a few questions

[alecia]

i am sooooo glad someone recomended me to this site its fantastic.
sadly i cant join as i wouldnt be on here enough and would get tacken off the site regularly as i am never on the computer. as it is its a miricle im on i should be doing other things like mixing up everyones food (ferets, rats and the mice.) doing the dishes and getting my doughter to bed.
so here are a couple of questions.
when a ferret gets a hairball is it a chocking hacking sound my girls sound like they are going to choke to death. it only hapens ocasionally and i think after they have had a drink as it hapens when they are near there water bowl.
second question i herd that you shouldnt give ferrets whole raw eggs but cooked is ok is this right.
i curently feed my 2 girls pro plan kitten dry food and fussy cat which is a cat mince containg mainly kangaroo meat. i havent fed both at the same time and after reading some posts im glad i didnt. i have never realy been happy with what i feed my girls one of them seems to be always a bit thinner that my other little fatty. not sure if its just genetics or she needs something else in her diet more than the other girl. so after reading some of the posts i went and bought
plain beef mince
pet mince (Kangaroo its the only ingedient in our brand name cat mince over here) to transition the girls i will eventually cut it out all together.
pumkin
lamb heart
lamb liver
i wiil be getting lamb kidney when its back on the supermarket shelf
and after i mix it together i will add etra virgin olive oil. and nutrigel
is this good to feed every night? i will add bones eventually.
i have lamb off cuts that i want to add so thay have bones but i tried giving it to the girls and they dumped them in there litter and refused to eat them i have even tried chicken necks and they dont like them either. they are the fussyest things they only like the fussy cat brand of food and i was giving them the optimum kitten dry food and when i got pro plan they liked it more and when i couldnt get pro plan and got them the optimum they turned there noses up at it. so i will try this new mix tonight and see how they go.
i will be seeing what my local butcher has as well. we by all our meat from the supermarket as i work there as well. for all you ausies out there it woolworths to be exact.
i live in australia and my girls are 1 year old. i have had them since kits and tryed chicken necks every couple of months since they where babies but they keep refusing.
i hope i havent forgotten anything
looking forward to your replys.

[Sherry]

Nov 21, 2012 8:39:14 GMT -5 @undefined said:

when a ferret gets a hairball is it a chocking hacking sound my girls sound like they are going to choke to death. it only hapens ocasionally and i think after they have had a drink as it hapens when they are near there water bowl.

Ferrets can't throw up hairballs. What you are hearing is more likely a piece of fur caught in the throat.

Nov 21, 2012 8:39:14 GMT -5 @undefined said:

second question i herd that you shouldnt give ferrets whole raw eggs but cooked is ok is this right.

Not a thing wrong with raw eggs But like everything else, use them in moderation. A good rule of thumb is one egg per ferret per week.

Nov 21, 2012 8:39:14 GMT -5 @undefined said:

i curently feed my 2 girls pro plan kitten dry food and fussy cat which is a cat mince containg mainly kangaroo meat.

If I were to ever feed a kibble, I'd check with "more dooks" food chart and try to stay near the top tier foods. And kangaroo, although a good part of a diet, is a pretty lean meat. Not enough fat for a ferret.
Lamb bones as a rule are too dense for them to eat. With the chicken necks, use their favourite mince and chop the necks up really well, almost to a mince, and mix them in well. As they start accepting that, slowly increase the size of the pieces so they have to chew, while decreasing the amount of mince. I still have to chop the necks up into 2 or 3 pieces depending on the size of them.
Heart they should have at least one full meal of a week. I alternate between one meal one week, and two meals the next to make sure they are getting enough taurine.
Liver and kidney, 2oz of each a week per ferret. If you are going to give a high caloric supplement, try to stick with a soup.
Here's a link to various meat/bone/organs as well as a basic menu plan:
holisticferret60.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=meat&action=display&thread=146
Here's another good link on Australian animals for food: holisticferret60.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=questions&action=display&thread=9571