D K SADOWSKI <[log in to unmask]> wrote on 4/10/2006, 4:51 AM:
>Danee, in your post you mentioned that when you were a kid your family
>had fed table scraps & meat scraps to your pets.  You also mentioned your
>neighbor who raised mink & ferrets a natural diet of meat.  Do you think
>you could ask your neighbor how long his breeder mink & ferrets lived?
>Or maybe ask your mom if she remembers how long your pets lived eating
>this way?
 
The dog my parents had when I was born lived to a ripe old age of 18,
and was never fed any commercial dog food.  She was a medium size dog (I
mention this because I know the larger dogs are supposed to live shorter
lives), and weighed about 45 pounds.
 
The farm dogs it is harder to say - they were not tracked the way people
do with their pets.  Many of them were strays that just wondered in and
were adopted (allowed to stay).  These dogs were not vetted, or even
given vaccinations.  But, I know the collie that my mother's parents had
was born before I was (there are pictures of me as an infant and her as
an adult dog, and she was still around when I turned 15.  So, I would
guess she lived to at least 16 and maybe longer.  I do know she was gone
by the time I started college.
 
As the the mink and ferrets raised for fur - they had very short lives,
as they were probably pelted before they were 2.  In the fur business,
they do not keep their breeders for a long period.
 
Since I am still feeding kibble, I do not know if feeding raw will
extend the lives of ferrets or not.  I suspect it won't, but it might
cut back on some health problems.
 
When I was at the vet's office last week getting some melatonin
implants, I was talking to the vet about raw diets.  This was not Dr.
Kawasaki, but his new associate, Dr. Putt.  She has only been out of
vet school a few years, and in at least one of her classes there was
discussion of diet, nutrition, and raw feeding.  Like me, she admits
that there are likely health advantages to raw feeding.  One of the
biggest things is with the teeth.
 
While none of my kids have full blown gingivitis, they all have plaque,
and some have broken teeth (they are all over 5 years old).  Dr. Putt
said that most of the ferrets she sees that are over the age of 3 have
terrible teeth, unless the owner regularly brushes them, and even then,
they usually have more plaque then she likes to see.  She is really big
on dental care.
 
I think my biggest reason for the interest in feeding raw is because of
the increase in GI problems that I am noticing.  All but a few of my kids
have some kind of lower GI problem.  But, it is not just my own ferrets
that seem to be having an increase in problems.  I notice more and more
posts on lists about ferrets with chronic diarrhea.
 
Until 5 or 6 years ago, this was never an issue for me.  And, while I
would see occasional posts about it, it did not seem to be a big problem
for other people's ferrets.  I have no way of knowing just how widespread
the problem was or now is (how many ferrets have lower GI problems vs how
many don't), but it appears to be going up, based on what people post
about.
 
In my own crew, I know I have some with chicken allergies, and some that
apparently have grain allergies.  It is very hard to find a kibble or
canned food that will meet a ferrets nutritional requirements that does
not contain some chicken or grain.  Even the so called 'Turkey' kibbles
have an ingredient called 'poultry', which means there is some chicken.
 
If I can find a trustworthy source of raw meat, I will have better
control over what my ferrets eat.  I can insure they do not get any
grains or chicken.  Right now, I am feeding several of my kids Turkey
baby food.  But, this is an expensive way to feed.  Feeding raw may also
prove expensive - I don't know.
 
And, like I said in an earlier post, I have joined the Natural Feeding
list.  I hope to learn from others.  I have told them I may or may not
switch, and they seem fine with that.  The point is - I have promised
to keep an open mind to what they are saying.
 
I don't believe there is a single miracle cure that will take away all
of a ferrets health problems.  I suspect that genetics plays a big role
in some of the problems we see.  Other things that may contribute are
light, early spay/neuter, and diet.  And, even if we get all that stuff
right, there is still old age.  Dying is a part of life.  There is
nothing we can do that will make our fuzzies live forever.  What is
good, though, is that people are willing to try to improve things for
them, and learn.
--
Danee DeVore
International Ferret Congress Health Issues Coordinator
http://www.ferretcongress.org
ADV - If your ferret hasn't been tested, you don't know!
For more information visit: http://www.ferretadv.com
You can help fight ADV!
Visit: http://help4adv.terrabox.com/
[Posted in FML issue 5209]