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Post by Deleted on Oct 28, 2012 16:40:14 GMT -5
Well I'd like to get my guys eating actual meat, can they eat a diet of cooked meat? Does anybody else do this?
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Post by Deleted on Oct 28, 2012 16:54:41 GMT -5
You can feed cooked diet. However, it does affect nutritional content. Ferrets have such a SHORT digestive system that they have a tough time getting everthing they need from cooked foods. (Plus, it's more work to cook for your ferrets than it is to not cook.
That being said, if the "food cooties" (salmonella, etc) are your concern, some of the frozen raw diets are pressure-pasturized - it's a cold process that kills bacteria (it's not irradiated either). Um, it's probably safer that kibble.
Freeze-dried raw is an option as well... it does not "go bad" like fresh raw. I feed to fresh raw meals per day, and I leave out freed-dried raw (in foraging cups for enrichment and learning!) during the day for snacking. Fresh raw can be left out for 8-12 hours, but uneaten food can be "stashed".
There are soooo many options with raw feeding...it's really very fleible.
Please let us know your concerns and requirements. We can give you tips for cooking if you stlll want to go that route.
-jennifer
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Post by crazylady on Oct 28, 2012 16:58:00 GMT -5
Hi the problem with cooked meat is once its cooked all the vits and minerals are destroyed you could cook some yourself and start them off this way ( dont use store bought precooked as it often has added salt and preservatives in it ) then slowly cook it less and less until you get them eating rare meat then raw meat if you do decide to go down this route make sure you add in bone meal/bone flour ( or ground up egg shells ) you cannot give them cooked bone as this splinters and could cause problems hope this helps take care bye for now
bev
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Post by Sherry on Oct 28, 2012 17:19:23 GMT -5
No, I don't feed cooked at all, unless someone is having some major tummy troubles. Then it's a cooked soup. Otherwise they are fully raw.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 28, 2012 17:23:49 GMT -5
boiled bone can be fed as long as it's completely submerged when cooking...It's the dry-cooked bone hat splinters. Egg shell work OK as a calcium sumplement, but real bone has a lot more than just clacium....so egg sheel does not work as a replacement for bone. Egg shell is almost all calcium.
Again, I think cooking food adds complication to the feeding process, although we have had a couple of peopl on this forum who have served home-cooked diets
-jennifer
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Post by Deleted on Oct 28, 2012 17:27:47 GMT -5
You can feed cooked diet. However, it does affect nutritional content. Ferrets have such a SHORT digestive system that they have a tough time getting everthing they need from cooked foods. (Plus, it's more work to cook for your ferrets than it is to not cook. That being said, if the "food cooties" (salmonella, etc) are your concern, some of the frozen raw diets are pressure-pasturized - it's a cold process that kills bacteria (it's not irradiated either). Um, it's probably safer that kibble. Freeze-dried raw is an option as well... it does not "go bad" like fresh raw. I feed to fresh raw meals per day, and I leave out freed-dried raw (in foraging cups for enrichment and learning!) during the day for snacking. Fresh raw can be left out for 8-12 hours, but uneaten food can be "stashed". There are soooo many options with raw feeding...it's really very fleible. Please let us know your concerns and requirements. We can give you tips for cooking if you stlll want to go that route. -jennifer The frozen raw and the freezed dried raw sound interesting... Where do I find this stuff? And how would I have to cook meat for the fuzzbutts to get as much out of it as possible? As for bones, I would NEVER give them cooked bones.... What bones are good for them to gnaw at? What meats are good for ferrets? |
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Post by Heather on Oct 28, 2012 18:20:25 GMT -5
Why not raw? Cooked is so much more difficult to balance. It can be done, don't get me wrong but there is so much more can go wrong and you need to do a whole lot more research and prep.
