Hi all!
Just catching up on my reading <phew> all these different lists I belong
to-equine life, ferret list, and BARFCanada...
 
Speaking of which, the latter is what I'd like to talk about today!  I have
browsed the archives, and noticed only a few know what this means!  BARF
stands for "Biologically Appropriate Raw Foods".  This definition based on
the research done by Dr. Ian Billinghurst.  It has been around for awhile,
but only gets noticed sporadically.  I became immersed in it when my fiance
and I began our search for a German Shepherd dog.  I was (quite) sceptical
at first (aren't chicken bones bad for dogs??!) but soon learned.  Nope,
Virginia, RAW chicken bones are all right for dogs.  In fact, BARF has been
found to lessen the incidence of cancers and many other diseases in dogs.
Sooo, if this can work wonders for dogs-what about ferrets!?  Our fuzzbutts
are quite prone to many problems that some believe could be food related!
Especially in the matter of preservatives and colours in kibble.
 
So we embarked on the sea of BARF!  With my dog, we went cold turkey-er,
make that raw chicken!  With the woozles, we have been a little slower, b/c
I may be moving soon and might have to board them for a while, in which
case I don't want a babysitter to have to worry about their diet.
 
So here's what my babies are being fed-
free feed a mix of Bil-Jac baked kitten food, NutroMax kitten, and SD
kitten basic BARF mix-same as for my dog-pureed romaine, carrots, potatoes,
strawberries, tomatoes, etc (basically 2-3 veggies, and 2-3 fruits), raw
eggs (shells and all), mix of raw organ meat, with alfalfa, kelp, bee
pollen, digestive enzymes/probiotics, vit. B complex,cold pressed Flax
oil with Salmon oil,cod liver oil and vit. E added. and some of Bob's
chicken gravy.  This is fed once/day, in SMALL quantities.  Sometimes
just the chicken gravy, sometimes just veggies, sometimes a mix.  I must
emphasize-this diet is Low to NO grain!!  (whoever heard of a dog or a
ferret in the wild (or their ancestors) growing wheat!).
 
Anyways, I feel strongly that this diet could do a lot of good for a lot of
ferrets!  I would love to hear from anybody interested, wanting to voice
questions, concerns, etc, and I think there is someone else who would be
interested in fielding q&a.  I will ask permission to post her email.  Now
I only wish Bob C was available to discuss the diet with!
 
Anyways, hugs and dooks,
Vanessa, Squirt, Kita, Sox, Havoc, and Indy
[Posted in FML issue 3354]