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]