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]