Trena,

Its nice to see another person interested in offering natural food to
their ferrets! Hope this offers you some ideas and settles some of your
concerns.

You bring up many common concerns for ferret owners wanting to venture
into the natural feeding program.

Kibble has to be present 24/7 because it doesn't offer proper nutrient
availability, it causes wide ranging blood sugar highs and lows.
Feeding naturally only needs be done twice a day on the average,
sometimes once a day and can easily incorporate a "fasting" day. Soup
can still be offered to natural fed ferrets.

There is no "better" starter as regards one over the other its really
up to the ferret. Many of the first offerings go uneaten. Ferrets are
very early on forced to eat kibbles and this imprints their brain as to
what is food. Natural offerings at first are sometimes not recognized
as food. Depends on the ferret. Some of mine (usually the younger ones)
have recognized raw as food immediately and from then on simply ignore
the kibble left out for their transition.


Others, have needed a little more creativity to get them to try the
raw. Like mincing raw and putting it on their kibble, so they have to
push it out of the way to eat the kibble. This makes them lick their
nose thereby tasting the raw. Sometimes if a ferret has chosen not to
even touch the raw or kibble then I'll put kibble and raw in a baggy
overnight in the fridge so the flavors and smells mingle. You could
crush kibble and encrust the raw. Drizzle ferretone on the raw. There
are many ways to introduce raw. I refuse to starve them into it which
is why I have one that remains a kibble cruncher.

AT first its best to offer them small pieces of raw, think about mouse
sized pieces. Don't just plop a whole neck or wing in front of them and
expect them to eat it. Large pieces seem to overwhelm them, where as
small pieces tend to instigate that familiar, " this is MINE, I'm gonna
hide over here and eat this". Plus small pieces are more easily
manipulated as they eat. They are exceptionally fastidious eaters - not
ravenous like Wolves or Lions that rend and claw and shred their food.

Along that note, offer a cubby hole for them to eat in. Those plastic
Igloos work well, as do cardboard boxes with cutouts. I get mine from
Sav A lot stores and toss them in the trash as they get soiled. The
plastic igloos get wiped with antibacterial wipes.

Chicken wings would be better for older ferrets to start with,
especially the wing tips. The bones are soft, the meat is fatty and the
skin is thin. Chicken necks are sinewy and require some effort to glean
the meat from between the vertebrae -which is why they make great tooth
brushes!

Examine your ferret's teeth and gums intently before during and after
starting on raw. Any ferrets already having plaque and tartar build up
and gum line redness may experience bleeding of the gums when first
venturing into raw. This is normal, and will stop as the gums redevelop
their strength and the bones will scrape away the build up of tartar
and plaque.

At first you will toss more raw offerings than they eat. Especially if
they aren't convinced this new stuff really is edible! To be fair to
them offer them fresh in the morning and if not eaten by dinner time
(about twelve hours later for my guys) then toss the morning piece and
offer them a new piece. Don't leave a piece to go "off" and expect them
to eat it. Many ferrets won't eat raw right away at first. But after
they are eating raw its easy enough to condition them to eat when fed.

Flies don't show up unless your home is open to bugs in the first
place. And then it still takes a number of days for a piece of raw to
lure an egg laying fly, then hatch the larvae several days later. If
you feed in an enclosed area you can pick up what isn't eaten at each
meal time. If you allow free roam, well that makes your job much more
difficult. Which is why I encourage you to set up a specific meal
area that the ferrets MUST eat in. Bugs, like roaches and ants, are
attracted to kibble and when they learn where the food dish is kept,
they map a trail for all the other bugs to find too.

Feeding raw at first may be just a treat to your ferret, but when you
see them enjoy it so much and if you feed it often enough to begin to
see improvements in their teeth, energy, coat and muscle tone you'll
likely "forget" to buy kibble! Keep in mind that it CAN take them a
while to begin eating raw. So don't get discouraged if they turn away
from it at first. Then realize that as Bob Church points out -
something fed more than three times a week is now considered a
significant part of the ferret's diet. There are many things open to
you in the raw realm that can be fed to ferrets. Raw things my ferrets
eat are: Chicken necks, hearts, gizzards, wings, thighs, drumsticks,
backs, feet, turkey hearts, necks, salmon, cornish game hen, rabbit,
even some beef, pork, lamb, venison, raccoon, squirrel, sardines
(unsalted), raw beaten eggs with pulverized egg shells.

A piece of meat or a wing tip can be a treat. But if you are seriously
considering raw to be the crux of your ferret's nutrition you need to
offer them items that they can devour all the bone, meat, skin and
fats. These typically are cornish game hen, chicken necks, chicken
backs and sardines. This allows the ferret's system to glean the
nutrients it needs in ratios proper to the ferret.

No one says you HAVE to feed live, Bob Church mentioned he doesn't.
There are many options for offering prekilled whole prey and these are
available at local pet stores individually packaged or from online bulk
suppliers. Ferrets do enjoy some bugs - like superworms & crickets
which are available freeze dried from reptile centers.

Some ferrets become so excited when introduced to raw they bristle up
from tail tip to their ears! Some will chuckle all the time. I've heard
a couple growl at their neighbors and hissing is common. Ferrets do
seem to think that what their neighbor has is exactly what they want
and so they'll try and take it. This can make for entertaining rounds
of take back and great tug of war games! None of these has ever
escalated into an all out fight. They sort themselves out and eat in
peace.

Changes in the ferret's diet will result in changes in the ferret
deposits. Raw foods are high moisture, highly digestible, so don't be
surprised when their deposits change texture and consistency as well as
quantity. The blood, fat and bone content of the food will determine
the change in deposit. High blood from raw makes a dark tarry stool.
Whereas a dark tarry stool from kibble fed ferret typically means
internal bleeding from ulcers. White soupy deposits usually happen
after high fat food was eaten. A white to brown deposit with lumps
often happens after a boney item with large bones was eaten. Deposits
generally are not very long, and certainly don't look like what was
eaten nor is it anywhere near the quantity eaten. Continuing to feed
kibble with feeding raw will result in a bunch of strange deposits.
Don't be surprised if your ferrets really take off on the natural
foods that they leave the kibble completely untouched for days!

I feed in the morning as I'm getting ready for work. Putting down a
"community plate" in the bathroom. What they don't eat in the next 1/2
hour to an hour goes back in the fridge. Then I toss them a handfull of
dried chicken strips or duck strips or some freeze dried items which
they can stash to their heart's content and I don't have to worry about
bugs, or bacteria. Then when I come home usually a good twelve hours
later they get another community plate and what they don't eat as I am
fixing my own dinner for the next hour, will become part of breakfast
for them.

Its easy, clean, bug free and healthy for the ferrets! Good luck with
your intro to raw!

Cheers,
Kim
 

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[Posted in FML 6893]