Feeding of Guardians Gathering ferrets!
WARNING: photos at the bottom of this page are of a graphic nature of feeding ferrets on animal parts. Some people may find this offensive. Please, if you are of a sensitive nature, do not view the bottom of this page. This is your only warning, thank you.
My ferrets weekly diet is quite basic in nature, but provides all the requirements they need for good health.
Monday - whole, quartered or minced chicken carcasses
Tuesday - chunked beef hearts, red meat mince (beef, mutton & kangaroo), liver from beef, lamb or kangaroo
Wednesday - whole, quartered or minced chicken carcasses
Thursday - chunked beef hearts, red meat mince (beef, mutton & kangaroo), kidney &/or lung from beef, lamb or kangaroo
Friday - whole, quartered or minced chicken carcasses
Saturday - chunked beef hearts, red meat mince (beef, mutton & roo)
Sunday - whole prey (poultry or rabbits) or large pork items
I also offer raw eggs, turkey items & fish throughout their diet in any given week, along with chunked pieces of kangaroo, mutton & wild boar. I will often butcher whole carcasses of large animals up & feed portions of them to the ferrets & my dogs. I much rather feed larger items than minces or small pieces.
Other whole prey items are also given such as mice, rats, day old chicks, quail, duck & even guinea pigs.
Frequency of meals:
I feed my senior ferrets (7yrs+) twice a day. My pregnant & lactating jills & kits are fed 3-4 times a day. Ferrets of compromised health are fed every 4-6hrs.
All other ferrets are, usually, fed once a day. Summer time, I often give their meals frozen & only feed of a late afternoon/early evening.
The staple of their diet is made of chicken carcasses or whole chickens, which provides the bulk of their fat & bone intake. Chicken is an easy & relatively cheap staple to feed, so I recommend it often as a staple food. All parts of a chicken are edible to a ferret. When possible, I will feed rabbit in replacement of chicken, but when doing so, I usually feed extra eggs and fish or pork or mutton pieces for extra fat content, as rabbit is very lean.
Some ferrets cannot have chicken though, due to food allergies, so I usually recommend turkey, duck, quail or rabbit in replacement. These are not as cheap as chicken, but are viable sources if you have them available to you.
Monday - whole, quartered or minced chicken carcasses
Tuesday - chunked beef hearts, red meat mince (beef, mutton & kangaroo), liver from beef, lamb or kangaroo
Wednesday - whole, quartered or minced chicken carcasses
Thursday - chunked beef hearts, red meat mince (beef, mutton & kangaroo), kidney &/or lung from beef, lamb or kangaroo
Friday - whole, quartered or minced chicken carcasses
Saturday - chunked beef hearts, red meat mince (beef, mutton & roo)
Sunday - whole prey (poultry or rabbits) or large pork items
I also offer raw eggs, turkey items & fish throughout their diet in any given week, along with chunked pieces of kangaroo, mutton & wild boar. I will often butcher whole carcasses of large animals up & feed portions of them to the ferrets & my dogs. I much rather feed larger items than minces or small pieces.
Other whole prey items are also given such as mice, rats, day old chicks, quail, duck & even guinea pigs.
Frequency of meals:
I feed my senior ferrets (7yrs+) twice a day. My pregnant & lactating jills & kits are fed 3-4 times a day. Ferrets of compromised health are fed every 4-6hrs.
All other ferrets are, usually, fed once a day. Summer time, I often give their meals frozen & only feed of a late afternoon/early evening.
The staple of their diet is made of chicken carcasses or whole chickens, which provides the bulk of their fat & bone intake. Chicken is an easy & relatively cheap staple to feed, so I recommend it often as a staple food. All parts of a chicken are edible to a ferret. When possible, I will feed rabbit in replacement of chicken, but when doing so, I usually feed extra eggs and fish or pork or mutton pieces for extra fat content, as rabbit is very lean.
Some ferrets cannot have chicken though, due to food allergies, so I usually recommend turkey, duck, quail or rabbit in replacement. These are not as cheap as chicken, but are viable sources if you have them available to you.