I am not being paid for the following - just sharing thoughts...
 
Since nutritional studies have never really been done on ferrets, and people
in different parts of the world are feeding their ferrets different things
and have different results, no one can really say what is a perfect food or
diet for pet ferrets.
 
Now, I do feed my nursing mothers and the kits a wet canned diet.  Dry food
is available for mom at all times, but the kits are not allowed kibble
completely dry until their adult canines come in.  Wet food is also used for
ill or older ferrets with mouth problems.
 
I have also given my adult ferrets, breeders and pets, canned food as a
weekly treat.  This is not enough to rot their teeth and I do this in lieu
of raisins or other sweet stuff.
 
There is nothing wrong with using raisin juice for the flavor of 8 in 1.
Sheppard and Greene uses fig juice.  Iams and other cat foods use beet
juice.
 
Adding ferretone to the canned food is meant as a treat.  I have added egg
and linatone to my canned treat and some ferrets took a lick, others ignored
it.  I don't think the 8 in 1 canned food is meant to be the whole diet.  It
is certainly a better treat than red licorice, boxed cereal, or any other
human food we pass out.
 
In Europe, dry ferret diet is just becoming available.  Many ferret owners
have traditionally used canned (tinned) cat foods and fresh dead chicks or
rabbit as the diet - bones and all.  Their ferrets live a bit longer than
ours - does this mean we should be feeding our ferrets road kill?  I don't
think so.
 
But it does suggest that either we have a genetic problem with our farm
ferrets that shortens lives, OR we have a diet issue to improve, OR BOTH, or
maybe something else altogether.  Since most of my personal ferrets have been
home growns and regularly live until 7 to 9 years of age, and my last
Marshall Farm ferret is wasting of lymphoscarcoma at the age of 7 years now,
I feel I have been blessed.  I know my animals are well fed, and my
recommendations are made on not the BRAND of food, but the quality of the
ingredients and their contribution to an oblique carnivore.
 
Pam Grant's guidelines:
 
Protein 32% or greater
Fat content 18-22%
Meat/poultry or by-product as the first ingredient
Avoid fish and corn in the first three ingredients.
 
Now, all the foods I use do not meet all these guidelines.  But I want my
ferrets to have a variety and mixing in, say, Mazuri ferret diet, which has
corn in the first trio of ingredients, is balanced by the higher protein as
a benefit.
 
Besides, my ferrets like it.
 
So just because a product mixes in raisin juice, don't think they are trying
to cover up something.  If you look at WHERE on the ingredient's listing the
raisin juice is located, you will see Beet Juice in a similar spot on some
cat foods.  BTW, I think dry 8 in 1 is a little too low in fat for growing
ferrets, so I recommend it as a diet or elder ferret food.  Schultz likes it.
 
The above is just my opinion, and you are welcomed to agree to disagree.  If
anyone wants the Ferret Food Chart, send a SASE to:
 
STAR* Ferrets Food chart
PO Box 1714
Springfield, VA 22151-0714
 
It lists 25 foods suitable for feeding ferrets side by side for ingredient
comparison.
[Posted in FML issue 1691]