unexplained ferret deaths

[Flacko 1,755]

Not saying that’s the cause mate but if it helps why not ut into practice sickener when you lose a good grafter & they deserve all the care we can provide them after all they give us sport & fun so it’s only right we do our best in return for them atb Flacko 

[fred90 3,323]

9 minutes ago, Flacko said:

Not saying that’s the cause mate but if it helps why not ut into practice sickener when you lose a good grafter & they deserve all the care we can provide them after all they give us sport & fun so it’s only right we do our best in return for them atb Flacko 

I see your point but we have all fed fresh rabbits since Adam was a lad. never been a problem before & can't see it being a problem now. 

[Bobtheferret 1,261]

The only way a fresh rabbit could harm a ferret is if it had some kind of poison in its system (pesticides from crops?) and freezing may not solve that...I have ALWAYS fed mine a fresh rabbit after they’ve been out (or I’ve been lamping or shooting) and then freeze the rest for another day and I have not had a problem. Yes the very very very occasional unexplained death over the 30 odd years that I have owned ferrets but that’s all. I have also fed mine plenty of rabbits that have myxi and (I suspect but can’t know) RVHD and it’s not been a problem. Both diseases only affect rabbits (possibly hares) not ferrets, humans can eat both without issue but you would have to be fairly desperate to eat a mixi rabbit! Could be that there is a nasty virus going round which is worrying but feeding them fresh rabbit I can’t see that being the issue. Merry Christmas lads! 

Edited December 23, 2018 by Bobtheferret

[Sirblessed 2,511]

2 hours ago, Flacko said:

neil b I used to feed that way myself for years then read about giving them a freeze for couple weeks, if someone puts good advice my way then I take it on board just progress I suppose when we was kids we fed milk mash & they seem to do ok but times move on so I try to do best by them just my way mate , atb Flacko 

Not sure if you are right or wrong, but there is another train of thought here, it may in fact be a bad thing to kill off all bacteria, parasites, etc , as it could lower their natural immunity and lower tolerance, and ability to fight off  such things, weaken the species in the process, sometimes going backwards is going forward.  

Just something to ponder.

[ollieollie 766]

2 hours ago, fred90 said:

got to agree with Neil you wouldn't freeze them in the wild. if feeding rabbits was killing ferrets then stoats would have been extinct years ago. 

I like to freeze for a few days just to sort any ticks out

[neil b 2,376]

6 minutes ago, ollieollie said:

I like to freeze for a few days just to sort any ticks out

In all my time of catching rabbits iv never come across one with ticks, flees yes but never ticks 

[ollieollie 766]

1 minute ago, neil b said:

In all my time of catching rabbits iv never come across one with ticks, flees yes but never ticks 

In my early days I put one in fresh and the following morning they all had a tick on them, been freezing ever since. I hadn’t had a problem before that one. 

[Arry 23,123]

I have caught many rabbits with Tape Worm cysts in them, some really infested some with a few. I'm absolutely sure if you fed them fresh you could pass those worms on to the ferrets. Also ferret need fat in their diet I think its 20% but don't hold me to that, rabbits sometimes don't have much fat, so a bit of extra fat would not go a miss. Some odd things can kill a ferret like Chewing gum  I think its the sweetener in it know there others but can't remember them all, I know you guys would not feed them deliberately, but a bit of discarded gum could be a problem. Have a look at the bottom of this page on this site it will explain.

http://ferretinfo.co.uk/feeding-ferrets/4541939155

Cheers Arry

[Flacko 1,755]

Well lads we all do things a bit differently but I know you all the same as me do your best to to keep our animals healthy & happy so we can all beg to differ but the end of the day it’s down to personal choice atb & have good xmas & new year & happy hunting atb Flacko 

[Gilbey 1,479]

freeze rabbits for dogs but not ferrets, always thought ferrets weren't wormy because of their short gut