I don't know about WalMarts everywhere, but here in Eugene, our
WalMarts carry a type of 8-in-1 food that's called Wild Harvest and
sells for about $6.00 for a 3lb bag. That one is not bad as far as
food goes. I recommend it to new ferret owners who ask if they HAVE to
feed one of "those expensive ferret foods" like Marshall's. I tell
them about the Wild Harvest food at WalMart since that is available to
everyone. I also mention the Costco Kirkland Cat food which is REALLY
inexpensive: 30 lbs for $15.00. For the Shelter, I feed a mix of Dr.
Fosters and Smith The Ferret Store Superior Choice Original Ferret Diet
(20 lbs for approx. $30) and Mazuri Ferret Food (from Purina) we get
on their Shelter Program for 25 lbs for about $25. I added the Costco
Cat food in because it is something I can get anytime I need it (I have
to order the Mazuri to get it at the shelter price) and I want to make
sure the shelter ferrets always have food available--I have run out of
food before and it wasn't a pleasant feeling.

I have been known to add Iams Kitten to the mix when I get in a ferret
who has been eating that, but I try to stay away from it if I can now.

As far as what the shelter ferrets get, I always serve a mix. Most are
just fine with the mix, but I have had a couple that wouldn't eat the
mix at first and I had to baby them till they did. The first one who
did that almost died on me since I didn't notice that he wasn't eating,
but he was scraping the food out of the dish so it looked like he had
eaten. I wondered why he was so skinny after I had refilled the bowl
for the second time in a couple of days--then I found the kibble hidden
under all the blankies . . . All hammies and blankies get shaken out on
a regular basis now, so no more hidden food!

Anyway, that's what I do; I try to save money with the food, since we
have more than twice the number of ferrets in right now than we have
ever had before.

Melanee Ellis
Shelter Manager
Lane Area Ferret Shelter and Rescue
Eugene, OR

[Posted in FML 6928]