A few questions about switching from kibble to raw.

[Juju'sMom]

Hi there everyone, I am a new member to HHF and relatively new to owning ferrets but I know the basics (what they can and cannot digest, diseases they are susceptible to, benefits of spaying and neutering, benefits of raw diet etc). However, I have a few questions regarding switching from kibble to raw. Juju is my 5 month old ferret, she is spayed and descented (if that matters)and she is still on kibble - I plan to switch her to raw very, very soon.
I plan to buy chicken feet, chicken heart and chicken necks to start with because these seem to be quite popular/the norm due to the bone, cartilage etc. Would this be good to start off with or am I missing others? I remembering hearing giving ferrets pork kidneys is beneficial for the coat...or something. Just would like some clarification, please.

[juju'smom]

Just would like some clarification on what to get, is what I meant - wouldn't want any confusion.

[Deleted]

A five month old baby will be easy (fingers crossed) to switch.
Most Mentors will suggest starting with a soupie. The recipe for that is 8oz of chicken thigh meat (you can use any chicken, but the thigh is a good choice) then add 1oz of chicken liver, 1oz chicken heart and 1/2 tsp of eggshell powder. Dry some eggshells for a few days and then grind them up in a clean coffee grinder. You can freeze the soupie in ice cube trays and just use what is needed.

After JuJu gets use to soupies, we move them onto a weekly menu.
The menu is designed to mimic eating whole prey.
They need at least three proteins, in their weekly menu.
So a weekly menu would be 7-9 meals of consumable bone. The bones of a chicken size animal or smaller. Chicken wings, turkey wings, mice, guinea pig etc..
3-4 meals of muscle meat. One meal will be hearts. One meal should be red meat. This is a good place for pork, beef, turkey, etc...
One meal of half Liver and the other half another organ. Like kidney.
One meal of half Liver, half other organ and a half meal of heart.

Its not difficult, but you need to do some reading to understand why the menu meets your little guys nutritional needs. Once you get approved and have 15 posts, you can sign up for a Mentor, who will help walk you thru a switch. In the meantime, look at some of the members switching threads and follow along, to see how the process work.

[Sherry]

I would try her on some small slivers of meat and see if she will eat them first