Georgia - the left coast one... wrote:
 
>Tim, of Fowlers Ferrets writes that the US diet may be largly responsible
>for many of our ferrets health difficulties.  It's not that we disagree
>with this theory, but aren't we kinda stuck with the way we are doing it?
>Let's face it - fresh meat does not just grow on trees!  Most of us live
>where the keeping of livestock is prohibited.  Chickens can not be kept
>in cities or towns, and there aren't that many hamlets left.  Organ meats
>absorb the chemicals and medications fed most feed lot cattle, so I view
>them as a risky food choice.
 
I've recently started feeding raw chicken, you don't have to keep animals
and kill them, nor do you have to feed live animals to ferrets, it's
perfectly fine to go to the butchers or supermarket and buy a chicken,
grind it up, add some supplements and feed it- raw.  There are a lot of
people in America feeding raw meats and bones to their ferrets, cats and
dogs so the bugs aren't any worse in American meat as anywhere else.  Plus
carnivores can handle salmonella and other bugs.  My ferrets were put on
the raw meat diet cold turkey- one day they had kibble, then I removed the
kibble and put a bowl with meat down.  Some ferrets had been on the kibble
for 5 years and were fine switching over, it didn't make them sick or
anything.  My insulinomic ferrets are doing *excellent* on the raw meat.
 
I don't really worry about chemicals in the meat, I mean there's meat and
animal derivatives in kibble so you'll get the same chemicals and drugs in
kibble, I just think what I feed my kids is way better than what kibble
manufacturers use for their kibble.
 
I must say I haven't had good experience with kibble, 2 ferrets died of a
pancreatic tumour and 2 of my ferrets have insulinoma... Time will tell if
there'll be less cancer now that the kids eat meat.  I'm giving it a try
anyway because I hate seeing the kids so sick with cancer that I'm willing
to try anything to find out whether or not some cancer can be prevented by
a biological appropriate diet.
 
Best wishes from
Ulrike
and Jilly, Jack, Bella, Tom, Mason, Baby, Dana, Fox, Reno, Rose, Jasmine,
Barney and Spike
 
Missing Angel, Hope and Igor
 
West Wales Ferret Welfare
http://www.ferretlove.freeserve.co.uk
Last update 20/12/00
[Posted in FML issue 3317]