Just starting prey feeding

[Deleted]

Was wondering if this thread could serve as a way to get my raw feeder status.

I've been feeding raw to my first ferret Mika for what must be at least 5 months now, and my second ferret a few weeks after I got her for now about 2 1/2 months. Both are very happy to munch down, although they're still mainly at a soupy stage with a ground like consistency. They eat a variety of full raw.

Menu is as follows:

I buy a variety of chicken, beef, venison, buffalo, turkey, and usually lamb in the form of heart and kidneys. Each comes in about a pound, and every couple of days they eat one type, then I switch to a new type when that one is done. The ratios are 80 percent muscle, 10 liver and 10 heart. It also has bone dust and chunks of little pieces of bone in the food which they eat. Throughout the week I give them a few meals of a variety of heart, and also add a thumb sized chunk of kidney to their soupy mix every few days. They get gizzard for awhile when my shop as it.

They get pumpkin every few days to help keep their stool firm and they get two little quail eggs a day between the two along with a calcium and taurine supplement on occasion.

I believe the supplements are going to become unnecessary because recently I've been starting to feed mice. I was worried about any nutritional deficiencies they might have even on a raw diet that is albeit far removed from their natural diet. So I figured adding a bunch of mice into their diet would even things out. I've bought several pinkies and hoppers so far and blended them up and the ferrets clean the bowls. I've just started but I'm working on getting up to the full mouse. I've been buying live but I see that Canadian suppliers online sell them for fairly cheap frozen.

I plan to give them a variety of mice ages each day, I'd say totaling up to the equivalent weight of 15 adult mice between the two (or whatever it works out to at 15 dollars per week, its a creepy thought thinking about putting 25 pinkies in a blender for the week). I think I'll still get a few of these live, because Sarah did a good job killing it cleanly and seemed to really enjoy the hunt. Plus I really think that fresh mice are much more nutritious than being frozen. I can get 2 dollar live hoppers here (adult I think would be 3, pinkies 1.50). Frozen prices that ship seem to be about a dollar per adult, 80 cents for hoppers and 60 cents for pinkies. I'd also be able to get all 5 stages.

Averaging the weight of an adult (and its equivalent in size from added up smaller mice) as being 25 grams at 15 per week they'll be eating about 43 pounds of mice a year or 20 or so pounds each. In future I plan to also get them some rabbit, quail, rats and chicks.

In what ratio would you recommend feeding the mice ages on a weekly and daily basis?

[Sherry]

I'd go heavy on the adults, lighter on the sub adults, maybe a meal of weanlings once a week, or once every couple of weeks. Treat the pinkies as snacks or treats.
I gather you are feeding a commercial raw? May I ask what brand? Are you planning on going the whole rmb route, or just sticking with the grind, besides the whole prey I mean.
The idea of all these questions is simply to see if the diet is properly balanced, then of course I can change your status

[Deleted]

It isn't a brand per say. I get it at organic world, and its made specifically for carnivore pets at the store when they butcher the animals. When the nice parts humans take from it are gone (such as breast from chicken, thigh, etc) the rest of the meat is grinded up with the heart and liver added for the pet food.

Its not premium cuts but the meat always looks quite nutrient dense in all their foods regardless. The grind I think will be their main food along with about a mouse a day each although I do plan to introduce types of bone in foods once I have them more open to the idea. Right now they aren't at that stage.

Do you have an estimated number on the amount of mice per day that would be needed to fill a ferrets calcium needs? I still plan to give them egg shell on a daily basis with their quail eggs.

[Sherry]

You don't want to overdo the calcium either. So, with the grind they are getting 7 meals a week. A full meal of mice is basically however many they can eat. Average sized adults, my females will eat from 1-2, males seem to average 2.
Also, mice are a "perfect meal", in that they are well balanced.
Doesn't matter about "premium" cuts. Mine never get those either ;D If they are eating the grind, and mice at night, they'll be fine.
Let us know how they do with the mice, and we'll get that status changed