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Post by Deleted on Feb 29, 2016 0:28:25 GMT -5
I dont have a ferret yet but am getting one in a week or two. I already have a stock of raw meat, hearts, livers and beef kidney, and plan on starting the ferret on raw or at least transitioning right away. But my goal is to move onto feeding whole, prekilled prey.
So today I bought 4 female hoppers and 1 male hopper mice (the store only had hopper mice and pinkies). They still need to grow for 8 more weeks or so before breeding, so this will be a long work in progress. I have the females in a 20 long tank and the male in a sterilite tub. Ill eventually build a breeding rack though to accomadate more.
I know ferrets need at least 3 protein sources, and I plan on breeding rats and either gerbils or hamsters. But im starting with mice for now to get a hang of the process (ive never bred mice, my only experience is my old pet rat having babies). Is it ok to feed them mice 3 days out of the week, and then another 2 rodents 2 days a week each?
I plan on culling the males of the litter at 3-4 weeks and letting the females grow until the next litter is weaned. I know ferrets need adult rodents, but do 3-4 week old mice count as adults? Ive read things that say theyre adults because they can breed, but other sources say mice are adults at 8 weeks. Are hoppers only meant for treats? Becausd i also read they need varying ages of rodents as well as species. Because thatd be sad, since that could mean half the litter or more will be treats anc not meals.
Thank you and sorry if it is long to read.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 29, 2016 0:49:19 GMT -5
Hi! Congrats on deciding to switch your ferret to raw straight away. Great job with separating them. They could have easily bred as early as 4 weeks and thats never good for their little bodies. I started with mice as well and it worked out quite well. It can take some time to start up at first, but gradually it becomes steady and you get a good amount coming in. If you plan on feeding rodents alongside frnakenprey then yes you could feed so and so one week etc. You just need to make sure everything is balanced, its not really that hard to figure out though. Mice ar considered adults at 8 weeks, so if you can hold off on the females until they reach around 8 weeks then that would be best. They reach sexual maturity at 4 weeks or so, but they are not adults until 8 weeks. I recommend growing them out for your first few litters. Once you have a good income coming in, then start on culling for treats. The first few litters, you could keep some females and grow them out as breeders. Thats what I did and lately I've been getting no less than 11 mice per litter which is fantastic.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 6, 2016 0:32:23 GMT -5
Well im no longer breeding them, my mom went in my room and thought they were too cute to feed. But not cute enough for them to live in her room and her take care of them lol
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stephie0020
New member
Form Long Island, owned by 2 rescue girls, Dottie & Missy.
Posts: 14
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Post by stephie0020 on Sept 13, 2017 8:44:27 GMT -5
Hi! Congrats on deciding to switch your ferret to raw straight away. Great job with separating them. They could have easily bred as early as 4 weeks and thats never good for their little bodies. I started with mice as well and it worked out quite well. It can take some time to start up at first, but gradually it becomes steady and you get a good amount coming in. If you plan on feeding rodents alongside frnakenprey then yes you could feed so and so one week etc. You just need to make sure everything is balanced, its not really that hard to figure out though. Mice ar considered adults at 8 weeks, so if you can hold off on the females until they reach around 8 weeks then that would be best. They reach sexual maturity at 4 weeks or so, but they are not adults until 8 weeks. I recommend growing them out for your first few litters. Once you have a good income coming in, then start on culling for treats. The first few litters, you could keep some females and grow them out as breeders. Thats what I did and lately I've been getting no less than 11 mice per litter which is fantastic. Thanks for this information. I have two ferrets who I am still trying to transition but I am getting a 6 month old ferret from a great breeder next month who has been on the whole prey diet and want to continue him on it and decided to start breeding mice. Actually using this sub board for useful tips so thank you this post has helped a lot!
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