Feeding Plan

[rmzsuzuki89]

I’m trying to put together a diet regiment for the ferret I will have here in the near future and wanna make sure what I have in mind sounds ok.

I heard that ferrets should have access to food for munching throughout the day, so I will be leaving a bowl in the cage 24/7 and filling it with one or two of the three or four different kibble brands, and rotating the brand each day. Some that I had in mind for the rotation are Evo, Zupreem, Natural Gold, and Totally Ferret...Or maybe instead of leaving kibble in the cage, I could leave freeze-dried raw foods in. Would this be a better option?

I also would like some advice on the raw and whole prey feeding, as I still don’t feel totally comfortable with my knowledge of it. I can get whole prey at the same place I get it for my tegu. But is the raw just going to the grocery store and feeding meat than can be had there, or is it ordering special raw food, or is it a bit of both?

[sherrylynne]

If you are feeding kibble, then yes, they need access 24/7, because they can't get the nutrition from the kibble that they do from the meat.
With raw, I feed twice a day. Some is usually left in the cage for them between meals.
The basic idea of feeding raw is to try to mimic what they'd get with whole prey as closely as we can. So, liver and organs once a week, bone in meats(chicken wings, turkey necks, etc) at least 4 days a week. Muscle meats otherwise.
And yes, you can make up an entire diet from what you'd get at the store I feed chicken, turkey, beef, pork, lamb. As well as some commercial raw and whole prey(frozen/thawed)
Freeze dried are much better than the kibble, as it is raw. However, unless the freeze dried is rehydrated, they'll still have the borderline dehydration they'd have with the kibble. Nor will they get the dental benefits of raw meaty bones.
I hope this helps answer some of your questions

[rmzsuzuki89]

Nov 25, 2010 21:14:36 GMT -5 sherrylynne said:

If you are feeding kibble, then yes, they need access 24/7, because they can't get the nutrition from the kibble that they do from the meat.
With raw, I feed twice a day. Some is usually left in the cage for them between meals.
The basic idea of feeding raw is to try to mimic what they'd get with whole prey as closely as we can. So, liver and organs once a week, bone in meats(chicken wings, turkey necks, etc) at least 4 days a week. Muscle meats otherwise.
And yes, you can make up an entire diet from what you'd get at the store I feed chicken, turkey, beef, pork, lamb. As well as some commercial raw and whole prey(frozen/thawed)
Freeze dried are much better than the kibble, as it is raw. However, unless the freeze dried is rehydrated, they'll still have the borderline dehydration they'd have with the kibble. Nor will they get the dental benefits of raw meaty bones.
I hope this helps answer some of your questions

Thanks for the info, that pretty much cleared it all up for me. I think I was just kind of over-thinking it lol.

[josiesmom]

Don't get stuck in a feeding regimen as pertains to what you feed - feeding naturally is best approached by feeding a wide variety of foodstuffs. I find it helps to feed also a variety of forms of food - raw, freeze dried, dehydrated, pureed, gravied, whole prey, live prey. Keeps meal time interesting! Covers all bases of nutrients, doesn't let them become imprinted upon only one food type.

Cheers,
Kim

[rmzsuzuki89]

Nov 29, 2010 2:11:41 GMT -5 josiesmom said:

Don't get stuck in a feeding regimen as pertains to what you feed - feeding naturally is best approached by feeding a wide variety of foodstuffs. I find it helps to feed also a variety of forms of food - raw, freeze dried, dehydrated, pureed, gravied, whole prey, live prey. Keeps meal time interesting! Covers all bases of nutrients, doesn't let them become imprinted upon only one food type.

Cheers,
Kim

That's kinda what I was planning after doing some reading around here and from the replies in this thread.