Post by Heather on Sept 20, 2011 23:55:25 GMT -5
Name: Noel
1. Where did you first learn about natural diets for ferrets?
I origonally learned about natural diets from my vet when my dog got sick about 20years ago. He informed us all about the inportance of meat in a predators diet. From then on my family always looked for the healthiest and most natural way to raise our pets.
2. Please describe the type of diet you would like assistance in switching your ferret(s) to. Be sure to include if you are interested in feeding whole prey (live or frozen-thawed) and if you are wanting to FULLY switch to a natural diet or PARTIALLY. If you are unsure what kind of diet you want to put your ferrets on, please express that and we can help you find the best type of natural diet for your ferret.
I'm going for a full raw diet consisting of mostly frankin preay with the ocasional whole prey.
3. Why are you interested in switching your ferrets to a natural diet?
I want my ferrets to life long happy lives without needless ilnesses that come from kibble. There are all pros and no cons to a natural dies vs kibble.
4. Do you understand that switching your ferret to a natural diet can be a lengthy, arduous process? Its not an overnight switch. It can be a commitment of several weeks or even months. Your HF Mentor will be more then happy to assist you in switchng your ferret(s) to a natural diet, but you need to be equally as commited. If you aren't willing to tough out a potentially lengthy switching process, or if you have major life changes approaching (baby on the way, moving, starting school, getting married/divorced, etc) then it might be a better idea to wait on switching your ferret's diet until you have more time. Are you willing to make the commitment?
I have the time and commitment to commit to the switch. I can log on atleast once a day for up dates.
5. How many ferrets do you currently have? What are their names? Ages? Genders? Do they have any health problems? Are they overweight? Underweight? How long have you had each ferret for?
Already switched ferrets
Richard, estimated age of 5, Male, great health
Slink, 1, Female, great health
ferrets that need the switch
Daisy, 4, female, unknown but reportely well
benji, 4, male, unknown but reportedly good
Edit: Decided to rename them and give correct genders back.
Name: Duke - 4 years old - Male (Prevouslt thought female) - Thin, scrggly fur, vet checkup pending
Boo - 4 years old - Male - Thin, scraggly fur, vet check up pending
6. What diet do you currently feed your ferrets? (Please include all treats, supplements, etc)
The wo that are being converted were raised on 8 in 1 ultra blend
7. Have you ever tried to switch your ferrets to a natural diet in the past? If yes, what happened?
I susfully converted two ferrets on kit and 1 older but adventrous eater.
8. What additional information about yourself or your ferrets would you like to share?
9. How often during the week do you have access to a computer?
Daily, I do admit however that I've been experencing computer problems latly. If it goes down I can "borrow" my brothers computer on a limited basis though since he lives next door to me.
10. Please post a picture of each of your ferrets (if possible).
Hi
I'm Heather, and we're going to be working together for the next little while trying to convince your furbabies to change to an even healthier diet
I've been feeding a raw/natural diet for a little over 15 yrs. I have a small private rescue/sanctuary, just outside of Toronto, Canada where all ferrets turned into me are switched immediately over to a raw diet that consists of ground raw/whole meats or frankenprey/ and prey diet. At present every ferret eats this full range of diets. I don't keep kibbles in the house, if I can possibly avoid it. Too many little kibble addicts
. All my furbabies are free roaming and have access to an outdoor play area that they can access at will. At present there are 10 little fuzzbutts who call this their permanent home. They range in ages of about 5 months, little Minion to Odin, who is 8 or 9 yrs, a late alter that was turned in 5 yrs ago intact. I would like to say my most difficult switch was a little senior who was turned in at 9 yrs of age (she by the way has been my biggest raw switch challenge, until recently, which had me at times wondering why I was doing this to her) She eventually was completely switched and putting on a beautiful dark black coat, teeth that were nicely cleaned up, and she actually has a lot of fun investigating the house (she used to do nothing but sleep when she first was turned in). She has made me aware that every ferret no matter how old, can get a new lease on life by eating a species appropriate diet. She eventually passed on at 11 yrs of age to complete organ failure....old age. Yuri is my present raw food quandry. He was on raw for about 8 months before becoming ill with an ulcer and has refused to eat raw since. Unfortunately, he associates raw food with the horrible meds he had to take. We're back at the beginning and are slowly making progress. Raw soupy is my favourite switching tool and one that I've had the most success with. I will be honest I have little knowledge about dried and freeze dried meats (other than they need to be hydrated )
You can try to get them to eat a raw soup immediately. You will need a blender/food processor, and the following raw items:
8 oz raw chicken thigh meat (including skin and fat)
1/2 tsp of crushed eggshell powder (take a raw eggshell. Rinse it out. Let it dry. Crush to powder)
1 raw chicken heart
1/2 raw chicken liver
Water or broth(use more to make it soupier, less to make it thicker)
I've also started adding raw goat milk, about 1 tsp to this mixture, they seem to like it.
