Raw Diets, what's all the hype?
What's all the fuss about? Don't ferrets get aggressive when fed raw meat? What does a raw diet consist of anyway?
This section breaks down the common myths, misconceptions, and questions ferret owners have concerning raw feeding.
This section is in progress. If you have a question related to raw feeding, contact me!
This section breaks down the common myths, misconceptions, and questions ferret owners have concerning raw feeding.
This section is in progress. If you have a question related to raw feeding, contact me!
What is a raw diet?
A raw diet is exactly as it sounds, a raw meat diet that closely replicates what a ferret would eat in the wild. Raw diets can be frankenprey diet (meats bought from grocery store), whole prey (mice, rats, rabbits), or commercially produced raw diets (frozen or freeze dried.
Many raw feeders offer an assortment of each.
So I can feed my ferret eggs and chicken meat instead of kibble?
Not exactly. A raw diet needs to include a specific ratio of muscle meat, bones, and organs in order to deliver complete nutrition and be considered balanced. Feeding a ferret only raw chicken breasts and eggs would cause severe malnutrition.
Don't ferrets get aggressive when fed raw meat? I heard that once they taste meat, they will have a taste for blood and will become vicious.
Definitely not true! While food fights between ferrets can occur, ferrets do not become vicious when fed raw meat. I can easily hand feed my ferrets bits of raw meat, and they are very gentle about taking it from me. This should be the same for any ferret. Sometimes food fights between ferrets can be interpreted as aggressive. No fear, that morsel of meat is just so tempting that your normally quiet furbaby has to shout "MINE!"
As far as the "taste for blood" goes, I like to use this comparison: Does a cat start hunting humans after catching mice? No.
Does a dog become aggressive after licking a bloody wound? Definitely not.
Neither will a ferret.
Won't they get sick from eating raw meat?
Although there are some risks that come with feeding raw meat, they aren't any more prevalent than when feeding kibble (think about how many kibbles have been recalled due to salmonella contamination)
A healthy ferret has little to no risk from eating raw meat. They have very fast digestive times, about 3 hours, which gives little time for harmful bacteria to develop. The only concern is if the ferret is extremely elderly and has a compromised immune system.
As long as you maintain safe food handling standards, and sanitize the cage and food bowls on a daily basis, there is little risk to feeding a raw meat diet.
A raw diet is exactly as it sounds, a raw meat diet that closely replicates what a ferret would eat in the wild. Raw diets can be frankenprey diet (meats bought from grocery store), whole prey (mice, rats, rabbits), or commercially produced raw diets (frozen or freeze dried.
Many raw feeders offer an assortment of each.
So I can feed my ferret eggs and chicken meat instead of kibble?
Not exactly. A raw diet needs to include a specific ratio of muscle meat, bones, and organs in order to deliver complete nutrition and be considered balanced. Feeding a ferret only raw chicken breasts and eggs would cause severe malnutrition.
Don't ferrets get aggressive when fed raw meat? I heard that once they taste meat, they will have a taste for blood and will become vicious.
Definitely not true! While food fights between ferrets can occur, ferrets do not become vicious when fed raw meat. I can easily hand feed my ferrets bits of raw meat, and they are very gentle about taking it from me. This should be the same for any ferret. Sometimes food fights between ferrets can be interpreted as aggressive. No fear, that morsel of meat is just so tempting that your normally quiet furbaby has to shout "MINE!"
As far as the "taste for blood" goes, I like to use this comparison: Does a cat start hunting humans after catching mice? No.
Does a dog become aggressive after licking a bloody wound? Definitely not.
Neither will a ferret.
Won't they get sick from eating raw meat?
Although there are some risks that come with feeding raw meat, they aren't any more prevalent than when feeding kibble (think about how many kibbles have been recalled due to salmonella contamination)
A healthy ferret has little to no risk from eating raw meat. They have very fast digestive times, about 3 hours, which gives little time for harmful bacteria to develop. The only concern is if the ferret is extremely elderly and has a compromised immune system.
As long as you maintain safe food handling standards, and sanitize the cage and food bowls on a daily basis, there is little risk to feeding a raw meat diet.