>I am looking for some advice on introducing meat into Fee's and
>Milly's diets.  These poor little ferrets have lived their entire
>lives (5+ years) in a vegetarian home and have never been exposed
>to meat.  As a result, they seem to believe they are vegetarian
>ferrets!
 
Don't feel bad - ferrets are notoriously picky eaters!  Only two of ours
will even touch real meat.
 
If you want them to take something new like this, you have to get it into
their mouths.  Letting them sniff it doesn't seem to help.  With the baby
food, try scruffing them and putting a little bit in there when they yawn.
Some people say put it on the roof of their mouths, but I like to rub a
tiny bit onto their tongues with my finger.  (Don't try this with a
biter!)  Once they taste it, or maybe after a few tries, they should take
it on their own.
 
Try something like Bob Church's chicken gravy instead of whole meat.
They seem to accept it better.  When they are eating that by themselves,
you can make the chicken pieces larger and larger, until they will
finally take chicken chunks by themselves.
 
Roger & the Fibonacci Ferts
[Posted in FML issue 3799]