Blend ingredients together. Some prefer it at room temp. Try putting a dollop of "soup" onto your ferret's nose and they probably will lick it off. I use my finger. Sometimes this takes a little bit trying to convince them that you're not trying to poison them. I find within a very short time they're licking this off my finger. When I see that they're willing to eat freely off my finger then I use a small spoon to try and get them to eat from that. Try to get them eating the soupy on their own. It might pique their interest.
Most ferrets will willingly eat the food once they actually TASTE it, so the only struggle you *should* encounter is them not wanting to taste it. Don't be surprised if your furbabies' initial reaction is to gag, spit and look at you like, what are you trying to poison me with but don't let them get away with it The hardest part is to insist and be consistent. Please also be aware that after years of kibbles they aren't aware that what you're offering them is indeed food. Once they willingly eat from your finger and spoon, work to try and get them eating this out of a dish or plate.
Each time you make your soupy, use a little less water to make it thicker/chunkier. Replace soup with fresh soup every 4-6 hours. You can make a large batch if you like and freeze into ice cubes or cupcake trays. Then you just thaw a portion and serve. OR you can put a frozen "cube" into their bowl and let it slowly thaw.
This is a good way to slowly ease them into wet foods. I use this method to switch all my furbabies and I've personally switched over 30 ferrets of my own in the last few years.
I will let you read through and if you have any questions please ask.
Good luck
ciao
1. Where did you first learn about natural diets for ferrets?
I origonally learned about natural diets from my vet when my dog got sick about 20years ago. He informed us all about the inportance of meat in a predators diet. From then on my family always looked for the healthiest and most natural way to raise our pets.
2. Please describe the type of diet you would like assistance in switching your ferret(s) to. Be sure to include if you are interested in feeding whole prey (live or frozen-thawed) and if you are wanting to FULLY switch to a natural diet or PARTIALLY. If you are unsure what kind of diet you want to put your ferrets on, please express that and we can help you find the best type of natural diet for your ferret.
I'm going for a full raw diet consisting of mostly frankin preay with the ocasional whole prey.
3. Why are you interested in switching your ferrets to a natural diet?
I want my ferrets to life long happy lives without needless ilnesses that come from kibble. There are all pros and no cons to a natural dies vs kibble.
4. Do you understand that switching your ferret to a natural diet can be a lengthy, arduous process? Its not an overnight switch. It can be a commitment of several weeks or even months. Your HF Mentor will be more then happy to assist you in switchng your ferret(s) to a natural diet, but you need to be equally as commited. If you aren't willing to tough out a potentially lengthy switching process, or if you have major life changes approaching (baby on the way, moving, starting school, getting married/divorced, etc) then it might be a better idea to wait on switching your ferret's diet until you have more time. Are you willing to make the commitment?
I have the time and commitment to commit to the switch. I can log on atleast once a day for up dates.
5. How many ferrets do you currently have? What are their names? Ages? Genders? Do they have any health problems? Are they overweight? Underweight? How long have you had each ferret for?
Already switched ferrets
Richard, estimated age of 5, Male, great health
Slink, 1, Female, great health
ferrets that need the switch
Daisy, 4, female, unknown but reportely well
benji, 4, male, unknown but reportedly good
Edit: Decided to rename them and give correct genders back.
