At the risk of seeming ignorant

[Deleted]

I am a part of another ferret forum and found this one on theirs when I went looking for advice on raw/whole prey diets.

To be honest, I don't know anything about feeding our kids a raw or whole prey diet. I DO know that with as often as formulas change in kibbles, it's impossible to keep up with the charts. I buy a kibble that is supposed to be healthy for them and they turn around and update the chart, then the kibble I just bought isn't considered a healthy kibble for ferrets anymore.

I've heard that a raw and whole prey diet is much healthier for them, and I obviously want to do only what is absolutely best for my kiddos. I hate feeling like a lousy daddy when I think I'm doing good and find out that I'm not.

Since I don't know much about this, I need advice on where to start. Unfortunately, I don't have any of the necessary items immediately on hand in order to start the mentoring program, so I figure that isn't the best place for us quite yet. But can anyone give us some basic information? I've looked around at some posts this morning, trying to find good info so I wouldn't have to ask. But there isn't enough time in the day to sift through it all with as much as I am wrangling ferrets and tending to other important things.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. I hope this forum is as helpful as the other one is.

[Sherry]

Not a problem! I certainly HOPE we're helpful
Okay, you want to check out what's involved, or how to start? To begin with, raw/whole prey is the easiest diet to feed once you've got your basics down, as well as the easiest to tailor to your individual ferrets needs
Ultimate goal is to feed approx. 8-9 consumable bone meals a week. 3-4 muscle meals(at least one of which MUST be heart), and 1 organ meal a week.
Consumable bone would include anything chicken sized or smaller, as well as things like turkey necks and wing tips, pork button bones or rib ends, as well as whole prey like mice, rats, rabbit, guinea pig, gerbil, etc.
Muscle meat would be any meat without bone. Heart is a muscle.
Organs are things like liver, lung, pancreas, thymus, kidney, stomach, reproductive organs to name a few. Organ meals need to be about 2oz liver and 2oz of another organ.
To get started, it really depends on the age and acceptance level of your ferret! Kits are more accepting of raw than older ferrets. With them, you have to "convince" ;D most will think they are being poisoned when given their first few tastes of raw You'll see behaviours like spitting, retching, twisting, etc. basically like a 2yr old being made to eat his Brussel sprouts for the first time ;D
These ones generally need to be started on a puree soup. Others will accept chunks with no problem!
Let us know where you need to start, and we'll get you to the finish line

[kpaz]

There are some freeze-dried kibbles that are almost as good as feeding raw or whole prey; however, they are expensive. It's important to make sure that if you're feeding frankenprey (basically taking different cuts of meat from different animals and mixing them) it needs to be balanced. If they aren't getting enough calcium or taurine or something, it could end very badly for the ferret. The mentoring program really does help, I highly recommend trying to gather the necessary item and apply! In the meantime, you could try offering your ferrets various cuts of raw meat, just to see if they will try a little. Whenever you're about to cook some meat, just cut off a tiny bit and set it aside. Then offer it to your kiddos and see what they think. I don't know how old they are, but there is a pretty good chance they won't recognize it as food. If they do, then that's GREAT!! If they don't recognize it as food, you could try blending the meat with water into a soup, and add a tiny bit to their kibble, increasing the amount as they accept it. You could also try the scruff-n-stuff method to get them to try it.
I'm sure the others will have lots of helpful information. Welcome, and though you may not yet know HOW to switch your ferrets to raw, the fact that you're seeking out information to give them a better life is very respectable! Everyone here is friendly and full of advice, when you have free time you can browse through the mentoring program's switching threads and see if it helps

[Deleted]

Hello & welcome!

And no risk of sounding ignorant. We are more than happy to answer questions, regardless of how many times theyre asked. The search function for proboards is pretty useless

I feed all frankenprey (raw meaty bones) available at my local grocery store. I feed whole chickens, whole Cornish game hens, and turkey necks for bone in, and beef, pork, and turkey for boneless. My kids get soup about 3 times a week, and I sneak in the organ and heart meals into that (my kids hate the texture of organ).

Anyway, if you have a question, ask away!

[Deleted]

Where does everybody get their organs and bone, etc.? Do you just get a whole animal and harvest them yourself? Or do you get them separate at whole food markets? How does one go about feeding their kids whole mice or chics (not sure if the chics was a valid suggestion I read somewhere)?
My oldest two just turned a year old and our baby is 4 months old. He'll be the easiest to switch, he's very open minded to just about everything. We were able to switch him from marshall's kibble to the cat food we have them on now in about 2 days. So, we're pretty excited to see how he takes to this. The older two are litter mates and have never taken an interest in any raw meat pieces we've tried offering. I was on here last night just browsing for info and found the scruff and stuff method where they demonstrated that food taking reflex ferrets seem to have, so I'll have to give that a shot too.

