Hey Diane. It can definitly be frustrating trying to switch your ferrets to a more natural diet, but it is possible! I promise! I just switched a 6 year old (Sams) and an 8 year old (De) ferret to a natural diet. And we have several members on the forum that have struggled to get their ferrets onto raw, but with patience its working! Here are their threads. Why dont you read through them. There is some great advice in these threads and it should really help you out.
Toby's Mindy:holisticferret.proboards80.com/index.cgi?board=newbie&action=display&thread=187&page=1Jaycee:holisticferret.proboards80.com/index.cgi?board=newbie&action=display&thread=362&page=1I truely feel that a natural diet is important for a variety of reasons. I really dont like kibble. Here is why (this is a X-post from the ferret.com forum):
Why bother with a natural diet? There will be an entire section on the HF site called "Why bother with a natural diet". I will give you the basic summary (since I cant post this section in its entirety because its not yet copyrighted.
Here's the deal kibble is unnatural in its form. A ferret's natural food is soft, chewy, VERY high in moisture, and full of raw nutrients. Kibble is hard, crunchy, and has a lower moisture content then a hardwood floor!
Kibble can cause problems if it contains crappy ingredients (like corn, soy, etc) Avoiding these ingredients and purchasing a "higher quality" kibble is good, but even if you buy a kibble that contains no by-products, preservatives, corn, etc there are still problems. These problems stem from the very thing that makes kibble, kibble: its hard and crunchy texture, its low moisture content, and the binding ingredients needed to hold the kibble together.
These binding ingredients are ALWAYS carbs, and weather they are corn, wheat, or potato, they are still unnatural for a ferret to consume and can cause problems in the long run within a ferrets body.
Insulinoma, Peridontal disease, IBD, bladder stones, and lymphoma are all linked in some way to diet. An unnatural diet has a higher chance of contributing to these dieseases. I will BRIEFLY discuss insulinoma, peridontal disease, and IBD.
A VERY brief breakdown (will be FAAARRR more in depth with multiple citable sources when the HF website opens. Im just typing this info in summary form. If anyone wants to see my references for these statements feel free to PM me.)
Insulinoma: Kibble ALWAYS has a binding ingredient, without a binding ingredient the kibble pieces would fall apart. Unfourtunately a binding ingredient is always some form of carb. Higher quality kibbles contain lower carb binding ingredients, such as potato, but lower quality kibbles can contain ones like corn or even wheat. This binding ingredient MIGHT cause problems with insulinoma. I say might because at this time we are not 100% of the cause of insulinoma. I personally believe it is a mix between genetics and diet. A natural diet contains no binding ingredients, and as a result has a lower risk of contributing to insulinoma.
Peridontal Disease: This is a HORRENDOUS problem in all companion carnivores (just ask any vet). Peridontal disease is waaayyyy more then a cosmetic issue. It can lead to heart disease, compromised immune sytem, and even organ failure! This disease is not to be taken lightly (in people or in pets). Many people mistakenly believe that kibble cleans ferret teeth. It doesnt. The shape of kibble does nothing to 'scrape plauque' off of your ferret's teeth, if anything the abrasive surface of kibble actually DAMAGES ferret teeth. A natural diet that consists of whole prey OR raw meat/bone/organ can help to clean teeth naturally. The fur on prey animals helps to 'naturally brush' teeth and is NOT abrasive. Ripping through raw meat and sinew can help to clean teeth as well, there is also some people who think that the enzyemes in raw meat can assist with good oral health.
IBD and Digestive problems: A common problem in pets today (not just ferrets). Some belive that in sensitive ferrets the preservatives and extra ingredients in kibble can actually help contribute to or even cause IBD. Even if kibble doesn't cause or contribute to IBD one thing is true, the binding ingredients and extra ingredients in ferret kibble can often make IBD symptoms in ferrets worse. Many people have had great success managing their ferret's IBD after switching their ferrets to a raw or whole prey diet.
Also, as mentioned before kibble has a lower water content then a hardwood floor. Animals are designed to obtain MOST of their moisture from their food (not from drinking, although this is not to say they never drink water). According to the Ferret Rescue Society of Ottowa and Surrounding Areas:
"Kibble can be very hard on a ferret's body. It has 9 - 10% moisture content, which is less than a hard wood floor! Ferrets have a short bowel and a rapid transit time of 3 to 4 hours. When [fed] only dry kibble, they are forced to drink lots of water to facilitate digestion. When too much fluid is ingested with solid foods, the stomach acids are diluted, which hinders the breaking down of food."
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Now to help you with the switch, here is the switching method that one of the HF Mentors, aleronferrets (Nikki) reccomends. This is one of the best methods for stubborn switchers:Most ferrets are stubborn about food switching but if you stick with it, they can all be switched to whatever you'd like them to eat. My tried and true, fail proof switching plan is as follows (crossposted from another board, permisson to crosspost providing my email contact (AgileGSD@aol.com) is included).
