>I think the Bob's chicken gravy is a wonderful advantage that every
>lucky ferret should be able to be fed.  BUT what about the Chicken
>bones?  Even ground up they still could have tiny splinters and cause
>serious damage.  I have been making Bob's chicken gravy and realized
>WHY would you add the...
 
Actually, while not all grinders are created equal, most ground RAW
chicken with bones that I have made or purchased have been so utterly
finely ground that there was simply nothing sharp or splintery at all.
Products I have personal experience with are Aunt Jeni's Cat/Ferret food
and Granddad's Chicken and Beef Heart and Chicken grinds (no commercial
interest).  I also use a Maverick grinder (from www.pierceequipment.com,
no commercial interest) to grind my own chicken with bones, and what
comes out is absolutely positively smooth.  I can also grind quartered
rabbits, bones and all.
 
Cooked chicken bone, no matter how finely ground, I wouldn't touch with a
ten foot pole.  The only exception I have heard of, and I honestly am not
sure if it's true, is that pressure cookers will turn chicken bone into a
gelatinous goo that mixes with the meat and whatever else it was cooked
with.
 
I tend to agree with you about "bone broths," and it's interesting that
stocks made with bones have been a part of the diet of many healthy
traditional human cultures.  I think they are very beneficial for our
pets, and most of the virtue of the bone and marrow does go into the
soup.  There are some good recipes here:
 
http://www.westonaprice.org/foodfeatures/broth.html
 
I think that a lot of vets are quite horrified by the idea of feeding raw
whole prey diets to pets, but the fact is ferrets/polecats, cats, dogs,
wolves, and many other small carnivores can thrive on whole prey diets.
It is their evolutionary diet, after all.  That doesn't mean it's
entirely without risk, but then again, neither is kibble.  Reptile
keepers and those who have other exotics routinely feed whole prey such
as rodents and rabbits to their pets, and in England and Europe it's
quite common for those with ferrets to feed whole prey to them (although
processed food diets are becoming more common there all the time).
 
I just think that when we start making our own recipes and diets at home,
we owe it to our animals to do some research on the subject.  There are a
number of options for healthful home prepared diets for ferrets, as well
as cats and dogs, and it's up to each of us to figure out what we are
comfortable with and what our animals do well on.
 
I have more information on this in an article I wrote on Natural Ferret
Care, which is at:
 
http://www.exotichobbyist.com/NaturalFerret.html
 
Christie Keith
Caber Feidh Scottish Deerhounds
Holistic Husbandry Since 1986
http://www.caberfeidh.com/
[Posted in FML issue 4150]