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Post by katt on Dec 5, 2009 14:08:16 GMT -5
Okay so I have been skimming the feeding raw stuff and if/when I get a ferret I definitely want to feed raw.
How much does a growing baby eat each day? How much does an adult eat each day? In the winter vs summer?
What kinds of variety are necessary? Like would feeding primarily chicken (wings, drum sticks, and, occasional whole chicken pieces w/ organs and such), mice, rat pinkies/fuzzies, and maybe the occasional beef, turkey, or fish be okay? So that the diet would be primarily chicken and rodent. (can they eat fish skin?) Or do I need more variety than that?
Also, is it okay to put frozen meat in the cage so that it will thaw throughout the day? The idea behind this is to help keep the ferret cool (I live in a hot apartment), keep the smell down from raw meat sitting in my hot room all day, and provide more "fresh" food throughout the day (I would include some thawed with some frozen so that thawed meat will be available while the frozen stuff thaws).
For training treats, do just pieces of the normal diet like small chunks of raw or cooked meat work ok or will the ferret not regard it as a "treat" because it gets it all the time?
Thanks!
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Post by sherrylynne on Dec 5, 2009 14:23:18 GMT -5
How much does a growing baby eat each day? How much does an adult eat each day? In the winter vs summer?Kits eat a LOT! One little female would put away sometimes 3oz at a sitting! My adults in the summer eat from 2-4oz a day, depending on gender(males eat more- they're larger), size, etc. In the winter, double that for at least 1-2 months. Exactly how much your's would eat depends on activity level, size, gender, etc. What kinds of variety are necessary? Like would feeding primarily chicken (wings, drum sticks, and, occasional whole chicken pieces w/ organs and such), mice, rat pinkies/fuzzies, and maybe the occasional beef, turkey, or fish be okay? So that the diet would be primarily chicken and rodent. (can they eat fish skin?) Or do I need more variety than that?There should be a minimum of 3 different proteins, to make sure they're getting all required nutrients. Fish no more than weekly, and try to stick to the small fresh water variety for the most part. The larger the fish, the more toxins they have. About the only meat based products they can't eat are bones from larger animals(pigs, cattle, etc), unless they are ground up. Too thick and tough for their teeth. And they shouldn't have any cured/smoked/spiced meats either. Pure jerkies and dehydrated meats are fine, though. Also, is it okay to put frozen meat in the cage so that it will thaw throughout the day? The idea behind this is to help keep the ferret cool (I live in a hot apartment), keep the smell down from raw meat sitting in my hot room all day, and provide more "fresh" food throughout the day (I would include some thawed with some frozen so that thawed meat will be available while the frozen stuff thaws).Definitely you can put frozen in to thaw throughout the day. For training treats, do just pieces of the normal diet like small chunks of raw or cooked meat work ok or will the ferret not regard it as a "treat" because it gets it all the time?My guys favourite treats are tiny, hand fed slivers of meat. Since it's small, and fed from my hand, they are the bestest treat ever, according to how fast they disappear 
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Post by josiesmom on Dec 5, 2009 14:23:25 GMT -5
Variety IS the best, not only variety of meaty sources, but variety of ages of whole prey too! The diet is a balance of nutrients throughout the day and week - not supposed to be a completely balanced meal at every meal. Yes they can eat the fish skin.
AS for the frozen - the drawback to that is at least in my ferret's cases non of them will touch the offering while it is frozen - they will wait until it thaws! So you may be short changing your ferret a meal if it has to wait a couple hours for the item to thaw.
If you offer a thawed or slightly warmed ( in warm water - NOT the microwave) the ferret is more liekly to eat the meal WHEN it is offered! So you could easily offer the ferret a warmed meal as soon as you wake up, which allows the ferret to eat while you get ready for work. Putting the raw items inside a feeding den encourages eating behavior too. What isn't eaten in say a half hour to 40 minutes gets removed.
Give the ferret some freeze DRIED items to chew on through the day, then feed a warmed meal again when you get home from work and another treat before you retire.
This way there is NO raw meat sitting in the cage during the day, the ferret learns to eat when offered food and you still can offer treats that are healthy, he still can have something to chomp on during the day.
If your apartment is that hot that you are worried about meat spoiling that quickly then you'll want to device a cool area in your ferret's cage so it won't over heat - anything above 80 degrees F can prove deadly for a ferret.
hope this helps!
