Suzi, I replied to you privately about what we feed our crew, but since
you asked here afterward I guess if must have been lost in the ether.
Here you go, complete with addenda:
 
>Exactly would be hard to say.  Their staples are a mixture of a number
>of high quality kibbles (such as Totally Ferret, Marshalls, 8 in 1
>Ultimate, Ferret Supreme, etc.) but they also get treat soups of a/d, or
>of assorted meat baby foods, and if I am making up a bird (not often
>done around here anymore since Steve is a vegetarian an now dislikes
>even the odor) I make up a slurry of meat, skin, fat, cartilage, marrow,
>organ meats, and powdered bone from the bone ends (I am personally leery
>of pureed bone since I am never satisfied that i have gotten all the
>splinters and I have had too many vets tell me horror stories of
>injuries they have themselves encountered to the esophagus, stomach, or
>small intestine) so for a long time -- at least 15 years (with revisions
>over time) -- I've been making this and powdering the bone ends with
>forks; there is also added Ferretone and sometimes Nutrical, often some
>cooked egg yolk.  It would not be a complete diet, though, since it
>would not be high enough in some things including sometimes calcium and
>taurine thanks to the cooking for the second.  We've actually added a
>tums tab and taurine, etc.  now and then to pull up the levels for a
>sick one when the food isn't just a treat.  The organ and "waste" food
>parts (like cartilage, viens, liver, etc.  are very important: they add
>nutrients not found in muscle meat.  These sorts of homemade foods have
>been around long before us and many arose after we first started using
>them, and not all are based on poultry.  There are multiple variations
>of home-made foods based on all sorts of things depending on the person,
>with additions varying in reasons added that range from very careful
>reading to faith (Re: faith: I've seen some strange things I won't even
>mention added to some folks' preparations over the years.).  Oh, and we
>make sure to throw in any veins or things like that, too.  Those things
>are treats or supplemental usually and we also use some of the cheaper
>cat foods for treats.  All of our guys think that pieces of Meow Mix are
>better treats than most of the more commonly given ones that would be
>worse for them.  I know a vet who has ferrets who like some of the dog
>foods and gives pieces of that for treats as well as pieces of el-cheapo
>cat food.  Some of our's like fatty cooked poultry skin as treats.
>We try to get them all to like some banana because it is so useful if
>cardiomyopathy happens later.  Now and then a raisin will be gotten
>(though we don't give fruit if insulinoma or fibrous things if IBD is
>present).  Dried cranberry or blueberry can also be useful to get them
>to like because the tannins in those prevent bacteria from sticking to
>the bladder walls so there are situations in which it later can be
>useful for health reasons.  They have Ferretone, and two like a bit of
>Nutristat or Nutrical on and off.  Oh, some of them like a bit of Ensure
>now and then and we have also had this be very useful stuff for them to
>like when a serious health problem arises later esp. one who had a badly
>compressed esophagus from advanced cardiomyopathy.
 
Anyway, that's just me.  There are going to be variations all over the
board, so people should read pros and cons of each and then make their
own choices, same as with anything in life.
 
I guess that part of the reason I don't personally worry a lot about
kibbles is because we had ferrets in the family back before things like
insulinoma and adrenal neoplasia were seen so commonly and they also were
on kibbled foods (though not ones as concentrated in nutrients as current
ones), so I tend to personally doubt at this time (There is always more
to learn and more info can change opinions if it adds up right.) that
kibble is a major impacting factor compared to whatever may have changed
more in the pet stock, the ways people keep them in the U.S., circulating
disease, etc. -- a feeling that is enhanced by our still having lower
rates of these two problems than I've read reported as possible averages
though nothing as low as used to exist in our family.  I do wonder if
such foods could be made with a gelatin matrix instead and if that would
cause a further improvement, but I personally think that other factors
may be more important in those problems.  And that is just my take based
on our experiences over going on 21 years with ferrets, so do with it
or parts of it what you will in your own feeding because everyone's
experiences and reading will vary...
[Posted in FML issue 4135]