Naures variety?

[peanut]

Hi I have been reading this forum a lot and finally just joined, because I have some questions on foods before I get my ferrets.

I have seen some people refer to NV. Is that natures variety? if so which one do you feed? there are 3 different types out there.

Is that a good diet for a ferret? How much do you feed each day? I saw on the website that there are 48 mini patties for cats in a bag? how long does that last? And do you stick to only 1 type or vary the different flavors.

I would love to do a whole prey diet, but I financially it seems to be too much right now, yes I know ferrets are expensive, I have the medicals needs already addressed. I work at a vet hospital, so I am lucky in that regard, and the vets are v. ferret knowledgeable.

So is that the next best thing to whole prey?

thank you!

[sherrylynne]

Hi, and welcome! First, yes, that's Natures Variety frozen raw we've referred to. Stay away from Nature's Variety freeze dried. It has whole pumpkin seeds, which can cause blockages. As to how much they'll eat? It really varies. My one girl eats between 1-2 oz per day. My biggest boy eats 3-5 oz a day. It depends on gender, activity level, age, illness, season, etc.
Yes, NV is a good diet for them, as long as you mix and match. They need a minimum of 3 protein sources. So- chicken, lamb, and venison would fill that.
Just to let you know- a raw meaty bone diet costs a LOT less than premade raw. And it has the added benefit of giving their jaws a workout, cleans their teeth, and actually helps reduce nipping If they've got yummy bone to chew on and eat, they can take out frustrations on it!
Why don't you sign yourself up for a mentor, or if your not ready for that, ask away! Someone will try their best to answer

[peanut]

thanks for your reply!!! I will prob. get a mentor when finally get them. I have been waiting a long time to get them, and it looks like it will still be a few more months until i do. Which is fine. we are making sure that we are totally ready to take on that commitment... and right now, the cost for them plus cage/toys ect is not something we are ready to do... at least just yet...so i am asking questions and lurking on forums..lol

but thanks again for your help

[sherrylynne]

It's the absolute best thing you can do for your future ferrety friend(s)! Ask away, everyone here is more than willing to help out

[weloveourweasels]

Another great brand to use is Primal www.primalpetfoods.com/product/list/c/7

I'm going to be feeding that or NV to my oldest Loki.

[Forum Administrator]

I have seen some people refer to NV. Is that natures variety? if so which one do you feed? there are 3 different types out there.

Yes, its Nature's Variety. If you are hearing about it on THS board, we are referring to the frozen raw medallions (not the canned or kibble).

Is that a good diet for a ferret?

I would say so. I feed it to my kids along with whole prey and raw meaty bones. The only complaint I have is that it doesn't clean teeth. If you choose to feed this food you will need to supplement with raw meaty bones.

How much do you feed each day?

Between my two large 4lb male ferrets (in the winter) they eat 3-4 medallions each, per day. Smaller ferrets, female ferrets, older ferrets, less active ferrets, etc will eat less. Kits will eat more. Ferrets eat more in the winter then they do in the warmer months.

I saw on the website that there are 48 mini patties for cats in a bag? how long does that last? And do you stick to only 1 type or vary the different flavors.

As sherrylynne said you should rotate between ATLEAST 3 different protein sources, and ideally you would rotate between ALL of them:

Chicken
Lamb
Rabbit
Beef
Venison
Bison

I'd also recommend supplementing with other raw diets, such as primal (as weloveourweasels suggested) because they have products that NV doesn't, such as raw diets from pheasent and quail. The more variety the better.

I buy one bag of each NV flavor and I feed a new flavor daily. Once I've fed them each flavor I start over. So my boys eat roughly 180 medallions in 30 days. That comes out to about 3.75 bags of NV per month. Here I can get the NV for about $15.00 per bag (though some flavors, like rabbit, cost me $20 per bag). So I spend about $55-60 per month feeding my guys JUST NV. I also supplement with inexpensive raw meaty bones daily. My monthly food expenses for the ferrets (2 large males) comes out to around $75 per month (also $18.75 per week for the both of them or $2.68 per day for the both of them-----so each day I spend about $1.33 to feed them.

I feed NV with raw meaty bones 4 months out of the year, then I switch them to whole prey only (mice, rats, chicks, etc) for 4 months out of the year, and then the other 4 months of the year I feed raw foods from the grocery store only. I rotate their diets only because its convenient for me, helps with my budget, and it gives them the most variety possible.

I would love to do a whole prey diet, but I financially it seems to be too much right now, yes I know ferrets are expensive, I have the medicals needs already addressed. I work at a vet hospital, so I am lucky in that regard, and the vets are v. ferret knowledgeable.

Whole prey diets and commercial raw diets (like NV) are the most expensive to feed, but you can drop the cost of both diets by feeding a raw diet from the grocery store. This is what I do and it helps keep the cost down, as well as provide variety.

So is that the next best thing to whole prey?

I would say yes, but ONLY if you are feeding one raw meaty bone per day along with the product.

thank you!

Your welcome! Keep asking those questions!

[jojodancer]

I feed mine Stella and Chewy's, Animal Food Services, ZiwiPeak and Wysong. I have found them to be cheaper than NV, but better quality. NV is 95% meat products (5% fillers). Stella and Chewy's canine is 96% meat products, their feline is 100% meat. AFS products are 100% meat. And Wysong is 99% meat products (1% fillers)

As for the teeth argument, I'll have to mildly disagree. As a person who feeds commercial raw exclusively, my ferret's teeth are in great shape. (verified by our vets) We brush every once in awhile, but not regularly. The poor teeth comes from the hardness fo the kibble scraping the enamel, and then the ferret's enzymes not being able to break down the kibble pieces left in the gums and teeth. As you are feeding raw, the food is broken down naturally by the ferret's saliva. What you wont' get from commercial raw food is tough gums - but the teeth are fine. Now maybe that's only my weird ferrets, but we've had 12 and they've all had good teeth fed a commercial raw diet.

Cost to feed mine a commercial raw diet: about $15 per ferret per month.