I am not going to debate which way of feeding is better. I, for one, think that a nutritionally sound diet can be provided for ferrets in a variety of ways, and there is no one correct way to feed ferrets, other then to offer a diet high in animal sources of protein and fat. So, instead, I will offer some information about different feeding techniques. I will leave it up to the individuals to decide which method of feeding works best for them. Feeding a raw diet can be expensive, and also takes a certain amount of experience and knowledge if it is going to be done properly. Many people do not like feeding whole prey animals. This is probably the best way to feed a raw diet, though. Ferrets are carnivores, not meat eaters. Feeding only meats will deprive the ferret of important nutrients. Muscle meat has little in the way of minerals important to a balanced diet. To provide complete nutrition, organ meats and bones are necessary. I have tried numerous times with out any luck to get my ferrets to eat chicken wings and legs. They will nibble the meat off the bones, but will not eat the bones. Yet, if I give them a frozen and thawed chick or mouse, they will happily devour it. So, since I can not get my kids to eat the raw meaty bones, I can not use that route. There are commercially prepared raw diets that are available to people who want to feed raw, but do not like to feed prey animals. These usually come in a frozen pattie form, and include the whole animals ground up. And, while the big chain pet stores usually do not sell this type of food, there are many small animal boutiques that do, and in some cases it can also be ordered online. The brand that I use is from Nature's Variety, but there are a number of brands now available to choose from. Just be sure when buying a commercially prepared raw food that it is made mostly from animal sources and contains bones and organ meats as well as muscle meats. Here is a link to the Nature's Variety web site, incase anyone is interested in learning more about this brand. http://www.naturesvariety.com/raw For those who want to feed a non commercial but cooked diet, it is again important to include bones and organ meats in the mix. Generally people who go this route do so to try to avoid bacterial diseases like salmonella. It is important when cooking foods to not over cook them. Cooking does remove some of the vitamins and minerals, but proper cooking will destroy less then 10% of the nutrients. Many people who feed cooked home made diet par boil their meats. This is also good for the bones. Over cooking bones can cause them to be brittle and splinter, while par boiling them will help to prevent that. I used cooked meats as a treat for my kids. I will cut up a cooked boneless chicken breast, and hand out the pieces as a treat. This is a healthy treat, in addition to being something my ferrets love. There are many kibbles now available, and not all are created equally. I try to choose kibbles that contain no grains, and have meat and animal products as at least 4 of the first 6 ingredients. For people who feed kibble, learn to read the labels. One of the links I gave the other day provided some excellent information about reading labels, and what to avoid and to look for. Here is the part I am talking about. Again, this was written to apply to dogs, but what is bad for dogs is also pretty much bad for ferrets. Dogs are carnivores, although not obligate carnivores, and can process plant matter better then ferrets. But, plant matter that is of little or no value to dogs will be of even less value to ferrets. http://www.petsynergy.com/overview.html Avoid any artificial coloring, flavoring or preservatives especially Ethoxyquin, BHA and BHT which can cause liver problems and cancer. Animal Fat does not necessarily mean good quality oils, and can be by-products of animal processing, so be sure to look for specific oils like Flaxseed Oil or Salmon Oil. Avoid the following ingredients: Beet Pulp which has too much sugar and fiber and is a poor filler. Beef Tallow comes from the tissue of cattle in the process of rendering and is low in linoleic acid, which is needed for skin and coat health Corn and Corn Gluten Meal which is the dried residue from corn after the removal of the germ, it causes the kidneys and liver work overtime and Corn is thought to be the #3 common cause of food allergies in dogs Rice Bran which is the outer coating of the rice kernel, with little of the starchy part of the germ and is basically floor sweepings. Rice Gluten is similar to corn gluten with little good nutritional value. Sorghum is the ground grain of the sorghum plant and it is low in digestibility Soybean Meal is the product obtained by grinding the flakes which remain after removal of most of the oil from soybeans by extraction. It is "a poor quality protein filler and one of the main causes of allergy of dogs. Wheat and Wheat Gluten - filler and highly allergenic. Any other filler that you don't know the name of! Good Things to look for! Food Grade ingredients Organic ingredients No by-products Meat based not fillers I would add to the above 'cold processed' as a good thing to look for. Cold processed foods have more of the natural nutrients still available. Wysong is one manufacturer that uses cold processing on most if not all of their foods. Kim has mentioned the use of freeze dried meats, and this is another good food source. I use commercially prepared freeze dried meats that include bones and organ meats in the pieces, but as Kim has mentioned, it is possible to freeze dry pieces of meat yourself. There is another commercially prepared food that seldom gets talked about - canned foods. Until recently, there were no canned diets on the market that I felt were adequate for a ferret, but there are some recent additions that I have been impressed with, and now use. Both Wysong and EVO have a canned meats line that is 95% animal meat, bones and organ meat. Merrick has a new line of canned meats that is 100% animal sources and moisture. I do not use these as a main source of food, because feeding only canned foods will cause an unhealthy tartar build up on the teeth. But, I do feed my kids canned meats once or twice a week. My own personal philosophy is to feed the ferrets something they like that provides them with the nutrition they need. I have 2 ferrets that will only eat kibble, and while I have tried to get them to eat other foods, I do not feel the need to force them to do so. I also have 2 ferrets that will only eat prey, and cooked or canned meats. Again, I do not feel the need to force them to eat other sources of food. Most of my kids will eat any of the food sources I have mentioned, although kibble is low on the list of preferred foods. There is a lot to be said for variety. Kibble is always available to all my ferrets. And, they all know that at night, they will have a source of prey available, but not what the prey will be. My 2 hobs are out when I am fixing the night time meal, and they will actually run around me while I am preparing the food dishes. When I go to the ferret room, they run ahead of me, and when the barrier is removed, they run into the cage room and climb into their cages to wait for their dinner. In the mid morning, I give them something else. It might be a raw commercial meat, or a canned meat. Occasionally I will feed a meal of cooked chicken breast, but this is an infrequent meal, since it is not balanced, do to the lack of bone or organ meat. I use freeze dried meat and cooked meat mostly as a treat. But, my point is, there is always variety. They never know exactly what they will be getting. They always will go and look to see what is in the food dish, because they are curious to see what it is. I think this is a good thing. Danee DeVore ADV - If your ferret hasn't been tested, you don't know! For more information visit: http://www.ferretadv.com ADV - Find out how you can help: http://help4adv.terrabox.com/ [Posted in FML 6062]