Newton,Norman,Cody,Kenora, Barack, LuxoJr's Switch

[lnsybean44]

1. How many ferrets do you currently have? What are their names, ages, genders, and do they have any health problems (this is VERY important)?
Four total in the housebut only two will be eating raw.

Cody- 15 months, male, no health problems (switching)

Kenora- 10 months, female, no health problems (already eating)

Barack- 4.5 years, male, suspected insulinoma (not making the switch unless I can find whole ground food)

Norman- 3 years, male, no problems (not making the switch unless I can find whole ground food)

2. What are your ferrets currently eating? Include their main diet, plus any treats or supplements (such as duk soup).
They currently eat a mix of EVO and totally ferret with Wellnesscore, Nbones and ferretone as treats.

3. What kind of diet do you want to switch to?
I am trying to find ground whole first, followed by whole mice and if not then franken prey.

4. Why do you want to switch to this more natural diet?
For their health and to help their odor. (WHich I like but my roommates dont)

5. Where/what/who got you interested in natural diets?
I hear about it all the time on the ferret.com forum and Kenora came to me already eating whole and raw.

6. Please list the current weight for your ferret(s). Do they appear overweight? Underweight? How is there muscle tone?

Cody is very muscular at about 3 pounds (marshalls)

Kenora is also very muscular at about 2.5 pounds and is intact

Norman is not as muscular at about 2.4 pounds and Barack has very little muscle tone and weights 2.2 pounds.

7. What is the condition of your ferret's teeth/gums? (can you get a picture?)
All have very good teeth except Barack, who just had a teeth scraping done to remove buildup.

8. Describe the texture/color of your ferrets coat.

Cody (champagne/chocolate) and Kenora (sable) both have very soft sily coats. Norman (Silver mitt) is somewhat coarse and Barack (sable) is silky near the head but coarse as you move further down his body.

9. How often does your ferret go to the bathroom?
Kenora goes about five time a day and the other three go close to 8.

10. Does your ferret's feces and/or urine smell?
Kenora has no odor while the boy's bathroom buisness reeks.

11. Smell your ferret. How strong is their odor?
Kenora only smells when she poofs. Barack smells the strongest and Cody the least.

12. On a scale of 1-10, 1 being completely lethargic and 10 being "through the roof!" what is your ferret's energy level?

Cody-7
Kenora- 7
Norman-6
Barack-3

13. How excited is your ferret about meal time (when fed kibble)?

Barack gets happy shivers when he gets hand fed but besides that it is just something that happens. They are free fed all day.

14. Have you attempted to switch from kibble to a natural diet in the past? If so, what methods have you tried. Be specific.

No we have not tried to switch.

15. What other information about your ferret(s) would you like to share?

Kenora is already eating raw and whole prey and kibble and Cody only eats kibble and is a picky eater. I am trying to learn how to properly feed Kenor a balanced diet and to hopefully get Cody switched. They both will still get kibble over night.
16. If you can, please post a clear photograph of EACH of your ferrets directly below:

I dont have any on this computer but once I get my laptop set up I will post.

17.

a.) Do you understand that by starting this thread you commit to posting updates on the progress of your ferret(s) diet switch atleast every other day?**

Yes
b.) Do you understand that if you will be away from your computer for an extended period of time you will need to exchange phone numbers (or email addresses if you don't feel comfortable exchanging numbers)via private message with your assigned mentor, so that we can monitor your progress and ensure your ferret's saftey during the switch?
Yes, our internet ocasionally goes down for short periods of time (the ferrets like to disconnect the internet cord).

c.) Do you understand that any threads that have not been updated in for more then a week (with no explaination as to why you are absent) will result in the deletion of the thread?***

Yes
**Note 1: If you are unable to make it to a computer (such as on weekends) please indicate below so we know whether you just dont have computer access or if you have gone MIA.

***Note 2: If you would like to try the switch again and you are committed to making regular updates you ARE welcome to restart your thread. Failure to provide regular updates will result in the deletion of your thread.

