new to ferrets, need help switching to raw

[arachniac]

This past week I rescued 3 ferrets from 3 different circumstances (none good). I have them all eating wellness Core and Archetype ferret food. That switch went well considering some of the poor quality food they were on when I got them. I'm expecting my shipment of 100 lbs of raw chicken, beef,rabbit, pork, goat and various organs and treats in on the 25th- so that's why I'm feeding the kibble and archetype now. Do you think 100 lbs will hold 3 ferrets for a month?? (JUST KIDDING! Its also for my 2 dogs and 4 cats!!) So the question is ... How do I best start the switch?? I thought they seem to like duck soup so I thought I could mix in some raw with that to get them started. I'm open to all suggestions... Esp when it comes to getting them to eat bones. Oh, BTW, I've been feeding prey model raw since 2004 to my cats and since 2009 for my dogs. I assume ferrets follow the 80/10/10 meat/bone/organ ratio?? And do you further breakdown the organs into 5 liver and 5 other organs?? Any other switching hints and tips would be greatly appreciated. I signed up for the mentor program but really want to get these guys onto real food ASAP.

Thanks,
Jill and the fuzzers:
Calvin,Hobbes and Alucia

[sherrylynne]

To start with, you may want to sign up with a mentor for some one on one coaching. These little beggars can be notoriously stubborn! We do have a bit of a waiting list, but people are graduating all the time
To start on your own, I'd try giving them some kibble sized bits of chicken. You may be able to give them plain, or you might have to cover them with soup, or even pulverized kibble. Mine started with cooked soups, into which I gradually increased a ratio of raw puree, til it was all raw puree, and went from there. Bones will come once they've increased their jaw strength on muscle chunks.
Ratio is a bit different from other carnivores. Good rule of thumb would be about 4 days bone in meats, 2 days muscle meats, and one meal liver/organ meats. Liver should be about 5% of weekly intake, and the same for other organ meats. It would amount to about one chicken liver/chicken liver sized chunk once a week. Same amount of other organ meat. They also need a good amount of fat. So I'm guessing ratio would be more like 70/20/10. Obviously it may need some tweaking depending on their particular needs.
You'll find the ferrets will need/tolerate more liver/bone than the cats, by the way!