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Post by Deleted on Nov 25, 2017 17:13:36 GMT -5
I’m wondering if I can add fish to my ferrets, ever growing menu of food.
ive seen a lot of mixed messages about feeding ferrets fish, some say it’s fine, others say no, and some even say it’s okay as long as there are no bones?
Which has lead me to asking the only place I feel I can trust the answers 100%
if I haven’t stressed it enough (in literally near all of my threads asking about feeding) variety is important to me, and seeing as I won’t be feeding whole prey mice,rats etc. I’m trying to add as much as I can to make up for that.
So is all fish safe? Or best avoided? If they can have it what about the bones? Can they have all parts to a fish? And more importantly how often can they have it??
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Post by runningdog on Nov 25, 2017 18:15:40 GMT -5
I feed mine fish, raw, with bones. Occasionally. It’s an extra and not a main meal. My thinking is that while wild polecats mainly predate small mammals and the odd bird’s nest in spring, they also scavenge to some extent, so it’s possible a wild polecat would meet a fish from time to time and therefore if they want a bit of fish once in a while, they can have it.
If we’re having trout, then the head, tail, fins and guts all end up in the ferrets’ dishes. I don’t worry about the bones; experienced raw-fed ferrets know to chew thoroughly before swallowing anything with bones and I’ve not had a ferret get into trouble with a bone of any kind yet.
I have fed mine a sprat each, too - they don’t seem to get through more than one each in a sitting.
Having said that, they don’t all eat all fish - some do, some turn up their noses, and some will eat it if they’re in the mood but not if they’re not, if you follow me. Loony thinks sprats are food but prawns and trout aren’t; Bane thinks prawns and sprats are food but trout aren’t; Joker will eat all three if he’s in the mood but may just sniff them and walk away if he’s not; and Angus adores trout and prawns but can take it or leave it when it’s sprats. Holly and Ivy stash anything that isn’t nailed down and I don’t actually know if they eat them or someone else raids their stash and, while Ajax and Achilles have met sprats and eaten them without hesitation, they haven’t met trout or prawns yet. That’s why I keep fish and shellfish as occasional treats, maybe once a month or so, and not as a main meal.
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Post by Heather on Nov 25, 2017 22:27:34 GMT -5
Feeding fish is fine as an occasional meal. Traditionally, ferrets would probably eat fish that is found/scavenged. A water hunter they're not. They would dig up and hunt anything that was in the shallows, so trapped, washed up, dead fish, crayfish. If you're going to incorporate fish into your diet on a regular basis, you have to consider thiaminase content. ciao
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Post by Deleted on Nov 26, 2017 2:52:35 GMT -5
I feed mine fish, raw, with bones. Occasionally. It’s an extra and not a main meal. My thinking is that while wild polecats mainly predate small mammals and the odd bird’s nest in spring, they also scavenge to some extent, so it’s possible a wild polecat would meet a fish from time to time and therefore if they want a bit of fish once in a while, they can have it. If we’re having trout, then the head, tail, fins and guts all end up in the ferrets’ dishes. I don’t worry about the bones; experienced raw-fed ferrets know to chew thoroughly before swallowing anything with bones and I’ve not had a ferret get into trouble with a bone of any kind yet. I have fed mine a sprat each, too - they don’t seem to get through more than one each in a sitting. Having said that, they don’t all eat all fish - some do, some turn up their noses, and some will eat it if they’re in the mood but not if they’re not, if you follow me. Loony thinks sprats are food but prawns and trout aren’t; Bane thinks prawns and sprats are food but trout aren’t; Joker will eat all three if he’s in the mood but may just sniff them and walk away if he’s not; and Angus adores trout and prawns but can take it or leave it when it’s sprats. Holly and Ivy stash anything that isn’t nailed down and I don’t actually know if they eat them or someone else raids their stash and, while Ajax and Achilles have met sprats and eaten them without hesitation, they haven’t met trout or prawns yet. That’s why I keep fish and shellfish as occasional treats, maybe once a month or so, and not as a main meal. Fussy eaters I’m glad you’d mentioned sprat actually, the site Im planning use (I can provide the link if you want to take a look) sells 1KG of Sprats, as well as other stuff, salmon heads, herring and Mackerel, I’ve also seen Crayfish, but from my experience there’s more she’ll then meat, and the claws may hurt. One last thing though, in the dog section of the site, I’ve found horse meat....little unsure wether to add or not, seems really strange
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Post by Deleted on Nov 26, 2017 3:01:09 GMT -5
Feeding fish is fine as an occasional meal. Traditionally, ferrets would probably eat fish that is found/scavenged. A water hunter they're not. They would dig up and hunt anything that was in the shallows, so trapped, washed up, dead fish, crayfish. If you're going to incorporate fish into your diet on a regular basis, you have to consider thiaminase content. ciao Well I’m planning to feed a balanced mince, but a few times a week I swap one of their balanced meals for something a little different, say Tuesdays Dinner is swapped for a plate of ducks neck w/ quail meat. Thought of maybe giving a meal of fish, once every few months to change it up from the usual, neck and ground meat.
