Hi there
 
>I noticed that a couple of people posted about Eight in One Ultimate (not
>Ultra).  Just curious - why not the Ultra?  I don't think I get the Ultra
>here, but one store just started carrying the Ultimate.  What is the
>difference between them?
 
The Ultimate is a much better quality diet than the Ultra.  Take a quick
look at the ingredients and you'll quickly notice the difference.  The
complete nutritional information is provided on the Ferret Store's 8 in 1
page (http://www.theferretstore.com/items/81foodmain.html) and, of course,
is also available on the back of the product bags.  Highlights from the
ingredient information are as follows:
 
***Eight in One Ultra***
Crude Protein, not less than 35.0 %
Crude Fat, not less than 15.0 %
 
Chicken Meal, Ground Yellow Corn, Brewers Rice, Corn Gluten Meal, Animal
Fat (Preserved with Vitamin E, Vitamin C and Citric Acid), Etc.  Etc.
 
***Eight in One Ultimate***
Protein, not less than 38.0 %
Fat, not less than 19.0 %
 
Chicken, Chicken Meal, Ground Rice, Chicken Fat (preserved with Mixed
Tocopherols, Ascorbic Acid, Etc. Etc.
 
As you can see the Ultra diet is somewhat lower in protein and
significantly lower in fat.  A 15% fat content is a bit low for a ferret's
diet.  It's usually best to see at least 18% fat.  More importantly, the
Ultra contains quite a bit of corn with Ground Yellow Corn as the second
most abundant ingredient and Corn Gluten Meal as the fourth most abundant
ingredient.  Corn is not a good food for ferrets; they extract very little
nutritional value from it.  The Ultra, on the other hand, lacks corn
entirely within the first five ingredients- a much better sign.
 
The tough part?  The Ultra and Ultimate packaging and names are awfully
similar, so it's easy for folks to confuse them or not even notice that
there are two different varieties involved.  I always try to emphasize that
the Ultimate is the good stuff and that it comes in a small white bag with
a resealable closure and an air valve.  You'll also notice that it costs
more, but it's worth it!
 
Happy Ferreting!
Gina Hart/Sage Ferrets
Visit the Sage Ferrets web site at
http://www.geocities.com/sageferrets
[Posted in FML issue 2852]