[Heather]

Hello, it's good to see you here . My understanding is you're looking to use whole ground meats, probably purchased pre ground...like products from rodentpro or haretoday? I will see if I can find a mentor who works specifically with those type of products or has a good understanding of those type of products. One who can also help you better understand the needs of your furbabies, not only the younger ones but the older ones who can reap huge benefits from eating at least a partially raw diet if not making the whole jump and eating totally raw.
ciao

[lnsybean44]

As far as the ground goes, I would be hand grinding it (I was thinking whole chickens and mice). I am just trying to find what is the most affordable and easiest to feed. I would love to switch the other two but they are my mother's ferrets and she is skeeved out by feeding raw food. Right now Kenora is eating mice (which I can get really cheap) and chicken wings. I havent had a chance to go out and get organ meat yet because im not quite sure what to look for.

[mustelidmusk]

Hi,
I will be helping you with your ferrets' feeding program. I have 4 ferts - all are on commercial raw diet. I've been feeding them raw since I got them and switched them over as kits. 3 of then have been on raw for the 4 years I've had them. the yougest boy can a year a little over a year later. All 4 are in excellent health. However, my one little girl was slightly high on estradiol levels this spring, which is a result of the spaying.

This next paragraph will be useful if you will be spaying your jill...
I spayed the two girls approximately two weeks into their first estrus. Last year, Bob Church recommended allowing the jills come into season (like i did), but instead of spaying them at that time, give them a hormone shot to take them out of season. Wait until the jill comes back into season and then spay her. (when I saw the first signs of estrus, I called the vet and scheduled the surgery for two week later. so once your little girl starts to come into season a second time, make the appointment.

On to the foods!!!!

Raw feeding offers a lot of options, which is great because everybody has different needs. I've summaried feeding options below along with some of the major pros and cons.

1. Kibble:
=======
Pros:
convenient, balanced diet in every bite, cost, flexible feeding for travel with and without ferrets

Cons:
general health, lack of erenergy, dental health, insulinoma and allergies are more likely, man-made nutrition may be incomplete , synthetic nutrients less absorbable, limited variety of meat sources may leave nutritional gaps, extremem heat processing may generate toxins, quality of ingredients is questionable and/or unreliable

2. Raw Meaty Bones:
===============
Pros:
Control over quality of meat fed, cost can be low depending upon where you live, clean teeth if bones are eaten on a regular basis, nutrinional benefits of raw meat, meats/variety/small bone may be readily available.

Cons:
Feeding schedule- diligence required to balance out nutrition , Planning/shopping required to provide variety and balance, variety/organs/small bone may be dificult to find. Monitoring of feedings is required on a regular basis to ensure no ferret is avoiding bones, organs, etc. Risk of slipping away from balance if care is not taken to povide balanced variety. Caching of raw foods is likely

3. Ground Meat Diet:
===============
Pros:
Balanced diet in every bite, extremely high absorption, convenient if commercially prepared, less likely to be cached than raw meaty bones or whole prey, variety of meat sources available, dental health is greatly improved over kibble, cost if home made, ingredient control if home made

Cons:
Highest bacterial count, may need to order from local or remote supplier depending on where you live, Requires a recipe if home made, may/may not be well-balanced, Frozen food loses nutrients over time - need a provider that sells sufficient quantity to move food "off the shelf" to prevent stale food, teeth need periodic light cleaning, cost

4. Cold-processed Freeze-dried raw Diet
=============================
pros: High nutritional content packed into small volume - frezee-dried loses less nutrition over time than frozen.
lowest bacterial count of all raw foods, balanced nutrition in every bite. cached dry food is is easily cleaned up with a vaccuum (like kibble)
Flexiblity-large bowls can be left out for a week or more if necessary. Easy for others to feed while you're taveling. If traveling with ferrets, no need for refrigeration.

Cons: can be difficult to find locally. Limited variety, cost!

5. Whole prey
==========
Pros:
best balanced nutrition if variety is fed, the healthiest diet of all -

Cons:
digestive entrails will most likely be left uneaten, caching must be monitored, ferret sitters may not want to feed prey
variety can be difficult to find locally, can be expensive depending on supplier

Plese review the above items and let me know whichcategories you're interested - ASK questions about the ones that seem most appealing - then I can go into more detail until we sort out your preerences.

just to get you going until we have a game plan, here are some tips for what you can practice on...

