new to ferrets - mumma to ellen

[Deleted]

hey guys
2 weeks ago i became a proud new ferret mumma, we were told our little girl was 9 weeks old but today only just got told she was 12 weeks old when we got her, we are going to be getting her desexed...but at what age do you guys recommend for a female (jill) to be when getting desexed???

also, when we got her she was being fed kitten biscuits and whiskas kitten satchels, we are in the process of transitioning her to mostly raw with a tiny bit of kibble, atm we are giving her optimum chicken kitten bikkies, we tried giving her some kangaroo mince, she ate it one day and wont touch it again, so ive been giving her some whiskas satchels, i started her on chicken livers today and she loved them i also have some chicken necks to help keep her teeth healthy, i will try her on that tomorrow.

what do you recommend for raw feeding??

any help will be gratefully appreciated

[Deleted]

Do not worry about the kangaroo meat ---from what i read it is very low in fat and ferrets use fat for energy. so kangaroo now and then would be ok but not as a staple and rabbit the same way. Rabbit is low in taurine , which is very important for heart and eyes. I am on mostly whole prey ---rats, mice, guinea pig, quail, rabbit...

Some do frankenprey which is meat you can get from the store. However, ferrets need so many bone-in meals and muscle meals as well as organ meals each week. So you need to apply for a mentor to help u transition and in mean time you can read others switching threads. Will send u some more info.

Cornish hen is good and cheap as is chicken wings and thighs(thigh has more nutrients than breast) and quail from Asian stores. Watch out for quail at grocery store---- look at ingredients on back ---may be full of flavorings, spices, and types of sugar. You can feed duck meat too.

Chicken hearts or duck hearts is very good for taurine as is mice.

Continue to ask questions

[Deleted]

Congratulations on your new baby Meeper and ferrenthood.

Kits will be easy to switch to a raw menu. They also will eat alot for the next few months.
The idea behind Frankenprey is to mimic eating whole prey.
I'll bump up a thread that has some good links for you to read. It will show up under New Topics.
Better yet, here is a link:
holisticferret60.proboards.com/thread/17480/intro-raw-newbies-read
You do want to read so that you understand what you are feeding, why it's balanced and why they need a balanced diet.

To make it simple for you, I'll give you a basic idea:

The Frankenprey menu needs a minimum of three proteins.
7-9 meals are Bone In meals. Bones are the non weight bearing bones of an animal the size of a chicken or smaller. Think chicken wings, cornish game hens, quail, pork button bones and duck wings.
Your little one has to build up her jaw strength, so smashing the bones a little will help.

3-4 meals a week are muscle meats:
Heart is a muscle meat and she will need a full meal of hearts and a half meal of heart, to make up ten percent of her weekly menu.
Gizzards are great for building jaw strength and are a muscle meat.
One meal a week of red meat is also great for her. Red meat has Iron and Vitamin B.
The other muscle meats can be lamb, turkey, pork, kangaroo (I'm guessing you are not in the states) and rabbit.

She will get two organ meals a week.
One will be Liver plus another organ.
One will be Liver plus another organ and a half meal of heart (a muscle meat)
Organs are secreting organs. Kidney/thymus/pancreas/brains/spleen

You can sign up for a Mentor to help you understand how to switch and to guide you. There is a waiting list, but you can follow along on other Mentor/Member switches and see how the process works.
We ask that you don't post to those threads. You can build your own switching thread and the Mentors will help you along, until you are assigned your own Mentor.

You don't want to mix kibble and raw. They digest at different rates and may give her a tummy ache.
Remember, ferrets are carnivores. They are not designed to eat fruits/grains/starches or carbs.

