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Post by Deleted on Jan 20, 2015 16:12:46 GMT -5
I can't/won't feed raw but I want to make sure I am giving my ferrets the best kibble.
I am feeding them a mix of EVO ferret and 8in1 Ultimate crunchy. Is that good or should I switch it to something better?
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Post by Deleted on Jan 20, 2015 17:45:44 GMT -5
Here is a link to a kibble chart. This helps explain what to look for in your kibble and has a list of kibbles and their rankings. I don't feed kibble so, I can't help you there. I know that those ferrents who do feed kibble will usually mix them, like you do. That way if there is a recall or a product is discontinued, you have something to fall back on. Here is the kibble link: moredooks.herobo.com/search.php?chart=ferret
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Post by Deleted on Jan 20, 2015 18:53:10 GMT -5
I can't/won't feed raw but I want to make sure I am giving my ferrets the best kibble. I am feeding them a mix of EVO ferret and 8in1 Ultimate crunchy. Is that good or should I switch it to something better? Personally mine didn't do well on Evo. I've read plenty of horror stories about Wysong Epigen 90 so I'd never tried it. Mine were doing really well on Orijen Cat & Kitten. Super soft fur, fluffy winter coats. We've now switched/are switching to raw, however.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 20, 2015 21:26:38 GMT -5
Make sure there r no peas in either one of your foods, as this is giving ferrets bladder stones and young ferrets r dying with this.
I was on Evo. it had no peas at the time. When they had a recall, I switched to epigen 90--- my senior was itching a lot on that and was skinny and poohed so much. I decided to do a kitten--can't remember from which two i had picked --but i made sure it had no peas and called company to see how much carb was in it ---- i compared carb load to the other i had picked.
But I decided to do the switch to raw and mailed it to Ferret Guardian Rescue Haven , which is nearby.
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Post by Blue on Jan 21, 2015 8:29:58 GMT -5
There's a recently updated food chart here: ferretedu.weebly.com/ferret-food-chart.htmlIt's not the same person, but she followed MoreDooks's points system, and among other things puts a note if there are peas anywhere in the ingredients (not just the first 6). It looks pretty good.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 21, 2015 9:21:59 GMT -5
GO! FIT + FREE & ORIJEN CAT & KITTEN. These two foods are very high on the list in that chart and say that they are excellent foods but both have peas in them (10th & 18th ingredient).
Are they still good foods? Would they be better then what I am feeding now?
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Post by Deleted on Jan 21, 2015 15:28:37 GMT -5
Boy, I'm afraid that I would stay away from anything with peas in it. Especially, since you already had issues with stones.
Years ago, a ferret specialist suggested Young again for my kibble fed ferret. Now when I look at the ingredients, I see some things that I would steer away from, like Guar gum and Rosemary extract.
Wysong epigen 90 was once the only kibble that the forum recommended. Then they did a product change and ferrents were reporting diarrhea and other issues.
Have you ever considered FDR like the feline version of Stella and Chewy's? It can be expensive but it does have most of the benefits of raw.
I'm trying to think of someone who feeds kibble, that I could tag for you. I'll come back to your post if I can think of someone.
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Post by Celene on Jan 21, 2015 15:47:39 GMT -5
I read a really long and thorough article recently basically arguing that there is no correlation between peas and kidney stones and it was a sort of rumour started a while ago that has grown and spread in a sort of superstitious/fear-mongering way. Unfortunately I don't have time to search the article at the moment but I can say that it was evidence and science-based and thoroughly convinced me. Although it DID say (there's really no argument here) that when peas are high up on the ingredient list and/or when "pea protein" is used as part of the protein content it's not good.
I can vouch for Go! Fit and Free. My husband works for a sort of sister-company to them and having met the owners, upper management and entire team they are thoroughly animal lovers and started the company because they were frustrated at the lack of quality kibble available.
Having said that, even the best of kibbles are no comparison to raw. Even though I can get unlimited free Go! kibble I still decided to make the switch. Before raw I fed a blend of Go!, Orijen, and NV Instinct Raw Boost and was satisfied enough with all three.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 21, 2015 19:19:57 GMT -5
If I had to feed kibble (I will never go back but if I did) I would feed Ziwipeak or Freeze Dried Raw either from Nature's Variety Instinct or Stella and Chewys.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 22, 2017 21:24:49 GMT -5
When I got my ferrets 3 years ago I used this guide. I tried whole prey at first, it worked for awhile but unfortunately one of my ferrets got sick, and we had concluded that it was from the raw diet (but it's hard to tell). I now feed both my ferrets the Origen Cat and Kitten kibble as their daily food. Extremely high quality with great ingredients and a high fat and meat content. As treats we feed Origen Free Run Duck "Dog treats" which is freeze dried duck meat and liver only, no additives or any other ingredients. I also give them dried chicken strips which my wife and I call their "toothpaste" (crispy and crunchy, recommended by their vet to fight plaque buildup). About once a week or so we also give them each raw egg yolks. They go nuts for them. Each year on their annual checkup our vet says they are very healthy fuzzies. Not health problems at all (knock on wood!). Are there any other treats/food you guys would recommend? I try to get them interested in the occasional tiny chunk of beef or chicken from our cooking, which they usually ignore completely.
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Post by LindaM on Jan 22, 2017 22:06:06 GMT -5
@kodiakattack When it comes to kibble feeding, you really shouldn't do less than 2-3 mixed kibbles, different kind and brand. The reason for this is that if the brand goes off the market, or makes changes to their formulas, your ferrets may stop eating it and you can have a very hard time to get them to accept another food without them starving themselves first when they no longer want to accept it due to the changes.
As for treats, mine like a dab of salmon oil, up to 1tsp per ferret, per week. They also enjoy all kinds of freeze-dried treats. I specifically use Orijen, Vital Essentials and Sojo's Simply, basically any flavors I can find (those brands are all 100% meat-based); rabbit, duck, chicken, turkey, beef, lamb, venison, salmon, minnows, boar, etc. I do not use brands like PureBites anymore (most of their range are liver treats) or NV Instinct Raw Mixers (the company doesn't list of the FDR is still 95% meat anymore). The reason to avoid liver treats and liver-based oils like Cod Liver oil is that these items are all very high in Vitamin A, which is a fat-soluble vitamin, meaning unlike a water-soluble vitamin of which the excess just gets excreted through urine, it can end up accumulating in the body and lead to a Vitamin A toxicity. It's better to play it safe and avoid the liver treats and just give them their required amount of liver normally through their diet as per the guidelines for the Frankenprey/Whole Prey diets.
Do not give your ferrets any cooked food, it has no nutritional value to them whatsoever anymore.
EDITED to better explain the risk of liver treats and why to avoid them preferably, as well as updated with a better list of proper FDR Treats.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 22, 2017 22:26:26 GMT -5
LindaM and to clarify, we don't offer any cooked meat as treat, raw only.
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Post by Deleted on May 5, 2017 22:52:40 GMT -5
This seems to be an old post, but is there an updated kibble list? The links on this post are no longer good
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Post by LindaM on May 5, 2017 23:12:02 GMT -5
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Post by ameener on Oct 22, 2017 23:03:19 GMT -5
What are the best kibbles to give your ferret, or should I say what is the best mix?
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