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Post by Deleted on Jan 26, 2015 2:20:13 GMT -5
Feeding my guy frozen commercial raw. I've been creeping the forums forever looking for answers, but I'm sort of overwhelmed with all the information! I want to do what is best for my guy... he is currently on a high-quality kibble diet..but after reading all this info, I want to switch him as soon as possible. I work at a pet store that sells frozen Nature's Variety Instinct Raw Bites, and I was wondering if that would be a good option? I can get a good discount on it, so that would be ideal. I see a few people feed that here. I was also wondering about which one to get? There is chicken, duck, and rabbit. Should I get all of them and combine? Or cycle through them? Or stick to one? And how often would he need to be fed daily? Can I leave this stuff out for long periods of time? Francis seems to be pretty easy-going when it comes to trying new foods.. so I'm not too worried about transitioning him. But I was also wondering if I mix it with his kibble first, or?  Sorry.. so many questions... I just don't want to do the wrong thing when it comes to my baby.  If anyone could loan me even just a bit of their knowledge, it would be greatly appreciated!! |
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Post by Celene on Jan 26, 2015 10:49:26 GMT -5
First of all, trust me when I say that joining the forum and asking lots of questions will help you learn much faster than reading through posts and being confused with no answers  NV Raw Bites is a pretty good starter. I feed my girls the duck one on occasion, although it does have some fruit and veggies which isn't great, 5% and under (NV is 5%) isn't too terrible for the short term while transitioning them. First of all, make sure you feed the cat ones and not the dog ones! Cats' nutritional requirements are much closer to ferrets'. With a ferret's diet, more variety=better so definitely get them all. You don't want to mix them all together though since some ferrets have allergies/sensitivies to some meats and if they're blended all together it will be difficult to determine which is causing any issues. I would rotate, like feed chicken one day, rabbit the next, duck the day after that, etc. I usually feed my girls twice daily, before work and when I get home. They eat about 3.2 oz (combined) a day, but your boy will probably eat more depending on his age/size so it will take some trial and error to figure out how much that is. Of course if you give him some and he eats it all up then give him more. Especially at the beginning, you don't want his food dish empty. Ferrets transitioning to raw usually eat more in the first couple weeks (the common theory is they're making up for lost nutrients in their kibble diet) and then slow down a bit. One other thing to keep in mind is that you'll have to brush your boy's teeth while on the commercial raw since it's basically just mush. Eventually you will probably want to transition to frankenprey (or whole prey) diet because it's cheaper, 100% fruit/veggie-free and the bones keep their teeth clean. Finally, I highly recommend signing up for the mentoring program! There is a bit of a waiting list, but you can start an unofficial switching thread in the meantime and the lovely mentors here will pop in and give you advice |
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Post by Deleted on Jan 26, 2015 12:06:44 GMT -5
Ahh Celene, thank you so much for all your help!! I appreciate it so much. All the info in these forums is just too much at first.  But obviously it's better than no info at all..  I'm so glad I found this place! Is there a commercial raw brand that doesn't have any of the fruit or veg? Or is that pretty much as good as it gets? So basically I should just feed him twice a day and if he eats it all, give him more until he's done eating completely ? And I'm just wondering if I should combine it with his kibble at first, or just do a straight switch and get him to try the NV on it's own? I already brush his teeth (he loves it) so I'm not too worried about that aspect. |
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Post by Celene on Jan 26, 2015 13:28:31 GMT -5
Many people have found that their ferrets get really bad digestive/tummy upset when mixing kibble and raw so it is not recommended. I would advise mixing it with water into a sort of soup and getting him to eat it that way. If he's resistant than maybe top it with salmon oil or something similar that he likes.
As for alternative brands, I think it depends on where you live. There is a really good one made locally to me that is only 2% veggies, and it's low sugar ones like leafy greens. I know some people like rad cat which is readily available, not sure what % of non-meat is included.
What is your boy's name and age? If ferrets are older and/or insulinomic they should eat more often. Many mentors advise leaving some food out at all times in case they get hungry, although raw ferrets don't really "graze" like kibble-fed ones do. Usually before I leave for work or go to bed if my girls have eaten all their food I leave a little extra "just in case". I often end up throwing it out though since they're usually full until their next meal.
I think it's because raw has less fillers and sustains them longer. I've read people hypothesize it's like a ferret would eat in the wild - hunt and have a big meal, then not eat until the next hunt. I have no idea if that's true though!
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Post by Deleted on Jan 26, 2015 23:05:37 GMT -5
That's a great idea mixing it with water! I'm looking forward to see how he takes to it.. His name is Francis and he is around 8 months now. I will leave some out for grazing in the beginning to get a feel for how much he needs to eat. Thanks again for all your valuable info... it's SUPEEER extremely helpful |
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If anyone could loan me even just a bit of their knowledge, it would be greatly appreciated!!
But obviously it's better than no info at all..