borntoshoot 1 Posted April 20, 2010 Report Share Posted April 20, 2010 Hi all. I just baught a pack of frozen day old chicks from my local pet food/kennel shop. Although My ferreting and shooting partner has always fed his ferrets on cat food and day old chicks I have heard from 2 people now that if you feed day olds often they make the ferrets aggressive. Although i fed my 2 jills some today and my albino bit me for the first time I think it might have been because I tried to take it off of it (normally i can hand feed them and most of the time I can take something out of their mouths) Has anyone else found that feeding day olds made their ferrets more aggressive?? Cheers. Jake. Quote Link to post
diggermad 154 Posted April 20, 2010 Report Share Posted April 20, 2010 for 1 mate dont feed your ferrets cat food no good for them and feed the ferrets 2 chicks a week either get them wood pigeon or rabbit just my opinion ATB DM Quote Link to post
Haystack 11 Posted April 20, 2010 Report Share Posted April 20, 2010 for 1 mate dont feed your ferrets cat food no good for them. What's your reasoning into believeing that? Quote Link to post
moses 5 Posted April 20, 2010 Report Share Posted April 20, 2010 for 1 mate dont feed your ferrets cat food no good for them. What's your reasoning into believeing that? Maybe the answer is in the title cat food................... it contains veg starch which binds the stomach and causes loads of problems... ferret food for ferrets cat food for cats dog food for dogs Quote Link to post
Kay 3,709 Posted April 20, 2010 Report Share Posted April 20, 2010 for 1 mate dont feed your ferrets cat food no good for them. What's your reasoning into believeing that? Maybe the answer is in the title cat food................... it contains veg starch which binds the stomach and causes loads of problems... ferret food for ferrets cat food for cats dog food for dogs :laugh: nicely put Quote Link to post
polecat84 1 Posted April 20, 2010 Report Share Posted April 20, 2010 i'd feed em rabbit squrrel pigeon anything you trap or shoot day olds are ok a couple of times a week that tinned cat meat is a load of sh*t mate i fed mine it once and it made there droppings sloppy messy, fur and feather mate its what there decendent the polecat eats. Quote Link to post
borntoshoot 1 Posted April 20, 2010 Author Report Share Posted April 20, 2010 i'd feed em rabbit squrrel pigeon anything you trap or shoot day olds are ok a couple of times a week that tinned cat meat is a load of sh*t mate i fed mine it once and it made there droppings sloppy messy, fur and feather mate its what there decendent the polecat eats. Yeah, I never touch the stuff for exactly that reason. Its either dry ferretfood or fresh meat and the odd egg( i mix dry ferret biscuits with whatever dry dog food I can get hold of cheapest) Quote Link to post
waidmann 105 Posted April 20, 2010 Report Share Posted April 20, 2010 i can't see that day old chicks would make a ferret aggresive?(i'm no expert by any means) mine get all sorts(corvids,pigeon,chicken mince,goose,pheasant,duck.i don't feed them rabbit very often at all as they don't like it very much ) along with dry food. waidmann Quote Link to post
ferreting 22 22 Posted April 20, 2010 Report Share Posted April 20, 2010 i'd feed em rabbit squrrel pigeon anything you trap or shoot day olds are ok a couple of times a week that tinned cat meat is a load of sh*t mate i fed mine it once and it made there droppings sloppy messy, fur and feather mate its what there decendent the polecat eats. Yeah, I never touch the stuff for exactly that reason. Its either dry ferretfood or fresh meat and the odd egg( i mix dry ferret biscuits with whatever dry dog food I can get hold of cheapest) y dog food not just ferret food Quote Link to post
diggermad 154 Posted April 20, 2010 Report Share Posted April 20, 2010 dont give them dog food its worse than cat food if you cant afford proper ferret food cat biscuit will do but thats in desperation 2 day old chicks a week and no more same goes as eggs ok for a treat but no more than 2 a week stick to ferret biscuit or game hope that helps DM Quote Link to post
Kay 3,709 Posted April 20, 2010 Report Share Posted April 20, 2010 Basically carnivores need meat protein cheap cat biscuits contain soya (vegetable) protein ... this does not keep the urine acidic enough & it all helps to create crystals that clump together over time until a struvite stone is formed ... that depending on size will need surgically removing feed whole carcass preferably or if you have to feed dry food use FERRET FOOD ... not cat or dog food ....... the clues in the name on the bag Quote Link to post
diggermad 154 Posted April 20, 2010 Report Share Posted April 20, 2010 you took the words out of my mouth kay ATB DM Quote Link to post
rosspti 2 Posted April 20, 2010 Report Share Posted April 20, 2010 I think its definately best to avoid tinned cat or dog food as I understand that ferrets just can't properly process them. Yes they will survive on them - but its not good for them in the long term. Almost as bad as bread and milk! I feed rabbit / pheasant (any any other small game) as much possible in the months when flies aren't around, otherwise it has to be ferret biscuits. Avoid feeding just the meat though - give them whole carcasses so that they get the fur and bones and working at the carcasses will keep em amused too! For biscuits I like to use Alpha. I give my two full grown hobs 30g each per day which seems to sustain them. I do vary it occasionally to keep them at the weight I want. If they've been on rabbit for a few days they tend to bulk up, so I'll switch back to buscuits and reduce amounts to keep them how I like them. A hob ferret fed solely on 30g of Alpha each day costs about 11p per day / £3.30 per month / £40 per year to feed. I substitute in as much whole carcass meat as I can to save money and also to provide a natural diet. They love rabbit, pheasant, woodpigeon, and any game that has been heavily shot or damaged by poor or difficult retrieves - even moorhens! Quote Link to post
scothunter 12,609 Posted April 21, 2010 Report Share Posted April 21, 2010 cat food is full of ash mate as for eggs well only give them the yoke the white is not really good for them. Quote Link to post
lamping rabbit 11 Posted April 21, 2010 Report Share Posted April 21, 2010 i can't see that day old chicks would make a ferret aggresive?(i'm no expert by any means) mine get all sorts(corvids,pigeon,chicken mince,goose,pheasant,duck.i don't feed them rabbit very often at all as they don't like it very much ) along with dry food. waidmann pheasant and duck ! my ferrets arnt that lucky they have got my name on them yum yum lol.... Quote Link to post
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