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Post by katt on Dec 5, 2009 14:45:19 GMT -5
That does help a lot! I will have to think about frozen (I was hoping that would provide a cool den to lay next to for cooling too) versus the freeze dried. Those are some very good points! and yes, I am currently working on cooling ideas in another thread.  Thanks!  Where do I go about finding freeze dried natural foods that don't cost a fortune? Would they make the ferret smell more than raw meat but less than kibble? So I figured that Variety would be required...so what foods should I be feeding then? Chicken would still be the staple as that is what I have the easiest access to along with rodents. (I can get a lot of rodents of all types and sizes from the same place I get food for my snake at good prices). Beef, raw game hen, chicken, and rodents are the only meats that really come to mind. Maybe some pork? What about game meat like moose, bear, deer, etc? I may be able to access parts from these animals on occasion... |
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Post by Heather on Dec 5, 2009 16:28:54 GMT -5
Looks to me that you're well on your way Any or all of those proteins can be used. You're only restricted by your pocketbook and your imagination . You will find your little fuzzbutt will develop preferences and you will have to take care that your meat is free of any parasites. Freezing usually takes care of that but there are some parasites that don't die and you should be aware of those. Other than that, the sky is the limit ciao |
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Post by vkoslin on Dec 6, 2009 20:32:26 GMT -5
Here's my diet for 6 ferrets:
(I feed them in morning and night)
Sunday: Morning: 1/2 pound ground chicken with ground liver; Night- Chicken gizzards, chopped (about 6)
Monday: Morning: 3 chicken wings, cut in half (large wings, with the tips included...so about 2 normal wings per ferret) Night- chicken leg quarters, chopped
Tuesday: Morning and Night: boneless pork shoulder, chopped
Wednesday: Morning: 1/2 Cornish Hen Night: 1/2 Cornish Hen
Thursday: Morning: Chopped chicken hearts (about 6 hearts) Night: gizzards (about 6 gizzards) (super cheap at supermarkets)
Friday: Morning: 3 Chicken wings, halved Night: Chicken leg quarters, split
Saturday: Morning: Chopped steak (manager's special chuck), Night: Chopped steak
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Post by vkoslin on Dec 6, 2009 20:36:14 GMT -5
I vary it up. The best thing to get them eating bone while they don't really eat bone is buying ground chicken/organ/bone from www.hare-today.com/product_info.php?cPath=21_32&products_id=60You need to make sure they're eating organ meat (gizzards/heart), Liver 1x a week (sometimes you have to grind it up with other meats), and bone every other day. It's hard to get them to eat these things but sometimes if you buy the hare-today meats it comes with bone and they eat it without knowing its bone. The others, organs and liver, you might have to make soups, but regardless, they have to be fed them! At first, you want to feed them as much as they can eat in, say 2 hours. If you put in food at 8am, then if it's gone by 10am, you should increase the amount for next meal. I always have some leftovers. It's really easy to buy variety at grocery stores for cheap. Mine love beef heart, which comes in a HUGE (well you can imagine how big a cows heart is) thing for like 5 bucks. All I do is slice it for them and divide. Another penny-saver is chicken gizzards/hearts. I buy a whole pack (3 lbs or so) for 1.50 or 2 bucks. If you have a food processor or blender, toss them in that and chop a few times, it chops it up a little bit and then divide. Winn Dixie here has specials like buy 1 get 1 free all the time on meats. Also, biggest tip: Buy Manager's special and chop it up that day and freeze it. It's usually so cheap and still fine for the fert. For example, manager special boneless pork chops: take home, chop up in small piece (small to start with), divide into freezer bags and toss into freezer. I take foods out of the freezer the night before- two bags. I put in fridge and by morning, I feed a bag and at night another bag. I've considered commercial, but honestly, I just like feeding them stuff I know and see first. Like, I know what chicken wings they ate, and if you follow the rules about organ/bone/liver/meat, you're guaranteed to feed them what they need, and you're in control. Also, it saves a LOT of money. Mine just prefer really fresh things, instead of patties. |
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Post by katt on Dec 8, 2009 1:55:46 GMT -5
THANKS! What about for a really young baby? Do I need to prepare it specially? Like blend it up or anything like that? Or can I just give it to them whole from the get go? The babies they get in at the store are super tiny and the food in their cage is mush stuff...
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Post by sherrylynne on Dec 8, 2009 5:20:31 GMT -5
Some of the breeders on the forums talk about their kits eating whole rabbits, fur and all, from the time their about 5-6 weeks old. So I'm assuming whole meats would be ok for a young pet store ferret. They may have a bit more problem with the bone right away, but wing tips, cornish hen wings, and whole prey should be fine. Here's a video of an 8 week old with a chicken neck. Ferocious little beastie www.youtube.com/watch?v=K-QbgaJiApYEven better- 3 1/2 weeks with a chicken wing: www.youtube.com/watch?v=GAoZ0D-XH3Q&feature=related |
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Post by katt on Dec 21, 2009 7:15:40 GMT -5
How long on a raw diet does it take for the kibble smell to go away completely? I believe on another thread someone mentioned it takes 4-6 weeks for their system to completely clear stuff out?  |
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Post by sherrylynne on Dec 21, 2009 11:49:34 GMT -5
That sounds about right. I really can't remember, though! I do know that the little girl I just brought in is really stinky compared to my others  ! And since she's not taking to the raw as quickly, it's going to be a while before it happens |
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Post by katt on Dec 22, 2009 5:05:02 GMT -5
Well so far the only smell is coming from his poop! haha I sniff him and he smells fine - no bad smell at all - but I can start to smell a smell in my room now and it is definitely from the poop. Then add to that my iguana's nasty poop...haha I need to do yet another thorough cleaning tomorrow. ;P
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