| Good Food. - CLICK HERE for the Pet Manual Forum Home Page |
| Zachary Paul Stewart |
Hi guys,
So, in the current stage of my research, I went to pet stores to find
some good foods for my eventual ferret purchace. I was not enthused
in what I found. Looking at the ferret and kitten foods there, the
only food I saw that did not have plant material of some kind (corn
or rice usually) as one of the first three ingredients was Eukanuba
Kitten. All of the ferret foods and almost all of the kitten foods
seemed lacking.
Am I just being too picky? I'd like to be able to give them a more
diverse diet than just one form of kitten food.
Have any of you had experience making your own high quality ferret
food? Should I make extra of the meat course of my own meals to feed
them? How about feeding them "snake food" I.E. Live or dead mice or
small birds? I guess the mice situation would get really expensive,
and have the added time expense of taking care of the mice. Also,
how well do ferrets handle bones, do they finish a mouse, or will
they leave me presents like a cat might?
Any input would be helpful.
Thank you,
Zach
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| ex WGS Hamm |
"Zachary Paul Stewart" <zach@freezerbarn.FAKEcom> wrote in message
news:Xns958CAB637E07Bzacharypaulstewart@216.196.97.136...
> Hi guys,
>
> So, in the current stage of my research, I went to pet stores to find
> some good foods for my eventual ferret purchace. I was not enthused
> in what I found. Looking at the ferret and kitten foods there, the
> only food I saw that did not have plant material of some kind (corn
> or rice usually) as one of the first three ingredients was Eukanuba
> Kitten. All of the ferret foods and almost all of the kitten foods
> seemed lacking.
>
> Am I just being too picky? I'd like to be able to give them a more
> diverse diet than just one form of kitten food.
>
> Have any of you had experience making your own high quality ferret
> food? Should I make extra of the meat course of my own meals to feed
> them? How about feeding them "snake food" I.E. Live or dead mice or
> small birds? I guess the mice situation would get really expensive,
> and have the added time expense of taking care of the mice. Also,
> how well do ferrets handle bones, do they finish a mouse, or will
> they leave me presents like a cat might?
>
> Any input would be helpful.
>
> Thank you,
Here in UK we tend to feed our ferrets at least partly on meat. Mine gat
dead day old chicks daily. They come ready frozen for snake/raptor
keepers.Mine also get spare cockerel which I cull from my poultry flock and
any mice I catch in traps on my land and in the sheds etc.
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| Zachary Paul Stewart |
"ex WGS Hamm" <alpha.bitchREMOVETHIS@virgin.net> wrote in
news:BbVed.219$WV3.1@newsfe5-gui.ntli.net:
>>
>> Have any of you had experience making your own high quality
>> ferret food? Should I make extra of the meat course of my own
>> meals to feed them? How about feeding them "snake food" I.E.
>> Live or dead mice or small birds? I guess the mice situation
>> would get really expensive, and have the added time expense of
>> taking care of the mice. Also, how well do ferrets handle bones,
>> do they finish a mouse, or will they leave me presents like a cat
>> might?
>>
>> Any input would be helpful.
>>
>> Thank you,
> Here in UK we tend to feed our ferrets at least partly on meat.
> Mine gat
> dead day old chicks daily. They come ready frozen for snake/raptor
> keepers.Mine also get spare cockerel which I cull from my poultry
> flock and any mice I catch in traps on my land and in the sheds
> etc.
>
Do you supervise them while eating the chicks and mice? How big are
they (the chicks and mice)? Will the ferrets know not to eat
something their body can't handle (I'm thinking the skull or
whatever).
Also, how do you divy it up if you have multiple ferrets? Do you
give them each a chick, or do you have them share? Do they eat the
whole thing, or do you have to be ready for cleanum?
Thanks for the quick reply.
Zach
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| ZPL |
As far as the kibble question goes - you might want to look at Royal Canin -
both the kitten and the babycat formulas. They have both rated well for
ferret food.
