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Post by Deleted on Aug 28, 2014 11:52:25 GMT -5
I'm considering switching both my ferrets from dry kibble to whole prey, and I've heard that it's about the same cost, maybe a little more, than feeding kibble. But if my calculations are right then I'm looking at over $100 a month, which is a lot compared to the $27 I pay now... I know feeding whole prey has a lot of health benefits and in the long run could end up saving money, but over $100 is quite a lot for just 2 ferrets.
How much do you pay monthly for your whole prey diet? And where do you get your mice/rats/etc from and how many do you give to each ferret per day?
I did my adding by saying if both of mine ate 2 mice a day, and I ordered mine online from american rodent (I am in the free shipping area) then if I got 160 for 60 cents each (and they're over $1 each at the store) that would last a little over a month (with them eating 112 mice a month) for about $104 and that's just mice, the other animals they would eat would be different prices but it's a guesstimate.
Hope that makes sense.. and sorry for all the questions. Just trying to get everything straight here, not sure if I can do the switch if it's that much, I'll have to figure it out but I wanted to make sure I've got everything right.
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Post by bitbyter on Aug 28, 2014 12:29:34 GMT -5
First of all it is really hard to tell you how much it will cost because meat prices vary so much from city to city, let alone country to country. However, that being said. There is no way it will cost $100 for two ferrets per month. Probably closer to $30 would be my guess. The level of cost goes as follows from least expensive to most expensive: Frankenprey (meats from the grocery store) Commercial Frozen Raw (whole prey could be here depending on costs in your country) Whole Prey Freeze Dried Raw Remember that ferrets don't eat a lot and you cannot compare amount of kibble eaten to amount of raw because one is dry and the other is wet. Also the quality of nutrition makes a difference. My girls (2 of them) usually eat about 4 to 5 oz a day. In the thread below I spent ~$100 on food that would last about 3 to 3.5 months depending on season. holisticferret60.proboards.com/thread/12414/preping-food-bulk-frankenprey-diet |
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Post by Deleted on Aug 28, 2014 12:40:39 GMT -5
How many mice do they eat a day then? I thought it was two.. I don't see how I can figure up $100 and it be $30? I know how much they eat depends on the ferret and the day and what they're eating but the differences can't be that huge. I'm really very confused, it doesn't make any sense? I know I'm wrong but I don't know what I did that makes it wrong?
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Post by Heather on Aug 28, 2014 13:15:17 GMT -5
Feeding prey is over the top expensive. If you've got a reliable supplier who is cost effective it's wonderful (rodentpro and haretoday come to mind). I just spent $50 for a dozen rats that will last my babies a little over a week, if I'm lucky. It looks like the brats are going into fall mode. I also spend $20 for one lousy guinea pig. For me prey is icing, I feed frankenprey. That is easy and cheap. It might cost me $50 a month and I feed 11 ferrets and 3 of that 11 are babies (little garbage compactors)...they ate a whole cornish hen yesterday in one sitting. I don't know how anyone can afford to feed kibbles to be honest. I priced it a year ago for a friend and it was nuts....close to $100 per month and that didn't factor in the just about guaranteed cost of the insulinoma as an end life cost (pred for Fun-Go was costing me $50 per month)
I can honestly see why people can't afford to feed prey, but to feed frankenprey is easy and cheap.
cia
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Post by bitbyter on Aug 28, 2014 13:22:05 GMT -5
Sorry, I didn't see that you were planning on only feeding whole prey. In that case, yes it could be that expensive. Whole prey is a very expensive way to go. Frankenprey is by far the cheapest and is on par with high grade kibble cost wise or slightly cheaper.
I feed frankenprey with one or two days a week being prey days.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 28, 2014 13:28:49 GMT -5
Is frankenprey the grocery store meat? I wanted to do whole prey because you don't have to balance everything (liver this day, muscle this day, etc) but so far I've been told it's dirt cheap and then some have said it's crazy expensive. I guess if I can find a good cheap supplier I could do it, I still have some thinking to do I suppose. And yeah, kibble is cheap in the short run. A 5lb bag for $27 lasts my two ferrets a whole month. But, in the long run not so much. From my Neichei being kibble fed (and God knows what she ate before I adopted her) I ended up in the last 6 months of her life spending $200-$250 per month on JUST her, for her supplements and meds because of her Insulinoma... not including how she went to the vet at least once monthly too. Not including my other two ferrets and other 10 animals. We're trying to dig ourselves out of a hole of debt that we got into with Neichei and our other pets all getting sick. Juliet had surgery this year, Neichei went through all that, it's been tough. I don't want to go through Insulinoma again, but I also can't afford any more debt. Maybe I can find a way to get some good dead animals for cheap  haha |
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Post by Heather on Aug 28, 2014 13:33:52 GMT -5
Prey is disgustingly expensive, but if you raise you're own supply you'll understand why. I finally offed all my mice because it was actually more expensive than buying them. No, frankenprey is cheap, grocery store meats, prey is hugely expensive. Anyone telling you otherwise either has a friend as a supplier or isn't being entirely honest.
