Before I get to my thoughts on Wolfy's post, my intention in my
responses was not to get into a raw/whole prey VS. kibble. I merely
dispute the "feeding live prey makes them more aggressive", based on
first hand experience & people that I know that have experience in
feeding live prey.

I keep kibble available to them at all times, as some of them do not
eat whole prey, & for convenience, if I have to leave the ferrets in
someone else's care, most other people would not be keen on the idea
of feeding mice, live or dead.

All too often, incorrect info gets passed around, or can get twisted to
a partial truth & people who do not know, take it as the truth. (For
example, I just receieved the email again "warning about the Swiffer
wetjet" & pets....it has been proven to be false, but it still gets
passed around as truth.)

Onto Wolfy's post. Thank you for your input, & your knowledge on
snakes. I know nothing about snakes. I can see that because snakes can
get more aggressive when fed live mice, that someone might assume it
goes for all animals.

**Caution; discussion of eating mice, for those who may not want read
this part**

You mentioned other options of dispatching the mice. There are a few
ways, which I won't get into, but I chose to allow my ferrets to
dispatch their own mice for two reasons; one, the enrichment, & two,
they are not like cats, they do not play with it so it gradually dies
(which is more important to me than my first reason) I don't know
about everyone else's ferrets who eat live mice, but I mine don't mess
around. It's very quick. They dispatch them fast, then sometimes they
start eating, or they will "stash it for later".

Since I do not want to find mice later, or raw for that matter, once
the mice are dispatched, if they decide to stash the mouse, I gather
them up, put them in a ziplock freezer bag, & put them in the freezer
for later. Many people have created "feeding box" similar to a dig box,
that is enclosed, has a tube going to it, & some have them attatched to
their cages, so the ferrets can take their food into one of the feeding
box, & eat without making a mess on your floor, couch, etc.

****************end of mice eating details****************

I love reading this daily list & I love being a part of various
forums. I respect others opinions & I may not agree with someone
else's viewpoint, but I do not hold it against someone for thinking
differently than I do. When incorrect information is being stated as
fact, some people take it as the gospel truth.

I would not feed live if it made my ferrets more aggressive, no matter
how much enrichment it provides, but knowing that it does not make the
any more aggressive, whatsoever, I will continue to feed live, & will
continue to respect those who choose not to feed raw/whole prey.

Thank you for reading,
Heather

[Posted in FML 6229]