|
Post by Deleted on Jan 11, 2016 15:17:11 GMT -5
I am getting my rabble onto whole prey slowly but surely. They really hate minced rabbit, they will eat it if there's no alternative but they wouldn't choose it ... so I'm shying away from getting whole rabbits.
So, we've started with adult mice, which they adore and gobble up in no time. They happily eat day old chicks and whole sprats too (well, each has their own preference but in the main there's someone in each pen who will eat one or other).
So ... I'm now looking at other whole prey foods ...
My ferrets are very small ... my jills range from 250g to 500g, and my hobs from 500-700g so a mouse is about good size, especially as they like to have one each and run off with them. I am tempted to try guinea pigs and larger foods BUT I wondered if they would be just too big for my lot to eat in a reasonable amount of time.
Some of my groups are 6 or 7 ferrets, but others are just pairs or threes so giving them prey they can eat in a sensible time frame will become important when the weather gets warmer.
What sort of size animal will one or two standard size ferrets eat up in a 24 hour period?
Then I can perhaps scale that down to my lot and find a few other suitable whole prey foods.
|
|
|
Post by Heather on Jan 11, 2016 15:38:42 GMT -5
All my groups are small now. So feeding them presents different issues. One thing to consider...my guys hate, despise ground rabbit but eat it happily whole....just a thought. According to ferret logic there is a difference. I know there's not because I ground that rabbit and it was the same supplier as the rabbit I ground up. Lady Morgaine who would gladly grab a leg and chow down on it...gagged when I offered it to her ground up. Go figure. I feed rat, ASF rats, mice, chicks, quail and rabbit as whole prey (I did have guinea pig on the menu but they weren't fond of it and it's an outrageous price...so it's not offered any more). I gut the rats and feed either whole or half a rat depending on size. ASF and mice are fed whole. As are chicks and quail. Rabbit is gutted and skinned and chopped up. The rabbits that I source seem to have very thick coats and my guys won't fight with it (spoiled brats)so I skin it. Right now they're eating rabbit. What I didn't serve up last night is in the fridge and they will get tonight. ciao
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Jan 11, 2016 15:39:31 GMT -5
Three of mine that now live together will eat all a adult rabbit within 12 hours, Nancy who is micro and Jasper who live together will eat nearly a whole adult rabbit and Vinnie who's living on his own will eat just over a third of a adult rabbit. Chicks are a good starter for ferrets when switching to raw, so is pet mince (organs and off cuts from the butcher) which I wean kits onto before they start munching on whole prey.
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Jan 11, 2016 15:48:10 GMT -5
Heather - interesting that yours also don't like minced rabbit. I have plenty of mates who go lamping and can supply rabbit so maybe that's one to try for them. Might need to get myself a serious knife to chop it up. Just out of interest ... do you gut because they just leave the intestines anyway or is there another reason? @frolickingferrets mine are all changed over to raw (the kits have eaten it since weaning so no troubles with them), it's just a case of introducing new meats and I am tending towards whole prey because they really seem to enjoy it. They get so excited over mice and chicks, that I would like to offer them other kinds. I can't see me switching over to only whole prey, at least not in the near future, they will always have various minces/chunks and whole/chunk organs alongside any whole prey. Due to having 21 ferrets some are just so picky that I wouldn't always trust that they were in the right mood for something whole, so they always have a bit of a buffet meal.
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Jan 11, 2016 15:52:29 GMT -5
Heather - interesting that yours also don't like minced rabbit. I have plenty of mates who go lamping and can supply rabbit so maybe that's one to try for them. Might need to get myself a serious knife to chop it up. Just out of interest ... do you gut because they just leave the intestines anyway or is there another reason? @frolickingferrets mine are all changed over to raw (the kits have eaten it since weaning so no troubles with them), it's just a case of introducing new meats and I am tending towards whole prey because they really seem to enjoy it. They get so excited over mice and chicks, that I would like to offer them other kinds. I can't see me switching over to only whole prey, at least not in the near future, they will always have various minces/chunks and whole/chunk organs alongside any whole prey. Due to having 21 ferrets some are just so picky that I wouldn't always trust that they were in the right mood for something whole, so they always have a bit of a buffet meal. If your wanting more variety of whole prey then I reccomend pheasant and pigeon
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Jan 11, 2016 16:34:56 GMT -5
I have ten ferrets - 3 jills around 700-750g (winter weight) aged 1.5 - 3.5 yrs. And 7 hobs all over 1.5 kg (winter weight) ranging in age from 1.5 - 2.5 yrs. All raw fed. In 24 hrs as a group they will eat a whole pheasant(with feathers & guts), or a whole guinea pig(fur w guts) (aporox 350g), or a whole rabbit(fur & guts), or two plucked whole quails, or one large chicken carcass (with back meat & skin), or three salmon bodies (fillets removed). They also will devour day old chicks so fast they are a weekly treat Mine will also eat mackerel or sprats as a weekly snack, love all organs and devour lamb or chicken hearts with gusto
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Jan 11, 2016 16:44:44 GMT -5
Heather - interesting that yours also don't like minced rabbit. I have plenty of mates who go lamping and can supply rabbit so maybe that's one to try for them. Might need to get myself a serious knife to chop it up. Just out of interest ... do you gut because they just leave the intestines anyway or is there another reason? @frolickingferrets mine are all changed over to raw (the kits have eaten it since weaning so no troubles with them), it's just a case of introducing new meats and I am tending towards whole prey because they really seem to enjoy it. They get so excited over mice and chicks, that I would like to offer them other kinds. I can't see me switching over to only whole prey, at least not in the near future, they will always have various minces/chunks and whole/chunk organs alongside any whole prey. Due to having 21 ferrets some are just so picky that I wouldn't always trust that they were in the right mood for something whole, so they always have a bit of a buffet meal. Do you only feed Whole Prey and other raw foods? If you post your menu, I will forward it to Heather for approval and we can change your status to Raw Feeder. With 21 Ferrets on whole prey and minces/chunks, it certainly sounds like you are a Raw Feeder and should get credit for that.
