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Post by Deleted on Mar 26, 2011 10:43:37 GMT -5
This is just a quick note to remind people that all forms of feeding and eating come with risk. I also have some recommendations for reducing the potential risks.
At Spring Nationals show, I learned of 3 confirmed cases (from long-term raw feeders) of deaths from bone and/or whole prey.
One breeder shared that she has lost two ferrets to bone shards (chicken bone) in the gut.
Another breeder knows of a loss due to obstruction from feathers.
Please remember that more pets have died over the past several years from commercial kibble (melamine, aflatoxins, etc.) than from raw feeding.
Here are some recommendations to help avoid potential issues:
1. feed smaller, bones/prey
2. avoid feeding the long, shank portions of load-bearing bones (leg bones, thigh bones, etc) when feeding larger bones bone tips are softer and contain more nutrition.
(giant bone that a ferret cannot possibly get its mouth around are fine as well)
3. When feeding heavily feathered prey, pluck or trim feathers to reduce the amount of feather consumed. The feathers can be ground/chopped and frozen to be used as bulk/roughage for meat or organ only meals. Mixing them in with the meats may require om fine chopping of some meat/organs.
4. when feeding bone and/or whole prey, separate ferrets to avoid competition for food. A ferret hat feels the need to defend her prize will more likely bolt her food without crunching the bone as well as she should.
5. Provide a quiet, safe/protected place for leisurely crunching bone (a feeding den works well for this)
6. Ensure plenty of fresh water is available at all times, regardless of what you are feeding.
-jennifer
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Post by Sherry on Mar 26, 2011 17:51:40 GMT -5
Interesting! And thanks for posting this, Jennifer  |
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Post by Deleted on Mar 26, 2011 21:31:24 GMT -5
I was pretty surprised by hearing this. The info. sources are very reliable. Unfortunately I did not have time to get details (between judging). The people who have had trouble have LOTS of ferrets and they have been feeding raw for a long time. The odds of running into issues are small, but I'm a paranoid ferret mom, so..... I always watch my kids when they get bones to make sure they are chewing well. I have always fed smaller bones since my kids get commercial grind most of the time....they are not the greatest bone crunchers  so the recommendations are the things I do for my brats. -jennifer |
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Post by Sherry on Mar 26, 2011 22:12:07 GMT -5
I do tend to do most of that anyway, except separating them. I figure if the piece is too large to swallow whole anyway, no problem then  And as you mentioned- the odds of kibble causing problems are a higher risk as well! |
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Post by miamiferret2 on Mar 26, 2011 22:27:07 GMT -5
Thanks for the info. I feed mostly commercial raw but I do sometimes worry about our border collie when i feed him raw chicken wings. He loves them and he always chew them really well. I hear all of the bones snapping and then he'll swallow them. but I always doubt whether I should be feeding these to him. My sister in law's beagle had to have rectal surgery (her rectum basically fell out) because of a raw bone. I'll have to ask her what type of bone it was. But the thing is, she was competing with another dog for this and she ended up swallowing a piece of bone that was too large for her to pass.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 27, 2011 9:23:48 GMT -5
I have ALWAYS noticed that animals will chew less carefully when competition is present. Polecats are solitary hunters/eaters. Plus my ferrets will get super greedy over treats and try to carelessly bolt down the treat when competition is present. This is why I recommend individual feeding dens. Even without these risk mitigation practices, the risk of bone-related issues is pretty darn small. The brats are probably at much greater risk in the car on the way to the vet's office. But with my luck, I'll win the "lottery" that nobody wants to win.  My brats are not the greatest bone eaters in the world by any means. I have to feed bone first and they have to be hungry in order to eat the stuff. I just plan to exercise a little extra caution when it comes to feeding bone. -jennifer |
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Post by joan on Mar 27, 2011 10:56:51 GMT -5
I've never had any problems with any of mine competing for their meat or whole prey after 10 weeks or so, but then I always feed in their cages and I never have more than 3 in a cage at that age. It's 2 to a cage at 12 weeks. I begin to separate the kits into groups at 8 weeks, with no more than 4 to a cage.
At the beginning, the kits grab a chicken wing (or whatever) and go off to separate corners or another level to eat it. The only time they've ever squabbled over their food is with the whole prey (mice and DOC). Neither of them have large bones, so wouldn't cause any problems if they did bolt it.
L:ike Jennifer, I've heard several accounts of ferrets dying from a bone piercing the stomach or intestines, which made me wonder just how strong ferret stomachs and intestines are in comparison to the polecats/hybrids. All the ones I've heard about also ate kibble and I do wonder just how much damage their gastrointestinal systems had already incurred. PLus, all the ones I've heard of have been fancy colors and I suspect they are more susceptible to organ damage due to their genetics.
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Post by Sherry on Mar 27, 2011 11:34:56 GMT -5
Something I just thought of as well. Jennifer- do you have any idea if the bone that caused the problems was old stash? I know Sinnead's tongue got cut pretty badly from that one day. I try to keep up with it, but there are times and places when they manage to get it into a place I'm not aware of/can't reach. And even though they are cage fed(especially with bone in), they still manage to get some smaller pieces out of the cage, and run off with it |
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Post by Deleted on Mar 27, 2011 12:42:03 GMT -5
Unfortunately, I didn't have time to get details regarding the circumstances. I suspect the ferrets are fed in their cage since owner that has had the problems is a breeder. Cage feeeding with my kids commonly results in "food wars" I have two pigs ad a tronng alpha girl, so feeding can get interesting at my house. Regarding the cut in the mouth from bone----> heck, Kachina is such a PIG that she has a permanently notched tongue from biting herself in a "treat war" -jennifer |
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Post by Sherry on Mar 27, 2011 14:20:01 GMT -5
That's why I was wondering about old bone. Mine are also cage fed, and fresh bone should theoretically be smoothed out by the stomach acids. I could understand a blockage from a chunk of bone being too big to pass, but not the shards cutting them. Which I'm assuming is what you are referring to?
I'm not by any means saying it's impossible for fresh to have done that, but more likely to have been old/dried?
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Post by Deleted on Mar 27, 2011 19:14:31 GMT -5
It sounded like the bones may have been larger and not very well chewed because the injuries sustained in both cases were punctures. Most breeders feed some kibble for various reasons. The breeder who had these accidents also feed grinds and whole prey was well. I suspect that any raw is fed in amounts that tend to get eaten right away.... breeders have a lot of cages to clean. I suspect they don't want raw hanging out all day and/or raw stashed in a ll the hammocks, etc. This is speculation on my part. I know my room with only 4 ferrets is a LOT to take care of. I can't imagine breeding and having a whole room full of cages with ferts stashing raw meat - LOL!!!
-jennifer
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Post by Deleted on Mar 27, 2011 19:57:09 GMT -5
Thanks for the heads up!
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