Any meat can be used as long as it's not "treated"...smoked, salted, or spiced
ciao
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Post by Deleted on Oct 28, 2012 18:31:16 GMT -5
The two brands of pasteurized diets that I'm aware of (because I can get them in high-end pets stores) include: 1. Nature's Variety Instinct Raw Frozen Diets www.naturesvariety.com/InstinctRaw/cat/all2. Stella and Chewy's Frozen diet www.stellaandchewys.com/dog-products.phpfreeze-dried raw is epensive - I feed 2 raw meals per day and provide the freeze-dried raw for snacking (an for when I travel). For freeze-dried raw, I feed mostly: * Wysong Archetypal I for ferrets * Wysong Archetype burgers * Stella and Chewy's freeze -dried raw diets. There are other freeze-dried raw diets available as well, but these are easy for me to find. The Nature's Variety provides freeze-dried raw - but last I checked, it was considerable more epensive, and a log time ago, they did not grind up their pumpkin seeds much at all - this could result in a blockage for a ferret. The last couple bags of Nature's Variety freeze-dried raw did not have the big pumpkin seeds, but I feel the need to "disect the food" just to make sure there are no big pieces of pumpkin seed! Switching your ferrets to a new diet can be challenging, especially if your ferrets are kibble eaters that have eaten the same thing all their lives. You can sign up for a mentor who will guide you through a the switch. -jennifer |
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Post by Deleted on Oct 28, 2012 18:31:37 GMT -5
they would also still be getting their kibble
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Post by Deleted on Oct 28, 2012 19:02:19 GMT -5
I switched my guys from kibble to freeze-dried raw - I offered some kibble as well. They would still take a few nibbles. I added the fresh raw. SHortly thereafter, they started pooping in the kibble. LOL!!!!! If you are feeding kibble - I recommend feeding Wysong Epigen-90 for ferrets. It's the only starch free (not just grain-free) kibble on the markt. It's patented. (You probably already know that starches in kibbles can cause pancreatic cancers (insulinomas) in ferrets.) for more info.... www.wysong.net-jennifer |
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Post by bitbyter on Oct 28, 2012 19:21:51 GMT -5
Is there a reason you are trying to avoid raw?
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Post by Deleted on Oct 28, 2012 19:42:18 GMT -5
yeah meat cooties, Im kind of a germaphobe when it comes to raw eggs and meat... and I want to feed them better but still be in my comfort zone as well, and I dont want to seem selfish at all! thats just the reason I've been trying to avoid raw  |
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Post by Deleted on Oct 28, 2012 19:50:15 GMT -5
I switched my guys from kibble to freeze-dried raw - I offered some kibble as well. They would still take a few nibbles. I added the fresh raw. SHortly thereafter, they started pooping in the kibble. LOL!!!!! If you are feeding kibble - I recommend feeding Wysong Epigen-90 for ferrets. It's the only starch free (not just grain-free) kibble on the markt. It's patented. (You probably already know that starches in kibbles can cause pancreatic cancers (insulinomas) in ferrets.) for more info.... www.wysong.net-jennifer I'm feeding EVO Ferret right now (best kibble I've found here) but I'm TOTALLY going to see if any specialty pet food stores carry Wysong-90, it sounds like an awesome switch! Thanks for sharing |
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Post by bitbyter on Oct 28, 2012 19:53:13 GMT -5
Concerned for your ferrets or more for yourself / family? If it is for the ferrets I wouldn't worry. They are carnivores and this is what they are meant to / evolved to eat. My girls are totally comfortable eating meat that has sat out all day and have yet to have any problems with it. If it is for yourself, there is lots you can do to avoid issues (separate cutting board, disposable gloves if you want, etc, etc). You can find some safety guides here: www.foodservicewarehouse.com/restaurant-equipment-supply-marketing-articles/product-safety-public-health/preventing-cross-contamination-/c28153.aspxI was originally concerned before the switch about them stashing their food but I have managed to control this by a few methods (feeding dens, only giving them amounts they will consume in one day, etc, etc). They still do stash a bit but I've found that if I chop everything up into smaller pieces they tend to dry out instead of spoiling (mind you I have a dry house). |
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Post by bitbyter on Oct 28, 2012 20:07:10 GMT -5
If you are feeding kibble i would advise to always feed more than one. I used to feed Wysong and Evo. They reason to feed more than one is that if there is a shortage or you can't get one for some reason you always have another they are willing to eat.
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