"Zachary Paul Stewart" <zach@freezerbarn.FAKEcom> wrote in message
news:Xns958CAB637E07Bzacharypaulstewart@216.196.97.136...
> Hi guys,
>
> So, in the current stage of my research, I went to pet stores to find
> some good foods for my eventual ferret purchace. I was not enthused
> in what I found. Looking at the ferret and kitten foods there, the
> only food I saw that did not have plant material of some kind (corn
> or rice usually) as one of the first three ingredients was Eukanuba
> Kitten. All of the ferret foods and almost all of the kitten foods
> seemed lacking.
>
> Am I just being too picky? I'd like to be able to give them a more
> diverse diet than just one form of kitten food.
>
> Have any of you had experience making your own high quality ferret
> food? Should I make extra of the meat course of my own meals to feed
> them? How about feeding them "snake food" I.E. Live or dead mice or
> small birds? I guess the mice situation would get really expensive,
> and have the added time expense of taking care of the mice. Also,
> how well do ferrets handle bones, do they finish a mouse, or will
> they leave me presents like a cat might?
>
> Any input would be helpful.
>
> Thank you,
>
> Zach
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| Rico Tico |
"ex WGS Hamm" <alpha.bitchREMOVETHIS@virgin.net> wrote in message
news:BbVed.219$WV3.1@newsfe5-gui.ntli.net...
>
> "Zachary Paul Stewart" <zach@freezerbarn.FAKEcom> wrote in message
> news:Xns958CAB637E07Bzacharypaulstewart@216.196.97.136...
> > Hi guys,
> >
> > So, in the current stage of my research, I went to pet stores to find
> > some good foods for my eventual ferret purchace. I was not enthused
> > in what I found. Looking at the ferret and kitten foods there, the
> > only food I saw that did not have plant material of some kind (corn
> > or rice usually) as one of the first three ingredients was Eukanuba
> > Kitten. All of the ferret foods and almost all of the kitten foods
> > seemed lacking.
> >
> > Am I just being too picky? I'd like to be able to give them a more
> > diverse diet than just one form of kitten food.
> >
> > Have any of you had experience making your own high quality ferret
> > food? Should I make extra of the meat course of my own meals to feed
> > them? How about feeding them "snake food" I.E. Live or dead mice or
> > small birds? I guess the mice situation would get really expensive,
> > and have the added time expense of taking care of the mice. Also,
> > how well do ferrets handle bones, do they finish a mouse, or will
> > they leave me presents like a cat might?
> >
> > Any input would be helpful.
> >
> > Thank you,
> Here in UK we tend to feed our ferrets at least partly on meat. Mine gat
> dead day old chicks daily. They come ready frozen for snake/raptor
> keepers.Mine also get spare cockerel which I cull from my poultry flock
and
> any mice I catch in traps on my land and in the sheds etc.
>
>
Heavens to Betsy folks in the UK raise Raptors?!?!?!!! Ain't them those
reptillian dinosaurs what tore apart Jurassic Park? Aw I gotta book flight
to see that!. Can I bring my shotgun and O'l Duke? hehehe
I dunno 'bout feedin' dead chicks to Rico tho. I think it might change him.
He'd start staying out late, smokin', and wantin' a motorcycle and such.
I'm gonna keep to ferret/meow mix and keep him on the farm. He don't need
no high life.
Ok snickers and junk food aside, would anykind of canned fish be a treat,
like sardines? I'm guessing the oil would be somethin they need.
Rico's Gpa
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| ex WGS Hamm |
"Zachary Paul Stewart" <zach@freezerbarn.FAKEcom> wrote in message
news:Xns958CB614CADD1zacharypaulstewart@216.196.97.136...
> "ex WGS Hamm" <alpha.bitchREMOVETHIS@virgin.net> wrote in
> news:BbVed.219$WV3.1@newsfe5-gui.ntli.net:
>
>
> >>
> >> Have any of you had experience making your own high quality
> >> ferret food? Should I make extra of the meat course of my own
> >> meals to feed them? How about feeding them "snake food" I.E.
