Hey everyone! Although I currently don't have ferrets (my last one -
Charlie Brown passed away in Jan, 2010), I *do* have a 2.5 yr. old
Border Collie with some particular dietary restrictions (she can only
eat grain-free food) so I am very "lable-conscious" and Sadie only gets
high-quality food and treats that pass my rigorous inspection. Because
there is so much CRAP pet food out on the market - esp. all of the
stuff imported into the U.S. from foreign countries with so little
regulations - Sadie ends up getting mostly fresh food and I make ALL
of her treats. And Sadie's treats are very simple - either dehydrated
meats or baked "cookies" made with simple, fresh, all natural, and
organic (when available) ingredients.

For the dehydrated meats, I use chicken breasts that I briefly cook in
the microwave (each breast for about 2 min.) so they're not totally
raw before dehydrating, then slice into thin strips and lay in the
dehydrator trays. VOILA! In about 10-12 hrs., my house smells
wonderfully of baked chicken (LOL! which drives Sadie CRAZY!) and I
have crunchy dehydrated chicken strips that can be crumbled or left
in strips for Sadie's training treats. She LOVES these and they are
SOOOOOOOOO easy to make with a dehydrator!!! And the best thing -
besides the treats being ALL-natural w/ NO preservatives, and the
chickens being born n' raised in the U.S. (and sometimes free-range
and raised on organically grown feed when the organic chickens are on
sale) - is that making my own treats saves TONS OF MONEY compared to
the store bought chicken jerky treats!!! Here's the cost breakdown:
$1.88 lb for chicken breasts (when they're on sale) = $.12/ounce. So I
can make 1 lb. of chicken jerky treats for $1.88. The cheapest I have
ever seen chicken jerky treats (which are Waggin' Train treats - the
ones made in China that should NOT be purchased!!) is $11.95 for a 16
oz bag (16 oz = 1 lb.) This equates to $.75/ounce! So do the math and
see how much cheaper it is to make your own chicken jerky treats. You
will be saving sooooo much money (even if you're paying up to $3.00 lb
for chicken breasts, it is STILL much cheaper than buying the treats in
the store!) And my dehydrator is nothing more than an old, round "Mr
Coffee" brand from the 80's that my parents gave me (used) after they
cleaned out their pantry last year. You don't need anything fancy at
all. NOTE: I DO recommend that after the dehydrating is done, the
chicken pieces be stored in an air-tight container in the fridge
because remember - they don't have any added preservatives and can
spoil quicker than the store-bought stuff.

Good luck!!
Jennifer & Sadie :-)
"Our purpose in life is to find our gift, perfect it, and give it
back to others"

[Posted in FML 7529]