Name: Duke - 4 years old - Male (Prevouslt thought female) - Thin, scrggly fur, vet checkup pending
Boo - 4 years old - Male - Thin, scraggly fur, vet check up pending
6. What diet do you currently feed your ferrets? (Please include all treats, supplements, etc)
The wo that are being converted were raised on 8 in 1 ultra blend
7. Have you ever tried to switch your ferrets to a natural diet in the past? If yes, what happened?
I susfully converted two ferrets on kit and 1 older but adventrous eater.
8. What additional information about yourself or your ferrets would you like to share?
9. How often during the week do you have access to a computer?
Daily, I do admit however that I've been experencing computer problems latly. If it goes down I can "borrow" my brothers computer on a limited basis though since he lives next door to me.
10. Please post a picture of each of your ferrets (if possible).
Hi
I'm Heather, and we're going to be working together for the next little while trying to convince your furbabies to change to an even healthier diet
I've been feeding a raw/natural diet for a little over 15 yrs. I have a small private rescue/sanctuary, just outside of Toronto, Canada where all ferrets turned into me are switched immediately over to a raw diet that consists of ground raw/whole meats or frankenprey/ and prey diet. At present every ferret eats this full range of diets. I don't keep kibbles in the house, if I can possibly avoid it. Too many little kibble addicts
. All my furbabies are free roaming and have access to an outdoor play area that they can access at will. At present there are 10 little fuzzbutts who call this their permanent home. They range in ages of about 5 months, little Minion to Odin, who is 8 or 9 yrs, a late alter that was turned in 5 yrs ago intact. I would like to say my most difficult switch was a little senior who was turned in at 9 yrs of age (she by the way has been my biggest raw switch challenge, until recently, which had me at times wondering why I was doing this to her) She eventually was completely switched and putting on a beautiful dark black coat, teeth that were nicely cleaned up, and she actually has a lot of fun investigating the house (she used to do nothing but sleep when she first was turned in). She has made me aware that every ferret no matter how old, can get a new lease on life by eating a species appropriate diet. She eventually passed on at 11 yrs of age to complete organ failure....old age. Yuri is my present raw food quandry. He was on raw for about 8 months before becoming ill with an ulcer and has refused to eat raw since. Unfortunately, he associates raw food with the horrible meds he had to take. We're back at the beginning and are slowly making progress. Raw soupy is my favourite switching tool and one that I've had the most success with. I will be honest I have little knowledge about dried and freeze dried meats (other than they need to be hydrated )You can try to get them to eat a raw soup immediately. You will need a blender/food processor, and the following raw items:
8 oz raw chicken thigh meat (including skin and fat)
1/2 tsp of crushed eggshell powder (take a raw eggshell. Rinse it out. Let it dry. Crush to powder)
1 raw chicken heart
1/2 raw chicken liver
Water or broth(use more to make it soupier, less to make it thicker)
I've also started adding raw goat milk, about 1 tsp to this mixture, they seem to like it.
Blend ingredients together. Some prefer it at room temp. Try putting a dollop of "soup" onto your ferret's nose and they probably will lick it off. I use my finger. Sometimes this takes a little bit trying to convince them that you're not trying to poison them. I find within a very short time they're licking this off my finger. When I see that they're willing to eat freely off my finger then I use a small spoon to try and get them to eat from that. Try to get them eating the soupy on their own. It might pique their interest.
Most ferrets will willingly eat the food once they actually TASTE it, so the only struggle you *should* encounter is them not wanting to taste it. Don't be surprised if your furbabies' initial reaction is to gag, spit and look at you like, what are you trying to poison me with but don't let them get away with it The hardest part is to insist and be consistent. Please also be aware that after years of kibbles they aren't aware that what you're offering them is indeed food. Once they willingly eat from your finger and spoon, work to try and get them eating this out of a dish or plate.
Each time you make your soupy, use a little less water to make it thicker/chunkier. Replace soup with fresh soup every 4-6 hours. You can make a large batch if you like and freeze into ice cubes or cupcake trays. Then you just thaw a portion and serve. OR you can put a frozen "cube" into their bowl and let it slowly thaw.
This is a good way to slowly ease them into wet foods. I use this method to switch all my furbabies and I've personally switched over 30 ferrets of my own in the last few years.
I will let you read through and if you have any questions please ask.
Good luck
ciao
The first summer that I was feeding my business raw, like you, I found that they loved eggs....so they got them alot....I had 14 ferrets with rat tails