Best kibble to feed while waiting on a mentor?

[Deleted]

I submitted an application for the mentor program last night, for my boy Yoshi
My girl eleven has already been eating raw for five months, but I switched her when she was only four months so it was relatively easy
My boy is over a year old and very stubborn so I've decided to have a mentor help me.
In the meantime, I want to get Yoshi off the crappy kibble he's currently eating
I tried to look at the charts on the stickied post about the best kibbles to feed but it seems they no longer work
I've also looked at the kibble chart on the sidebar of r/ferrets on Reddit, but I'd like personal recommendations as well, thank you.

[LindaM]

Orijen is a good kibble choice in the interim until you get the wee fussy boy switched when you get a mentor.

This is an updated chart:
docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Ugt4k4JPUw8X-WDsxbbOIBUqIKkTubrkpyba4YsUeEg

Is there anything we can help you with right now? Maybe start an unofficial switching thread while you wait so raw feeders like myself, and some of the mentors and admins can pop in to help.

[Sherry]

I'd start a thread in diet transitions while waiting to get a head start

[Deleted]

Sorry about the late reply, I thought I had replied a few days ago already 😣
LindaM really my only issue is getting him to eat enough in one sitting. After the initial bit I get into his mouth, and what he licks off of my finger right after,I can't get him to eat any more aside from what I can stuff into his mouth, no matter how long I try. I don't like force feeding him a whole meal, I don't want to stress him out and make it a negative experience. I've tried taking away his kibble for a night so that he'd be extra hungry, didn't work. He doesn't like salmon oil either so I can't try that. My boyfriend suggested going straight to a chunk of meat in case he just didn't like the soup texture, nope he spit it right out. I'm not sure what else to do. Should I just keep giving him the tiny bits of soup every day (as well as kibble so he doesn't starve) until he's gotten used to the taste. Will that ever happen if I continue to let him eat kibble? Thank you in advance for the help ladies.

[katt]

Why spend the time and energy and stress (for him and you) of switching kibbles only to switch diets right away again? I never advise doing that. It's a lot of unnecessary added stress and changes for him and his body. You're much better off cutting the middle man and starting on raw. You can start a transition thread under our Diet Transitions board to get started while you wait for a mentor.

[Heather]

This has always been my philosophy as well. I did try this once...and regretted it, switching from crap in a bag to better crap in a bag. As the poor wee mites were starving (hadn't been fed in over 3 days)and me going out and providing top end kibbles, they had the worst stomach upsets, I've ever seen barring maybe ECE. The irony of it was that it took me over 2 weeks to clear up their funky stools and they were cleared up by not any special meds they were being given but by them helping themselves to the meals that the other ferrets were eating. I've never switched kibbles since, I've just switched to raw.
ciao

[RedSky]

Make sure you have a gap of a few hours between kibble and raw, but otherwise continue with what you are doing. Get some mushy stuff, stick him on your lap, feeding him a taste, put him down to play for a bit and repeat. Give him an hour or two before offering kibble again.

I wouldn't take away the food overnight, it's a bit long for a kibble fed ferret to go without food (IMO). Hopefully he will soon decide he likes the taste of the mush.

If he took the chunk of meat you could also try feeding him little slivers, tiny little bits. I find it easy to do them with a cheese grater or similar using partially thawed/frozen meat, but even they might be a bit big to start with.

[Agronvall]

You could always try some freeze dried raw. Once you add water, it's close to that of raw. CLOSE. Not exact. I rarely give it my chihuahua (only as a treat) as I feed her soley raw. None the less, it's A LOT better than kibble and pets LOVE it! Then, you can try the "soupie raw" and start transition.

Some FDR have veggies, so avoid those for ferrets. But I have heard of some ferrants on here who give their ferrets Primal brand (that has veggies and fruit in it) and have no problems with their fuzzies. Secondly, you'll have to brush their teeth since FDR doesn't clean teeth like raw food does.

But don't totally go by my advice. I'm not an expert. And I'll probably get a lot of flack for this answer, lol [img src="http://i1105.photobucket.com/albums/h352/JW_2012/Emoticons/.gif" src="http://i1105.photobucket.com/albums/h352/JW_2012/Emoticons/.gif" style="max-width:100%;"]

edit: Wow, I have more to learn! Linda made a good point saying that FDR *is* raw once what is added. What I meant is that, overall, I really don't see FDR as being exactly like raw. Due, to the type of processing it goes through. That's just my opinion though...There are fellow dog owners (if you go on dog food advisor) that say that they see FDR as more as a "dry" kind of product. Even after the water has been added. However, it is really good for travel, just like Linda pointed out. This is just about the only time I use it.

Now that I think of it, FDR is a bad option for transition, lol. Cuz now I'm remembering the one time in which I would give it to my chi as a "treat" meal. Afterwards, it took her about a day to to want to go back to her raw food haha. Even though she had been on it for a few years.  Though in some ways, it would help her get used to new flavors of raw food. I would sprinkle a little bit of FDR and mix it in, then top with a little, and she would eat it! I don't know if this is bad or whatever, lol. But if anyone out there has had trouble getting their pet on a new flavor (othewise known as trying out a new protein) I hope this came off as a helpful tip. 

[LindaM]

Agronvall No, we won't give you flack, though we might comment on some of it, just so other readers can better understand or not get confused. Freeze-Dried Raw IS raw, not simply "close" to raw, for example Orijen FDR treats, it's 100% raw meat only. The meat is still 100% raw, but almost all moisture has been removed, this can affect texture and taste a wee bit, but the product remains raw and thus retains its valuable nutrients. Feeding FDR is actually one of the multiple methods of raw feeding people can do, even if you fed solely rehydrated FDR, you'd still be feeding raw. There are of course some of the commercial FDR products that contain varying degrees of indigestible matter, for which I can see why that will make you not see it entirely as raw.

Ferrets can have FDR with indigestible content though, but the less it contains, the better for your fuzzie. So one should aim for no less than 95% meat content ideally, and if you need to drop down to 90-93% levels, feed those only on occasion and stick to the 95% and higher for your majority meals. Primal is actually on the lower spectrum, since their canine version is WAY too low in meat vs indigestibles, and their cat version runs around 90-93%. Stella and Chewys which ranges 90-98% would be a much better choice overall.

[katt]

Yes FDR (Freeze Dried Raw) is better than kibble - but it is definitely NOT exactly the same as feeding a fresh raw diet. FDR is a processed food and contains preservatives and other additives, and most FDR also contains some amount of vegetable matter. We don't recommend using it as a switching tool because, like kibble, ferrets can get hooked on FDR and will hold out for it. Using FDR as a switching tool isn't all that different from switching kibble before switching to raw. It is great to have them recognize FDR as food as it makes for great emergency food storage, traveling food, and is good for treats. However, if FDR is to be used we do not recommend introducing it until AFTER the ferret is fully switched onto a regular raw diet first. Time and time again we have seen switches derailed by ferrets getting hooked on FDR. As such, we no longer recommend it as a switching tool and we recommend waiting to introduce it until they are fully switched. We also don't typically recommend it as the sole diet. Yes. It IS better than kibble. But it is NOT as good as a true raw diet that is lacking in preservatives and vegetable matter. Not to mention the fact that as a processed food, you have no idea or control over what goes into the food. For example one popular brand (Stella and Chewys) recently had a formula change that included adding an ingredient to their feline FDR that safety concerns have been raised about. Also, like kibble, you have no control over the sourcing and quality of the meat and other ingredients. As a final FYI - some FDRs contain peas in the ingredients - which are associated with the development of bladder stones in ferrets and cats.