> >> Live or dead mice or small birds? I guess the mice situation
> >> would get really expensive, and have the added time expense of
> >> taking care of the mice. Also, how well do ferrets handle bones,
> >> do they finish a mouse, or will they leave me presents like a cat
> >> might?
> >>
> >> Any input would be helpful.
> >>
> >> Thank you,
> > Here in UK we tend to feed our ferrets at least partly on meat.
> > Mine gat
> > dead day old chicks daily. They come ready frozen for snake/raptor
> > keepers.Mine also get spare cockerel which I cull from my poultry
> > flock and any mice I catch in traps on my land and in the sheds
> > etc.
> >
>
> Do you supervise them while eating the chicks and mice? How big are
> they (the chicks and mice)? Will the ferrets know not to eat
> something their body can't handle (I'm thinking the skull or
> whatever).
I don't supervise them. It's what they would eat in the wild. They eat the
lot, bones, skulls and all. The day old chicks are day old chick size. One
day old with soft tiny bones.
>
> Also, how do you divy it up if you have multiple ferrets? Do you
> give them each a chick, or do you have them share? Do they eat the
> whole thing, or do you have to be ready for cleanum?
Yup they get one chick each.They eat the lot.
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| KG |
Heart of Ohio Ferret Association and Rescue, HOFA-Rescue has a food
comparason chart on its web page.
I was feeding mine Walmart's Maximimum Kitten Chicken and Rice. They
are either out or no longer stocking it. It's considered best to try
and feed them a varied diet.
Ferrets imprint on their food at a very young age. Most of my ferrets
won't even touch meat and some treats because they don't recognize
them as food. Ferrets have to be introduced to a variety of food as
kits.
If I could get my ferrets to eat a more varied diet, I would certainly
consider giving them day old chicks, mice, whole pieces of uncooked
chicken wing or legs.
KG
Zachary Paul Stewart <zach@freezerbarn.FAKEcom> wrote in message news:<Xns958CAB637E07Bzacharypaulstewart@216.196.97.136>...
> Hi guys,
>
> So, in the current stage of my research, I went to pet stores to find
> some good foods for my eventual ferret purchace. I was not enthused
> in what I found. Looking at the ferret and kitten foods there, the
> only food I saw that did not have plant material of some kind (corn
> or rice usually) as one of the first three ingredients was Eukanuba
> Kitten. All of the ferret foods and almost all of the kitten foods
> seemed lacking.
>
> Am I just being too picky? I'd like to be able to give them a more
> diverse diet than just one form of kitten food.
>
> Have any of you had experience making your own high quality ferret
> food? Should I make extra of the meat course of my own meals to feed
> them? How about feeding them "snake food" I.E. Live or dead mice or
> small birds? I guess the mice situation would get really expensive,
> and have the added time expense of taking care of the mice. Also,
> how well do ferrets handle bones, do they finish a mouse, or will
> they leave me presents like a cat might?
>
> Any input would be helpful.
>
> Thank you,
>
> Zach
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| ex WGS Hamm |
"KG" <katgall@voyager.net> wrote in message
news:9ad00fda.0410251111.3e7e4a77@posting.google.com...
> Heart of Ohio Ferret Association and Rescue, HOFA-Rescue has a food
> comparason chart on its web page.
>
> I was feeding mine Walmart's Maximimum Kitten Chicken and Rice. They
> are either out or no longer stocking it. It's considered best to try
> and feed them a varied diet.
>
> Ferrets imprint on their food at a very young age. Most of my ferrets
> won't even touch meat and some treats because they don't recognize
> them as food. Ferrets have to be introduced to a variety of food as
> kits.
>
> If I could get my ferrets to eat a more varied diet, I would certainly
> consider giving them day old chicks, mice, whole pieces of uncooked
> chicken wing or legs.