For raw meaty bones, cornish game hens are good since they have small bones. You can cut the hen up into pieces (legs, thighs, wings, back, breast). nce your girl is still learnng to eat raw meaty bones, and prey, the wings are a good plac to tart. you cut then lengthwise into strps. Cut the wing ito 3 sections if your baby is reluctant to "dig in". you can offer her some breat meat along with some of the back. Backs have little meat, but the boes are really soft and easy to chew. Good starting places.

Regular chicken wings work well too. Start by cutting the wing into 3 sections. Cut the pointed wing tip down the center to produce two long strips. Cut the section with the 2 parallel bones down the center to eparate the 2 bones - at this point, you should have 4 strips to feed her.

If she finishes the four strips, you may want to offer her the meat from the remaining section of bone. I recommend scoring the meat or cutting it into stip-like pieces that are still attached to the bone. The idea here is to get her to grasp the strips and learn to chew them off the bone.

Since your girl has in now in her new home, she'll probably be more likely to settle down and concentrate on eating on a dark, private place by herself. A cardboard box that contained soda or beer will work fine. A lot of people use them and pitch them ater several feedings.

You'll also need to feed organ meats in addition to meat and bone. Organ meats include liver, kidney, pancreas, thymus, spleen, any organ thatgenerate/secretes body chemicals. The heart is a muscle, and so is a gizzard, even though we ten to think of them in the same category as the rest of the stuff.

When feeding raw meaty bones, you need to feed certain proportions of flesh, bone, and organs. Many raw meaty bone feeders give organ meats once day of the week only and balance out the diet across the entire week as follows:

4 days per week - feed raw meaty bones (a raw meaty bone is approximately 50% meat and 50% bone)
2 days per week- feed flesh/meat
1 day per week feed organ meats

you can alternatively adjust the above shedule to feed a balance daily. I can help with this if it sounds like something you want to try.

Another thing to keep in mind is that varity is the key to a healthy diet. You'll need to obtain various sources of different types of meats and organs (The bones need to be fed from smaller animals - larger animal bone is too dense. A medium to small rabbit is the largest prey from which bones hould be fed - small turkey necks work well too. neck bones are soft as well.
Also, animals of different age have different nutrient content. This is espeially true of the small whole prey animals ferrets can be fed. For example, a pinkie mouse will not have sufficient alcium content. But adult mice lack other things provided by the pinkies.

Think vartiey, regardless of which feeding models you wish to adopt.

This shoul get you going with some things to try. Let me know what your preference is. Remember, with a ground dietthat's home made, you'll need to grind bone. I have a recipe in mined that can be used for different types of prey if you're still interested in making your own raw diet.

I feed a mix of the Nature's variety frozen raw twice a day. I provide freeze-dried ra wduring the day and night.
I give raw meaty bones as treats along with dehydrated and freeze-dried meat treats. It's worked really well so far. I will re-read about your kids tomorrow to see who's eating what again.

-jennifer

[lnsybean44]

I am most interested in the whole prey. I was thinking about doing mostly whole prey but maybe three or four of the twice daily meals as boney meat such as chicken wings.

Since I can get the whole prey for so cheap as well as chicken wings and small pork on the bone, it should be affordable to do entirely raw. I am still looking into the freeze dried to leave itout inbetween meals.

One of my biggest concerns is keeping everything sanitary. Right now I am using hyrdrogen peroxide followed by vinegar to clean (she eats in the bathtub). But my family would like me to use something stronger.

Also I need suggestions for switching my one year old Cody to raw food. He hates new things, including moistened kibble.

[mustelidmusk]

OK, cool!

As far as the santitation issue goes, I think the easiest thing to do is to get feeding dens. I use dark-colored rubbermaid bins with a ferret-sized hole cut in the front - and the lid stays on top.

These are easy to clean up, and the rest of you family will not hav to deal with the bins (unlike the tub!)

