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Post by Deleted on Sept 24, 2011 9:39:43 GMT -5
Jeff and I have been looking into a better kibble since we can't afford switching them to meat fully yet. I've found Dr. Foster and Smith Original is supposedly pretty good. Better than Marshall's which is what they are unfortunately on now. Is this a good choice? It's extremely cheap. 20lbs for 29.99 + shipping = 36.11 (or 36.33 I forget). So it's cheaper than Marshall's bought from the pet store even D: But, nutritiously it looks good. What do you think? www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=17212 |
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Post by Deleted on Sept 24, 2011 9:42:53 GMT -5
I'd say no, it's no that great  Second ingredient is rice. That is the second most abundant ingredient in the food. Check out Wysong Epigen. It's about $20 for an 8 lb bag (not sure on shipping). Also check out this chart moredooks.herobo.com/search.php?chart=ferret |
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Post by Deleted on Sept 24, 2011 9:57:17 GMT -5
Jackie, I did. According to that chart it's a decent food. It has a score of 42.58 and it's blue so I thought it would be okay. Yes, I know the second ingredient is Rice, but we can't afford Wysong or Innova or even Nature's Variety.
This is better than Marshall's though, right?
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Post by Deleted on Sept 24, 2011 10:04:12 GMT -5
Hm, what is your monthly budget for food? You're ferrets will also eat less of a higher quality food, so even if its more per lb, it might even last longer.
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Post by Heather on Sept 24, 2011 10:29:48 GMT -5
What's with adding rosemary to carnivore diets  Besides that, I don't like the fact that there is nothing other than meal type protein. You don't want to go with Innova anyway....PG changed the ingredients to something less that ideal. What you want is a meat protein, not something extruded which is what you get when you use protein meal. Many protein meals are derived from 3D meats. I don't use kibbles so I'm the last person to ask about the best named kibbles but there are factors that you should try and look for. One is whole type protein...chicken, lamb, pork, not meal types. One thing you might try, is mixing 3 or 4 types of ferret kibbles (I notice that some actually use some kitten kibbles). This might better cover your fuzzes protein needs and if (and they do frequently) they change the content, your wee one will not be without food as they will eat the other or you can get another if the store stops carrying the brand. In whole honesty....I found that it's a whole lot cheaper to feed meat than any high grade kibble and I know exactly what goes into it. ciao |
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Post by Deleted on Sept 24, 2011 10:32:43 GMT -5
Jackie, I did. According to that chart it's a decent food. It has a score of 42.58 and it's blue so I thought it would be okay. Yes, I know the second ingredient is Rice, but we can't afford Wysong or Innova or even Nature's Variety. This is better than Marshall's though, right? I spend about $35 a month for 3 ferrets to eat. They get chicken, turkey, Cornish game hen, beef, and pork. I normally only but chicken every couple months when it's on sale. I don't know how many fuzz you have, but it might be cheaper to feed raw <3 |
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Post by Sherry on Sept 24, 2011 11:29:35 GMT -5
When you are looking for a kibble, check the first five ingredients. You want the first 3 to be meat and meat based. No grains there at all. If the first 5 are meat/meat based, that's a decent kibble to feed.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 24, 2011 11:39:42 GMT -5
Also, avoid fruits if at all possible. Those are high in sugar.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 24, 2011 12:43:01 GMT -5
Since that's my ferret Hocus in the photo, and my former ferret Trouble on the bag, I should probably stay out of this, lol.
But, I'll say that for the price it's an acceptable ferret kibble, and honestly kibble-feeding owners on other forums seem to like it a great deal. But also honestly, I can't recommend any brand of kibble as any carnivore's primary diet. There are just way too many variables that go into kibble, not to mention how detrimental it is to the teeth. With kibble or even commercial raw stuff you're paying extra money for the convenience of pouring it into a bowl right from a bag. Careful raw shopping really can give you better nutrition for less money; it's just a little more prep time and cleanup.
Heather, I'm going to run the rosemary thing past the vets next week. I've been noticing rosemary in a lot of treats as well and I'm curious as to if they have an opinion on it.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 24, 2011 12:44:44 GMT -5
I'm on my phone now Keri, but check out a recent thread with grizzly oil in the title. I linked a page about Rosemary extract - scary implications
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Post by Deleted on Sept 24, 2011 12:49:47 GMT -5
Yep, that's what I'm talking about. I'd like to hear if they think it has some sort of benefit that overrides a risk, or if it's something that only recently has been thought of as dangerous. Or if they've ever heard of it at all, of course...
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Post by Deleted on Sept 24, 2011 12:52:52 GMT -5
I think I read it was being used as an antioxidant and natural preservative?
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Post by Heather on Sept 24, 2011 16:03:29 GMT -5
That it is....I will be interested to hear what the vet says about the rosemary Keri. I was really annoyed to find that all the wysongs are preserved with it I just picked up a bag of horrible kibbles for Yuri and they've got that and garlic in it. I'm disgusted. ciao |
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Post by goingpostal on Sept 24, 2011 20:05:35 GMT -5
I don't know about the original formula but I used to feed the natural formula mixed with Evo and sometimes another brand in my mix when I was feeding 7 kibble, for the price it seemed great and the ferrets did fine on it.
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Post by goingpostal on Sept 24, 2011 20:08:22 GMT -5
Hmmm...looks like they don't have the other version anymore? It's been awhile since I fed kibble, but I seem to think that was a better option than the one they have now. I wouldn't use it as a primary diet but maybe as a mix if you are looking to save money.
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Second ingredient is rice. That is the second most abundant ingredient in the food. 
