Hi everyone,

>here's a question for the FML that I don't think has come up before..
>what would you think the ideal diet for a ferret would be? I think it
>would be chicken cheweasel cross - the benefits of whole prey, the
>convenience of kibble, and the rubbery texture that ferrets love, not
>to mention how bright and shiny their teeth would be..

I'm from Hungary, and I feed my ferrets raw or cooked meat. I give them
the meat in (preferably big) pieces and they've learnt how to chew it
and eat it. I give them chicken, duck, rabbit meat, and mice, rat, and
cricket. I give them each part of the meat (meat, meat with bone, skin,
liver, lungs, etc) because this helps them in receiving all the
required vitamines and nutrients. I usually store the raw meat in the
freezer and pour boiling water on it before serving to make the meat
warm enough. I do not over-cook the meat. I think this is the best food
that can be given if the ferret gets used to it. I've had no negative
experiences on this in the last two years. (Comment: Ferrets who only
ate kibble all their lives may have problems with getting used to this
type of food)

I rarely give them kibble, and only in order to make them used to it.
There are times I cannot give them meat (eg. when on road) and they
should accept kibble then.

I don't use Bob's Chicken gravy, because it's much easier to give them
the food without processing. Bob's Chicken Gravy is not and never was
intended to be a long-term diet for ferrets. It is good for sick
ferrets, but if you give this to your ferrets all the time, they will
forget how to use their teeth, and I believe it might cause dental
problems. So please, do not feed your ferrets with chicken gravy all
the time (only occasionally).

Gaba 

[Posted in FML 5426]