|
Post by whipple on Jul 21, 2008 16:31:15 GMT -5
excuse the typing, sleeping child on chest, only one handed.
Anyhow, if I were to do a hole prey diet, no raw or kibble, what kind of variety would be best, and how much would I need to feed?
|
|
|
Post by buzzonesbirdie on Jul 21, 2008 18:39:09 GMT -5
ok the amount you need to feed depends on your ferrets. for example take adult mice. i have one ferret that eats only one mouse and is full and another one that will eat 3 mice before he is full (he is also a baby soo). i would give one adult mouse or baby chick per ferret that you have and if they seems to be looking for food then give more until you see that there is alot of food that they are able to stash and then i would take away the equivelent of what you see laying around. i feed chicken too but the whole prey that i feed (one meal a day is chicken and one whole prey) is mice (all ages) rats (all ages) rabbits ( i do 5 pounders for my 10 and they eat that in 24 hours) baby chicks, and quail (all ages) i order from rodenpro. i am thinking about adding guinea pig but not sure that i could as i had one as a pet as a child
|
|
|
Post by Forum Administrator on Jul 21, 2008 19:32:34 GMT -5
The key with whole prey is variety. Variety of ages AND variety of species. Feed mice as the bulk of the diet (and make the majority of those mice large or x-large with some younger mice, pinkies/fuzzies/hoppers, thrown in) rats can be fed as well (again all ages, although the largest sized rats will be too big for one ferret), quail is popular but unless you are feeding adult quail (which are often too big for one ferret to consume) dont make them a diet STAPLE (but DO feed them), chicks make a good snack, and guinea pigs are good variety too. You can include whole raw anchovies and sardines, but dont do so more then 1x per week (ferrets arent really built to regularly consume fish). Bugs can be added occasionally as well (but only as a snack or treat every now and then) superworms, mealworms, silkworms, crickets, and grasshoppers work well.
As for how much to feed, it depends on the ferret. As Jasmine said, some ferrets will need to eat just 1 mouse while others need more. My two 8month and 10 month old male ferrets eat 2-3 adult (large) mice per day. They will split a medium guinea pig, and they'll each eat a small rat on their own. When they were kits (ie. under 6-7 months old) they ate MUCH more (as growing kits will do). If your ferret seems hungry, feed more. You can offer a mouse and if they refuse (and they are used to eating whole prey) then they arent hungry (just stick the mouse back in the freezer).
Personally I think a whole prey only diet is the best way to feed ferrets (raw being second best). This is how I feed my ferrets (all whole prey with some raw scraps and occasional snacks).
If you'd like help putting your ferrets onto a whole prey ONLY diet, then my b/f Tim (who is a Holistic Ferret Mentor) would be the person that will assist you. He believes in ONLY feeding whole prey, and he's very helpful.
|
|
|
Post by whipple on Jul 22, 2008 0:03:30 GMT -5
Thanks for the advice.
I was actually planning on graduating from raw to whole prey eventually. I wasn't originally planning on it, but I figure it would be even better than raw.
So would you say that about 80% or so would be rodents (mice, rats, gps, ect), with everything else thrown in for variety? Or would it be more or less? I want to make sure I get it right, since the only animals I know of that eat whole prey are snakes and some other reptiles, and thats far easier lol.
|
|
|
Post by Forum Administrator on Jul 22, 2008 2:11:06 GMT -5
80-90% rodents is good. Quail, chicks, lizards, bugs, fish, and eggs can make up the other 10-20% of the diet
|
|
|
Post by buzzonesbirdie on Jul 22, 2008 7:13:01 GMT -5
i would love to feed a 100% whole prey diet but just cant swing it money wise the once a day chicken that i feed makes it possible to feed whole prey the other meal each day
|
|