How do i start a raw meat diet for my 4 month old ferret

[Deleted]

I really want to make him as healthy as possible and i recently just got a ferret again after years of having 2 of them and i really want to take the time and care for my ferret the right way plz help. (ANY TIPS APPRECIATED)

[abbeytheferret6]

Hi an welcome to the forum and congrats on new ferret.

Here is some great reading. This will get you familiar with feeding raw.
holisticferretforum.com/natural-diet/

It is easy to switch babies to raw. A different approach is taken to switching older ones.
With older ferrets, one usually starts with the 1-4 type of progression. Reason being older ones generally refuse to eat raw meat right off the bat.
Babies r totally different. Since yours in just 4 months old you might want to try offering some small chunks or bits of meat just to see how he will react to it. While not a mentor, that is what i would do for test.

For the more stubborn ones---
1. raw soupie (ingredients included in reading)
2. raw slivers
3. chunks
4. bone in the meat.

Ferrets must have a number of organ meals, heart meals, bone in meals and muscle meals. We call this the frankenprey diet. It is made up of 3 or more proteins. The more, the better.

You will read about it at the website and all about the soupie, too.
It may sound overwhelming, but people will be here to assist you and help with questions.
There is a mentor program also. 15 posts requirement to get on the list. However, people have switched their ferrets on their own,but you do need a full understanding of how to make a healthy diet.

Here is a sample of the frankenprey diet on the site too. holisticferretforum.com/natural-diet/raw-diet-the-meat-of-the-site/basic-frankenprey-menu/
It is useful for arranging the types of meals for the week to insure little one is getting a healthy diet. If you notice, a muscle meal is followed by a bone-in meal, so are the heart meals and the organ meals. It prevents them from getting loose stool, and they do need calcium from the bones.

I do the alternative diet---a mix of frankenprey and whole prey,which is store bought meats and mice,rats, guinea pig and(squirrel when given to me).

[FireAngel]

Hi and welcome to the HFF! :wave3: Please look around the boards and ask anything you need to, we love to answer questions! There is a wait list for the mentoring program but you can always sign up and get the requirements done while waiting and also you can start you own unofficial switch thread where you can get input from everyone here.
Here's a shopping list to help you get started,
a scale to not only weigh them but to weigh the food. I have 2 different ones for this but you can use one if you are comfortable with that..
Chicken thighs or breasts, thighs are fattier and a good choice but breast is alright. Chicken hearts and chicken livers and either human grade bonemeal or crushed/ground eggshells.
Here is the recipe for the soup,
8oz chicken
1oz chicken heart
1oz chicken liver
1/2-3/4 tsp of eggshell powder or bonemeal
Chop everything up and put it in a blender add enough water to make it smooth but no thinner then a thick cream consistency.
Kits often do can skip the soupie stage, they are tummies with teeth and generally have not imprinted on their food yet.
Here Are a couple of links to help you learn everything to get you started, Journey to raw and Intro to raw