Variety is the Spice

Or so they say! I want to offer a variety of foods to the ferrets, this will help keep their diet balanced and hopefully them used to trying new things.

Our next step was to try some egg, I got a little wild too and threw in a very small bit of ground beef. Both were added to the standard chunky chicken soup. It went over very well with all 6 of them. It's moments like this that help keep me motivated to continue with the switch.

In the photo you see Mojo on the right, Cracker Jack in the upper right corner and that is Ozzy sneaking in from the left. Of all the things I've tried so far this has been one of their favorites.

Determination

Before heading down this path to transition my ferrets to a more natural diet, I had been warned that I should be prepared for it to take time. I'm feeling good about our progress thus far as I really don't have high expectations for a quick transition. Ferrets can be stubborn!

Really it has more to do with olfactory imprinting. At a very young age ferrets determine what is food based on the smell of the food items offered to them. The 6 Pack have been kibble fed up until now, with my youngest being about 14 months old I am certain that the only things they recognize as food are items that smell like kibble.

Every time I start to get a little down about our progress they surprise me and try something new. Sometimes it is one of the not so daring kiddos finally deciding to give something a try. Thus far I think the best motivation for me is Cracker Jack, he gets this look each night when I come in to the ferret room. I can only describe this look as an expression in which he is saying "Where's my meat Mommy?" I'll have to try to get a picture of his look, so you can truly understand what he is saying.

Gizzards?!

What kind of word is that? I can tell you it is one that strikes me funny, it looks funny and sounds funny to me.

While at the grocery store I found I could by a package of chicken hearts and gizzards so I decided to give it a try. Cost was less than $2.00, I was sure I would end up throwing it all away but I would never know if the ferrets like it or not if I didn't try.

I warmed a few up by soaking them in hot water for a few minutes and then finely chopped them up by hand. I had no idea what I was actually serving, if it was hearts or gizzards or maybe both. I guess I've lead a sheltered life and I don't know how to tell which is which. Any way I chopped them up and served them mixed into the nightly soup.

The addition to the soup didn't stop them from eating their soup, but they sure did pick around those hearts and or gizzards.

Natural Feeding week 1

So I got all excited about the thought of switching my ferrets to a more natural diet that I soooo went there and tried to serve them some pinkie mice. Nothing doing, and I'm not really surprised. I'm not even sure what possessed me or how I even found the courage to do this.

At the same time I did serve up some chunks of raw chicken and one small chicken leg, bone and all. Nobody seems interested in chewing up the bites of chicken, Cracker Jack thought they were fun to run off with and hide. I dutifully followed along behind him, cleaning up his stash. It was a sight to watch him run off with the chicken leg with a look of excitement. He looked so proud of his new possession, but he didn't try to eat any of it.


I decided that we would maintain through my work week, having a chunky soup dinner in the evening with kibble available 24 X 7 as it always has been. We'd do the experimentation with new things or ways for me to serve it on the weekends. We'll see where that leads......

Natural Feeding, where do I start?

I've done lots of reading, there are many sites out there. I have found several threads on various ferret forums where this topic is discussed.

One of my favorite articles on the subject was the Bob Church series on the FML from 2003. It was actually this article that convinced me to try switching the 6 Pack over. I gathered from this article that chicken necks might be a good place to start.

After work one night I went in search of chicken necks and found out that these are not something I can just pick up at the grocery store. Silly me! I did find turkey necks, but opted for some chicken legs instead.

Now I wasn't completely comfortable with the thought of raw chicken so I boiled the legs for a few minutes something that was mentioned in the Bob Church series. I still pulled the meat off the bones and instead of making the soup the ferrets are used to I just made it chunkier instead.

The results were really mixed, everyone checked it out and sort of nibbled at what I served. It looks like Cracker Jack and Moki were definitely enjoying the meal.

Not bad for a first attempt I guess.

The 6 Pack ponders Natural Feeding

Well if the truth be told, it's me pondering how to convince them it's good for them. After much reading, I have convinced myself that there are health benefits to my ferrets in feeding a more natural diet.

What does that mean? RMB (raw meaty bones) or whole prey? At this time I really don't know. I do not know that I will completely abandon kibble. I do know that I would like to greatly reduce kibble consumption in our household. For now it's a matter of how do I convince them that this is a good idea.

The 6 Pack regularly gets duck soup as a treat, to keep them interested in it should I ever need it to care for a sick ferret. They love their duck soup, but it is very liquefied. I have always made what we call 'Chicken Smoothies' by boiling chicken thighs. I pull the chicken off the bone when done. Using the chicken stock, a small amount of soaked kibble, some Nupro and the chicken everything is whirled in the blender until liquefied.

I know they are used to the smell and 'taste' of cooked chicken. Can I get them used to eating chicken in a form other than liquefied? Will they eat it raw and with bones? I do not know the answer to this question but I am going to try, see what happens and post our journey here.