I'm wondering what the "food experts" around here think of this
particular freeze-dried meat patty food product, as a ferret food...
 
I used to own a pair of ferrets that would eat a dead mouse like they
were starving (but sit and watch a live mouse eat their food).  Now I
own three girls who seem to think raw/cooked meat is a toxic substance.
I've read Bob C.'s "Introduction to Diet 101" and it lines up very well
with what I was thinking when I fed the old ferrets (fresh) dead mice...
roughly, "What did the animal evolve to eat, and how can I best duplicate
that?"  But now I find myself with a cage full of weasels who won't eat
"real" meat.
 
I finally got them to eat this freeze-dried food by process of
elimination... filled the bowl 50/50 with kibble (theferretstore.com's
'natural' kibble) and 50% crumbled meat patty.  When they ran out of
kibble, they discovered the patty bits were edible (not a technique I
can use with perishable fresh meat products).
 
Now they eat the patty bits first, to the point that they're displaying
very elaborate eating rituals all of a sudden (one will run off to the
corner with her food and eat it in hiding.  One will 'hog' the food dish.
The third girl will -- like always -- sleep until everyone else is in
bed, and clean the dish up after them.) When I run out of kibble, I may
only buy a small bag more for variety's sake... IF the patties are really
a decent diet themselves.
 
(I'd be happy to supplement with ground chicken meat or whatever else,
if the relative lack of muscle tissue in the ingredients list looks like
a problem.  They will eat canned chicken/tuna/pureed kibble soup like
there's no tomorrow...).  So, without further ado, here's the dealer's
published ingredients list and nutritional analysis of the freeze-dried
food patties:
 
INGREDIENTS: Beef, Organ Meat by-products, Poultry, Ground Bone, Cultured
Yeast, Charcoal, Vitamins and Minerals, Amino Acids
 
GUAR. ANALYSIS: (abbr) Protein - 50%, Fat - 28%, Ash 6.3%, Magnesium .09%
______________________________________________________________
Micronutrient Content in mg/kg or I.U.
______________________________________________________________
Vitamin A ----- 11,000 I.U.
Vitamin C ----- 19.0 mgs
Vitamin D3 ---- 750 I.U.
Vitamin E ----- 96 I.U.
Vitamin K ----- 2.2 mgs
Thiamine ------ 9.5 mgs
Riboflavin ---- 5.0 mgs
Pyridoxine ---- 6.1 mgs
Niacin -------- 120.0 mgs
Pantothenate -- 11.0 mgs
Biotin -------- 0.08 mgs
Vitamin B12 --- 0.02 mgs
Folic Acid ---- 1.5 mgs
Choline ------- 2,500 mgs
Iron ---------- 100.0 mgs
Copper -------- 8.0 mgs
Cobalt -------- 0.1 mgs
Zinc ---------- 120.0 mgs
Manganese ----- 38.0 mgs
Iodine -------- 1.5 mgs
Selenium ------ 0.12 mgs
 
What's the (as IF! haha) consensus on this one?
--
:: Teresa ::
http://www.mivox.com/
 
In The Beginning there was nothing, which exploded.
[Posted in FML issue 4140]