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Post by Deleted on Feb 12, 2011 18:43:01 GMT -5
Yes, you can feed just whole pray. However, same rule applies to whole prey - minimum of three proteins. So you can feed mice, rats, rabbits, quail, guniea pigs, hamsters, etc. More is always better
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Post by bluemoose on Feb 12, 2011 18:48:33 GMT -5
Yes, you can feed nothing but whole prey (that's all I feed) but no, you cannot feed only mice. You need at least three different animals and preferably a good variety in those animals. For instace mice, rats, and guinea pigs are all rodents so you might not want to do that.
Keep in mind that unless you raise your own feeder animals, whole prey is usually more expensive than prey model (aka raw). If you're planning to order your prey, you may as well get all the variety that site offers.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 12, 2011 19:03:17 GMT -5
Yeah, you might as well fill up the box, because the shipping will cost the same either way.
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Post by lc on Feb 12, 2011 22:33:14 GMT -5
This is my favorite analogy. I don't remember who said it but I use it all of the time. Kibble is the ferret equivalent to McDonalds. If you ate nothing but McDonalds all day every day, every meal...you would stink too! . the analogy i always use is if you were locked in an apartment with a broken toilet, no running water and no way to do laundry for over a week then you'd stink too! ;D I also say for the biting, That any animal (cat, dog etc.) if they're not socialized will be likely to bite.
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Post by dookdook on Feb 13, 2011 20:32:00 GMT -5
How many would you feed per day?
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Post by bluemoose on Feb 13, 2011 20:35:53 GMT -5
How many what? It's different depending on the prey and the ferret. What prey animal and what age? What's the ferret's age and gender? Time of year also plays a role.
The nice thing about whole prey is because it's covered in fur/feathers, it has reduced air exposure and stays good longer than just a chunk of meat. I leave prey out for my ferrets all the time and they eat when they're hungry. When they finish what they have, I offer more. I've never had anything spoil.
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Post by dookdook on Feb 13, 2011 20:45:29 GMT -5
I mean.. How much for one ferret per day? Like one mouse one rat on monday.. One guinea pig one rat the next? Or do they only eat one animal per day? I understand if the prey is larger it'll fill them up more etc. The ferret I am purchasing is a 12 month old male. He's BIG already..
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Post by bluemoose on Feb 13, 2011 21:07:51 GMT -5
12 months or 12 weeks? Because your other post said 12 weeks.
Males tend to eat a fair bit more than females and kits (if he's 12 weeks) eat a lot. I would expect him to pack away quite a bit at first. The amount a ferret will eat isn't really based on number of animals. If you feed nothing but mice one day he'll probably eat 4-7 adult mice in a day as a kit. If you feed him a rabbit one day, he may work on that all day.
It's hard to give an exact amount because so many factors play into how much a ferret will eat. Assuming he'll eat on his own, I'd say just leave prey out and let him eat as much as he wants. Ferrets don't tend to overeat and that way you'll know he's getting enough. Look into setting up a feeding den where you can leave food for him.
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Post by taratee on Feb 13, 2011 22:52:22 GMT -5
does the average raw guideline of 3-4 ounces work the same for whole prey?
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Post by bluemoose on Feb 13, 2011 22:58:23 GMT -5
I would assume so. I just don't like to use it because ferrets vary so much in the amount they eat. The average is just that- an average. But when people hear it, they assume their ferret's food intake should fall in that range or something is wrong. Between age, gender, time of year, health, and just each individual ferret (some are pigs, some are more high strung so they need more food, ect) I feel there's just too much variation to limit the amount to such a small range. It is a good guideline but especially for a young ferret, I don't feel it's necessarily accurate.
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Post by Sherry on Feb 13, 2011 23:29:32 GMT -5
As bluemoose has pointed out, these are simply basic guidelines to give you SOME idea of what you'll be feeding. There really are many variations, and you will have to learn how much your particular ferrets will eat. Just as an example with my 9, the amounts for a day can vary from one tiny girl only eating one ounce of food for the entire day, and being quite satisfied, in spite of how active she is, and my bigger males eating 5 oz in the day. Winter appetites, you can pretty much double that ;D
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Post by katt on Feb 14, 2011 6:00:40 GMT -5
How many would you feed per day? As much as hey will eat. Unlike with kibble, where they often Have to overeat to have their nutritional needs met, ferrets on a raw diet will typically not eat. YEs, you can feed entirely whole prey but it can be difficult to get enough variety. And it is VERY expensive. I would instead, recommend a diet of mainly hwole prey supplemented with a balced variety of store bought meats (chicken, etc). I feel this mroe accurately imitates their natural diet anyways since in the wild they will also occasionally eat carrion. Which can be anything. Feeding cost of raw is actually cheaper than kibble. If nothing else, because it will save you on vet bills. When I only had Koda, and before we found out he had IBD and thus special diet requirements , $40 worth of meat from teh store would last me for a few months. Kenai eats more than Koda by at least twice. So he would cost more to feed on his own. Right now I don't stock up like I used to because I am still fiddling with diet stuff for Koda, so I don't have as much of an idea as to how much I spend exactly. haha But I do know that I can buy a "tube" of commercial ground for roughly $6-8 and it lasts a few days. It is cheaper to buy store meats. I also breed my own mice which helps. Overall, no matter how you do it (whole prey, whole prey+meat, or jsut raw meat) the totals should be roughly 10% organ meat (half of which is liver, and half things like organ and spleen), 10-15% bone, and 80% muscle meat (including hearts for taurine, and gizzards). Also, you need an absolute minimum of 3 protein sources. More is better though. Some foods to consider: chicken (whole chicken is wonderful) chicken hearts ch gizzards ch liverch feet (good source of bone) pork pork organs/heartpork skin turkey +organs beef+organs.heart beef tongue quail cornish game hen (GCH) buffalo (bison - same thing) lamb goat rabbit veal (young beef) duck goose pheasant venison etc.
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Post by dookdook on Feb 14, 2011 7:42:30 GMT -5
Okay thanks so much guys! I just want him to be as happy and healthy as possible! And sorry, I did mean 12 weeks not months.. Don't know why I put that! He is coming home today, currently on EVO.. I will work on mixing another kibble or two into his current until I move back in with my mom (March) and I can start trying out raw! Thanks
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Post by Sherry on Feb 14, 2011 11:17:50 GMT -5
To be honest, if you can manage it, I'd start trying him on a few different meats at this age, so it's not going to be a hassle later on. Just as treats, if nothing else, to keep him used to the taste.
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