[3 parts combined... BIG]
 
I want to thank Bob for his overall excellent series of posts on ferret
diet.  It is clear that a lot of research and effort went into producing
these posts.
 
Ido have a couple comments.  In part 9 Bob says
>The argument dry, processed foods are nutritionally sound is dependent
>upon a single factor: the complete knowledge and understanding of ferret
>nutritional needs.
 
Of course, one could say the same thing about determining if a natural
diet is "nutritionally sound".  And as Bob goes on to say, we don't even
know the complete nutritional needs of humans!
 
Yet Bob started that post with
>9. Processed dry, extruded foods (kibbles) are nutritionally sound.
>
>FALSE.
 
By his own definition, the answer has to be false for any diet.
 
Yet he also goes on to say
>Proper nutrition is not just defined as having the proper nutrients
>necessary for a healthy life, but also having those nutrients supplied
>in proper amounts and proportions.
 
If one uses the "for a healthy life" definition, it seems ferrets CAN
have healthy lives eating kibble.  I think the "proper amounts and
proportions" thing is a red herring--if the animal can live a healthy
life, the proportions MUST be acceptable.
 
But note that "acceptable" may not be ideal.  We know that humans can
live healthy lives on the typical American diet.  But we also know they
would probably be healthier if they decreased the amount of fat and
refined sugars, and increased the amount of complex carbohydrates such as
whole grains.  (Sidenote: complex carbohydrates and simple sugars do NOT
have the same effect in human nutrition, and despite Bob's suggestions,
noone has yet proved that feeding your ferret kibble is the same thing as
feeding him raw sugar.)
 
Therefore it behooves us to pay attention to new discoveries in ferret
nutrition research, and to try to improve their diet, just as we should
try to improve our own.  I DO agree that kibble has too much
carbohydrates, but that doesn't mean that kibble is evil.  Right now, a
quality ferret kibble is the best most of us can offer our beloved
ferrets.
 
One final note related to determining if a diet is "sound": The only
feeding studies I know of to determine the adequacy of diet have been
done by pet food manufacturer's such as Performance Foods and
Purina/Maruri.  Until someone does similar studies with "natural" diets,
varying the components to determine what proportions lead to better
growth and performance, be VERY WARY of concocting your own natural
diets.
 
[Part 2]
Bob suggests that the natural diet of the ferrets' progenitor species
would be the ideal diet to feed our pet ferrets.  Since that's the diet
they evolved eating, it must be the best diet.  After all, millions of
years of evolution can't be wrong, can it?
 
Well just ask the Giant Panda.  Some time in the distant past this
carnivore adopted a diet of almost exclusively bamboo.  While the panda
has undergone adaptations to this diet, bamboo is so nutritionally poor
that the animal lives in an almost constant state of semi-starvation.
At the National Zoo, pandas are fed bamboo, supplemented with fruit and
vitamin/mineral laced bisquits.
http://pandas.si.edu/facts/gpfaqs.htm#7
In this case, the natural diet is apparently NOT the ideal diet.
 
Now admittedly, this is an extreme case, but my point is that evolution
is not an ideal process.  It is a series of compromises.  An adaptation
may give an animal an advantage in one area, but with a cost in another.
Walking upright gave early humans tremendous advantages, but at a cost
of susceptibility to back/hip/foot problems.  A big brain case makes for
smarter people, but more difficult and dangerous childbirth.
 
The ferrets' progenitor (presumably the European and/or Steppe Polecat)
evolved a diet based on its size, what it had access to, and the fact
that evolution can't go where it wants to go, it is ultimately based on
chance mutations.  For all we know, the Giant Panda may be the ideal diet
for a polecat, but they just can't figure out how to bring one down.
(Nor do they know the way to China!) :-)
 
But it is likely that the natural diet for the polecat/ferret is at least
a pretty good one.  So what is the natural diet?  I know Bob can answer
this one better than me, but I'll take a stab at it anyway!
 
If you ask the New Zealand government, they would probably tell you it
is almost exclusively kiwi birds!  More likely it is a variety of small
rodents, rabbits, birds, amphibians and so on.  In the San Juan islands,
feral ferrets apparently did well on a diet of mostly rabbits until they
ran out of baby bunnies and died out.  In some places they may rely more
on amphibians, or insects.  If they are lucky enough to live near a small
farmer's chicken coop, eggs and chicks may be a significant part of the
diet.  In fact, what the polecat/feral ferret eats will depend on
geographical location, local environment, climate, time of year, and a
host of other factors.
 
I think it is likely that a polecat/ferret could do quite well on a
variety of prey, the key word perhaps being "variety".  There may not
be one "ideal" food, or even any particular "ideal" diet.  It is also
possible that ANY natural diet could be improved by adding ingredients
that the polecat/ferret would not normally have access to, like the fruit
and bisquits for the panda.
 
Linda Iroff
whose ideal diet includes chocolate in significant quantities
 
[Part 3]
So what should we be feeding our ferrets to provide them the best
nutrition?
 
Beats me!  But just like any wild animal, we generally rely on what is
most accessible to us.  For most of us in the US at least, that is
kibble.  Here's what I try to do to adjust and "supplement" this diet
that is ideal from a convenience point of view.
 
I feed a mix of kibbles, which I chose after carefully reading labels and
product literature and listening to advice from other ferret owners.  I
have 2 standard foods, and add one or two of 5 or 6 other brands at any
time.  This protects against any one food changing formula, having a bad
batch, or being sold out at the store.
 
I have eliminated raisins and cheerios and other non-meat based treats.
I found a nice trick--if I offer a food that hasn't been in their mix for
a while by hand, they think it's a treat!  So they will happily beg for
the food that was in their bowl a couple months ago.  And I can happily
give them several pieces each.
 
My younger girls, Cassie and Andi, will eat a variety of bits of cooked
meat or fat trimmings as treats, chicken, pork, scrambled egg, etc.
Buttons will only eat chicken, and Cookie won't touch the stuff.  The
young girls will also gnaw on the end of chicken bones, usually thigh
bones.
 
I make Bob's Chicken Gravy and freeze it in 8 oz margarine tubs.  I thaw
out a tub and feed them about 2-3 oz every couple days.  I sometimes add
canned Iams kitten food, or serve that separately.  I sometimes give them
Gerbers chicken as a very special treat.
 
I finally screwed up my courage and bought two frozen pinkies (day old
mice) last weekend.  I put them and the girls in the bathtub and shut the
door.  Cassie and Andi each picked one up, but wanted out of the room
with them.  Cassie eventually put hers down, and I finally let Andi out.
She ran upstairs with her prize, and I didn't find any traces of it, so I
assume she ate it.  I will probably buy more.
 
So I try to improve their kibble based diet a little bit at a time.  I
think it unlikely I would go to a totally natural diet, I just don't
have the discipline.  I do wish some pet food manufacturer would make a
quality canned ferret food with minimal carbohydrates.  I would probably
make it a regular part of my guys' diet.
 
Linda Iroff
still worried she may find a pinkie part under the sofa
[Posted in FML issue 3947]