Post by josiesmom on Mar 13, 2010 2:15:30 GMT -5
Woohoo woohoo!
Picked up some chicks at Tractor Supply today when I got horse feed. !.99 per chick, got 10 of them.
Just offered each ferret a chick,said prayer of thanks to each one, put one chick in an cardboard box with a ferret and let their instincts guide them.
Chicks aren't exactly like mice - they don't scurry around so the chase trigger doesn't get pulled. And when they stand there they tend to tuck their heads into themselves - so the ferrets have a bit of a time figuring out which end is which!
But a few tentative pokes with their noses and peeps from the chicks and soon they have it figured out. Roman and Crystal were the first t smell the chicks as soon as I brought them in the house!
AS each ferret dispatched their chick I put them in the cage to eat and let another one have a chick.
Nakita was not hesitant at all when it was her turn! She's been eating thawed mice and chicks for some time now so apparently she recognized this as food right from the start!
Flower was a bit perplexed and a little clumsy, but still the chick was dispatched in less than a minute.
DaVinci showed interest and curiosity in the chick, putting his mouth on it but not any real pressure behind his teeth. After a few minutes and he wasn't showing any further progress I removed him and let Crystal dispatch that chick.
RC stayed tucked away - probably interpreted the chicks final peeps as ferrets getting roughed up. HE's beginning to show interest in raw so will probably eventually turn predator.
I'm fairly pleased that Flower and Nakita discovered their inner predator, and happy to see them eat fresh prey!
Cheers,
Kim
Picked up some chicks at Tractor Supply today when I got horse feed. !.99 per chick, got 10 of them.
Just offered each ferret a chick,said prayer of thanks to each one, put one chick in an cardboard box with a ferret and let their instincts guide them.
Chicks aren't exactly like mice - they don't scurry around so the chase trigger doesn't get pulled. And when they stand there they tend to tuck their heads into themselves - so the ferrets have a bit of a time figuring out which end is which!
But a few tentative pokes with their noses and peeps from the chicks and soon they have it figured out. Roman and Crystal were the first t smell the chicks as soon as I brought them in the house!
AS each ferret dispatched their chick I put them in the cage to eat and let another one have a chick.
Nakita was not hesitant at all when it was her turn! She's been eating thawed mice and chicks for some time now so apparently she recognized this as food right from the start!
Flower was a bit perplexed and a little clumsy, but still the chick was dispatched in less than a minute.
DaVinci showed interest and curiosity in the chick, putting his mouth on it but not any real pressure behind his teeth. After a few minutes and he wasn't showing any further progress I removed him and let Crystal dispatch that chick.
RC stayed tucked away - probably interpreted the chicks final peeps as ferrets getting roughed up. HE's beginning to show interest in raw so will probably eventually turn predator.
I'm fairly pleased that Flower and Nakita discovered their inner predator, and happy to see them eat fresh prey!
Cheers,
Kim