ciao
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Post by fretki on Aug 28, 2014 13:34:47 GMT -5
I live in a different part of the world but I guess whole prey is about the same expensive everywhere  Why don't you consider frankenprey as an option? Sent from my SM-G900F using proboards |
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Post by Deleted on Aug 28, 2014 13:35:09 GMT -5
Okay I get it now, mice = money ... raw meat from walmart = cheap
:thumbsup:
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Post by msav on Aug 28, 2014 14:36:58 GMT -5
When I first looked into mice. I went to petsmart. it was $15 for 4 large mice. About the most expensive way to go. I then went to my local feed store and it was $2 per mouse live. I would have to have Mogwai dispatch as my other ones are not humane about it.
when Rodentpro's shipping was $30 flat rate and mice were on sale for .48 each that was a really good deal. when they were regular price at .89 each and $70 shipping that was too much for me.
I then found a semi local serpentarium they sold frozen mice for .50 each and there was no shipping. I ended up being able to get 200 mice for $108.00 including tax. so far this is the cheapest price I have found. Rats on the other hand are extremely expensive. I think what make feeding whole prey exclusively expensive is the multiple protein sources needed. Mice may be cheap but the others are expensive. I currently procured some live African Soft Furred Rats. They breed like crazy, do not smell bad like mice or rats, and the are about half the size of rats. But they are the cutest softest furred rats I have ever seen, (their fur feels like velvet) I don't know how I am going to dispatch them.
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Post by bitbyter on Aug 28, 2014 14:48:49 GMT -5
I buy through rodentpro and bring them across the border (I'm in Canada) because our prices here are about 3 times the price in the states. Frankenprey is definitely the cheapest way to go and somewhat relies on how good you are at finding sources, making use of sales, buying in bulk, etc. It does take time to learn though which is why we have a mentor program.
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Post by msav on Aug 28, 2014 14:54:39 GMT -5
If my ferrets did not love love love mice so much I would not buy them. I love way they hop off so happily with a mouse in mouth. I think it brings me more joy than them sometimes.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 28, 2014 16:37:08 GMT -5
Well I suppose the fact that with mice and rats and such there is no balancing the meats and organs and it's easier, but more than double or triple the price than buying some chicken legs off that weird guy down the street (just kidding haha)
I think I'll be going with frankenprey, and signing up for the mentoring program. Where I live in our food city sometimes they'll give you the organ meats of some animals for free, or for really cheap. And I'm in the land of farmers and hunters so it isn't too hard, I actually could probably get a decent amount of meat from a couple people I know who hunt.
And during certain seasons we get like 50 adult Turkeys picking at our garden, gotta clean off the shot gun and make room in the freezer! :evil4:
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Post by Deleted on Aug 30, 2014 14:33:05 GMT -5
Whole prey costs me nothing. I'm lucky I have friends/family who go shooting/hunting Percival tucking into a pigeon.... I have 11 of them in my freezer. His only allowed two a week otherwise he will get fat and lazy. They just cost me the petrol to get to my friends house!   |
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Post by Thérèse on Sept 2, 2014 4:51:25 GMT -5
Whenever I see you guys bemoaning the cost of whole prey I always think "I can only wish it was that cheap"
I feed my guys (ie. 3 ferrets) a mix of whole prey and frankenprey. The whole prey part is adult frozen feeder mice. They get one mouse each every night. For the 21 mice I use each week it costs me $72.45 and that is the best price I can find (it includes a discount for being with the pet stores loyalty programme). When they have a problem with getting stock in (something they try and avoid because they know how grumpy I will be, the manager is usually already phoning their other store by the time I come in, trying to see if they have some in stock) the 21 mice cost me an extra $15 for the week! It's a very expensive way to feed my guys but I never want to see an insulinoma seizure ever again if I can help it.
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