It is truly silly, nay it is actually totally misleading, to attempt to
link an OFF LABEL use of Magnesium Sulfate in pregnant women to ferrets
being fed a diet of chicks and baby mice! What was THAT all about?

Anyone that is deliberately breeding ferrets should already have a
good working knowledge of dietary needs during gestation and through
lactation regardless of what food format they feed. People already
feeding a raw /natural diet AND who venture in to breeding are well
aware of feeding a complete diet which is NOT made up of simply chicks
and baby mice or just raw meat!

People need to be encouraged to think about their ferret's diet! How
many forums and posts does one have to read where people are feeding
their ferrets "Wild Harvest" (Walmart ferret food), "Marshall's
Premium", Bandit treats, Marshmallows, cheerios, Meow Mix, even Guinea
Pig Food to know that way too many people don't have a clue what is
healthy for a ferret? Just as feeding only oreo cookies to a child
wouldn't be considered a healthy diet, anyone who feeds a ferret ONLY a
slab of meat needs a pet rock instead! If kibble mfrs recognize ferrets
are obligate carnivores, then why do they keep offering foods fit for
herbivores? Why do their 100% completely balanced diets get new and
improved regularly? Why are we seeing the move away from grains and
more kibbles claiming to have X% MORE meat proteins?

Kibbles of any sort are made of plant items that ferrets cannot digest,
that is fact. Doing something one way for ages does not make something
right or good. Being unwilling to try an alternative method while
subsequently berating and attempting to subvert the alternative method
is not right or good either.

I have seen the results of feeding ferrets a typical kibble and ferret
treat diet: the poor teeth, foul breathe, poor muscle tone, poor coat
quality, lethargy, and I have treated for insulinoma and held ferrets
as they seizured and screamed and had them put out of their misery and
I vowed to do my best to prevent that happening to as many ferrets as I
can. This means getting ferrets to eat what their bodies are designed
to eat - not what is most convenient for humans. Although I don't see
feeding ferrets naturally as an inconvenience.

I have also seen ferrets formerly fed kibble and converted to raw
completely change for the better. Better coats, improved muscle mass
and tone, increased strength and stamina, better oral health. This has
happened for 23 of the 24 ferrets that have come to me. The one that
didn't switch still changed when his kibble was moved off of a corn
based prescription cat food to a grain free ferret and cat food mix,
but he never developed the same level of improvement as the raw
converts. He still ended up a victim of insulinoma. Because even a raw
diet cannot REVERSE the ravages of insulinoma!The raw diet can only
stall insulinoma. Moving from cheap kibble to better kibble is a step
in the right direction. But even so called "prescription diets"
administered under veterinary direction is evidently NOT appropriate:
http://s49.photobucket.com/user/Vanityferret/library/VF%20DaVinci

I haven't had the opportunity to acquire a raw fed kit, from privately
bred raw fed ferrets - probably never will - as way too many pet store
ferrets are being thrown away. All I can do is offer several last good
years to them and the ability to feel like real ferrets should. With
several Marshall's ferrets in my business now being older than 6 and
none of them showing any signs of insulinoma, I'd say the natural diet
speaks volumes even if their start was on kibble. It did wonders for
Fizzle - who just passed at 9 1/2 - pretty darn good for a Marshall's
ferret, kibble fed for her first three years!

Don't knock it unless you've tried it! I've done the kibble thing, been
there, done that, didn't take me decades to see there is a better
program - have found something better and am sharing with those who may
want to do something better for their ferrets. Some will, some won't -
it is their choice what they choose to feed - but the ferret only gets
to choose what it is fed.

Yes, please keep thinking about your ferret's food!

Cheers,
Kim

[Posted in FML 7811]