Another alternative for disinfecting is graprefruit seed extract, which is a natual anti-bacterial/antibiotic. It's sometimes used in hospitals for some types of cleaning. It needs to be well-rinsed because it can irritate skin a bit. It's non-toxic other than th it can irritate skin. It also works on things like giardia/parasites. I thik the risk of having bacteria issues is pretty small unless you start getting really careless and or doing stupid things - you have to get inough of a bacteria in/on you to hve it be an issue inthe first place.

As far as switching your other ferrets goes, the easiest way to do this is to get some freeze-dried raw diet such as archhetypal I or Stella and Chewies steaks. crumble the snmall amounts of the fresze-drie raw into a mall bowl of kibble. the reaon why tis works is because uits rally difficult for the ferrets o pick ou the kibble without geting some of the freeze-dried food as well.
Slowly increase the percentage of the feeze-dried raw over time, Also start to leave some kibble-sized chunks in the fod as well.

None of the ferrets I've mentored I've have done particularly well with the moistened kibble. it seems easier to get them eating soup first - start chicken or turkey baby food thinned with a bit of water. ada lte kibble thats soaked and mixed in to a creamy consitency. a litle feretone may, olive oil, or a couple drops of salmon oil may help as well. This stuff should be soupy - like heavy cream.

One of the things that will help you have patience when switching your other kids is understandig a bit of what you're asking your ferrets to do. As you already know, ferrets imprint on food very early in life. When approximately 6 months old, ferrets are typically "hooked" on one or a few types of kibble, which they recognize as food by smell.

they reason why ferrets can switch to raw diet is because they have a taste bud that's "sensitive" to protein. if they taste protein enough times, they start to like it, and the taste for protein will eventually override the sense of smell. But this does take time.

Since kibble-raised ferrets recognize very little variety in food (if any at all), there's only one way to get ferrets eating a bunch of different proteins....you need to get the stuff on their tongues in order for them to start accepting new items as food.

If you want your ferrets to eat organ meats, you'll need to get a taste of organ meats on their tongues a couple of times each day. they may spit out the meat, but that's oK. So here's the "magic formula:
Meat + tongue = appetite (eventually )

There are generally 2 ways to get ferrets to get meat on their tongues: 1. through interactive play 2. stuff it into their mouths.

Interactive play:
this is the fun way to get things going. if you thinkk about it, ferts get all charged up for the hunt. They engage in mock combat as kits, and they get mouthy when they play. many ferrets react strongly to squeaky toys. And smell is another great way to get your ferret's attention. As you can see, enrichment plays an important part in the food equation.

So, here's what you'll want to do...
Sit down on the floor and play with your kids - in my experience, switching involves a LOT of enrichment. I strongly beleive in introducing all kinds of smells, whether it be food smells, dirty laundry after working out, citrus friuts, martinis, marigolds, stinky limberger cheese, whatever. We need to stimulate their curiosity about thiings that smell different, and we need to make this a positive experience through play. bring on the squeaky toys. get your kids al worked up. once you get them engaged in nipping at toys, slip in a strip of meat in place of the toy. Chicken hearts can be cut into strips, and they're easier to clean up since they're not as soft as liver. switch between toys and occassional tastes of meats. the periodic "tastes" of wierd things become a form of attention during play time. This all results in positive reinforcement with food and smells. the more you do this, the more your kids will come running because they'll be afraid they'll miss out on something. A bit of competition for smells, sounds, and tastes is a good thing! SO let all your kids get involved.

stuffing it into their mouths:
This is not as much fun. but, the reality of our hectic lives makes this a necessary sustitute for an erichment session when we don't have time to play.
you can either put a bit of meat in the mouth or mash organ meat with water for syringing food into the mouth. the key is to get this on their tongue - even if they just spit it out.
The bathroom makes a good play room for this kind of activity

here's another trick to try durig play time.....

get some meat..dark chicken meat is more nutirious -more fat more taurine - thighs are really good) Or beef is fine too. And get some liver or heart meat. Cut tidbits of the meats into kibble-sized pieces. Get a saucer or a lid from a tupperware or cottage cheese container. This will be their "plate". If you have small plastic lids, give each fert his/her own plate.

