Hello all :o)
 
Condolences to all who have lost their precious little ones.  And tons of
well wishes for a speedy recovery to the ill ones.
 
Question please.  How many is too many????
 
Here's the deal, I was at the vets with one of my monsters.  Before the
vet comes in, the vet tech does there thing, the standard "check-up"
questions.  You know ... the Are there any problems?  Is she active?  How
is she eating, doing her "business". ect...
 
Well when it came to the eating part, she asked if she is still eating
IAMS the Marshall's mix.  And I said no.  The tech asked why the switch,
and what are they eating now.  I stated that.  I stopped with the IAMS
because one of my little guys was getting pudgy and I noticed that IAMS
seemed to have a lot of fat it in.  <There is nothing wrong with ferrets
eating IAMS>  But, since my little guy could not keep his face out of the
food dish..  I thought I better switch.
 
About the same time, I helped with a local rescue.  Long story short, I
ended up with another weasel :o)  He was eating Sheppard & Greene.  Well
my gang loved it so out went the IAMS
 
Next thing I knew, they stopped eating the Marshall.  They were actually
only eating the Sheppard & Greene and leaving the Marshall kibble in the
dish!!!  It was quite a skill and I was impressed LOL.  But them eating
only one kind of food bothered me because we ALL know how fussy these
guys can be.  And what if I could not get it for some reason at one time.
 
So I went poking around on the web and found some package deals on food
and bought one.  It was Zupreen, 8 in 1 Ultimate, and Totally Ferret.
When I got it, I figure what the heck and mixed all 4 together.  It was
a smash hit!!!  The kids gave it 20 paws up :-)
 
So that is what I told the vet tech they are eating.  I was told it is
not good to mix so many foods.  This stuck me as kind of odd, I really
didn't see and issue with it.  But, maybe there was a reason not to do
this, I so asked why.  I was told because of the nutritional value in
each of the kibbles is all-different and they might not be getting the
right amount of nutrition.  I just let it go and said ok.
 
Did I miss the boat here or something?  Does this make sense?  If each
brand of kibble is balanced to be a sole source of food intake for a
ferret, and I am feeding them 4 different ferret foods, why is nutrition
an issue?
 
Could it be that the nutritional value balance is in the bag as a whole
and not in the individual kibble pieces?  Meaning, that in a 1/2 c of
kibble out of the bag, there is 4 percent of the chicken in it.  But in
the next 1/2 c there is only be 2 percent?  So if one ferret is only
always getting the pieces from each different kibble with the "low"
value of the nutritional balance, are they not getting a good diet?
 
I may be grabbing at straws here.  And I KNOW I am over analyzing this..
hehehehe sorry  But it is really bugging me that I might not be feeding
my babies properly.  Am I feeding them too many different kinds of food?
Is 4 too many?
 
Now, I know about the "natural diet".  I have seen and read the posts on
it and feeding this way ... Please, this is not meant to be taken any
other way then what is typed.
 
All the more power to you if you do that :o)  BUT to each their own, it
is not for me.  My crew eats kibble as a stable.  occasionally some "duck
soup" or "chicken gravy" or sometimes a baby food / ground kibble mix :o)
 
Sorry for the long post.  Any thoughts or comments are welcomed :o)
Thanks a bunch, have a wonderful day :-) and Cuddle your fuzzies
 
Brenda and the monsters 5 Fric, Tic, Tac, Toe, DaWeasel, and my ferret
angel Frac :o)
[Posted in FML issue 3987]