Starting this weekend we've decided to switch the boys to a raw diet. They are both about 18 months old and currently eating a kibble mix of 8-1 and Marshall's. So which would be easier on them (and me), going cold turkey, so to speak, or easing them into it slowly. Saturday will be the first day we start this, and I'd like to have an idea of stuff to buy at the store on Friday, as well as a plan to get started on Saturday.
First of all:
on making the switch!!!
As for whether to go "cold turkey" or whether to go slowly that depends on a few things.
1. Do you feel comfortable fasting your ferrets? When going cold turkey (AS LONG as your ferrets are not insulinomic) we recommend removing all food from the cage for 12 hours, then offering the new, raw food.
2. Would you rather take your time with this switch?
Your boys arent so old that they will be impossible to switch cold turkey, but they are a little over 1.5 years old, so they might put up some resistance (dont let this discourage you! I am switching a very stubborn 8 year old (De) and an equally stubborn 6 year old (Sams) and both are currently eating raw!.
To prepare for your switch I recommend these supplies:
1. Meat based babyfood (pick the same flavor of babyfood as the raw you plan to switch them too first. I recommend going with chicken)
2. A feeding syringe (you can get a 10ml syringe at Walgreens for like $2) you will need this incase your babys outright refuse to eat. By squirting some food into their mouth you can motivate them to try the food.
3. Raw, boneless, skinless chicken breasts (breast tenderloins work too!)
4. Unflavored Pedialyte (in case your ferrets get the runs during the switch (it happens) this will help to keep them hydrated.
5. Ferrtone, Ferrovite, or your ferret's favorite treat (use as a bribe to get them to try the raw)
6. Plastic baggies (you can heat the meat slightly and make it more "enticing" by putting it in a small plastic baggy and putting it under warm/hot water.
7. Blender/food processer (if you decide to do the gradual wean vs. the "cold turkey" method.
Thats about all the supplies I can think of. Now on to the switching methods:
Here is the cold turkey switch:1. Remove all kibble from the cage for up to 12 hours. Do NOT feed your ferret during this time, but offer plenty of water. After 12 hours take some baby food and mix it with a finely minced RAW boneless, skinless chicken tenderloin, sprinkle some crushed kibble on top of the mixture, and add a few drops of ferretone. Offer the mixture to your ferret. If they turn their nose up at the mix, put a little on their nose to encourage them to try it. If your ferret eats the new food without any problems, continue to offer new food every 2-4 hours. If your ferret still refuses to eat you may fast them for up to but not exceeding 24 hours.
2. (Refer to this step only if your ferret is refusing to eat the new food) After 24 hours offer a fresh batch of the new food to your ferret. If they continue to turn their nose up at the food and its been 24 hours, squirt a few Ccs of baby food and ground kibble into their mouths using a feeding syringe. Don’t fill them up, but give them just enough food to keep their tummies from rumbling. In a few hours offer the new food mixture yet again. Eventually they should get hungry enough to try it.
3. Once your ferrets are eating the mix, gradually increase the size of the chicken chunks and phase out the crushed kibble, then the babyfood, then the ferretone. Within a few days your ferret should be eating rather large chunks of chicken tenderloin. Eventually they should be eating a whole tenderloin that has not been cut up.
4. Once they are completely weaned off the babyfood, kibble, and tone, offer them a chicken wingette (also called party wings). Eventually your ferret should learn to eat the bone. Once your ferret reaches this point you should begin to see a difference in the consistency of their stools (if their stools have been runny/ or loose they will start to firm up due to the fiber content of the bone).
5. Once they are eating party wings with ease, you can add chicken wings, legs, thighs, necks, and backs.
6. Once your ferret is used to the chicken and is eating all parts (including the bone) begin to introduce a meal of organ meat once a week (expect loose stools from this meal at first).
and here is the "gradual" switch:1. Day ONE: Moisten their kibble SLIGHTLY with some low sodium chicken broth.
2. When they are eating the slightly moistened kibble with no issues, mix in some babyfood with the soggy chicken brothy kibble.
3. When they are eating the kibble/broth with the babyfood in it, phase out the chicken broth until they are eating a mix of kibble and babyfood.
4. Offer them licks of babyfood as a special treat. Once they associate the babyfood with good things (and they like the taste), fast them for 12 hours then offer them the babyfood with TINY pieces of raw, cut up chicken in it (pieces of raw chicken HALF the size of a piece of ferret kibble). If they eat the food great! Increase the size of the chunks gradually. If they DO NOT eat the chunks (like if they eat around them), dont give up, keep offering the raw/babyfood mix. Eventually they SHOULD try the chunks.
5. Slowly phase out the babyfood and at the same time increase the size of the chunks. Eventually they should be eating plain, raw, chicken breast tenderloins (without them being cut up).
6. When they eat the chicken with ease, go ahead and buy a chicken WINGETTE. It is a section of a chicken wing. This is how you can introduce them to bone. They will chew the meat off the bone and at first they might leave the bone, but eventually instinct SHOULD kick in, and they'll eat the bone.
7. Start adding in different types of meat. As for how to make a "feeding schedule" Eventually your goal is to feed "Raw Meaty Bones" (bone in meat, like chicken thighs/wings/legs) 4 days per week, Bonless muscle meat (like turkey chunks or beef cubes) 2 days a week and organ meat (liver, gizzard, hearts, "sweetbread", etc) 1 day a week.
He's starting to worry me. I'll leave breakfast in there for them then, and hope they eat some. Chris got Mo to eat some baby food off his finger last night, more than I did anyway, but it still wasn't much. 
From what it looks like now that he's done, I would say he ate a good 2 teaspoons. Wooohoooo, now to get Mo eating it. I'm hoping now that Smucky is Mo will be a little more interested. 
