I've had many e-mails off list with questions about natural feeding.  I
have and am quite willing to continue, to answer any queries and help
out where I can privately.  However, I work and have other commitments
so I sometimes get short of time.  Please excuse me if my posts and
e-mails sound abrupt.  It's just how I talk when in a hurry. :-)
 
Jodie wrote:
>I am interested in feeding a raw diet.  Do you buy the ground turkey
>and chicken.  You said you feed all they will eat.  How many times a day
>is it offered.  I give my six cooked chicken when they want it.  My kids
>are free roam and I would be concerned about them hiding a piece of raw
>meat somewhere and going back later to eat it.
 
Jodie, the idea of a natural diet is to provide optimum nourishment as
well as keep the ferrets' teeth clean and healthy.  This means feeding
small whole prey, such as mice, chicks, small rats etc and/or raw meaty
parts of prey such as chicken pieces, quail, rabbit, turkey etc, all with
the bones still in, and occasional offal such as chicken liver, lamb
hearts etc.  I sometimes give my ferrets large chunks of beef for variety
and as a treat, but it's not really necessary.  Except for when ferrets
are first learning to eat raw meat, ground or small pieces of meat is
avoided because it does not keep the teeth clean.  Because of the
increased surface area, it also tends to go "off" more quickly than
large pieces of meat.
 
My ferrets are also free roam 24/7 and I feed them twice a day.  I
estimate how much they will eat during the day and put it down for them
in the morning.  When the plate is empty in the evening, I check all of
their hiding places and if there's no stashed supplies, they get a new
plateful.  There's no problem with them eating stashed food at a later
time.  My ferrets do it regularly and it does them no harm.  (My
Chubb-Chub is a real foodie and will sometimes eat the most appaling
stuff that she finds hidden in the garden in preference to the fresh
stuff on the plate.  Sigh)
 
My ferrets are never given kibble (in fact, wouldn't eat it if offered)
and neither do they get any vitamin or mineral supplements as their diet
provides it all.  Taurine is found in raw meat so there's no need to
add it.
 
The best part of natural feeding is, apart from the obvious health
benifits, MY FERRETS LOVE IT!
 
You might like to subscribe to
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NaturalFerrets
for more help, advice & support.
 
Isn't it amazing that the old wives' tale of raw meat causing savagery in
animals still persists after all these years.  Some myths are very hard
to bust.
 
Cheers,
Shirley
[Posted in FML issue 5162]