Getting ferrets to switch to raw food is probably the biggest issue ferret owners face with the diet and is a major reason more ferrets aren't fed raw. Often owners try to switch their ferret but their ferret refuses to even try any form of raw meat. It is true that adult ferrets are quite difficult to introduce a new diet to. However, through trial and error I have created a step-by-step method to switch even the most stubborn, kibble lovin' fuzzy (or cats which are just as bad) to a raw diet.
All you need to start the transition is your ferret's regular food and some ground meat. The ground meat can be either pre-made commercial raw food or ground chicken/turkey from the grocery store.
1. Begin adding some moisture to the kibble by dripping some water over it before feeding. I like to use warm water - not too hot or cold. If your fuzzy already will eat canned food you may be able to skip to step 5 by taking away all kibble and just feeding canned.
2. Add more water to the day's kibble each day as long as your ferret is willing to eat the food. Most will eat wet kibble fairly easily and I think this is because their imprinting is more about smell than texture.
3. Once the ferret is eating the kibble with enough water to make it soggy began mashing the kibble up a little bit with a fork before feeding.
4. Slowly mash the kibble up more each feeding until the ferret is eating all of the food well mashed. The mashed kibble should look almost like canned food now.
5. Only is the ferret is eating the canned-food-looking-mashed kibble without a problem is it time for this step Now you will take just a tiny bit of the raw ground meat - maybe a pinch or two and add it to the kibble before mashing. Mash the kibble as usual and be sure the bit of raw food is well mixed with the rest.
6. As long as your ferret will eats the food with the raw meat mixed in you can double the amount of raw food added about every other day. Be sure you are mashing it up well with the rest of the food.
7. At some point there will get to be a lot of raw food in the bowl and it will no longer be hidden in with the mashed kibble. That's great as long as your ferret is consistently eating the food. Once this happens and as long as your ferret is still eating the food begin cutting back on the amount of kibble in the bowl. The kibble should be cut just as slowly as the raw is added in.
8. Cut back on the kibble until there is no kibble left in the bowl. Congrats now your fuzzies will eat raw! It should be mentioned that if at any point during this switch your ferret refuses the food go back a step or two. If your ferret decides mashed kibble is yucky go back to just adding a bit of water. I think the main issue with switching ferrets to raw is to be determined that you want to do it and that the ferrets will be switched. Don't let set backs make you give up - keep trying and they will eat raw
Now if you were using ground meat from the store to switch you will need to start thinking about what foods you are going to feed. Feeding all ground food is ok for switching but bone and organs are needed for a balanced diet. Pre made raw food (with bones, organs and meat all ground) is available but it tends to be the most expensive way to feed raw. Other options are chicken necks/wing tips, livers and hearts from any number of animals, frozen fish such as smelt, mice (live or frozen), frozen chicks or rabbit parts.
I would start with something easy and try to find chicken necks or wing tips. To switch your fuzzie to eating raw meaty bones:
1. Chop the RMB (raw meaty bone such as a chicken neck) into small parts and mix it into the ground meat your fuzzy is now eating.
2. As long as your fuzzy eats the meal as usual add the chopped RMB every day. Every other day chop the RMB into slightly larger pieces.
3. Soon you won't have to chop it up at all! Once the chopped parts are quite large try just offering the whole RMB.
In my experience once a ferret will eat raw meaty bones such as chicken necks and wing tips introducing new ones isn't hard. Other RMBs you can use would be chicken wings (all parts), chicken breasts and chicken backs. These all have some bones which ferrets can eat and some which are too large and they will leave. These shouldn't make up the bulk of the diet but can be used for variety - just remember to pick up the leftover bones before company comes An important part of raw feeding is variety so try to feed different things every couple days. My raw fed guys are fed twice a day.
Switching to mice is a bit different because they don't look like regular RMBs. With my ferrets who hesitated on mice (the older ones) I held the mouse near them and when they grabbed it to try to take it I held on. This caused the ferret to "open up" the mouse and see that it was full of meat. I wouldn't try switching right from kibble to mice unless you have a ferret who is willing to try new foods.
This method of switching works so well even on older ferrets because you are introducing the raw food in phases. To start you introduce moisture where the ferret is used to dry, second you add a different texture, after that just a hint of a different smell, then a different but now somewhat familiar smell, followed by a different but now somewhat familiar texture. Doing this tricks the ferret into accepting raw food as the norm instead of something totally weird and new.
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Its normal for ferrets to refuse to eat. and it sounds like you did the right thing by giving them back their food when they refused to eat after 16-17 hours. Each ferret is different and its all about finding the right method of switching for YOUR ferret.
PLEASE don't give up! We can help you succeed, we just have to figure out what "switching method" works best for your babies.