Suzi writes:
>I have been told corn is not good
   and
>I was wondering why some brands have things like brown rice, dried beet
>pulp, soy flour, wheat flour, ground barley, brewers rice and other
>similar ingredients.
 
Grains and other carbohydrates are added in order to produce a kibble
that won't fall apart.  NONE of them are good for the ferret, and there
are disagreements about which are worse.  Some say rice is better, but
others argue that its high glucemic index (rate at which sugar is
released) can cause blood glucose peaks, and may be contribute to
insulinoma.  Corn has been shown to produce problems, but only in much
higher amounts than typically found in ferret foods today.  It does
have a lower glucemic index than rice.  But no one really knows.
 
Suzi also writes:
>And what is the difference between "chicken by product" or "chicken
>meal" which is better?
 
The definitions below are from the AAFCO, and are just guidelines to
animal food manufacturers.  Basically chicken is meat, skin and bone.  If
you add anything else, including organ meats, it is by-product.  NEITHER
is supposed to include feathers!  "Meal" simply means it has been dried
and ground.  Chicken and chicken byproducts can each vary significantly
in quality, so comparisons are difficult if not impossible.
 
> Chicken is the clean combination of flesh and skin with or without
> bone, derived from the parts or whole carcasses of chicken or a
> combination of thereof - exclusive of feathers, heads, feet, and
> entrails.
>
> Chicken Meal is the dry rendered product from a combination of flesh
> and skin with or without bone, derived from the parts or whole
> carcasses of chicken or a combination of thereof - exclusive of
> feathers, heads, feet, and entrails.
>
> Chicken Byproducts consist of the rendered, clean parts of the carcass
> of chickens such as necks, feet, undeveloped eggs and intestines --
> exclusive of feathers except in such amounts as might occur
> unavoidably in good processing practices.
>
> Chicken Byproduct Meal consists of the rendered, clean parts of
> the carcass of chickens such as necks, feet, undeveloped eggs and
> intestines -- exclusive of feathers except in such amounts as might
> occur unavoidably in good processing practices, with the water removed
> then ground to a meal consistency.
 
Suzi also asks about quality control for Totally Ferret food.  There were
some bad batches in 1999, I think it was.  Performance Foods or their
retailers replaced the food for anyone that complained.  I've not heard
of any problems since.  Many other pet food manufacturers have had
occasional problems too.  Sometimes the problems are a result of bad
ingredients, or improper transport or storage.
 
Bad food may have a noticeably bad or different odor, or the ferrets may
refuse to eat it.  Slight color variations from one batch to another are
not uncommon and not by themselves a problem.One bad stool from one
ferret probably means nothing.
 
Linda Iroff
Oberlin OH
[Posted in FML issue 4435]