What scrap meat should I ask for?

[Dameize 7]

If they are taking the lumps of meat into their sleeping area should I remove it on a daily basis to avoid maggots etc?

[Jamie m 668]

ideally mate you want carcas (full rabbit) and FERRET kibble if your short, if theirs any way you could catch em that would be best but proper ferret dry food will be fine but i feel that if your working them then they need to know what rabbit tastes like

 

Ill probably feed them what i get when working them but at the minute its just ferret kibble and meat.

Did you get them from good stock ?

[Dameize 7]

ideally mate you want carcas (full rabbit) and FERRET kibble if your short, if theirs any way you could catch em that would be best but proper ferret dry food will be fine but i feel that if your working them then they need to know what rabbit tastes like

 

Ill probably feed them what i get when working them but at the minute its just ferret kibble and meat.

Did you get them from good stock ?

apparently the parents are both workers, talked to the bloke who i got them off apparently he goes ferreting fairly regularly.

[Jamie m 668]

Oh yes remove meat the next morning you wil soon figure out how much is to much

[HUnter_zero 58]

If they are taking the lumps of meat into their sleeping area should I remove it on a daily basis to avoid maggots etc?

 

 

Just feed them Kibble over the Summer months and an egg between them once a week. If you want to treat them, get some cod liver oil to mix with the egg.

After a long time of continued ferret ownership something I have learned is that you will never find all the meat and flies will lay eggs in blood stains. Personally I don't like to keep maggots in my ferret hutch. You will learn.

 

John

 

BTW. You will even get maggots with damp kibble!!

Edited June 25, 2011 by HUnter_zero

[Dameize 7]

If they are taking the lumps of meat into their sleeping area should I remove it on a daily basis to avoid maggots etc?

 

 

Just feed them Kibble over the Summer months and an egg between them once a week. If you want to treat them, get some cod liver oil to mix with the egg.

After a long time of continued ferret ownership something I have learned is that you will never find all the meat and flies will lay eggs in blood stains. Personally I don't like to keep maggots in my ferret hutch. You will learn.

 

John

 

BTW. You will even get maggots with damp kibble!!

 

thanks for the info, one of the ferrets seems to have runny turd so im guessing its a result of the meat. As for the damp kibble it will be changed on a daily basis for fresh kibble etc. Only reason ive been giving them damp is because theyre still only tiny and looked like they were having trouble eating the hard kibble.

 

cheers for all the advice though.

[The one 8,467]

Keep feeding the raw meat mate pump in as much as they can eat at night and remove the remains in the morning , thats giving them the best start in life . The only good thing about dry is that its handy for the owners no the ferret

[HUnter_zero 58]

Only reason ive been giving them damp is because theyre still only tiny and looked like they were having trouble eating the hard kibble.

 

How old are the kits? When I breed the ferrets (not often), I'll feed the Jill on raw rabbit & Kits the same as well as leaving kibble for free feeding. Once the kits are weaned, I'll also give them mashed boiled egg. The runny poo is because they are eating a different diet and should stabilise very quickly. If not, keep a close eye on them as they can become very dehydrated very quickly. All said and done, eight to ten week old kits should be okay with kibble but and I might be alone in doing this, I also supplement their kibble as already said. On the other side of the coin, a complete food is just that! Complete.

By the way, this isn't a reversal on my previous posts, I didn't know the ferrets were young!! and when I say I feed raw meat, I cut it up and feed it by hand when playing with the kits.

 

John

Edited June 25, 2011 by HUnter_zero

[Ideation 8,216]

Never had any problems feeding a small amount of meat over night and removing in the morning, as long as the nest boxes are cleaned fairly regular.

 

Having said that, my litter have a big chunk of rabbit in with them now, and it'll be gone before the flys really get to it (i also have a fly screen over the kits cage)

 

I tend to feed kits soaked and mashed kibble mainly as most of the kibbles you get are a funny shape that can easily get stuck in a kits mouth (at least i have found), and also by soaking it, the kits are getting fluid with the kibble (which is VERY dry otherwise).

 

I usually put in a bowl with the kits with water in it, until i am 100% sure that they are using the bottle well, especially if feeding kibble (as said, it's very dry).

