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Post by rosielox on Jun 30, 2012 15:43:47 GMT -5
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Post by Sherry on Jun 30, 2012 16:54:59 GMT -5
Ferrets have a high tolerance for vit. A. Which is why they can eat 2+ oz of liver a week, in spite of being an average of 1 1/2- 2 lbs themselves.
Mice in and of themselves are a perfect meal for ferrets, but it's advised not to feed a diet solely of a single protein. That way they get a variety of nutrients and not too much of one thing.
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Post by ferretlove67 on Jul 2, 2012 4:26:27 GMT -5
agreed! I vary the diet so much here! I will pay extra for the occasional bison and venison, but we feed a lot of rabbit, adult mice, some rats (not live), llama, mutton, Goat, chicken, turkey, goose, rabbit heads and organs, many organ meats, beef heart too and lung, pheasant whole and raw, quail the same, cornish hens, Goose, Duck, GP, chicks as treats, beef kidney, salmon every other week, you name it. All from HT or rodentpro. Except that I just started raising my own mice to try and save. I am sure I missed a lot there, but we vary diet so much. As for vit A I agree and it is essential to immune system, reproduction, overall health, and even the all known eye benefits and and cell generation  I think as long as you are not feeding mice as the sole diet, which one should not, nothing to be concerned with. Variety is the key!  |
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Post by Deleted on Jul 2, 2012 10:03:33 GMT -5
agreed! I vary the diet so much here! I will pay extra for the occasional bison and venison, but we feed a lot of rabbit, adult mice, some rats (not live), llama, mutton, Goat, chicken, turkey, goose, rabbit heads and organs, many organ meats, beef heart too and lung, pheasant whole and raw, quail the same, cornish hens, Goose, Duck, GP, chicks as treats, beef kidney, salmon every other week, you name it. All from HT or rodentpro. Except that I just started raising my own mice to try and save. I am sure I missed a lot there, but we vary diet so much. As for vit A I agree and it is essential to immune system, reproduction, overall health, and even the all known eye benefits and and cell generation I think as long as you are not feeding mice as the sole diet, which one should not, nothing to be concerned with. Variety is the key! Sorry to go off topic. Is there anything you do to not get attached to the mice since you are raising them? I may just be over sensitive like that and need to get over it of course but thought I may ask.  |
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Post by Heather on Jul 2, 2012 10:39:01 GMT -5
You don't name them  I guess for me, though the mice are cute (I have spotted ones, different coloured ones....not just the standard lab mice...I decided if I was going to do this I was going to experiment) but they're a prey animal and the ones I raise are for food. That fact never leaves my mind. They're not pets, I don't treat them like pets. They're well fed, cared for but they're not pets. I have enough mice to feed my business of 12, 2 meals a week if I choose (I don't normally and there is always a bag sitting in the freezer for days that I'm feeling lazy) I know that people have them as pets but I've spent most of my life trying to get these critters out of my house, my garage and they're just a nuisance. ciao |
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Post by Sherry on Jul 2, 2012 12:42:33 GMT -5
Don't name them, pet them, or play with them. Feed them, give them good care, then give them a dinner invitation |
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Post by goingpostal on Jul 2, 2012 13:56:16 GMT -5
Is there anything you do to not get attached to the mice since you are raising them? I may just be over sensitive like that and need to get over it of course but thought I may ask. For me they are so much work and stink that I don't get attached, I do sometimes hold back a cute one for breeding but that's about as far as it goes. |
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Post by Heather on Jul 2, 2012 13:58:37 GMT -5
That's about it for me too...that's how I ended up with spotted ones and solid black ones. They are so stinky and a lot of work
ciao
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Post by ferretlove67 on Jul 3, 2012 21:51:32 GMT -5
yep, no different than ordering for me. Other than hard work! And anyone whom has done it knows it is hard work. But I do not name them. I give them all the needs to be happy and a diet as good as I can do for the most healthy and healthy good environment, may also keep back colored ones for breeding and some non.... but there is an attachment you do not make. I think the same would go if I raised rabbits for meat ( I hear they are the white meat "food to try" these days), just like we were made to be carnivores ( sorry to get scientific there but it is, and this is from a slightly vegetarian standpoint here since I am not a "meat-eater" type of person so for me, one would think it'd be harder for me.... the most i personally eat is chicken and seafood rarely ) or any other prey, like chickens, they are cute when young yes and I'd give anything to raise wild gorgeous game as we did as a youngin, and even as adults, but you do not allow the emotional attachment. Sorry to sound so harsh, but this is how it is. Fact of life. Give them what they need to be happy, the cleanliness, the proper food and more even, but for me, its a prey food item. No different in my mind than ordering, other than the hard work and savings. I equate it to purchasing that order of rodents, the order of chicken at the grocery store for my family, the pheasants and duck I have personally tried myself atleast once in life, the amazing bird we raised as I was a kid or the turkey once a year. No different than the llama, goat, mutton, fish, chicken, mice, rats, GP ( now those are harder for me), rabbits with fur on are harder for me, Bison, Venison, .....haven't ventured to pork yet, quail, pheasant, chicks, etc I just ordered and filled a huge deep freezer of completely raw and whole-prey. Now my crew can go through mice adults like no tomorrow, so whatever you can do to save, its no different to me than where I bought from last month. I have 11 ferrets plus kits and I can say, thats a lot of mice to go through via order when I can fill that box with other prey I can not raise due to where I live, space, time, etc. JMHO Pretty transparent one if you ask me. |
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Post by Deleted on Jul 4, 2012 14:36:43 GMT -5
Ferrets have a high tolerance for vit. A. Which is why they can eat 2+ oz of liver a week, in spite of being an average of 1 1/2- 2 lbs themselves. Mice in and of themselves are a perfect meal for ferrets, but it's advised not to feed a diet solely of a single protein. That way they get a variety of nutrients and not too much of one thing. I was wondering about this today..Im taking a Nutrition class and this week we are studying vitamins. I read about vitamin A and was like...how do ferrets tolerate all that liver  |
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Post by Heather on Jul 4, 2012 15:03:22 GMT -5
It's not just ferrets, cats and other true carnivores handle large quantities of vit a as part of their diet. Truthfully, they've been finding that ferrets that are fed a kibble diet are horribly short of vit a...making them very susceptible to diseases like distemper. I think it may have something to do with their whole digestive system.....actually here's an article written as a comparison between humans and carnivores. I gather the complaint is it''s rather simplistic, but it's not a bad short work. The excerpt: Liver CARNIVORE: Can detoxify vitamin A HERBIVORE: Cannot detoxify vitamin A OMNIVORE: Can detoxify vitamin A HUMAN: Cannot detoxify vitamin A The whole article: www.ecologos.org/anatomy.htmciao |
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