Do ferrets eat meat?

Question

I read somewhere that ferrets are carnivores, is this true?? if so what meat do i need to feed him? Like a treat, would steak do? chicken? what?

Answer 1

Yes, this is true.  Ferrets are actually 'Obligate Carnivores', like a cat.  Many people do offer some meat like chicken, baby mice, etc., but the problem is ferrets imprint on food as kits (baby ferrets) and once ferrets have imprinted on what they have learned as food it is very difficult to get them to try new things.    The good news is high quality ferret kibbles and some premium cat kibbles offer all the nutrition a ferret needs, the first 5 ingredients tell the most about dry kibble.  The first ingredient should be 'meat', and yes, all 'premium' kibbles have some type of meat in them, that is where the proteins come from!   =)  Most people who feed meat also supplement their feedings with dry kibble.  The problem with just feeding a chunk of chicken is that it does not contain all of the nutrients that a ferret needs, thus the reason dry kibbles are left available 24/7.  The pet food industry puts a lot of time, energy, money and effort into providing our pets with a nutritiously balanced diet for our pets.  

As for 'wild ferrets', our ferrets are 'pet' ferrets (Mustela putorius furo) and don't exist in the wild.  There are a few feral colonies in New Zealand but none in the United States.  Our ferrets are genetically identical to the European Polecats and most likely originate from Europe.  The 'Wild ' cousin of our pet ferrets is the 'Black Footed- Ferret (Mustela nigripes).  They are not the same as our ferrets and are on the endangered species list, they live off of Prairie Dogs.

I would encourage you to get your ferrets use to eating a high meat protein and high fat soup concoction that us ferret owners call, 'Duck Soup'.  It was named this after a sick ferret named 'Lucky Duck'.  

Anyway, here is my recipe if you are interested, notice I do use fresh chicken in it.

  Duck Soup

1 cups of moistened ferret food, moistened with fresh chicken broth or water. Not canned broth as it has too much sodium.

4 to 5 chicken thighs. I use chicken thighs, dark meat is higher in calories, but any chicken or all can be used. Also note, you can use 7-8 more jars of the Chicken baby food in replacement of the boiled chicken.  Roughly 2 jars of baby food to replace each chicken thigh.

1 jars Gerber chicken and gravy baby food #2

3 Cups of Fresh Chicken Broth or Water

1 Tablespoon of Bone Meal Powder (get at heath food store)

1/2 tube of Ferretvite or Nutrical

1 cans Science Diet A/D

Note: NUPRO- 1 teaspoon per cube of soup added and mixed in right before serving

Boil chicken thighs, save broth. Tear the meat and skin off the bone and put into a blender with the 3 cups of the broth/water and puree it. I do not use the bones; I use bone meal powder. Add the rest of the ingredients.

This recipe makes approximately 7-8 cups of Duck Soup. Pour soup into ice cube trays, it will take 3-4 trays. Thaw 1 cube (per ferret) and add approximately 1-2 Tablespoons of water to thin it and make it “soupy”. Also, you want it luke warm, not hot. Add the NUPRO right before serving

A lot of ferrets are not familiar with ‘Duck Soup’ and do not recognize it as food.  To introduce them to it I suggest smearing a small amount on their mouth so that they will l**k it off.  Once you do this you will probably have to repeat the process several times/days until they learn to recognize it as food.  The secret is not to give up as there will come a time when your ferret is either sick or had surgery and ‘Duck Soup’ is what will keep them going!



My gang enjoying their 'Duck Soup'

http://pic20.picturetrail.com/VOL18/6066...

http://pic20.picturetrail.com/VOL18/6066...

Best wishes and good luck!

Answer 2

yes they are carnivores but in the wild. You buy them ferret food which sometimes has meat in it. As for treats not sure about steak or chicken? Maybe like chicken flavored treats you could buy them.

Answer 3

Yes. Ferrets are naturally carnivorous predators.

Steak or chicken would be fine, but be sure it's unseasoned. Raw chicken also has more nutrients for them. (They can digest it unlike us, and it's good for them.)  

If you want to get a ferret treats, you can go to Petsmart and get N-Bones or something.

Why do you have a ferret if you don't even know that they're carnivores? Did you do research on their care at all before getting him?

Answer 4

Yes, they're a predator animal, and they eat meat. I know some people who actually buy feeder mice for their ferrets.

I find that a bit brutal, and would rather stick with a ferret formulated kibble diet, along with cooked plain chicken.

I suppose steak would be fine, but I would stick with meats that they'd be more likely to get if they hunted for themselves, and I can't see a ferret taking down a cow. :P

Chicken and occasional fish *I would do research to find out which (if any) fish is NOT good for them*

Answer 5

ferrets dont eat meat I have 2 ferrets and none of them eat meat.You got to be careful about that because sometimes they dont p**p it back out , and they can get constpated and die. You can feed them raw eggs (1 a week).

Answer 6

yes, they are carnivores. chicken would probably be the best but any meat will be fine for their digestive system. Just stay away from feeding them any fruits or vegetables because their body is not equipped to properly digest it and it could cause them to have health problems later on like insoloma, which to my understanding is kinda like diabetes and can greatly shorten their lifespan. I feed my ferrets a ferret kibble which seems to be ok as they are 4 and 5 yrs old and very healthy because I was not aware they were carnivores and did not feed them meat at a young age so they will not eat it now. If your ferret is older now, he might not eat meat as ferrets are VERY picky eaters. Hope my answer helped! :)