Questions!

[bibliophiliac]

I've heard that feeding them only a raw diet is unhealthy, as they eat other things in the wild too. Anyways, so here are a few questions I have that I couldn't find on the site (though I bet theyre here somewhere!). Sorry if some of these seem...obvious, but I only recently was convinced to consider a Raw diet so I don't know ANYTHING AT ALL about it.


1. Do you give your ferrets some top quality kibble to go with their meat?

2. I want to switch my ferts to 8-in-1 Ult or Evo Ferret before I try raw. Do you think it's okay to keep switching their food?

3. I tried searching for a thread but couldn't find one, so...Where do you buy your meat from and how much do you know to give them?

3. Do you have a certain meal time? (I just leave kibble in their cages, but meat would spoil)

4. Are certain meats better than others?

[Jackie]

I you read this: holisticferret60.proboards.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=meat&thread=55&page=1 It might answer a LOT of your questions

I'll try to answer your questions as best as I can

1. Do you give your ferrets some top quality kibble to go with their meat?

Nope. Not at all. There really isn't a need for it if they are getting a balanced diet.

2. I want to switch my ferts to 8-in-1 Ult or Evo Ferret before I try raw. Do you think it's okay to keep switching their food?

This question depends a lot of your goals with your ferrets. Are you planning on keeping kibble in the diet, and maybe doing like 50/50 raw? Then yes, I'd switch them to a better quality kibble. If you are planning to cut kibble entirely out, then no. Going straight to raw would be easier on you and your fuzzy.

3. I tried searching for a thread but couldn't find one, so...Where do you buy your meat from and how much do you know to give them?

So there are a couple options with this. Some people feed regular meats from the grocery store. Chicken, hen, turkey, beef, pork, lamb, etc. Organ meats can sometimes be found here as well. Those include liver, spleen, kidney, etc. You should also try to find a place to get some hearts. Some stores have them, others don't. Asian/ethnic markets are GREAT for finding cheap, affordable meats and a variety of organ meats, hearts, etc.

Another option is feeding a commercial raw diet. These can be frozen or freeze dried. You can buy these online, or find a local holistic pet store.

Finally, some people order their meats from places like RodentPro and Hare Today. This can be expensive, especially with shipping, but they are a LOT of variety and whole prey.

Now as far as how much you feed, it depends a lot of the ferret. Females can eat between 1-3 oz a day, males 3-5 oz. This is usually n the summer. During winter they can eat a lot more. The goal is feed 4 days bone in, 1 day just organ meats, and the rest plain muscle meats.

3. Do you have a certain meal time? (I just leave kibble in their cages, but meat would spoil)

I feed 2x a day, once in the morning, once at night. I leave any left overs until the next feeding time, so they are never without food. Meat doesn't spoil all that fast. The larger the pieces of meat, the longer it can be safely left out. Ground meats and soups generally are fine for 6 hours, larger chunks for 12, whole prey can be left for 24 as the skin also provides protection.


4. Are certain meats better than others?

Ferrets seem to do well on a variety of meats, rotating between them all. Chicken is a good staple, has a good amount of fat. Turkey is also very good. Hearts are a great source for Taurine, which is necessary for their diet.

[Jackie]

If you have any other questions, ask away!

Also, signing up for a mentor is a GREAT option. They will help you one on one and give you all the information you could ever want. There is a bit of a wait time, but it is definitely worth it. While you wait though, everyone here is willing to help you with your switch.

[sherrylynne]

Jackie gave you some excellent info there The only thing I would add is to stay away from any altered meats(ie: smoked, salted, spiced, etc). Anything else is fair game. You need a minimum of 3 different proteins in their diet, to be sure of covering your nutritional bases. More is definitely better. Example, I feed: chicken, duck, turkey, beef, pork, lamb, goat, bison, elk, venison, rabbit, quail, mice, rats, chicks, and am thinking of adding hamsters and guinea pigs. My more exotic meats(bison, elk, venison) are all done with commercial raw. The whole prey I can buy from local dealers.
Personally, I've not fed kibble in 3 years. I do try to have freeze dried on hand for those times when they have to spend any time at the vet's, so they don't get kibbles there .
Forgot one thing- they as a rule would only eat "other things" in the wild if they could not find their chosen source of food, simply due to sheer hunger and a need to fill the belly. Since they cannot in any way process fruits/grains/veg., odds of them consuming them are very remote, nor would they gain any nutritional benefit from them if they did. Ferrets(and I'm quite sure wild weasels as well) imprint on foods as a survival technique, so they don't accidently poison themselves. Mamma weasel shows them what's good to eat, and they stay far away from other things(example- black footed ferrets eat solely gophers, which is how they have become so endangered).

[sunnyberra]

I see you've already gotten great answers, but I'll just add my own answers to the pile

1. Do you give your ferrets some top quality kibble to go with their meat?

No way. Compared to a raw/natural diet, even the best kibble is a step down, and once I got my guys loving eating a raw diet, I'd never want to add kibble back into the mix.

2. I want to switch my ferts to 8-in-1 Ult or Evo Ferret before I try raw. Do you think it's okay to keep switching their food?

If you're really nervous about raw/natural, and not sure if you want to switch, you can. It can be a slow process, as well, and if you KNOW you're going to go the raw route, it's often better to switch from the kibble they're on now to the raw/natural diet. Ultimately, though, you're their ferrent and it's *your* decision

3. I tried searching for a thread but couldn't find one, so...Where do you buy your meat from and how much do you know to give them?

I get eggs, gizzards, cornish game hens/rockhens and boneless turkey breast from Wal-Mart. All the Tetrad's other food I get online (from Hare-Today).

3. Do you have a certain meal time? (I just leave kibble in their cages, but meat would spoil).

I really don't. It's vaguely morning and before I go to bed. The exact times change, but the principle doesn't. Unless the meat was off when you gave it (or heading that way), raw tends to jerkify before it spoils (and ferts love jerky, LOL). I've never had a case of bad meat in the 3 years and change I've been doing raw.

4. Are certain meats better than others?

Certain bone sizes are, definitely, only because you have to base RMBs on what a ferret can handle, dense weight bearing bones are generally too difficult, large animals (beef, a lot of pork, etc) are too thick for ferrets, as well. Meat, on the other hand, is a bit different. Certainly if a ferret has a sensitivity to something, that's a no go, and some meats are too rich for frequent feedings and some are comparatively less nutrient-rich, but fed in balance and in a varied diet, the more the better, and one's not preferred over any other (at least not in my experience. Except maybe for hearts, which are like "gold" to ferrents because they're a good, natural way of getting added taurine into the fuzz . Even then, though, you don't feed in exclusion. My guys [and it's pretty standard, I take it] get 2 heart meals a week).

Definitely just my thoughts/experiences

[Heather]

I've not fed kibble in over 12 yrs now. Over 30 ferrets can't be wrong You've got some awesome information. Keep researching. There's a ton of information here.
ciao