Things to consider in all matters concerning ferrets:
 
#1. And it's a huge #1... Ferrets do not respond well to abrupt changes.
 
#2. A treat makes it worth trying.
 
#3. If it's inconvenient, we won't keep doing it.
 
These 3 things are also the critical ingredients for duck soup.
 
Duck soup is what you're praying your ferrets will eat when they won't
eat their regular food.  Don't wait until your ferret has quit eating
regular food to try to get him to eat duck soup.  It's an abrupt change,
and you're simply adding more stress to a ferret already stressed by
illness.  You're chances of successfully introducing a new food is slim.
It can take weeks of persistent, patient offering of a soup (dipping
their chin into the soup) to convince a ferret that soup is edible.  Then
you can give soup a couple of times a week and the ferret thinks he's
getting a treat.
 
One small serving of duck soup (15ml - 3tsp) must be nutritionally
equivalent to one regular kibble meal.  There are many times that it is
a monumental effort to get just 5ml of soup into a sick ferret.  This is
where the actual ingredient list becomes vital.  Don't waste space with
ingredients that fill the stomach with little nutrition per milliliter.
This pretty much excludes those things like Ensure... too many carbs,
too little protein for the space it takes up.  Be cautious of 'taste
enhancers' for the same reason.  If you want to add vitamins, use a
product like Pet Tinic or other liquid vitamin rather than the sugar
added tube supplements like Ferretvite.  Every milliliter counts.
 
So don't get them used to a yummy, complicated recipe that is not
suitable for critical supportive care.
 
I save the Ferretone to sprinkle in their water bowl to encourage
drinking rather than adding it to the soup.  When a ferret is not eating
well the single most important symptom of improvement to watch for is
when the ferret eats and drinks on their own.
 
Actual ingredients?
 
I strongly recommend using regular kibble and water OR chicken baby food
& water.  Keep it simple.  Get them used to just the basic soup.  Small
additions of meds or vitamins won't make a big difference to the taste.
It won't be a dreaded chore for you to mix up a batch of soup on a
regular basis.
 
The whole story and all the reasons & recipes are here:
http://www.ferrets1st.com/articles/duck_soup_and_additives.htm
 
Debi Christy
Ferrets First Foster Home
www.ferrets1st.com
[Posted in FML issue 5163]