How good are nutritional supplements for adding to raw meat?

[daddywarbots]

A few companies offer powdered supplements they market to be mixed into ground muscle meat to improve it's nutritional completeness. Wysong has Call of the Wild and Young Again pet food has one called CarnivoreRAW. (Are there others?) They include calcium, taurine and various other ammino acids.

I realize frankenprey or whole prey is better. That's not my question.

Is supplemented ground meat be a step up from kibble? Is it a viable long-term food?

[Klarissa]

Any raw meat is a step up from just kibble, that said. It's not really a viable long term option for a few reasons

1) Supplements are exactly that - supplementing gaps in a diet. They should not be used to replace a balanced diet long term. The supplements have lower bioavailability, then the same nutrients from food.

2) Narrow variety - even if the ground meat is switched up, the supplement is the same day in & day out.

3)Lack of edible bones is a whole other set of drawbacks...
- Chewing is the first step to healthy digestion - stimulates saliva & gastric secretions that kill bacteria & break down meat. Chewing also stimulates gastric motility.
- Lack of chewing will require that you brush their teeth routinely
- Lack of chewing also means they are going to eat more, because it's an easy, hassle-free meal.
- Chewing causes carnivores brains to release endorphins, these are feel good chemicals in the brain. Chewing also acts as exercise & mental puzzle. Bone in meals can improve behavior.

Are you looking for an alternative to frankenprey? And if so, why? There are many great options & ways to go about feeding ferrets raw.

[Heather]

Ground meat and a supplement is not an alternative to a balanced frankenprey diet. If you cannot feed a balanced frankenprey diet, then freeze dried or kibble is your only "healthy" alternative
ciao

[Klarissa]

I was thinking a product like My Pet Carnivore or Hare Today grinds (contain bone, fur, organs, and meat) is another alternative to kibble.

[Heather]

Hmm, I wasn't thinking commercial grinds. Perhaps a bit of clarifying might be necessary. Unfortunately, it seems that when people ask about ground meats they're usually referring to butcher or human type ground meats. This is never an acceptable diet even when supplemented. If the reference was indeed about commercial grinds then I'm sorry, I misunderstood.
ciao

[Klarissa]

I think OP was referring to ground meat for humans.
I was referring to commercial grinds as an alternative. At least, that's how I was interpreting it.

[daddywarbots]

May 5, 2016 10:59:50 GMT -5 Klarissa said:

Are you looking for an alternative to frankenprey? And if so, why? There are many great options & ways to go about feeding ferrets raw.

Thanks for your response.

Well not looking with great vigor. I saw these things and wondered about their efficacy. The possibility that they were better than kibble, but simpler than frankenprey seemed like it might fit into an interesting niche.

Yes I was imaging them being used with ground meat for humans, beef and chicken and such, I think that's how they are intended. Adding them to the pet grinds that are whole animals or include organs and bone seems like it would be redundant at best.

[Sherry]

That it would be(reduntant). But as Klarissa mentioned these things are to be used as gapstops as a general rule. If you are looking for simple, go with whole animal grinds.