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Post by staticrazorz on Jan 12, 2012 9:57:10 GMT -5
Hello! So, I have a new baby ferret (2 months) and am debating on what to do with diet. I want to do a mix of kibble and raw food, she is 2 months old and tiny. I am wondering when I can start feeding her raw food? I assume the time to start would be now while shes young, but I worry about her choking on the bones etc, not being able to knaw through them. Anytime we cook we always save the insides of birds etc so we have chicken necks, hearts etc readily available in our freezer. Also, I have pretty good access to fresh mice all the time, but am not sure if I want to feed her that just yet. Anyway, is the time to start now??
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Post by Deleted on Jan 12, 2012 10:39:27 GMT -5
Welcome to the forum Yes, start feeding now. The chance of her choking on the bones is tiny, really no more likely than choking on some kibble. Her teeth are designed to crunch up bones, she shouldn't have a problem. Start off with offering her small chunks of meat, if she takes to those, offer a piece with a bit of bone in. If she can't manage the bone she'll just leave it. I started my boy on raw as soon as I got him at 11 weeks old and he took to it just fine. I started with tiny pieces of chicken the first day, and he took it so readily I gave him a wing the next. It took about a week before he'd eat all the bone in the meat rather than leaving the thicker parts. I've read somewhere combining kibble with raw isn't a good idea, but I don't know much about this, so I'll leave that to someone else. But if she takes well to the meat you may decide to go full raw. As for the mice, I'd wait until she's used to meat first if you're not sure about those yet. But don't leave it too long, it's best to introduce a range of different protein sources while they're young. Look around and see what ideas you get from other peoples posts, introduce yourself in the welcome post if you haven't yet, and, most importantly, post some pics of your baby girl!
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Post by Sherry on Jan 12, 2012 10:43:50 GMT -5
Hi, and welcome I'd start with raw meat/bone/organ while she's still impressionable. I've not fed mine kibble in four years. Before you decide to keep it in her diet, please read this: holisticferret60.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=insulinoma&action=display&thread=49It's Bob Church's observations on diet and insulinoma. Carbs and starches make the pancreas go into overdrive trying to process a food ferrets were never meant to have, and can create an issue called "insulinoma".
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Post by Sherry on Jan 12, 2012 10:48:34 GMT -5
This will give you and idea of just how much tiny babies like yours enjoy their bone:
At this age(4 weeks) they have some trouble with bone, but still go well for the meat itself:
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Post by Heather on Jan 12, 2012 11:52:27 GMT -5
Hi and welcome on board. Congratulations on your little one. You can feed both kibble and raw just not at the same time (they digest at different rates and can possibly cause stomach upsets). Personally, I can see no benefit to feeding kibble but then you're talking to someone who's been raw feeding almost 15 yrs. I would suggest that you prowl the nutritional part of the site and read through the various threads. Definitely, read the Bob Church article it is enlightening. Feel free to ask questions and participate in discussions. Everyone's friendly. Your wee one should have no problem tucking into various meats and bones. In fact you may be surprised as to the damage that these little ones can inflict with those teeth. Just to reiterate something you probably already know (but after years of working with people, I never assume anymore) you cannot feed cooked bone. You can feed the bones raw but not cooked. I hope we will be seeing you around the forum. We do love pictures of the wee ones (in fact they can get rather pushy about it ;D). Have fun enjoy your little one ciao
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Post by staticrazorz on Jan 13, 2012 13:55:27 GMT -5
My little girly got a piece of chicken neck yesterday, and you guys are right!!! she tore through that thing bone and all!! its amazing. Im so excited!!
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Post by Deleted on Jan 13, 2012 14:01:33 GMT -5
Fantastic I'm glad you got yourself a natural there, should be an easy switch Keep at it each day, and throw her some different types of meat (beef, pork, game birds etc.), see how she goes. And I'd suggest getting in there with the organ asap, introducing it with the rest may make it easier to persuade her to eat it. My boy ate kidney the first time I offered it at the start of his switch, but about a week later I tried with liver and he wouldn't touch it. Now he won't touch any organs and I'm having to use soups with him Picky.
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