How can I get my ferrets to eat raw food after living a whole year on a Marshall's ferret food diet?

Question

My ferrets have lived a year of their life on a Marshall's ferret food diet, which I know is the worst thing a ferret can have (from all the poisonous chemicals in it). I really need to switch their diet to a raw food diet, or even a cooked meat diet, but they just won't even sniff the meat I give to them. They're stuck on their junk food and won't let go of it. Can someone please help me!?

Answer 1

Join the raw food for ferrets Yahoo group. They have many diets and tips on switching over. They are NaturalFerrets.

Some tricks are: start with cooked meat, then slowly undercook it each time you feed until you get to raw. Or add some ferrettone to the raw meat. Grind up some of your ferret food into a fine powder and coat the raw meat in it. Always offering some raw meat each time you feed sometimes eventually works.

Remember that not everyone who wants to feed their ferret raw food suceeds. This is because ideally, a ferret has to be started on raw food under six months of age. They imprint on whatever food they eat from birth to six months. After that, it can be very difficult to get them to accept new food.

Also, remember that raw foods are very hard to get right in terms of balance. You will need to make sure the ferret gets all it's vitamins and minerals. A common mistake is to feed just the flesh, and leave out the organs and bones, but both bones and organs are needed in order to keep your ferret healthy.This creates sick ferrets who are deficient nutritionally. A good happy balance is continuing to supplement dry food until you are sure your ferret's raw diet includes all necessary nutrients. The group can help you with this. A danger is also present in overfeeding supplements or certain meats, creating an overdose of a vitamin. That is why raw feeding is hard to do and takes some time to get right. Please ask your questions on the group to get some help, and read the FAQ's and documents section to see some examples of good raw ferret diets.

Answer 2

The best "chicken" method I have found with my ferrets is to use a coffee grinder and grind the kibble to powder and add to a little bit of raw food like ground chicken or turkey, often with a lot of ferretone or natural peanut butter oil (not the actual peanut butter) enough to make it kind of runny. Then scruff ferret if needed and let it l**k the thin mess off your fingers. if he still wont eat it put between back teeth. Eventually the ferret should take to the mix and you can cut back on dry kibble. Cut the kibble powder back until the ferret it eating oily raw meat. The long adjustment period of a couple weeks helps the body prepare for the bacteria that are in the meat too!!! Once the ferret eats soft ground meat and is used to raw flavors, you can try offering a ferretone laced chicken wing by placing it between the back teeth. You must eventually have the ferrets eating bone too, or they won't get calcium, etc. If your ferret refuses anything but soupy meat you can start either pressure cooking (or slow-cooker for 48 hours) a whole chicken, and blend the whole thing, liquids, bones and all to make a healthy "duk soup" which is really great for ailing ferrets and has saved many of my ferrets' lives! Just feed as much as you can and ease the ferrets kibble to Totally Ferret if you don't like Marshall's. Also, I have yet to have even the PICKIEST ferret turn down a feeder mouse, be it live (ethical issues here) frozen/thawed or pre-killed. I used to have all kibble food in the house and I have all ages of critters. At this point I can place a plate on the floor with a whole raw chicken and 8 ferrets swarm around and eat their fill...leaving the cats to clean up the rest...LOL!

PS... a bit of heavy whipping cream seems to make everything pretty tasty to ferret!

Answer 3

It will be REALLY hard to switch him to a raw food diet. The food they eat has been imprinted in them when they were young. I had never heard of that about Marshall. Where did you hear that? There is a web site called ferretaid.org. They are a ferret shelter. They recommend 8-in-1 Ultimate (NOT Ultra), Evo Ferret, and/or Totally Ferret food. Can you let me know where you heard that? Mine's on Marshall's.

Answer 4

I actually heard the opposite thing about Marshall ferret food.  I read that it had no preservatives and definatly no poisonous chemicals.  It does however lack some vitamins so I add them in seperatly.  Maybe you could put small pieces of meat in their normal food.  If they eat the pieces put a little more meat, then a little more, and a little more until they get used to it.

Just remember to remove the meat quickly after meal times or it will spoil and give them some vitamins too so they have a complete diet.

Answer 5

First...Marshals food is not all that bad.  Most people gripe about the 'fish' in it but there is fish in a lot of good ferret and cat kibbles being fed to ferrets.  Also...what 'poisonous chemicals' are in Marshals food?  hehe  I happen to like 8in1 Ultimate and Wellness Core cat food.  They both are complete and my ferrets love them.

Switching to a raw diet is a personal decision.  I will give you some advice though:  a) asking on here will not get you far   b)  look into some sites on the web that support ferrets with a raw diet.   c) CONSULT with your vet!!!  Most people overlook this step but it is very important.  Your vet can also provide important information concerning supplements and what exactly to feed.  Its not as easy as throwing your ferret some chunks of chicken.

Good luck in your endeavors!

Answer 6

Switching a ferret to a raw diet can be pretty tricky because they are imprinted on their kibble at a very young age... they don't really realize that the raw meat is food.  Here are some of the things that I did to get mine eating raw meat:

I would cut it up into very small pieces and try and feed them by hand, maybe even put a little piece in their mouth.

Pour some ferretone on the raw meat to get them to try it.

Try mixing it in little bits with their normal food.  You could even try pouring some ferretone on that as well.

I found that starting with chicken was easiest.  Try feeding them different parts of the chicken or meat - not just the same cut every time.  Chicken wings are a favorite of my ferrets.

Keep in mind that these suggestions aren't something that you would try once, you will probably have to try it repeatedly.  Once you can get them eating it, they will love it.  My ferrets get so excited over raw food time that they can hardly control themselves!

If you are feeding them ONLY raw meat it's important that they get variety and they get ALL parts of the animal.  When I feed mine chicken wings (for example) they will eat everything including the bone.  When they are fed mice they will eat the entire mouse - you wouldn't even know that it had been there.

Good luck!

Answer 7

"the worst thing a ferret can have"?!?  it's commercial, sure, but there are no chemicals in marshall's.  there aren't even any preservatives!  they use vitamin E as the preservative.  ferrets are natural meat eaters, but as domesticated pets it will be hard to get them to switch.  the best thing to do is hide a little of the new food in with the old food, and gradually increase the amount until they aren't eating the old food anymore.  that will also be easiest on their digestive tracts.  good luck!