Does anyone here do whole prey feedings? I'm doing as much research as I can before I adopt a fuzzy who needs a new home (owners no longer have the time for him, so I'll be taking him in a few weeks). I already own snakes, so I regularly make bulk orders of mice and rats, and a lot of research I've stumbled across concerning the diet of Ferrets suggests that they would thrive on a Whole Prey Diet. This would be easy for me to do, since I'm already ordering hundreds of frozen feeders. I just wanted to know if anyone else does Whole Prey Feedings and get some details, like what size mouse/rat, how many times to feed them one a day, additional Raw Food or Treats to offer, etc. Thank you in advance!

My ferrets get some whole prey- mice. It's definitely their favorite.

One important thing to remember is that if you are going to feed solely whole prey, you should still rotate proteins, ie rats, mice, chicken, rabbit. 

I usually allot 2 medium mice per ferret, but this might vary. A friend of mine has a ferret who gets one in the morning, and one in the evening. Larger males or growing babies might eat more. A good starting point is at least 2oz per ferret, per meal.

Ferrets: Wesley, Percy, Owen    -rip Bandit-
Bettas- Kitty, Pip, and Logan
Sun Conure- Kita
Gerbils- Piper and Tailer

Okay each should get about 2oz. Do you know if it's a specific bodyweight percentage? I know it is with snakes so I'm regularly weighing my snakes and their.food to ensure the proper percentage of food intake. I wouldn't mind doing this for my ferret as well when I bring him home.

I didn't know the proteins should be rotated, so thank you! I know the mice and rats that would be the proper size, but do you know which chicks would be about the right size so I could get all three and rotate through them?
Are you using your mice as treats or as meals? I'd like to do a mostly Whole Prey Diet with the only exception being treats of meat, organs, raw yolks, or things like that. 


Sorry for all the questions.

I feed raw, but not whole prey, so I can't really help with your specific questions but there is no need to apologize for asking. The questions are what make this such a great place to gain knowledge, ask away! I might dabble in whole prey in the future so I wouldn't mind learning a thing or two myself.

You might want to check out the Holistic Ferret Forum. 


http://holisticferret60.proboards.com/

Thank you! I'll definitely check that out. =)

do you know if the ferret you'll be getting already eats a whole prey diet?  this would be very important to know.

ferrets imprint at a very young age on what food is and the times I've tried to offer them anything other than their kibble they don't even play with what I'm offering them - they have no idea what it is.

the holistic ferret forum will be your best avenue for great info!

Momma to
Joseph Francis Tribiani aka Joey Came to his forever home 9/26/2011
Daxter Chandler Muriel Bing aka Daxy Came to his forever home 7/30/2014

Waiting at the Bridge:
Gabby, Rylee, Maya, Roxy Heart, Goofy and Tig

I know they're currently feeding him premium ferret food, the kibble. I had been reading that it was possible to get them to switch over though, that you just might have to be persistent and completely remove the original food source. I don't like the premium ferret food (nothing against anyone who does) but there's just too much corn and processed stuff for me to feel comfortable feeding that to my ferret. Same with the ferretvite he's been getting. Its all sugar and corn and then vitamins added in. It doesn't seem healthy to me. (But I like organic and holistic!)

I've been looking at the holistic forum and researching ways to get him to make the switch. So hopefully he will! It won't.be my first time working with an animal that imprints- I have worked with ball pythons who imprint like crazy. But they eventually made the switches I was hoping for. Fingers crossed I have success with this little guy too! Thank you =)

ugh ferretvite is the WORST!  pure sugar!  It pains me that the company puts pictures of ferrets on products that are so harmful! :(

I'll go ahead and say it and maybe they'll remove it but I feed Dr Foster's Smith own food - it's not available thru this website obviously lol and it's a very high quality with the right ingredients that make it good for them.

depending on the ferrets you may not want to remove the original food entirely - I've had two ferrets that would have starved to death - literally - if I would have done that when switching to a new kibble.

in one instance it was the same kibble but the MFG had changed the formula and my Rylee would have nothing to do with it. I literally had to go store to store to store looking for a bag with an old lot code date so I could have something to wean her from.

most recently I rescued a ferret who was eating Marshall's - certainly not the worst but it's not the best kibble either - it took months to wean him and I thought I'd developed a fool proof measure.  

but in both instances I'm quiet certain both ferrets would have starved themselves to death waiting for their original food to come back.

I wish you much success and I'm sure the folks at the holistic forum will be able to guide you along your journey.

Momma to
Joseph Francis Tribiani aka Joey Came to his forever home 9/26/2011
Daxter Chandler Muriel Bing aka Daxy Came to his forever home 7/30/2014

Waiting at the Bridge:
Gabby, Rylee, Maya, Roxy Heart, Goofy and Tig

Yeah when I looked at the ingredients for ferretvite and all I could see was sugar and corn. I don't understand how people can think that is good for them. It's sad that its advertised as beneficial for ferrets when it's everything they don't need.

I'm going to try switching cold turkey, but if that doesn't work immediately, I'll wean him off slowly. Though I'm not too sure how to wean with Whole Prey. I know I'd be able to wean with the Raw Diet, but with Whole Prey it might be trickier...I may have to do a multi-step-switch haha

If I remember correctly, chicks are considered more of a snack since they aren't a nutritious as a full grown chicken. But they can be a good addition to any diet :-)

Feeding amounts really just depend on the individual ferret, you get a feel for it as you go along.

For any raw diet, I think your best bet is to start with a meat soupie and go from there. Definitely sign up for a mentor through Holistic Ferret Forum (or if you don't want to wait, Erinn Whitmore has a paid service through her website Mustelamania). They can help you develop a balanced menu tailored to your individual needs :-)

Ferrets: Wesley, Percy, Owen    -rip Bandit-
Bettas- Kitty, Pip, and Logan
Sun Conure- Kita
Gerbils- Piper and Tailer