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Jan 11, 2016 17:08:33 GMT -5
I don't think I would be counted as I do leave a bowl of kibble in (groups where I'm not convinced all ferrets have fully switched), but as and when groups simply don't touch the kibble it gets taken out so I will probably (hopefully) end up with no kibble eventually. This is some of the trouble when buying in ferrets. I have to say I think there will be no need for kibble to be left in in the very near future, just this last month got my pickiest group onto raw, and I'm finding their bowl of kibble doesn't go down much now.
The kit group don't get kibble as they wouldn't touch it, they have been weaned onto raw and whole prey and they don't count processed stuff as food!
Let me know if I do still count though and I will submit a menu, or otherwise I will be sure to submit one as soon as all groups no longer have kibble.
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Jan 11, 2016 17:24:13 GMT -5
I feed guinea pig, and I skin it. I think someone else on forum said their ferrets would not eat fur because hair is too long. I gut mine, and there are a lot of guts in them puppies.
|
|
|
Post by maja01 on Jan 11, 2016 17:57:46 GMT -5
You can definetly try rats, quails and some smaller rabbits or gp-s - for the first time you can cut them on half (and yes, you will need a good set of knives, a kitchen axe will come in handy too )
|
|
|
Post by Heather on Jan 11, 2016 23:58:24 GMT -5
I gut my larger prey animals because my guys (since I can't remember when) have refused to eat the stomach, intestines and the spleen. As the brats have a tendency to leave these various parts as decorations (usually on cage bars but it can be walls as well....that full body head shake, has a great way of flinging entrails far and wide). I use an ulu knife. It will cut through most bone and is fantastic for skinning and thin slice ciao
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Jan 12, 2016 8:31:43 GMT -5
My guys (6 girls average weight of 750g, and 7 boys average weight around 1.5kg) will eat about 1kg of food a day. o that equates to
1 x rabbit, chicken 2 x pigeons 3 x rat, guinea pig, quail
if they don't go through a whole rabbit or chicken (they are sometimes too big for just one day) I will leave it for the next day with a smaller animal so they get enough food.
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Jan 12, 2016 8:33:43 GMT -5
I feed guinea pig, and I skin it. I think someone else on forum said their ferrets would not eat fur because hair is too long. I gut mine, and there are a lot of guts in them puppies. My guys will eat the whole guinea pig including fur and guts, rabbit guts get left though so I take those out (last time the bladder exploded as I was removing it. That wasn't the most pleasant of experiences ... )
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Jan 12, 2016 9:27:31 GMT -5
OMG:))! Rocko, where do u get your rabbits? Mine will not eat Hare Today rabbits,and they r so clean looking, like a pet. I noticed this real earthy smell to them and was wondering if it had something to do with the CO2. They will eat rabbit from store, but stores hardly carry them, because they do not sell well. U must be in UK or there abouts as you have mentioned pigeons? Do not have to answer---but not in US?
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Jan 12, 2016 10:11:11 GMT -5
OMG:))! Rocko, where do u get your rabbits? Mine will not eat Hare Today rabbits,and they r so clean looking, like a pet. I noticed this real earthy smell to them and was wondering if it had something to do with the CO2. They will eat rabbit from store, but stores hardly carry them, because they do not sell well. U must be in UK or there abouts as you have mentioned pigeons? Do not have to answer---but not in US? I live in the UK, I don't know about Rocko but in the UK we do feed our ferret rabbits, pigeon and pheasant too which they really enjoy eating
|
|