Q: "I've read [your diet stuff] and want to tryit on my ferrets.  But
they won't touch anything.  Am I doing something wrong?"
 
A: Wrong?  Well, you asked ME a question...
 
You are not doing anything wrong.  Ferrets are a species that has extreme
olfactory imprinting; THAT is the problem.  When ferrets are very young,
between 4 weeks (roughly the age weaning generally begins) and 26 weeks
(roughly the kit to juvenile boundary), they will eat (or try to eat)
just about anything placed in front of them.  As they eat these foods,
the odors stimulate receptors on the olfactory nerves.  The more often
they eat the food, the more stimulation the olfactory nerve receptors
receive.  Those olfactory nerve receptors with little or no stimulation
start to wither away at about 6 months of age.  By the time a ferret is
a year old, the unused olfactory nerve receptors have died off for the
most part, and the brain is hardwired to only recognize specific odors
as food.  That, in a simplified nutshell, is olfactory imprinting.
 
Olfactory imprinting is best cured when the ferret is young.  It is
prevented simply by giving the ferret as wide a range of foods as
possible, making sure to include different kibbles, chicken and other
poultry, beef, tinned cat food, Chicken Gravy, duck soup, Ensure, baby
chicken, and so forth.  The object is to anticipate future needs; if a
ferret becomes allergic to chicken, they are imprinted on beef or pork
or lamb.  If a kibble is no longer available, you can switch to another.
If your ferret becomes ill, you can give them Ensure or baby chicken
without problem.  Get the idea?  When I have a new kit, each day is a
"food adventure" as I try to stimulate as many olfactory nerve receptors
as possible.  I make sure they get repeated "doses" of different foods
throughout their first six months, and then periodically during the rest
of the year.  THIS is the perfect solution!
 
Older ferrets ARE a problem, and many will NEVER adapt to new foods, no
matter what you do; their brains are just too imprinted.  You can try the
following, but there is no guarantee any hint will work on ANY ferret.
1) Grind to a fine POWDER the kibble best accepted by the ferret, and
dust it on the new food to mask or "taint" the odor.  2) Blend the new
food to a liquid, then slowly spoon or hand feed it to the ferret (I put
a drip on my finger, and when the ferret looks up to sniff, I drip it on
their front teeth).  3) Slowly mix in the new food with the old, so that
over a month, one replaces the other.  4) Bring them up to eye level, let
them watch you chew a bit of the new food, then place it in their mouth.
5) Borrow a ferret that already eats the new food from someone, then let
your ferret observe them during mealtime.  6) Smear some of the new food
on their nose, chin, or paw, and they will sample it while cleaning it
off.  7) Warm up the food to increase odor and palatability (This is VERY
helpful with sick ferrets).  8) Blend the food into a creamy texture, and
use your finger to smear a glob in their mouth.  9) Fill a teaspoon with
the new food blended to a paste, then put a tiny drop of Nutrical (or
other favored supplement) on top, and they will sample the new food while
licking up the treat.  10) Spray a little olive oil on the old food, and
once they accept that, spray it on the new food.  You can gradually wean
them off the oil to the new food.
 
I've successfully used each one of these little tricks, but as I said, I
cannot guarantee any one of them will work.  Some ferrets are simply too
imprinted for ANYTHING to work.  The best way to prevent severe olfactory
imprinting is to give ferrets the widest possible range of foods for the
first year of life.
 
Bob C
[Posted in FML issue 4141]