Spread about 6 bits of meat out on the "plate" and see if they go for it. If so, put a few more pieces on the plate for them. Keep doing this until they lose interest. Make and offer the tidbits a few at a time - less waste that way. ALso, you'll be able to to see who eats what.

The reason for spreading food out on a flat plat is two-fold...
1. kibble-fed ferrets are used to picking up 1 piece of kibble at a time. This is easy to do with hard dry food. The soft wet foods are difficult for ferrets to manage at first since it's not like the food they're used to eating. Wet food tends to stick together more and it's more difficult to pick out a single piece
2. Wild carnivores instinctively pick meat very gingerly when they first start eating their prey because their prey may not be dead. It that's the case, the predator can receive a nasty surprise and get injured by its prey. Aslo for both hygiene and safety reasons, predators tend to shut/squint their eyes when they eat.

In short, I've found that many ferts will resist eating meat from a deep bowl when they first learn to eat raw. Ferts will be more likely to pick up an isolated bit of meat from a flat open dish. I supspect a pile of meat may trigger an instinct to be wary of "digging'in", which is a skill that's not developed when eating kibble.


most raw feeders feed 2 raw meals per day. Some feed enough for raw to be nibbled on between meals. Since your faimly is germ-consciuos and you have an insulinoma ferret, I assume you'll be feeding your kids the wet raw/prey under supervision. and provide kibble/freeze-dried raw at all times since you have a possible insulinoma baby.


If you have not read the thread on feeding dens (in the enrichment section), you may want to do this as well. feeding dens offer privacy/protection during feeding. Eating raw food is more work - it can be difficult for some ferrets to concerntrate on learning how to eat raw chunks and bones in an exposed setting. one of my ferrets will not eat any bone unless he's hiding i a safe place. Ferrets commonly take prey to the den and feed on it over they course of a few days (a large rabbit, for example)

so, i'm hoping this offers some insight on how much change we ask our little babies to go through when we switch them.

Please try the open saucers, small bits of food isolated, enrichment practices, etc. Let me know how it goes! This is just the beginning... we have lots of things to try!!!

Also...I will be out of town thi weekend (brat will be on therir own in their room with their freee-dried raw!!!! can't survive with outhat option - even if you mix it in with the kibble, and keep some kbble, your kids wil be getting bett nutrition. This is an easy change that even the most stubborn ferrets acept fairly easily. The other advantage is your kibble-fed kids can be developing a taste for meat while you learn about the various options, where you can find them, pricing, etc.

ere's another link you an check out just educate yourself on homemeade ground diets - this is the recipe i'd be using (you can vary the meat sources. Even though you may never make this food, I think you'll find this an interest read.

www.catnutrition.org/foodmaking.php
www.catnutrition.org/recipes.php

Yes, this is a cat site, but the analysis of the recipe ha been done, and they're striving for prey-like results. Ifyou deide to try homemade food, this would be a good recipe.

The taurine is important - it degrades in frozen foods/meats/whole prey. I supplemenyt my kids with taurine. It's difficult to overdose on taurine because it doesn't stick around (like vitamin A) I mix one the contents of one 500mg capsule in their ground mix daily ( 4 ferrets eat the mix). I also give 3-5 drops of salmon oil to each ferret daily. this provide the omega/ essential fatty acids that help maintain beautiful coats of fur. The salmon oil contain the vitamin A, E, etc., which can be overfed - so more is not always a good thing.
You can mix supplements into a little bit of ground,soup, babyfood, etc. so you don't need to stuff it inside the mouse

I willl be out of town this weekend so i may be offline til monday - this should be enough to get you started. always feel free to post general questions and/or PM another mentor if I'm not posting this weekend.

Good luck and have fun with your babies!

-jennifer

[lnsybean44]

Thank you. I will start with them this weekend. As far as the freeze dried goes. How long does it kee for? How do I store it? And is Animal Food Servicea good brand of freeze dried?

[lnsybean44]

I talked with my mom and she agreed that if I can switch her two ferrets to freeze dried, then she would be willing to feed it.

I havent started working with Cody yet, but I made Kenora a feeding den. She was not really happy about it and freaked out at her food being in there but I put a few drops of ferretone on her mouse and split it stomach open and she ate it.

