We ourselves are actually a mostly-kibble household, but the reason
that people feed whole animals to the ferrets instead of just meat is
that meat is actually a very poor source of nutrition.  It is sorely
lacking in many dietary essentials.  Ferrets need organs, skin, etc.
for minerals and more.

-- Sukie (not a vet, and not speaking for any of the below in my
private posts)
Recommended health resources to help ferrets and the people who love
them:
Ferret Health List
http://www.smartgroups.com/groups/ferrethealth
FHL Archives
http://ferrethealth.org/archive/
AFIP Ferret Pathology
http://www.afip.org/ferrets/index.html
Miamiferrets
http://www.miamiferret.org/fhc/
International Ferret Congress Critical References
http://www.ferretcongress.org

[Posted in FML 5396]