Whole prey questions

[Deleted]

Hello, I am looking into a whole prey diet for my ferret. At the very least I want to give him the occasional whole mouse. So, I am curious-

How old are the mice generally used for a basic whole diet?
How many does a ferret eat per day and how often?
If I'm going to use a kibble for a part of the diet, what brand/brands do you suggest?
Will feeding whole prey cause any potential health issues for me if I were to share my food or drinks with Bode, or let him lick my face or anything like that? I doubt it, but best to check.

I seriously dislike raw meat but whole mice and other animals do not bother me. I also might have access to raw (or cooked, I might cook it for my own sake) elk, deer, wild turkey, moose, wolf, and coyote meat and bones. These would be very occasional foods, since they depend on if my aunt and uncle feel like sharing after they go hunting, and would probably be some of the less desirable for humans parts. (I probably won't have any steaks, haha.)

I do have a snake so I know how to handle f/t food and I also enjoy taxidermy, but I have a feeling neither of those are as messy as what happens when a ferret goes at a mouse. Thank you for any help and advice!

[Heather]

Adult prey is the best to cover their nutritional needs. A mixture of ages is the ultimate. To support a total raw diet they need a minimum of three different types of proteins. As far as munching mice....my one little girlie can cut into 2 adult mice during the winter and only eat one during the summer. My biggest boy can eat 3 or 4 adult mice during the winter and about half that during the summer. I'm sorry...I can't help you about the right kibbles...I've not fed them in over 15 yrs. Someone, else will pop in for the answer to this. If you're going to feed wild prey, it would probably be wise to freeze your meats for a minimum of 2 to 3 weeks to avoid parasites.
Take care allowing your little wee one, to eat and drink your food. I can't think of a drink that I could share with my little ones It has nothing to do with germs or anything like that, just that most foods that I eat aren't good for ferrets (I don't eat raw meat ) As far as getting salmonella from being ferretkissed....I've never worried about it
ciao

[Deleted]

He likes to steal my water. He likes it cold I think. Haha.

I am thinking Wysong is a good kibble, I'll have to order it but that's fine with me, I order my rat/mouse food anyway.

I would be feeding f/t prey with the exception of any hunted meats. I can freeze those for a while though.

I'm trying to figure out, cost wise, if I can do a whole prey diet. To get 50 frozen adult mice, it's 23$. I pay about the same for a bag of blue buffalo that lasts a lot longer. So, I think cost wise I can feed a mouse or two a week, maybe a small mouse every day, along with high quality kibble. Do you think that will improve his health, or is it a futile effort? I could, I suppose, breed mice for him.. but I wouldn't be able to kill them. I love the mice I have way too much to even think about killing them (or babies), and the girls are past breeding age anyway.

[Heather]

Nothing is futile....there is always that chance to offer one more thing that makes it a bit better .
ciao

[Sherry]

Hi- if you are looking to feed something along side the whole prey, I'd look at Epigen 90. From what I've been told it's the best kibble on the market. Then there's also freeze dried raw, or even commercial raw. That one looks like a ground meat

[Deleted]

Actually, my friend (who breeds mice) is interested in sending her culled mice to me for Bode and Curses (snake) to eat. We aren't sure if it is possible, but if it is, I'd be paying shipping and maybe a bit to her, and he could eat a fairly large number of whole mice. I might still keep kibble available though, just because if there were an emergency or something I would want him to be willing to eat something else.

So we aren't sure if it will work out but maybe. She usually feeds her culls to her wolf hybrid or sends them to a birds of prey place, so there is no wastage anyway.

[Deleted]

Sherry- thanks! That's what I meant by Wysong.. I think that is the brand. I could be wrong though.

Do you have any links to commercial raw foods?

[Sherry]

In the diet board, there's a link to commercial and whole prey providers, along with some reviews

[katt]

How old are the mice generally used for a basic whole diet?
Any and all ages. Variety of ages, size, and species (mice, rats, quail, etc) is best. However, only adults can be considered a balanced meal as younglings' bones are not fully developed enough to provide the correct calcium content.

