Newbie Here!

[VixenPro]

Hey, Guys!

I'm new to the raw diet idea, and thought I'd go ahead and join this forum to get more information about it.

I'm also a member at Ferret.com's forum with the same name.

I'm relatively new to ferrenthood. 6 1/2 months ago I bought two precious balls of joy, Sookie and Marley. They are around 8 months old now, and are the sweetest lil' things that keep me on my toes, loving every minute of it!

Right now I'm feeding them moistened kibble (8 in 1 Ultimate and DFS Natural). They have already acquired a taste for Gerber's Chicken Baby Food, but I only give it to them as a treat every now and then.

They are very healthy and have thick, lustrous fur. But I'm still curious about raw feeding! I know it will be a challenge since they're older

My goal is to be able to feed them raw meat as well as keep them on a kibble diet. My reason for this is because I live in the country where power outages are normal during storms and can last for weeks! I don't want my babies to become dependent on raw food if my fridge doesn't work!

So, here I am. I hope to learn a lot and can't wait to get to know everyone better!

[ccretarolo]

Well, since you're babies are older, they'll always keep a taste for kibble. I have to ask people to put away their kibble when I take Mogli over to other houses for playdates.

Considering this, you could also have an emergency stash of freeze dried food on hand for those power outages. Freeze dried meat can last for up to 6 months at room temperature and you can just reconstitute it into a mush with water or you can feed it dry so it has a similar texture to kibble. If you have to order it online, I would suggest Casey's Hidden Pantry. She has the best selection and prices of any online retailer that sells freeze dried products.

[Heather]

Hi and welcome to the forum
Please feel free to prowl the various sections and threads, ask questions...everyone here is friendly and more than willing to offer a helping hand. Eight months....that should be an easy switch but, if you would like a personal helping hand fill out the form requesting a mentor. Read through some of the switching threads, there are some really neat ideas in there . You're little ones are still just babies, they have a taste for kibbles but it's not a foundation type yet. I got Lady "B", Attila and Ghenghis when they were 9 months old or maybe a bit older....their people said less than a year when they turned them into rescue. They switched without ever a backward glance and won't even touch kibbles now....kibbles are for snorkeling and making a mess in . My little old lady Babushka was turned into me when she was 9 yrs old....she eventually thought nothing about stealing a rat from her best pal and dragging it off to a hidey for some real munchings and crunchings Hey, most of the time the rat was bigger than she was What I'm trying to say it's never too late, and with a little perserverance you can take your little ones to a healthier diet.
Good luck, I hope that I will be seeing you around
ciao

[sherrylynne]

Hi and welcome Just wanted to add my oldest switches were 2- 3 years old. So hopefully you won't have too much trouble! looking forward to seeing you around.

[VixenPro]

Thanks for the warm welcome!

I'm relieved to hear that starting the switch at 8 months isn't an impossible feat

Will the task be easier if they already enjoy Gerbers Chicken baby food?

[ccretarolo]

Them liking baby food should make it a little easier. What you can do is make a raw mush with some baby food mixed in for flavor. If they like that, you can either try taking out the baby food or see if they'll eat chunks of meat with a little baby food smeared on. Whichever way you go, it should be relatively simple since they already like a meat based treat.