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]