I know the list has been through this discussion before and has seen
arguments pro and con (check the archives from January of this year for a
series I posted about using mice as part a ferret diet), but people new to
the list missed out on the discussion, and so I'll recapitulate my earlier
postings.
 
Ferrets are obligate carnivores, which means their digestive systems have
evolved to process an almost exclusive meat based diet.  The ferret's wild
ancestor, like most small mustelids, evolved eating small rodents such as
mice.  The process of domestication did NOT change the ferret's digestive
system, which means our little pets still have a digestive system optimized
for consuming a diet that is mostly meat (80% or higher).
 
Even the very best kibble can contain at most 50% meat and must contain
large amounts of grain or it will not form kibble.  Is there a problem
with feeding the domestic ferret a pure kibble diet?  Maybe.  Maybe not.
 
So why try alternative food sources?
 
In North America there has been an alarming increase in the occurrence of
ferret diseases such as lymphomas and insulinomas.  The increase in
occurrences of these diseases has outpaced the increase in the ferret
population, so it's not just a case of more ferrets = more occurrences of
disease.
 
The problem could be in the North American ferret gene pool, but there's no
evidence to support this and even if there were the information wouldn't
help my pet ferrets.  The problem could be stress induced -- poor light
cycle, not enough play time out of the cage, no private dark places to curl
up -- and so I've taken steps to reduce these stress factors in my ferrets'
lives.  The problem could be diet, and so I offer additional sources of
meat for my ferrets.
 
Why mice?  As I stated before, ferrets digestive tracts evolved to process
small rodents, and so I know a mouse is a good food source for a ferret.
There's no guesswork involved here.
 
What about the humane aspect of feeding mice or other animals to ferrets?
If you keep a carnivore as a pet, then your pet MUST eat other animals to
be healthy.  If this thought bothers someone (and I can certainly see how
it would, and do not state this as a put down or to be demeaning in any
way) then that person should not have a carnivore as a pet.
 
A kibble diet for your ferret is no more humane than a diet based on fresh
animals: with kibble you have only removed yourself from the process of
raising the food animal and killing it.  In the case of mice we can easily
raise them ourselves and control the quality of life they live and control
the humane fashion in which they die.  With kibble you have no control over
these factors.  The typical commercial chicken farm is completely enclosed
with artificial lights and barely enough room for each chicken to stand,
and the typical abattoir is a place that would make Stephen King scream.
All of this is hidden from the pet owner that feeds kibble, but it still
takes place in order to provide the meat source for the kibble.
 
Leonard Bottleman       [log in to unmask]
[Posted in FML issue 2753]