Georgette--
        There is a ferret food called Mazuri Ferret Diet produced by
Purina Mills, Inc.  It can be ordered for you by any feed dealer that
handles Purina products.  It is currently only available in 25 pound
bags.  The only downside I find to this food is that is does contain
the preservative Ethoxyquin, as do many of the foods recommended for
ferrets.  There are some reported ill effects attributed to longterm
consumption of ethoxyquin in cats, so it is likely not particularly
wonderful for your ferrets either.  Also, it is not a hard crunchy
food, but rather a firm one, so you may need to pay extra attention
to your fuzzies' dental health.  The up side to this food is that it
contains 38% protein and 20% fat-- good for growing ferrets!  It has
no other ingredients that concern me other than the ethoxyquin, and
it is less expensive than foods like Iams and Science Diet.  It
cost me $22.35 (which included tax) at my local feed store in Ft.
Worth, TX, making it less than $1 per pound.  Plus my ferrets like it
better than the Iams.  They do still favor their Nature's Recipe
Optimum Feline Maintenance, though, so I mix the two foods-- lowers
the ethoxyquin intake, provides crunchy food to help scrape away
plaque on teeth, and the Nature's Recipe has no artificial colors or
preservatives with 32% protein and 15% fat, with several animal based
proteins leading its ingredient list.  Anyway, Mazuri is a ferret
food you might consider, and it's ceratainly available in bulk!
 
        Debra in Ft.Worth, TX
 
This tagline contains 34% protein, 18% fat, and no preservatives.
 
[Posted in FML issue 0777]