The forum is a lovely place and our ferrent are kind and gentle. We love to talk ferret, discuss ferret issue and share stories and pictures. Especially of baby meepers, pretty please.
If you need any help navigating the forum, just ask.
Have fun and see you around the forum.
(dance)

[Heather]

As everyone has dealt with you questions on diet quite well, I'm going to deal with the desexing end. Things have moved a long way regarding this so unless your kit comes through your door desexed you've got some decisions to make. Early alter is not recommended as it's now been proven to directly attribute to early onset adrenal disease.
A ferret becomes sexually active (depending on genetics and care) about 6 to 8 months. As you have a jill you will then have to decide what you're going to do and what your contract states with your breeder. A jill cannot be left in season because eventually she will suffer from aplastic anemia. You have 3 options if your jill comes into season; jill jab (hormone shot), DES implant (this will take her out for at least a year and buy you time until she matures) or if you know someone with a v-hob (vasectomised hob...not a neutered hob). Using any of these will probably send her into a false pregnancy (I've seen a few using the DES who've managed to avoid this condition). The DES is considered an annual method. The jill jab and the v-hob have to be used every time she comes into season. Most jills season at least twice during the year.
If your kit was 12 weeks before you got her that's a bonus. It's much better for you to have a kit at 12 weeks than one that is earlier. This has given the wee one time to learn social skills, be taught that you're supposed to use a specific corner for your stools, how to interact with other kits and generally be a good ferret.
Don't be shy about asking questions....you will have them
ciao

[Deleted]

thank you abbeytheferret6, poncesmom and heather, you guys have given me a great deal of help and i truly appreciate it. and poncesmom no im not in the states im in Australia.

sorry i probably posted this all in the wrong area, i had a noob moment and couldnt find the create thread lol..

as soon as i figure out the site i will be posting pics of my lil angel

i have also noticed she doesnt seem to eat that much, is that normal?

i will phone the vets and find out about the jill jab because as you said heather about the adrenal disease and it will give her body more time to grow into itself.

thank you again and no doubt i will be asking more questions

[Deleted]

A grown female will only eat about 2 ounces a day. A little less in Spring and a little more in Winter.
It's scarey how little they eat.

Here is a link to posting pictures. Most of us use a photosharing site like Photobucket. It's free and easy to use.

holisticferret60.proboards.com/thread/47/post-pictures-videos

If you need any help navigating the forum, just ask.
You can tag someone by hovering your cursor over their user name (not all names are as they appear) and seeing how it is spelled, then put the @sign in front of it. If you've done it correctly, the name will show up in bold, once you post.
You can also quote someone. In both cases, they will receive a notification and respond faster.

The Admins can move your threads if you put one in the wrong place. I'm going to move your thread to the Ferret Talk section. It will still show up under New Topics.

[Thérèse]

Hi and welcome. Just a quick few notes from a fellow Aussie. When an American refers you to Des, it is known as Suprelorin here in Aus. Likewise I have never found cornish game hen here but I suspect our spatchcock is the same thing. I never understand when they talk ounces and not having ever had any females can''t really translate that one for you. I do remember years back at a ferret club meet where they had a weigh day that I think the average female was 600g, can''t remember if that was a Winter or Summer weight though.

A jill jab should only be required if she goes into heat and as we are heading into Winter now, hopefully it will be a while before that is necessary. Although I have never had a female I do know that there vulva swells noticeably when they are in heat.

Can''t help you with kibble except that my memory is that nothing that sasys ferret on the pack over here is any good for feeding ferrets. I caan tell you that you shouldn''t have the same problems feeding hearts that our US ferrents have. Where I am both Coles and Woollies sell packs of just chicken hearts, however you will need asian markets for other exotic things like chicken feet.

That''s all the local stuff that springs to mind at the moment. Welcome to ferrenthood, enjoy the ride!

[Deleted]

Thérèse thank you for your help, im lucky where i live we have specialized chicken so i can get some things from there such as the liver, necks and wings, i haven't looked there for hearts but i spose as you said either coles or woolies stocks them, i will be adding that to the list of food to buy. i know i can get some pinkies (mice) from our local pet stores.
again thank you for the info ::

[Blue]

Thérèse LOL it's only in the last year, and only due to raw feeding, that I'm finally comfortable with pounds and ounces! 1 oz = 28.3 g so 1-3 oz (the amount of raw meat an average jill eats) is about 30-85 g.

@lornicans welcome to the board and to ferrenthood! I loved the picture you linked to on your other thread -- I'm looking forward to seeing more

[Deleted]

Blue thank you and im loving ferrenthood, and it wont be long until i upload more photos