I suspect that the barley helped some of her shelter ferrets for
the same reason that some ferrets with IBD are helped somewhat by
unsweetened pumpkin puree: fiber just does help some ferrets' ill
intestinal tracts be able to create normal or nearly normal stools.
When my two legged kids were small and had diarrhea I gave them barley
water. It was an old fashion remedy that my mom told me about. You
dump a bag of barley into a pot, cover it with water and bring to a boil
then simmer until the barley is mush. Then I gave them the boiled water
that was cloudy from the barley in their bottled, sometimes mixed with
Pedialyte. The diarrhea was gone within 24 hours.
I don't know if it was the fiber that helped, or if the barley broth was
just soothing to the intestinal tract.
Leslie
[Posted in FML issue 5277]