>A few days ago, Bob talked about feeding chicken bones to his ferrets.
>Since Bob is a very knowledgable and active member of the list, I read his
>comments with interest.  MeekO loves a treat of chicken but I was under the
>opinion that chicken bones were a no no for all animals. ... I would really
>like to hear some other opinions on the subject.
 
Whether or not to feed bones to pets has the potential for starting another
Feed Wars debate.  :) I was always told not to feed bones to my dog, but my
husband (who was raised on a farm) has fed her bones with no ill effects at
all.  It all digests.  The only effect I've seen is if she's had too many,
her poop is white.  (now remember I'm talking about my dog).
 
I, personally, would think that allowing a ferret to chew off the fat ends
of a bone would cause no problems.  I would be a little nervous about
letting them have the middle (long thin) parts because it splinters easily.
They totally digested the rabbit fur they ate from a cat toy, and I suspect
(like Mo' Bob says) the bones would just digest.  I'd just watch them
carefully.  Some ferrets seem to eat too fast, but others don't.  The fast
eating ferrets might have more trouble (just like dogs who bolt their food
have more trouble).
 
--Barb--
 
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Barbara Carlson                   Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh PA
[log in to unmask]                                      (412) 481-5927
 http://www.gsia.cmu.edu/andrew/bcarlson/home.html (under construction)
Thought for the day:
    If "boring women have immaculate homes," I must be very interesting!
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[Posted in FML issue 1725]