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Post by runningdog on Nov 26, 2017 4:54:49 GMT -5
I’m glad you’d mentioned sprat actually, the site Im planning use (I can provide the link if you want to take a look) sells 1KG of Sprats, as well as other stuff, salmon heads, herring and Mackerel, I’ve also seen Crayfish, but from my experience there’s more she’ll then meat, and the claws may hurt. One last thing though, in the dog section of the site, I’ve found horse meat....little unsure wether to add or not, seems really strange Oh boy, don’t buy a kilo of sprats! That’s about 100 sprats! If you’re using them as bait for fishing or you have a lot of fish-eating critters, fine - but for a couple of ferrets eating maybe a sprat each per month? That’s a lot of freezer space tied up for the next 4-5 years, plus the nutritional value will drop after a year or so, even deep frozen. Check the fish counters in local supermarkets - my local Morrisons gets sprats in daily, fresh off the boats every morning, and they’ll sell them individually. People use them as cat treats, too, since the comment the fishmonger made to me when I asked for 8 sprats was ‘Giving the cat a treat?’ (He was surprised when I said it was for my ferrets, but remarked he didn’t know ferrets ate fish and we got into a conversation about how to feed ferrets; turned out he knows a few ferret-keepers locally. Who knows? Maybe I’ve helped a few ferrets broaden their diets there....) Horse..... that weird British thing about eating horses, maybe? We’re about the only country in Europe that doesn’t eat horse, though I’ve no idea why. I don’t see any logical reason not to feed horse to ferrets..... I’m sure if a wild polecat found a dead horse they’d have a go, just as they would a dead cow or sheep. They wouldn’t hunt them (despite the attempts of one of my ferrets years ago to snaffle a passing sheep!) but they’d scavenge. All horses in the EU are passported, chipped, regularly vet-checked and have to be barred from the food chain if given certain medicines, so it should be safe enough to feed horse meat to carnivores. I just can’t quite bring myself to do it, being an illogical Brit.....
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Post by Deleted on Nov 26, 2017 6:53:46 GMT -5
I’m glad you’d mentioned sprat actually, the site Im planning use (I can provide the link if you want to take a look) sells 1KG of Sprats, as well as other stuff, salmon heads, herring and Mackerel, I’ve also seen Crayfish, but from my experience there’s more she’ll then meat, and the claws may hurt. One last thing though, in the dog section of the site, I’ve found horse meat....little unsure wether to add or not, seems really strange Oh boy, don’t buy a kilo of sprats! That’s about 100 sprats! If you’re using them as bait for fishing or you have a lot of fish-eating critters, fine - but for a couple of ferrets eating maybe a sprat each per month? That’s a lot of freezer space tied up for the next 4-5 years, plus the nutritional value will drop after a year or so, even deep frozen. Check the fish counters in local supermarkets - my local Morrisons gets sprats in daily, fresh off the boats every morning, and they’ll sell them individually. People use them as cat treats, too, since the comment the fishmonger made to me when I asked for 8 sprats was ‘Giving the cat a treat?’ (He was surprised when I said it was for my ferrets, but remarked he didn’t know ferrets ate fish and we got into a conversation about how to feed ferrets; turned out he knows a few ferret-keepers locally. Who knows? Maybe I’ve helped a few ferrets broaden their diets there....) Horse..... that weird British thing about eating horses, maybe? We’re about the only country in Europe that doesn’t eat horse, though I’ve no idea why. I don’t see any logical reason not to feed horse to ferrets..... I’m sure if a wild polecat found a dead horse they’d have a go, just as they would a dead cow or sheep. They wouldn’t hunt them (despite the attempts of one of my ferrets years ago to snaffle a passing sheep!) but they’d scavenge. All horses in the EU are passported, chipped, regularly vet-checked and have to be barred from the food chain if given certain medicines, so it should be safe enough to feed horse meat to carnivores. I just can’t quite bring myself to do it, being an illogical Brit..... Fair point, other then my future stinky slinkies I don’t have any other need for bait fish, unless I take up fishing which I have been wanting to do since my neighbour took me out on one of his trips it makes sense that they sell 1-10kg worth of sprats, it’s the cat section, they can eat maybe around 10-15 in one sitting. Compared to 1-3 for a ferret. however I have the option to buy Salmon heads as well, which may be a better investment, there’s 2 per bag and depending on my ferrets appetite that’s one head per ferret, eyeballs and all! As for the horse meat, idk I’m torn, I see horses as pets not food but then again I don’t actually see anything just the end produce, it’s also a red meat as well, which from what I’ve read is one of the best meats for them, so I know I’d be able to handle it, but like whole prey I’d have a guilty conscious, provided I don’t have an attachment to that species of animal I’m normally ok. Hence why im happy to fling chicken and duck about, but with things like rats which I’ve owned it makes it harder as I see a pet rather then food.
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