[Heather]

You can usually get your basic organ meats at a local grocer, ethnic butchers or markets are also a good place to check out. I feed a mixture of commercial grinds (awesome varieties), my own grind (a rougher grind that works for some of my oldsters and for my switchers who've moved up to eating bone and meat chunks but still not into recognising whole meats), frankenprey (whole meats that you buy at any grocery store, chicken legs, necks, turkey parts, riblets and button bones....etc), whole prey (mice, rats, quail...hoping to start feeding chicks). Some people have found buying whole chickens and cutting them up themselves is more economical. I belong to a raw coop which allows me access to certain foods that I wouldn't normally be able to purchase at the prices we get. It allows us to buy the amounts we need but at the discounted price of buying by the truckload
Do not feel guilty about misconceptions or preconceived knowledge. Kibbles manufacturers are all about lies and misconceptions. They want you to believe that they've got the best product, are the only people who know what your furchild's needs are and that you've not a clue about what your little ones need. They are masters of manipulating truth and creating a web of misinformation. Unfortunately, what they're really about is lining their pockets
You can set up a thread, this one is fine...that will allow everyone to help you to switch your wee ones or you can apply for a mentor.
I use the scruff and stuff method, as method that I use as a last resort and for sickies. I usually start out with a soupy (recipes are all over the place on the forum) and ferrets on the run As one runs by I grab, quick snuggle dab a finger in the soupy, touch it to their nose. Most will lick...often (the usual response)is much gagging and spitting. I tell them they're good fuzzes and release. I keep doing this as long as they're up and about, multiple times during their play time. Usually, during that time they will start licking the finger, then you sit with them directing them toward the bowl (I often use a spoon and see if they will lick it off the spoon). It's that easy and that difficult. Depending on your fuzzes, it shouldn't take long to get them that far
ciao

[Deleted]

I find organ and heart at my grocery stores. Liver and heart are the most abundant. I have to stock up when I find kidney.

[Deleted]

What is a better idea? Feeding separate parts or feeding whole animals like mice? I assume it will be based on the preference of our babies. But is it less or more expensive to buy the parts to make soups or to buy whole animals? (This makes me sound like I'm cheap. This is definitely not the case. But an idea on prices and stuff will help to know what to set aside each month)

[Deleted]

Feeding animal parts from a grocery store is often the most economical way to feed raw. Whole prey (mice, rats, etc) diets are very expensive. Most people have to order online to get enough variety, and shipping is a killer. Some people have access to cheap whole prey, so that can bring the price down. You could also breed your own mice.

[Deleted]

For an idea, I spend about $30-$40 a month to feed my 3 females (about 2 lbs each).

[Deleted]

Welcome on board! Everybody is super nice and helpful around here, so just ask away!
I feed frankenprey (basically stuff you would buy for yourself at the grocery store) and buy usually at Costco, Wal-Mart, any grocery store when I find anything on sale. Also I have a Mexican store close to my house which is awesome, cuz they have a full butcher department and they sell every kind of meat and organs at a very reasonable price. I always look out for sale items, and when I find something good, I stock up. Also depending where you are located at you can look into co-ops, who cater for raw feeders.
As price... it really depends where you are buying from. I also have a Pit Bull on raw, so I buy a lots of food for the kids. I feed raw for a long time so I can't really compare it to kibble.
Hope this helps!

[Deleted]

Alrighty. So how do you go about feeding bone? Do they gnaw on it like dogs? Or should you grind it up? That part stumps me a little. And as far as organs go, grind them up in a soup? Feed them whole?

[Deleted]

They can handle small bones just fine. My kids eat all of the bone from chickens and cornish game hens. Small prey and small fowl bones are the easiest to handle.

Larger bones can be smashed and fed.

You can feed organs either way. It really depends on your preference

[Deleted]

Mine eats bones no problem. We usually smash the bones with a meat tenderizer, but not the cornish game hen. He just gnaws it down. I've never fed him the soupy cuz' he just ate everything I gave him without throwing a fit. I got him when he was 11 weeks old and the very next day I took away the kibble he got at the pet store. First I gave him ground meat and within a week he was eating chicken wings.

[Deleted]

Their jaws will crunch up the bones of CGH, chicken and turkey wing bones.
I use a cleaver to chop up their meals because their meat is frozen and I don't want to thaw-freeze-thaw-freeze their meals. That is just too much time/work. Then I put some plain, canned pumpkin, a tiny dab of unsalted butter (debatable ingredient there) and some hot water from the tea-kettle in and smoosh with my finger. The end result is warm-ish, hydrating and has the mix of what your furkids need that day. And it smells like you which helps with bonding.
On grocery days, putting down a chicken wing for a meal is doable too.