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Mice!
Jan 19, 2023 20:21:31 GMT -5
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Post by desi4572 on Jan 19, 2023 20:21:31 GMT -5
Hey! I'm trying to add mice to my ferrets diet and I feel like I have a ton of questions that I can't seem to get a consensus on!
I know that feeding immature or young animals can cause issues due to the bones (I think), so I'm assuming I can't feed pinky mice, at least not often.
How often can I feed mice as a bone in meal?
I have 4 adult ferrets, 2 boys and 2 girls. At this rate might it be worth it to look into breeding my own?
Or, if anyone is in the Lakewood/ golden colorado area and wants to split any shipping or costs let me know!
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Mice!
Jan 21, 2023 7:50:49 GMT -5
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Post by Corvidophile on Jan 21, 2023 7:50:49 GMT -5
You can feed immature mice as snacks between meals or replace the occasional meal (say once a week) with a handful of them, just not too often. Adult mice are ideal ferret food, as are frogs and rabbits. They’re what they’d be eating as polecats frequently. I’m not sure what the upper limit is, but I feed about four to six mice a week to my one ferret. Yes, breeding them yourself is cheaper, but to feed four ferrets that many mice you’d have quite a project on your hands.
I feed Envigo Teklad lab blocks, which last I checked are about $2.75 a pound when you buy the full 33 pound bag of them at once, which you’d certainly need to do at that production level. I use hardwood pellets as a base layer bedding for scent control, and throw cardboard shredded Boxo Comfort on top for comfort and nest building. I replace all bedding every two weeks. I currently have seven breeding females and one male, and the rest are babies at various ages that are growing up, usually 20-40 babies at any one time. I start culling them at around five weeks of age, but let some get as big as eight weeks.
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Mice!
Jan 21, 2023 18:07:28 GMT -5
Post by unclejoe on Jan 21, 2023 18:07:28 GMT -5
I never thought about frogs as ferret food. but yeah, they'd fit in a wild diet.
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Mice!
Feb 1, 2023 5:28:24 GMT -5
Post by abbeytheferret6 on Feb 1, 2023 5:28:24 GMT -5
Here is the alternative meal chart that can tell you how many bone in meals you will need to feed if using meals other than frankenprey. You can ask questions if you need help understanding it. The mice considered here are the grown ones. holisticferretforum.com/natural-diet/raw-diet-the-meat-of-the-site/balancing-frankenprey-with-alternative-meals/ I ordered the frozen mice--did not try raising them but thought about it. I did raise African soft-furred rats in plastic bins. I had help raising them though as my hubbie put them to sleep in an air sealed plastic box with a dose of carbon dioxide. It is a lot of work but I was not working at the time and could clean and take care of things. You can always shut down and take a break from it if it gets overwhelming. We also made up are own food, and I did throw in some Oxbow Essentials Mouse and Young Rat Food just in case they were not getting essential vitamins.
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