How many does a ferret eat per day and how often?
This depends on the type of diet you are feeding. On an entirely whole prey diet I'd say an adult male ferret would eat approximately 2 adult mice per meal, so 4-5 a day. This is give or take, that's just about what Koda can put down. Each ferret is different and it depends on gender, size, activity level, and appetite of the ferret. Also, they need variety so you can' feed JUST mice. One medium or large rat is usually good for a day (2 meals). A rabbit can provide a few days' worth of meals. If you are feeding raw (or kibble) and supplementing whole prey it just depends on how heavily you want to supplement.

If I'm going to use a kibble for a part of the diet, what brand/brands do you suggest?

I don't recommend kibble at all. If you are feeding a mixed diet however, you must be careful. Raw and kibble digest at different rates (raw digests faster) so it is important to allow time in between different types of meals. If you are looking for the convenience of dry food, I suggest freeze dried raw like Stella and Chewey's or Wysong instead of kibble.

Will feeding whole prey cause any potential health issues for me if I were to share my food or drinks with Bode, or let him lick my face or anything like that? I doubt it, but best to check.
You should never allow ferrets to eat people food - unless you enjoy eating raw meat. There is NO people food that is safe for ferrets other than PLAIN (100% unseasoned) cooked meat (NO cooked bones), organic meat baby food, and fish or olive oil as a supplement. Same with drinks, the only human drink safe for ferrets is water. I wouldn't recommend drinking after an animal to begin with if you're worried about getting sick. There are just as many if not more recalls on kibble due to contamination than raw meat. Not to mention the enzymes in the ferret's mouth will break down most germs other than the naturally occurring ones, thus diet shouldn't make a difference. I let my ferrets lick my face and I snuggle them all of the time. Never have I gotten sick. I do not eat or drink after my animals though (any of them) nor do I allow my ferrets to have any type of human food or drink. It is not safe for THEM.

I seriously dislike raw meat but whole mice and other animals do not bother me.
I think you may be surprised at how quickly you can get used to it. And I think you underestimate the lack of difference between raw meat and rodent guts smeared on the feeding den. If you can get enough variety and have the money to feed an entirely whole prey diet, then go for it! A whole prey diet is by far the healthiest.

Good luck and keep us posted!

[Deleted]

It's mostly money that is a concern. However. My mother is showing interest in the idea, and I am going to look into one of the raw diets for cats (I can't remember the name..it was on the hf facebook though) and see how much that costs. I want to get him archetypal-1, but the cost of feeding just that is too much. I could afford it if there were never vet bills, but...there are vet bills. Lol. I was actually wondering, I saw some chicken treats by blue buffalo, and the only ingredient was chicken (and I think a preservative, but I was impressed-nothing set up red flags). It made me think of freeze dried foods, so would it be possible to feed pheasant/duck/chicken/lamb doggy treats to give variety or is that a stupid idea?

I did try to feed him a pinkie and he wasn't happy with the idea. However, yesterday when I was out with my aunt and Bode and the dogs, he got to taste a lamb dog treat (one of those meat ones, not sure of brand) and he practically went insane. I bet he would go for freeze dried food rather than whole prey, at least at first. I've also been trying to show him very tiny pieces of different foods (meaty things of course), so he will hopefully learn to take a bit of variety without acting like he's being poisoned.

As for rodent guts and raw... Actual raw meat, like chicken, really bothers me. A lot. I think it's the texture. However, I do taxidermy stuff and the first time or two I worked with a mouse I managed to spill guts everywhere. It didn't bug me the way raw chicken does.

I'm not worried about getting sick from plain old ferret mouth (or rat or whatever..I share food with the rats a LOT) but I wouldn't prefer to eat raw meat because of germies. And if my mom was to find out about raw meat she might freak because "I'd get sick". I'm sure they are well equipped to deal with anything in meat though- they are carnivores.