Ooooh man, I don't know guys...

[KD]

I've looked into raw feeding for my dog before, but never started. Now I'm looking into it for my ferret's. I don't know if I could feed them prey parts, let alone whole prey dead or alive.

The store bought meat doesn't seem so bad, but a lot of the pictures on this forum show the ferrets eating raw meat in their cage, and on people's floor. Do you guys have any suggestions if I wanted to keep the eating area more... contained?

Also, I couldn't find any kind of eating time schedule, any information on that would be FAAANNNNNTASTIC! :3

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[3kaw]

Welcome!
Cute little ones waiting to be let out lol

I feed raw foods, like those you'd find at a butchers. It took a bit of looking to get the organ meats (like spleen and kidney) the rest were fairly easy to fine. it takes a bit more work this way. My fuzbutts are still mostly on ground meats, just getting some chunks into them. I freeze everything into ice cube trays then bag the cubes, so i have easy access to the right portion size.

I also feed out of ceramic bowls. I either feed them with supervision, or since the babe joined us i have had to do some where i leave it in the cage as he can be a handful LOL. At this point they eat 90%. they rarely stash any in the cage,and when they do I just clean it out when i remove the bowl.

Some others have great ideas for feeding dens, though i dont have the room for that so this works for us for now.

Take a look at the mentor program as well, it's a great way to get one on one help during your switch.

[KD]

A prompt replier! I like you, haha.

I like the idea of a frozen meat cubes, I've done that with chicken stalk for my dog before.

As for feeding dens, I'll look into them, but I'm thinking the shower might be a good place to let them eat, easy to clean tile sort of thing.

'And, the mentor program. I shall, it didn't look very current/active, but I'll submit an application.

Thank you miss!

[sunnyberra]

Generally, it's good to feed twice a day (morning and night). The rule of thumb is they should have a bit of food left to eat between meals. If they happen to finish everything in one sitting, they'll need a bit more, if there's a ton left over, feed less.

For containment, there's a lot of people that use feeding boxes (homemade). It can take a bit of training for them to realize how to use them, but they generally do help with the stashing, and it helps with the mess.

Don't know if that's the kind of info you're looking for, but hopefully it gives you an idea!

[KD]

That's exactly the help I'm looking for!

The eating twice a day thing is a bit strange for me, I thought they had to have a constant supply of food due to their fast digestion? I was imagining people doing feeding 6+ times a day. If that isn't the case, I am 5 times more interested in this diet!

I'm also assuming some people may use ferret food as the "bit of food left to eat between meals," but correct me if I'm wrong.

This forum seems a tad more close knit than the ferret.com ones. Great servicel A+++++++ would do business again (ebay joke, lol).

[rarnold18]

Hi and Welcome to the group! I currently feed 3 dogs and 9 ferrets raw. Everyonce in awhile they'll get something whole like a quail or bunny but for us that's more of a treat... I feed the dogs outside and the ferrets in their cage. I clean up after them once a day, scoop the litter, clean up any accidents and if there is food that is starting to turn I take it out... for us I usually leave the leftovers in the cage because not everyone eats at the same time and they like to snack! A lot of people use feeding dens, some out of cardboard boxes (that can be thrown out when they get icky) and others out of plastic rubbermaid type bins that can easily be cleaned.
Take a look around the feeding and nutrition section, there's tons of info and if you have a question that you can't find an answer too, ask away! Everyone here is awesome!

[KD]

Hi rarnold, I have been reading as much as I can, I think I'm just procrastinating the next step which is buying, followed by preparation and feeding.

Since you feed your dogs raw as well, can you pretty much feed them and your fuzz balls out of the same "stock" of food?

I occasionally give my dog a raw egg or two with her kibble, do you think I could give my ferret raw egg?

[bluemoose]

The only thing that the dog would eat that the ferrets can't would be large bones. As far as meat, organs, and smaller bones like bird bones, the food can be the same for the dog and ferrets. Yes, ferrets can eat raw eggs shell and all. Most ferrets aren't interested in eating shell though and will only take it in a powered form with other foods.

Kibble fed ferrets need to have a constant supply of food because their fast digestion coupled with the lack of nutrition in kibble means they need to eat often to keep up. Raw feed ferrets are getting a lot more nutrition in their food so they only need to eat once or twice a day. However many people here still leave out some form of food for their ferrets in between meals. It's not recommended to feed kibble and raw as these digest at different rates and could upset a ferret's digestive system. Plus if your ferrets will eat raw, there's no reason to keep giving them kibble. If you're not comfortable leaving raw or whole prey out between meals, consider using freeze dried raw as an in between meal supplement.

