Feeding larger sizes

[mrsandrews03]

When can I give my ferrets a whole piece of bone in meat without cutting it up?

My ferrets have been eating a raw food diet for a couple of months and I have been gradually making the pieces bigger so my question is could I give it to them without cutting it up? I worry my little one will choke on the bone if it’s not small enough. She choked one day (ended up getting it up) and it scared me so bad. My other one choked on a piece of skin/fat so now I am extremely worried. I spend hours cutting their meat/bone (not complaining as I will cut it as long as I need) but wonder when I can start giving whole parts of bone in meat to them.

[msav]

I never really had much concern for them choking on bone. Maybe young kits but after about 3 months they should learn how to eat without choking.

MY main concerns about giving whole pieces of meat is can they eat it before it spoils. With it getting warmer it cuts the time they have to eat it before it spoils. Last month I gave my 2 kits (approx. 2 month old) a whole quail (feathers plucked) within 3 days they had everything eaten but a single foot. It was cooler here then. I gave them a guinea pig the following week and it took them 4 days to finish that. You are going to be the best judge of how much they are eating and if they will get through it before it spoils.

BTW my now 3 month old ferrets are almost 3lbs already. They can really eat. (tummies with with teeth)

I am working on getting the 4 rescues eating Raw. so before any of the big chunks spoil I can puree them up into soup and nothing is wasted. 

I have not forced meat onto the rescues but some have already started to eat grind and whole prey on their own. Still have 2 only soup holdouts. 

[mrsandrews03]

Oh yes, I didn’t think about the warmer temps…good point. I typically feed twice a day (about 12 hours apart) and they eat close to everything. I started weigh their food out and tweaked it as needed but that could change with whole pieces. Two of mine were about 3 months old when I started raw so maybe that’s why they would choke. I had one that was a little older and had to start him with soup and slowly graduate to bigger pieces. I have noticed they are bigger and healthier eating a raw diet.

That’s awesome that you are getting your new rescues started on raw. Hopefully they will transition quickly and easily.