried that he looks clumsy. However, he is the first ferret I've seen who I can hear running!

OK, I'll add some beef and livers, haven't seen a rabbit for sale anywhere but running outside.

How about bugs? I read that some people give them to their ferts, are they necessary? Any less gross alternative?

How about fish? I can find these fresh fish: salmon, trout, tulapia, colt, catfish. Anything suitable for him to eat? I think he can eat almost anything with Ferotone topping. He didn't want to touch ground beef but with ferotone, he ate the whole thing over night.

[sherrylynne]

Bugs are great, and full of protein. And they'd be a natural part of the diet. For liver, no more than 1 chicken liver(or same size of other liver) a week. But they really do need that for the vit. A.
With fish, no more than weekly. Unfortunately, fish has to many toxins that will build up in their systems. And the smaller, fresh water fish are better, because they'll have less mercury, etc.

[fertsru]

Sept 28, 2009 14:24:06 GMT -5 sherrylynne said:

Bugs are great, and full of protein. And they'd be a natural part of the diet. For liver, no more than 1 chicken liver(or same size of other liver) a week. But they really do need that for the vit. A.
With fish, no more than weekly. Unfortunately, fish has to many toxins that will build up in their systems. And the smaller, fresh water fish are better, because they'll have less mercury, etc.

OK, I'll get the livers and freeze them for future use.

How about a feeder gold fish a week?

[sherrylynne]

One from the pet store is probably not a good idea. The majority of them are given all kinds of antibiotics to keep them alive during shipping, at the least. Some stores give them stuff to improve the colouring, making them more vivid, and easier to sell. If you get any, I'd keep them swimming around in fresh water for at least a month to make sure everything is out of their systems.
There are some people who've fed them with no problems, also. It's just kind of a toss up as to which ones you'll wind up with!