Beginners question on how to feed

[Roberto de Molero]

Hi! I am totally new in this forum and I am here because despite of the simplicity of putting something on a bowl (or floor, or grass...) I really want to know how to feed my future fuzzbut correctly. The right amount of muscle, bones, organs, fur or feathers...
Could anybody please point me out where to go or what to read in order to gain these knowledge (on how to destroy my ethics as a vegetarian, ha!)

[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


Understanding the dietary needs and nature of your pets and providing them with the best in no way comprises your vegatarian ethics. We have many vegatarians and vegans that feed appropriately for their little beasts. So thank you for being able to seperate your values and dietary needs from that of your ferret! :thankyou: :goodjob:

[Roberto de Molero]

One question that drives me crazy is, is whole prey feeding just that? Only feeding whole animals? And letting him/her decide what to eat from it? And another question, shouldn't they be eating/drinking also blood? Is just that I haven't seen blood in the pictures or videos when they cut open the preys.

[FireAngel]

Love these questions! Whole prey does refer to feeding the entire animal. Generally speaking a ferret should consume the entire prey animal. Depending on weather and or temps in your home a WP meal will usually remain good for 48 hours. So if you feed a medium to large rat to one ferret you should be able to safely leave it for them to eat for the next few meals.
Yes the ferrets consume the blood also. You may not see a lot of the blood in most pics because people are generally sensitive to how sensitive other people are about it if that made sense lol.

[Roberto de Molero]

Oh! I didn't think they would care about some blood when there is a guinea pig cut in half haha! But yes, it kind of makes sense.
That is good to know that ferrets do eat EVERTHING that they need to with a whole prey diet (included blood), which I was a bit concerned about. Thank you very much for taking the time to solve these questions!

[Roberto de Molero]

If you don't mind me asking, as ferrets are not supossed to digest vegetable content, or anything not meaty, what should be done with the rabbit's, rat's, etc, stomach, intestinal tract? Is that safe to eat? I am sorry if this seems a silly question, but you know... just trying to do my best to avoid any dangers!

[LindaM]

Most ferrets will not eat the intestines of an animal, especially larger prey animals, some are alright with eating a whole smaller mouse without you needing to gut it, but when you get to bigger like rats, guinea pigs, rabbits, etc. they usually get gutted. Most of the time, that's for our convenience too, as just because the ferret won't eat it doesn't also mean they won't fling it around and make a downright mess trying to avoid it.

[Roberto de Molero]

So... Ferrets won't loose any proteins or fats from removing those parts, will they? It is just something that can be dismissed without any other consequence than having a cleaner floor

[Heather]

Exactly....they're just not going to eat it anyway. Far better you remove it an it makes it to the trash then letting them add to the decor....hanging like streamers on your walls, cage bars or the worst I've seen....stuck to the ceiling I feed mice and ASFs in their altogether, the rest are gutted
ciao

[Roberto de Molero]

You guys really are helping! Joining this forum is one of the best things I could have done for my future fuzzbut's wellbeing.
Thank you very much!

[katt]

Welcome and thank you for deciding to research how to better provide for your ferrets so they can be as healthy as possible! Teaching them this is a gradual process that takes a lot of patience and persistence. A mentor will help guide you through the process and aid you in overcoming road blocks, as well as help you to feel confident in balancing the diet properly.

For a basic rundown of one method of switching see here: holisticferretforum.com/natural-diet/the-switch/


I would HIGHLY recommend that you sign up for a mentor with our mentoring program (link below). The switch is a gradual process that takes a lot of patience and persistence. All of our mentors are volunteers who go through over a year of training. A mentor will help guide you through the process and aid you in overcoming road blocks, as well as help you to feel confident in balancing the diet properly. holisticferret60.proboards.com/thread/61/sign-mentoring-program


While you wait for a mentor, set up a thread in our Diet Transitions board. You will be able to start on your switch and get help from all of our mentors, and other members. holisticferret60.proboards.com/.../diet-transitions

In the meanwhile, please check out our website and all of the stickied threads in the forum. Check out this page with some links to pages on the basics of the switch and balancing a raw diet properly: holisticferretforum.com/natural-diet/raw-diet-the-meat-of-the-site/

Welcome aboard!!

[Roberto de Molero]

Hi Katt! Thanks for that! But I don't even have a single ferret just yet... I wish I did!

[katt]

Even better - research as much as you can ahead of time!

[Roberto de Molero]

I didn't want to open a new post to ask this, so I hope this is ok.
I was just looking at how much would it cost me to feed one single ferret for just over a month. Obviously this will probably be wrong, as I do not own a ferret and do not know how much do they really eat. Hopefully some of you can give me an idea.
I was using the website "kiezebrink". And I checked this:

Large Mice 22-30gm (pack of 10) X 2
Jumbo rat 350-450gm X 10
Guinea Pig Large 600-900gm X 6
Whole Chickens Medium (box of 5) X 2

It was a total of nearly £100 (incl. shipping). Would this be enough variety? Do you think is too much for a single ferret? And do you think it would really last a month? Any thoughts would be massively appreciated!

[katt]

It depends on region and how you feed. In the Northwest United States I spend about $40/mo to feed 2 adult males - and that is including some spendier meats like rabbit and duck. Kits eat more. Whole prey is more expensive. Buying in bulk saves a lot - esp if you have good freezer space.