She only ate one medium sized mouse. Is that a normal amount for a 2 pound female? That is how much she has eaten since she has been with me (one week) but I want to make sure that she is getting enough. I offer her a second mouse but she wont eat it.

[mustelidmusk]

Hi,
Yes, quite a few ferret owners feed the AFS. It comes in patties that are a bit more dense than some of the other brands, which is good for chewing and teeth cleaning. It ca be crumbled into small bits that can easily be mixed with the kibble. AFS is a beef-based food. It does notcome in ifferent meat types. But I think it's the best value on the market for a freeze-dried/cold-processed diet.

Freeze-dried foods last a ***L O N G*** time. I buy the Wysong's by the case. I got a coupon for 25% off my order, so I bought 2 cases, which lasted 3 months. The last bags were still nice and fresh. The stuff tends to come in ziplock bags (resealable). Store the food at room temperature in the ziplock bag- no refigerator necessary. It's very convenient.

Your little girl will get used to eating in the den....most ferts just love having a den. I suspect the texture under foot seemed off to her.

1 mouse a day is probably about 1 ounce? My smaller girl (2.5 - 3 lbs depending on the season) eats 2 ounces of froen food and aabout 1/4 cup of freeze-fried daily. Some ferrets are nibblers and won't eat much in one sitting. Your girl may be a nibbling ferret who eats multiple times perday. most people feed two frozendiet/rmb/prey meals per day. some provide muncies in between meals (such as freeze-drid raw diet and/or freeze-dried meats. And some people leave enough raw for chewing on all day. All ferrets are different. As long as your ferretis maintaining a healthy weight, she's getting enough. If she starts losing weight other than just losing her winter fat, you'll need to feed her more (or more often if she won't eat much in one stting.

-jennifer

[lnsybean44]

I will keep an eye on that. Right now she gets kibble throughout the day and will usually eat right after if she doesnt eat her mouse (the past two nights she refused to eat her mice) but she is hungry b.c she will eat the kibble.

We are getting out first freeze dried order within the next few days so I will be starting the switch with the others as soon as that comes in.

Where do you order your freeze dried?

Is there any particular reason you feed wysong?

Also, how do you upload pictures so I can show you my kids?

[Paprika]

May 19, 2009 10:11:24 GMT -5 lnsybean44 said:

Also, how do you upload pictures so I can show you my kids?

Hey! Just poking in to help you real quick :3

You can go to imageshack.us and upload your picture. They will give you both the direct link (which you can use by clicking the "image" button on the post message, fourth button from the left on the second row of "add tags"), and a forum link.

=D You can also resize it through the site, I would recommend using the "forum" size.

[mustelidmusk]

Boy am I glad Paprika jumped in here....Giuli has posted all my pics since my husband's computer is so loaded with geek stuff that conflicts with some of those photo-loading applications.

I will be posting some info later today or this evening. In the mean time, stick with the enrichment. Your little girl may be filling up on kibble before she's fed her mouse. And ferrets are lazy about digging into their food!

-jennifer

[mustelidmusk]

Hi!
This is the third time I've tried to post here today - keep losing the post

Anyway.....the questions....

Why Wysong:
+++++++++
1. Reputation as a leader in nutrition /health - forward thinking, ethical company
2. Dr. Susan Brown specifically mentions that ferts have done welll on the Archetype diet ( this is the cat/dog freeze-dreid diet, the fert stuff was not yet formulated) in her artile "Rethinkng the ferret diet"
3. Recommeneded by a couple of well-respected breeders
4. My brats LOVE it!

Where do I buy food?
++++++++++++++++
1. Casey's hidden Pantry ( google search ill fin this)
2. Wysong.net
3. Local stores


Since I'm having touble posting, I'lll post this much now and add another post ( computer permitting!)
-jennifer

[lnsybean44]

I am looking into other brands of freeze dried as well. I like that animal food service has a pretty good bang for the buck and that might be what we stick with for now, but I would like to add other brands in to mix it up a bit every so often.