[sherrylynne]

Hi, and welcome The mentoring section may look inactive- believe me, it isn't We do have a few who have simply applied for a mentor, and then haven't bothered checking in again Those are left for a while to see if they are still interested.
Anyway, as the others have mentioned, raw fed ferts get a LOT more nutrition from their meals than kibble fed, so don't need to eat as often. And yes, you can feed a completely balanced raw diet from what you'd get in the grocery store You do not in any way need to feed whole prey. I do weekly, simply because it's so much easier to toss in a couple of frozen/thawed mice for them, combined with the fact of just how much they love them
Basically anything you can name as meat, they can have Unless it's altered in some way(smoked, salted, spiced, etc) it's all fair game!
But please, browse around, check out the mentoring threads, as well as the archives to give you an idea about switching ferrets. Check out the "newbie questions" section as well. That's also got a lot of info! Join in on the conversations, and please ask questions. Everyone here is very friendly, and more than willing to answer any questions you may have
Oh- and more pictures, please

[candiceboggs]

Dec 15, 2010 15:23:35 GMT -5 3kaw said:

Welcome!
Cute little ones waiting to be let out lol

I freeze everything into ice cube trays then bag the cubes, so i have easy access to the right portion size.

What an AWESOME piece of advice! I just had this vision of buying some regular and/or fancy ice cube trays (with lids that snap on for easy mess-less thawing) And each cube or two with a label over it - Monday - Tuesday - Wednesday, etc. And each for that day would be boneless or bone-in or organ meats or whatever. How I love organization. Though, come to think of it bone-in chicken wings/drumsticks would probably be more optimum so perhaps each ice cube tray could be for boneless meats and/or organ days. Too cool!

[sherrylynne]

You should see my set up, Candice I have 3 boxes in my freezer. One is for muscle meats, one is for bone in meats, one is for whole prey. They get what they get. I just reach in the appropriate box for that day, and they get whatever I grab

[candiceboggs]

Dec 15, 2010 23:23:58 GMT -5 sherrylynne said:

You should see my set up, Candice I have 3 boxes in my freezer. One is for muscle meats, one is for bone in meats, one is for whole prey. They get what they get. I just reach in the appropriate box for that day, and they get whatever I grab

I really like that system. Hah! Our chest freezer (we have a 14.9 cubic footer) is usually packed to the gills and just arranged by type of meat. o.O I have to do something about that. I want to just be able to have the pets eat whatever I grab!

[Heather]

Hi there
I'm a little slow to answer today, and more than a little disorganized in comparison to sherrylynne. At present, I'm feeding raw to a large dog (irish wofhound), 3 senior citizen cats (13 yrs) and 12 rescued ferrets who call this place home (at the moment I'm also hand feeding 2 sickies ). All eat raw. After feeding this manner for over 12 yrs, one becomes a bit more relaxed about it but one can adjust ones feeding to any level of organized chaos
My guys get a wide range of food from, commercial grinds, my own grind mix, frankenprey (that I get from either a raw feeding coop or the grocery store) to whole prey. You can improve on the kibble just by simply feeding commercial ground. It's not the best but it works and is a hundred times better than any kibble you can feed.
Stick around, ask questions, learn...your little ones will appreciate it in the end, maybe not in the beginning but in the end
ciao

[rarnold18]

Oh yeah, the ferrets and dogs eat the same stuff with one exception, my Pit, Fagan, is sensitive to pork so he doesn't get that everyone else does! They love eggs, I just put a bit of a crack in them and put them whole in the cage, that way they have to work at it to get the good stuff! They all love quail eggs, the dogs eat them like Jelly beans and the ferrets go nuts over them! When I first started feeding eggs I had to crack them all the way so they knew that they were food and yummy, now it's a bit of a crack so they get that added enrichment rolling it around and trying to figure out how to get to the yummy! ...as for organization, there is none! I have a fridge/freezer combo in the laundry room that is strictly for animals that way if something leaks onto the shelf in the fridge I don't freak out over germs... I have the tendancy to play "freezer tetris" work it around until it all fits and what I grab and defrost is what they get. This morning the ferrets got some ground mixes ,a bit of wh gr turkey, wh gr lamb and ksm, and a bit of beef hearts... I tend to feed them when their bowls are empty sometimes it's once a day sometimes it's twice a day. The dogs on the other hand are starting to get a bit on the pudgy side so I've cut out their morning snack...and they just get dinner now.

[3kaw]

I just had this vision of buying some regular and/or fancy ice cube trays (with lids that snap on for easy mess-less thawing)

I got about 12 from the dollar store, with lids. A buck each.
Just remember what you put in them, I do have a baggie of mystery meat