how often you feed yours?

[shotgunandy 2]

firstly mate dog food is a major no go. it does not contain a lot of the nutrients they require and you will end up with poor ferrets. you either want to feed them fresh rabbit or a dry ferret food available from most pet shops. if you cannot get hold of proper ferret food then a good quality kitten (not cat) food is good enough.

as for how often to feed them, just make sure there is always food available.

atb

andy

[Guest lavyheed]

ONCE ADAY IN THE EVENING JAMES WELLBELOVED DRY FERRET FOOD,BOILED OR RAW EGGS ONCE A WEEK AND FAST THEM ONE DAY A WEEK

 

Why do you need to fast them?

[Kay 3,709]

have fed chicken in copious amounts for years , never had any problems , dry ferret foods ok but i found fed as a staple the ferrets hever had there heads out of the dish & soon became very fat , i re introduced it when i had the kits as they had been given it , but once the bag had gone i didnt replace it so mine get meat of some description every day

[watson 1]

dont give them chicken more than once a week its bad for them if you give them to much. and thins there coat which is the last thing you need in the winter

 

Never heard of that, my ferret gets chicken more than once a week and it's never did him any harm.

dont shoot the messenger!! haa! i jutst heard and i didnt want to risk it

[icetage 0]

i have 10 ferrets i feed them once a day at night with a chic each and i fill there bowls with vitalin dry mix a lot cheaper then james well beloved all are healthy and full of energy.

[watson 1]

have fed chicken in copious amounts for years , never had any problems , dry ferret foods ok but i found fed as a staple the ferrets hever had there heads out of the dish & soon became very fat , i re introduced it when i had the kits as they had been given it , but once the bag had gone i didnt replace it so mine get meat of some description every day

its just what ive heard so ive never risked it. i give em the wings as we dont eat them they just go to waste

[Kay 3,709]

have fed chicken in copious amounts for years , never had any problems , dry ferret foods ok but i found fed as a staple the ferrets hever had there heads out of the dish & soon became very fat , i re introduced it when i had the kits as they had been given it , but once the bag had gone i didnt replace it so mine get meat of some description every day

its just what ive heard so ive never risked it. i give em the wings as we dont eat them they just go to waste

 

yep mine get wings & lambs hearts as well

[stealthy1 3,964]

Feed mine once a day with rabbit, soon put some waist on them your's are a bit skinny

[joe14 98]

Mine have dry food 24/7 and raw meat at night.

 

I realy dont understand people who feed dog/cat food to ferrets especially the wet stuff. Would you feed your cat, dog food.. your goldfish, cat food?

Ferret = Ferret Food

 

I also feed mine chicken wings with no problem too .. the bones clean their teeth where as the wet stuff will probably

just canker up the teeth.

Edited October 22, 2009 by joe14

[pencoed hunter 7]

I feed mine raw meat and abit of chudleys ferret food they get fed every morning and in the night

[Coneytrappr 30]

Mate feeding them tinned food will rot the teeth out of their heads...its too mushy, not abrasive enough. And not particularly suited for ferrets nutritionally, either. Do them a favour and get them onto a proper diet.

 

In winter I feed rabbit. They have one available in their cage at all times and they usually eat from the carcass two-three times a day. I'll also give them hare, mice, whatever I can get my hands on.

 

In summer they have food available all night, usually chicken. Necks and frames are the staple as they have plenty of edible bone content and the frames aren't always gutted properly, so have bits of liver and kidney as well. Frozen rabbits also and mice.

The get the occassional egg yolk and sometimes a tin of sardines in oil in I'm feeling generous. That, combined with plenty of exercise and fresh water, keeps them in top condition and fit for working.

 

I would not even entertain the idea of working a ferret that had been fed on dog food, or only a few times a week. You gotta wonder.

[lorelei0922 2]

Two schools of thought on this...

 

Camp 1 : Ferrets have a very fast digestive tract... what enters one end will invariably leave the other end in 3 hours... they take this to mean that damage can be done to the ferret's system if food isn't available every 3 hours.... They suggest a constant full bowl of ferret complete dry kibble available 24/7 ... some will add meat to this every evening or a couple times a week as "treats"

 

Camp 2 : Though domesticated, our ferrets are still very similar biologically to their wild cousins the polecats and should be fed as such. Obligate carnivores in need of whole prey and raw meats to provide their nutrition. They believe that the wild version of your ferret would NOT be eating every 3 hours... more likely... if it was a very lucky polecat, it would kill once a day... and then.. depending on what's for dinner, either eat it all then and settle down for a snooze.. or drag it off to a dark safe place and nibble at it a couple times a day, over the course of several days.

 

My personal feeding habits vary with the seasons.

 

I would say in the winter i feed once a day, whole prey items 90% of the time, be it Rabbit, Pigeon(breasts removed for ME!!), Squirrel, Pheasant, etc off cuts from our tame butcher or supermarket meats that i find on special. These are tossed into their feeding den. ( A wooden box with a hole in the lid... keeps them from dragging the meat all over the court and obviously forgetting where they left it because i find it a week later NASTY!) between 11 ferrets they get up to 3 rabbits a day .. the next day i remove what little fur and bone there may be...

 

In the summer, i feed raw meats and whole prey (only enough to last the night) in the late evening to avoid flies and supply dry food if the flies become TOO much of a problem. Kits are fed 4x per day until they are about 4 months old then weaned onto the adults feeding schedule.

[andyg 1]

feed mine once a day usally rabbits and kangaroo mince and dry food.kits twice a day

[turk88 6]

cheers for that peeps, i think the dog food will be left well alone now, and dry food only with a treat once or twice a week, once again thanks,

[Quixote 9]

their feeding den. ( A wooden box with a hole in the lid... keeps them from dragging the meat all over the court)

 

That's not a bad idea at all!!! Mine get whole rabbit, and pheasant & pigeon carcasses a few times a week, & I find they drag them all over the place. Apart from spreading bacteria around the court, there's the chance that ingested shavings might cause the ferts some discomfort. I reckon I'll give that idea a bit of thought & see what I can come up with!

 

As for feeding ferts dog or cat food? They don't contain enough animal protein for them to thrive on it. Ferts needs at least 35% animal protein, & most cat & dog food have nowhere near this percentage. To compound the problem, the majority of the protein they do contain is derived from vegetable matter, which ferts can't digest anyway........................

 

Incidentally, mine have Chudleys available 24/7. Great feed with a hig protein content, but I've found the pellets have a tendency to get caught up in their palettes on occasion. Not a major problem as they soon soften & come free, but I'm surprised that the manufacturer didn't forsee this as a potential issue