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Post by Deleted on Sept 28, 2015 17:07:35 GMT -5
How much food would I need for a couple hob kits for say, a month of raw feeding? Someone told me about a good place to get raw feed here in the UK and up till this point they've been eating a mix of raw and kibble so I was hoping to transition them over to fully raw but I'm trying to work out the costs and such!
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Post by Deleted on Sept 28, 2015 17:29:12 GMT -5
Costings really depend on supplier, time of year, whether indoor/outdoor and how much they actually will consume. Last winter I had 3 hob kits and they were eating one chicken carcass in 24 hrs or approx 500 g of minced muscle meat. Come spring I had 5 ferrets and all 5 were eating the same quantities in Spring as the 3 kits were in Winter. As they say here - kits are tummies with teeth. Once you kits get past their first winter you'll be surprised at the change in appetite but until then you kinda feed em as muchas they'll eat of a balanced raw diet  |
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Post by Deleted on Sept 28, 2015 19:17:05 GMT -5
It would depend on how much your ferrets eat in general.
Kits can be very big eaters, especially if they're very very young and are still growing.
Before you buy in bulk, figure out how much they eat per day and the rest should be fairly simple to work out.
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Post by RedSky on Sept 29, 2015 5:24:30 GMT -5
There are loads of good suppliers in the UK. But yeah, depending on where you buy, what you feed and how much your boys eat... Prices to feed can vary so much.
I have 2 boys and a girl. All neutered. All three eat different amounts. Together they eat about 10 to 15oz in winter, and 5 to 8oz in summer (per day). This depends on what meal it is, how much running around, temperate etc.
I can easily spend £20 a week to feed them, if I just get what I need as and when.
I can also spend £70 to feed them for about 4 months, if I plan out and buy in bulk. I have a chest freezer just for them and running it costs pennies. Worst thing is the room it takes up. Space is paramount for us.
Kits can easily double (if not more) than an adult, so that can push prices up initially.
Many believe (me included) that the best diet for ferrets is whole prey. Whole prey is more expensive so I tend to only feed two or three meals a week of it. Mine have quail, mice and chicks. Chicks are the cheapest but like all baby animals aren't balanced. Pet shops are the most expensive way to go, Kiezebrink are the cheapest I have found for the UK. Some people raise and kill their own. If you're interested have a look into laws etc as I'm not sure of many people doing it in the UK.
Some price comparisons for you
Local pet shop large mice - £1.05 each
Kiezebrink large mice - 25 for £11.50 (46p each!)
Local pet shop quail - 25 for £45 (£1.80 each)
Kiezebrink quail - 75p each (ex-layer so slightly larger and might contain an egg which mine love!) or 60p for plucked (I think feet removed & headless too???)
Butchers wild rabbit (pellet shot) - £4 each (size can vary)
Keizerbrink wild rabbit (cage caught) - £2 small, £3.95 large. Downside is these rabbits will probably need gutting. Some ferrets won't eat with jackets on.
Some things you can't generally find in supermarkets and if you do are expensive that your ferrets will love, eg duck wings, venison, pheasant, pigeon etc, are much easier to find on the internet.
And then there are grinds/minces. Some are bone and meat, some are balanced (whole animals or bone, meat, heart, organ) or classed as balanced, (bone, meat, organ - no heart) while some are higher in one thing or another. I used these every now and then to add more variety in their diet, especially if I can't get one of their regular meals (rabbit, pheasant etc) or if they seem bored of the same food all the time.
Just a warning that I've heard about. Kiezerbrink's grinds are designed for larger carnivores, rather that ferrets, cats and small dogs. So bones in their grinds can present a choking hazard, or damage mouths. I haven't bought any myself but I have seen pictures and read enough to put me off.
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