Convertible Ferrets So how does one go about converting a kibble cruncher into a carnivore? Well in reality it is more of an awakening than a conversion. We aren't changing the ferret's nature - we are allowing it to revert to what it was before it was forced to eat kibble or starve as a weanling. Younger ferrets usually switch easier than older ferrets. They tend to be more adventurous in all things including food. But older ferrets WILL switch! I've had ferrets switch slowly and some cold turkey. I'm sure a couple would happily eat some kibble if I offered it to them because they have been addicted and you can't expect an addict to leave its nemesis be if allowed free access. Pet food manufacturers KNOW that pets become addicted and they encourage this, especially with the use of sugars and glucose in foods and treats. Marshalls IMO is the worst of these offenders. Every last one of their treats and foods has added sugars and sweeteners that cause these addictions - addictions to food forms that literally are foreign to the ferret's systems! I've had the best results with introducing bits of raw meat into and on top of the kibble so that in order to eat the kibble the ferret has to nose through the meat. Sometimes putting chopped meat into a ziploc baggie of kibble and refridgerated over night helps to impart a meaty flavor to the kibble. Some ferrets started eating dried meats before venturing into raw, I've used both air dried and freeze dried meats. I make my own freeze dried in my frost free feezer. When purchasing dried meats make sure they aren't processed with sugars or salted, smoked or flavored! Yes, you may have to shop around a bit either to several pet shops or online. And in the end you might end up making your own as I did. I've started some on raw hamburger and quite enjoyed raw salmon as their first natural meal. Cornish game hen is more readily received than chicken. When purchasing ANY meaty item for the ferrets make certain it has NOT been "enhanced" with broth or solution! Rabbit is always devoured greedily. And chunks of chicken necks are usually stashed quickly to be gnawed on in seclusion later. When starting on whole prey I'll offer pinkie mice. These are wiggly enough to intrigue the ferret, but not so wiggly they can get away. Yes often the first few times the pinkie will get chomped but not eaten. You have the option of tossing it in the blender with your "duck soup" mix; burying the tiny bodies in your house plant soil or just offering again the next couple of meals. You have to remember that they aren't used to eating food that moves or makes noise. Sometimes offering the ferret a superworm as its first live meal works well too. Offering the ferrets whole prey seems to be easier and more well received than offering them raw meat. When beginning this transition you cannot just expect the pinkies to be their sole nutrient source, you'll have to keep the kibble handy until they are eating 3 to 6 pinkies at a meal. From pinkies graduate to fuzzies, with more raw meaty items than kibble. Stop leaving the kibble out all day long and only offer meals twice a day. this will encourage actual meal times and get the ferret more interested in actually eating something. You can't expect to offer them whole prey or a raw meal once or twice and *poof* they switch. Yes some will - my Roman (who was 6 months old) did just that- he devoured one mouse the very night he arrived and never looked back at kibble! But the more usual is that it takes severl offerings, several killed but uneaten morsels and anywhere from a couple weeks to a few months of time to completely switch. Put a blob of unsalted lard in a small heavy crock and leave that for the ferret to lick. this offers them more fat which is excellent for them. Fat is high energy and their systems are designed to utilize it well. After the ferret is eating2 to 4 fuzzies per meal you can graduate to hoppers. I suggest putting the ferret and hopper in a deep Rubbermaid bin, or the bathroom tub. This keeps the hopper contained and helps the ferret teach itself to follow the movements of the mouse. Close the bathroom door as the ferret will often try to hop out and stash its prize after the kill. The first few kills of the hoppers will be a bit clumsy and somewhat slow, but still much faster than the average house cat. By now your ferret should be practically off of all kibble and happily devouring chicken necks, hearts, gizzards, pieces of rabbit, liver, chicken feet, turkey neck, Cornish game hen and chicken wing tips - bones and all! Once the ferret is quickly dispatching the hoppers you can progress to adult mice; start with these in the bin or tub then mouse proof your bathroom and let the ferret go on a proper hunt. I am a HUGE proponent of offering natural live prey as much and as often as I can. Just seeing the ferrets delight in the hunt and so pleased with themselves as they relish their meal makes it worth it. Call me strange but for each live prey fed I say a thank you prayer for the nourishment they will be offering to my ferret. If you want to do the whole prey but not live prey you can always dispatch the mice yourself. Either by cervical separation, or by building a CO2 chamber. Then too there is always the option of purchasing packaged, frozen mice and feeding those. But I had a bad experience with that scene and the frozen mice made my ferrets sick. Which is why I raise my own mice now. I also do NOT recommend feeding natural WITH feeding kibble except during the short transition phase. Mainly because the indigestible plant items and who knows what else in the kibble will push the natural nutrient rich foods through at an improper rate. There is NO reason to continue to feed your ferret a foreign substance once they are acclimated to natural diets. Vacations, alternative caretakers, even natural disasters can be planned for and circumvented with judicious use of frozen, dried and freeze dried natural items. For those intent on offering a full range of whole natural prey you can offer practically any rodent or small bird (young poultry) as long as the ferret shows proper ability to capture and kill without difficulty. A good kill should happen within mere seconds of the ferret spotting the prey, capturing it and applying the killing bite to the neck. Any ferret that consistently loses its grip or doesn¢t kill the prey outright should NEVER be progressed to larger live prey until they CAN properly dispatch the current prey. IOW if your ferret has a hard time dispatching adult mice, do NOT move on to medium rats! My best hunter was Josie and she progressed up to young chicks, guinea pigs and adult rats as prey. Rats are NOT mice and will fight viciously for their survival! NEVER EVER progress your hunter faster than they are ready! If you have several ferrets it can be very beneficial to encourage a bit of competition for the prey. What really works well is if you have an experienced hunter literally demonstrate how to properly kill. Ferrets do learn by observation as well as trial and error. Josie, my kit, was a year old when I adopted two 5 year old ferrets; she helped teach Faylene and Fozzy. The next batch I adopted learned as a group, with the deaf one, Crystal, proving to be the fastest learner and the one to make the fastest kills in proper form. Fizzle is the most timid of hunters, being put off by strong mice and more content to steal from someone else after they've killed. Roman, another youngster adopted last May, took immediately to hunting and is now as fast as Crystal with the dispatch. I don't have access to rats or guinea pigs at the moment, but Roman and Crystal would be the only ones I'd offer them to. Windy is a good hunter too, but she tends to lose track of them if they get away. Bugsy seems to still be a bit clumsy in his approach, even though he's been hunting live prey for well over a year now. Awakening the carnivorous predator within your ferret will NOT turn them into vicious bloodletting crazed animals! Quite the contrary, it will ALLOW them a PROPER outlet for their need to pursue, pounce, and shred and rend. Ferrets that tend towards biting human hands will become LESS inclined to do so. The natural diet has worked wonders for Fizzle a so called vicious biter and her cage mate Windy, another biter; and is helping Roman to overcome his penchant for chomping my appendages. As supplements to their natural diet I'll also offer: super worms, crickets, night crawlers, minnows, and creek chubs which they've all eaten happily. Some will catch the occasional house spider. I've tried offering them frogs and lizards, but they don't seem interested in the cold blooded animals. If you offer "other critters" be certain they haven't been affected by pesticides or are poisonous. Some skinks and salamanders and toads are poisonous - so know your offerings. Don't offer anything that is a protected species. [Posted in FML 6224]