Post by gordonjhinesjr on Oct 17, 2009 17:09:34 GMT -5
Hey everyone,
I've been lurking for a while but just registered because I'm about to pick up my first ferret from JBF in a couple weeks. Woohoo!
Well I've been feeding my dog raw for about 5 years now and have every intention of feeding my ferret a completely raw diet as well. Now I breed rabbits (for myself and the dog) and rats at the moment, and will soon be starting a mouse colony as well. The ferret will have access to all three of those on a regular basis. In addition I'll supplement with a few chicks, fish, etc and some store bought meat.
However, I've read on a few articles online that Polecats will consume insects on occasion. Now recently I've added Black Soldier Fly composting to my composting arsenal and these guys are impressive. And I'm wondering what people think about feeding these to my ferret as well. If you don't know anything about the BSF, it is truly an awesome creature. They naturally occur all over the US (mostly hot humid places) and the adults live for only a few days to mate only. They don't swarm (so they don't congregate in groups), they don't have mouthparts to bite, and they don't transmit disease, and their presence keeps other flies away. Basically they eat ANYTHING, and FAST. You harvest them for free by putting fruits and veges into a bucket outside in the shade and the wild females will start to smell the food and lay eggs in the bucket and pretty soon you'll have thousands of these guys. AND, when the larvae mature, they "self-harvest" meaning they'll crawl out of the bucket into another container if you plan it right.
For more detailed info check out blacksoliderflyblog.com. It explains it all. The BSF larvae are sold commercially as a bait food under the name "Phoenix Worms." Aparentely the studies that have been done on them say they are a great food source. They have very high calcium and protein levels.
I just think they'd make an excellent supplement to "round out" the ferrets diet and they'd be completely free to harvest and are very green by also providing a composting source (they'll reduce waste down by 95%!)
Sorry for the long post but these bugs are great stuff. So look into them and tell me what you think. And great forum you guys have here. I've learned a ton.
Thanks,
Jeff
I've been lurking for a while but just registered because I'm about to pick up my first ferret from JBF in a couple weeks. Woohoo!
Well I've been feeding my dog raw for about 5 years now and have every intention of feeding my ferret a completely raw diet as well. Now I breed rabbits (for myself and the dog) and rats at the moment, and will soon be starting a mouse colony as well. The ferret will have access to all three of those on a regular basis. In addition I'll supplement with a few chicks, fish, etc and some store bought meat.
However, I've read on a few articles online that Polecats will consume insects on occasion. Now recently I've added Black Soldier Fly composting to my composting arsenal and these guys are impressive. And I'm wondering what people think about feeding these to my ferret as well. If you don't know anything about the BSF, it is truly an awesome creature. They naturally occur all over the US (mostly hot humid places) and the adults live for only a few days to mate only. They don't swarm (so they don't congregate in groups), they don't have mouthparts to bite, and they don't transmit disease, and their presence keeps other flies away. Basically they eat ANYTHING, and FAST. You harvest them for free by putting fruits and veges into a bucket outside in the shade and the wild females will start to smell the food and lay eggs in the bucket and pretty soon you'll have thousands of these guys. AND, when the larvae mature, they "self-harvest" meaning they'll crawl out of the bucket into another container if you plan it right.
For more detailed info check out blacksoliderflyblog.com. It explains it all. The BSF larvae are sold commercially as a bait food under the name "Phoenix Worms." Aparentely the studies that have been done on them say they are a great food source. They have very high calcium and protein levels.
I just think they'd make an excellent supplement to "round out" the ferrets diet and they'd be completely free to harvest and are very green by also providing a composting source (they'll reduce waste down by 95%!)
Sorry for the long post but these bugs are great stuff. So look into them and tell me what you think. And great forum you guys have here. I've learned a ton.
Thanks,
Jeff