I was able to find mice for fairly cheap... I think. They are $0.45 per mouse which includes s/h. I am going over the price list now to see what I will and wont order. Do I still have to feed multple life stages even if I am feeding freeze dried?

The alst few nights Kenora has gone crazy for her mouse (I switched her back to the bathtub for now while I rethink my feeding den). I started staking her kibble away five hours before hand instead of four and it has made all the difference.

[mustelidmusk]

Hi,
I lost a few posts yesterday - how annoying. Hopefully the problem is over. Every once in a great while there seems to be a problem with posting to the forum - a small handful of us have encountered this.

OK, so Kenora likes her bathtub!!! The bathtub she shall have!!!! Most ferrets love feeding dens. I'm curious, did you allow Kenora to enter the den on her own to get her food?
Ferts are all so different, but Knora is the first I've heard of that has rejected the feeding den!

Hopefully, Cody will make use of the den for his switch. I use dens for feeding, potty boxes, and sleeping dens with bedding inside. They're great as littler boxes since the pellets don't scatter and you don't have to look at the dirty potty box. I scoop the boxes once or twice a day, but you know how poop sticks to the plastic and needs to be scrubbed to removed it

ANyway, yes, the AFS is probably the best value.
Depending on how much of your ferrets diet is whole prey, you may need to feed different ages and types of prey. (mice, rats, birds (chicks), rabbits, etc.). Regardless of what you feed, the recommendation is alway to provide variety - even for kibble, a mix ix better than feeding only one brand.

With prey, the pinkies and very young prey anials lacke the required calcium. A lot of people find that their ferrets like the pinkie s - easier to eat. But, unless the pinkies are treats only, the ferrets will need to learn to eat the adult prey a well (fur, bones, etc)

So, with the Freeze-dried, I seem to recall that the AFS provides beef and beef with some chicken ( I could be wrong on this).

Stella and Chewies provides Lamb and venison steaks.

AGAIN, the Nature's Variety Freeze-dried diets have lrge bits of pumkin seed which is Not found in the frozen diets. So remember to stay away from the NV freeze-dried!!!

The ziwiPeak is good value as well. I add small amouts every couple of days to help add variety. I suspect a small amount of the inulin won't be an issue. Some people feed quite a bit of the ZiwiPeak, but I recomend using it as more of a treat that's periodically sprinkled in with the other food. I honestly don't know if the inulin is a potential problem. but since the Ziwi Peak smells like a processed product, I prefer to keep the Ziwipeak as a small part of the diet.
The Ziwi peak keeps well too.

There's also Steve's Real food's in a freeze-dried product as well. I know people who feed this as well.

Here's another interesting option if you want to buy mice in bulk (cheaper?)... I posted thread in the raw section about using a dehydrator to make treats....harrisi has been freeze-drying extra MICE from large orders! Check it out!!!! I'm sure harrsi will share any tips on how to do this!!!

I will be out of town all next week from saturday through the following Sunday. I've asked the other mentors to check in on you. Please do NOT hesitate to ask questions and PM the other mentors. In fact, you are ALAWAYS welcome and encouraged to tap into knowledge other people may have on this site - even when I'm here. You will not hurt my feelings - everybody has different experiences and knowledge, and ALL ferts are different as well!!! The focus is on your ferts and your needs - not the mentors!!!!

If I can get access to the internet, next week, I'll check in to see how things are going.

With the freeze-dried, mix very small amounts with the kibble. (Crumble the food)) . If you store a meal's worth of kibble in a ziplock baggie overnight with a small amount of freeze-dried, the two foods will smell similar, and your ferst will have a hard time picking out the kibble. Initially, pre-mix food one meal at a time since it may go better (or worse) that expected, and if you need to "back off" with the freeze-dried (tummy upset or some other reason) you'll have less waste.

If all is going well, increae the percentage of freeze-dried every couple couple of days. Remeber that looe stool is normal with diet change as your ferrets adjust to new, richer food and bacterial load that's inherent to raw feeding. The poopds will be different in color, but a bad case of the runs will require backing off. I doubt you'll have issues, but you need to understand what to expect. Again, others will be happy to answer any questions

-jennifer