Michelle,
 
I'm not a vet, but I've had lots of experience with ferrets and Duck Soup.
I think that Duck Soup is a good, high calorie food to feed sick ferrets.
If you are using chicken baby food in your mixture, that is pure protein.
I'm sure it's not enough when you add everything else in, but what I do
is crush up Totally Ferret - rather than soaking it - soaking takes way
too long - crush it up like a graham cracker crust and mix the crushed up
TF in with your Duck Soup.  This will get some good balanced ferret food
into his system and yet it will not take away from the Duck Soup itself.
 
I'm not sure what it is, but I think it must be the vanilla flavoring in
the Ensure, Suscital, or whatever you're using - that makes it so appealing
to the ferrets - but most ferrets *love* Duck SOup.
 
Right now you need to get some weight back on that ferret, and Duck Soup
will help do that.
 
Another thing about Duck Soup:  if you have to medicate in pill form, this
is an ideal way to do it.  Crush up whatever pill you're giving it, mix
it in with the Duck Soup (use a small amt of Duck Soup so you know the
ferret gets ALL the medicine) and feed it that way.  When the ferret has
devoured that portion of the soup, then you can feed more.
 
I particularly like to do this with prednisone.  Pred can sometimes cause
stomach upsets, so it is better to give on a full tummy.  I mix the pred
with Duck Soup (or just plain chicken baby food) and then it is not a
stressful ordeal trying to pop a pill down a ferret's throat.
 
Good luck -
 
Debbie Riccio
WNYFLFA
Rochester, NY
[Posted in FML issue 1216]