I am not a vet nor a dietary authority, but I've learned (or thought I've
learned) various bits and pieces of information from other folks who are
much more knowledgeable than I on ferrets and diet.  The following is my
understanding of the ferrets and raw meat diet issue, and why I have been
introducing mice to my pet ferrets' diets.
 
Domestication can alter an animal in many ways, but one thing it's not
likely to change is dietary requirements.  Obviously this doesn't mean a
domesticated animal must eat the exact same things as its wild ancestor,
but for optimum health the domesticated animal's diet ought to come close
in composition to their wild ancestor's diet.
 
What about ferrets?  Our fuzzy friends are carnivores... more than that,
they're obligate carnivores, which means the vast bulk of their ancestor's
diet was meat based, and they need a mostly meat based diet to thrive.
 
What about kibble?  Kibble can only be made if it is composed of at least
50% - 60% grain - anything less and you don't get kibble.  Even the very
best kibble can be made of no more than 50% meat based product, and in
fact are typically far less (yes, your favorite kibble may list meat as
the first two or three ingredients, but look at all of the different grain
products listed afterwards - this what makes up the bulk of the food by
weight).
 
What about ferrets and kibble?  Obviously ferrets in this country have been
living for quite sometime on a mostly kibble diet.  Many ferrets live long
healthy lives with a kibble only diet.  Unfortunately there is also a
growing number of ferrets suffering from lymphomas insulonomas, and adrenal
tumors.  Oddly enough the instances of these diseases appears to be far
less in the European ferret community.  European ferrets have a different
gene pool (or had - there are now quite a few European ferrets being bred
in North America now), a different environment (many Europeans keep their
ferrets out doors), and a different diet (many Europeans feed their ferrets
raw meat).
 
I can't change the genetics of my ferrets, so even if the differences
between European and American breeding stock is the difference in
occurrences of health problems (and there is only anecdotal evidence that
this is so) it does my ferret family no good.
 
I can change the environment my ferrets live in, and even though I won't
keep them out doors, I do try to provide a real, unbroken darkness period
for our ferrets and bring in lots of interesting things for them to smell
on a regular basis (leaves, old moss covered twigs, sea shells from the
sea shore, etc.).
 
I can also alter my ferrets' diet to include raw meat.
 
Why mice?  A freshly killed mouse includes a lot of nutrients that a chunk
of chicken or slab of beef does not.  It has small bones my ferrets can
eat, it has fur and skin, it has intestines and other organs, and of
course it has fresh meat.  For me, a mouse is an optimal food source for
my ferrets.  I can raise the mice myself and keep their living conditions
as nice and healthy as possible (not true for store bought meat), and have
a source of the freshest possibly supply of meat.
 
Why live mice?  The mice don't have to be live, and quite frankly I'll
offer my ferrets mice in any way they'll eat them, as long as the mouse is
killed instantly.  I've worked with bird of prey rehabbers and herptile
keepers at a local zoo who require large amounts of mice, and all of them
have stated they'll never use CO2 to kill an animal again (they found it to
be neither quick nor painless method for euthanizing mice).  That leaves me
with the choice of killing the mouse myself, or allow the ferrets to do it.
Thus far the ferrets have proven themselves to be much quicker at killing a
mouse than me, and so I offer my ferrets live mice.
 
Do I still use kibble?  Darn tootin'!  Some grain in a ferret's diet is a
good thing, and there are some very good kibble foods available for our
ferrets.  Right now my ferrets' diets consist of mostly Totally Ferret
mixed with a high protein (and quality) cat food.  Mice are a dietary
supplement in our ferret family for now.
 
I'd love to hear from others who are knowledgeable on ferret diet.
 
Leonard Bottleman       [log in to unmask]
[Posted in FML issue 2545]