 

I also try to get some pigeon or other bird into them rather than just rabbit, as rabbit has such a low fat content, it doesnt really bulk them up that much.

 

I have found that kits raised on whole carcass from a young age (about 3.5 weeks) tend to do very very well.

 

Do give the odd egg, but tend to remove the white.

 

Would NEVER give a wee kit cows milk.

 

[Dameize 7]

well at the minute theyve got a bowl of dry kibble and ive seen them use the water bottle so im fairly sure they are using it properly when thirsty. I also gave them some frankfurt sausages to munch on. My grandmothers making a sundays dinner tomorrow so ill get a slither of raw meat off of the joint for them.

 

They seem ok though, the polecat doesnt really bite and seems fairly friendly it plays and gets hypo to the white one though seems to be a bit more bitey and wants to sleep all the time it also seems to bully the brown one when its awake.

 

They seem fairly settled though, they play in the underneath run and run through the tubes, play in the hammock etc and then when in the hutch they just go in their nesting area and eat when it suites them and drink etc. With a bit luck theyl develop nicely.

 

I also got them a corner litter tray and some cat litter suitable for ferrets so im hoping I can train them to go in that. I also got them some decent all in one kibble which il give them as free feeding as some people have said. I also managed to find some little cat treats stuffed with turkey theyre high in fat and protein and apparently suitable for ferrets. they seem to enjoy them as well so with a bit luck thatl contribute to fattening them up.

 

 

Ill update you all on how they get on.

 

 

Edit** forgot to mention but theyre 8 weeks as far as I know, theyve only just come off their mothers.

Edited June 25, 2011 by Dameize

[Jamie m 668]

well at the minute theyve got a bowl of dry kibble and ive seen them use the water bottle so im fairly sure they are using it properly when thirsty. I also gave them some frankfurt sausages to munch on. My grandmothers making a sundays dinner tomorrow so ill get a slither of raw meat off of the joint for them.

 

They seem ok though, the polecat doesnt really bite and seems fairly friendly it plays and gets hypo to the white one though seems to be a bit more bitey and wants to sleep all the time it also seems to bully the brown one when its awake.

 

They seem fairly settled though, they play in the underneath run and run through the tubes, play in the hammock etc and then when in the hutch they just go in their nesting area and eat when it suites them and drink etc. With a bit luck theyl develop nicely.

 

I also got them a corner litter tray and some cat litter suitable for ferrets so im hoping I can train them to go in that. I also got them some decent all in one kibble which il give them as free feeding as some people have said. I also managed to find some little cat treats stuffed with turkey theyre high in fat and protein and apparently suitable for ferrets. they seem to enjoy them as well so with a bit luck thatl contribute to fattening them up.

 

 

Ill update you all on how they get on.

 

 

Edit** forgot to mention but theyre 8 weeks as far as I know, theyve only just come off their mothers.

Stear clear of hot dogs and make sure you soak there biscuits to make sure there geting plenty down them I soak in cold water for about half an hour prior

[Dameize 7]

an update is.

 

The polecat is great, its gentle doesnt bite or even nip it eats plenty, drinks plenty and comes to the hutch door when i open it and waits for you to pick him up then he climbs all over my tshirte tc and is by far the funnest of the two, it also seems to be a bit bigger then the albino.

 

The albino used to nip but after having the finger technique done a few times it doesnt seem to be doing it as much its only bit me once in the last day and a half and even then it was more of a nibble. It seems to sleep allot more and isnt as playfull its the one that is a little bit smaller. It does eat and it drinks etc it just seems to be allot more tired maybe it has a different sleep pattern to the polecat.

 

Overall though both are going great and are everything and more I expected from them, they play theyre gentle and they seem to be getting to know me.

 

I cant wait untill theyre big enough to go ferreting.

 

 

also is it safe to play with them on the grass or will they run away?

Edited June 26, 2011 by Dameize

[darbo 4,774]

the more handling you do the better. put some pipes out on the grass let them go thro them.well handled ferrets are what you want. good luck with them.

[Dameize 7]

would they not run away if they were on the grass.

[Bankzi 2]

shouldnt do mate, but they will explore everywhere they can so if your worried put up some barriers so they cant get far lol. I found that when feeding, give them a few sharp whistles and then they will associate food with whistling so you can use that hopefully for them to come to you.