>
> KG
I don't know what any of mine were fed before I got them but considering
the source especially of the last 2 I doubt they would have come across
kibble (they came from gypsies) but they chowed down with the rest when it
was offered. I think perseverance pays off if you have a fussy eater
especially if you have 2 or more who may be in competition with each other.
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| Zachary Paul Stewart |
I'm posting again because one of my questions hasn't been answered. Am
I being too picky about plant matter? Should I care more about fat and
protein content than what the ingredients are?
I did find one food that was almost all animal products (somehow I
didn't write down the name) but it is also about 20 bucks for a small
bag, a bit more than I should spend (at that point I'll just cook steak
for them). What numbers should I look for in the food, and is it
hugely detrimental if corn or rice are in the top three ingredients?
Thank you,
Zach
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| ZPL |
Here is a good site that may answer some of your questions. Alot of it
boils down to what you can find on a regular basis and what you can afford.
This site rates the kibbles available, and does cite the recommended protein
/ fat contents. I prefer to keep plant matter out of the first 3
ingredients.
http://www.ohioferret.org/INFO/nutri.asp
"Zachary Paul Stewart" <zach@freezerbarn.FAKEcom> wrote in message
news:Xns958ECD2145009zacharypaulstewart@216.196.97.136...
> I'm posting again because one of my questions hasn't been answered. Am
> I being too picky about plant matter? Should I care more about fat and
> protein content than what the ingredients are?
>
> I did find one food that was almost all animal products (somehow I
> didn't write down the name) but it is also about 20 bucks for a small
> bag, a bit more than I should spend (at that point I'll just cook steak
> for them). What numbers should I look for in the food, and is it
> hugely detrimental if corn or rice are in the top three ingredients?
>
> Thank you,
>
> Zach
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I agree with ZPL on this......I keep the first three ingredients to meat
and/or meat byproducts anyway, since ferrets are carnivores, that's what
they should be eating.
Also, just wanted to compliment you and comment that I think you're going to
be a great ferret parent.......your persistence in pursuing answers to very
well asked questions is to be admired. Hope you'll stay around and
participate in the group regularly.
jumpingmouse, kylie & gilbert
"ZPL" <nunya@between.com> wrote in message
news:417ef1be$0$795$2c56edd9@news.cablerocket.com...
> Here is a good site that may answer some of your questions. Alot of it
> boils down to what you can find on a regular basis and what you can
> afford.
>
> This site rates the kibbles available, and does cite the recommended
> protein / fat contents. I prefer to keep plant matter out of the first 3
> ingredients.
>
> http://www.ohioferret.org/INFO/nutri.asp
>
>
> "Zachary Paul Stewart" <zach@freezerbarn.FAKEcom> wrote in message
> news:Xns958ECD2145009zacharypaulstewart@216.196.97.136...
>> I'm posting again because one of my questions hasn't been answered. Am
>> I being too picky about plant matter? Should I care more about fat and
>> protein content than what the ingredients are?
>>
>> I did find one food that was almost all animal products (somehow I
>> didn't write down the name) but it is also about 20 bucks for a small
>> bag, a bit more than I should spend (at that point I'll just cook steak
>> for them). What numbers should I look for in the food, and is it
>> hugely detrimental if corn or rice are in the top three ingredients?
>>
>> Thank you,
>>
>> Zach
>
>
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| Zachary Paul Stewart |
<jumpingmouse02@earthlink.net> wrote in
news:SoDfd.3534$kM.169@newsread3.news.pas.earthlink.net:
>
> Also, just wanted to compliment you and comment that I think
> you're going to be a great ferret parent.......your persistence in
> pursuing answers to very well asked questions is to be admired.
> Hope you'll stay around and participate in the group regularly.
>
> jumpingmouse, kylie & gilbert
>
Thank you.
I always try to be as well informed as possible in any major decision
I make, and I would feel awful to purchace a pet (of any kind) that I
found out I either couldn't take care of, or disliked.
This group has been very helpful so far, and seems much better than a
book for getting direct info (not that there is anything wrong with
books). I hope to stick around for some time.
Zach
Zach
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