how to treat ferrets?

[terryd 8,102]

Yea they love too come out. This is jeff having a run I might sod the ferreting and taking him lamping instead

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2_hMixhwEqI

[dave1600d 35]

she sounds to me like she needs serious out of cage time mate,,,,,,,get a bigger cage asap and something to occupy em

[foxtails 272]

you can tell thats a happy fert when they bounce around like that,,,,,,,,and in answere to your questions,,,i feed them on wilalot dog food,and the odd egg york now and again,,,i get them in for half an hour twice a day,,the one is happy to just sleep,,she,s a bit wary of things,like,,if i pick her up she will stay in my hands without struggling at all,,the mad one always trying to get free of my hands,,its like shes had caffine hit,i havent had them long when i first got them they were really dirty,they went straight into the bath before anywhere else,,an they were coverd in mites,,theyr all clean and mite free now obviously,,but they behavour might be her bringing up,,i didnt get to see theyr cage and that,,theyr both jills,they dont bite,and are just lovely,,theyl be good workers,,iv got 1 mk1 collar and iv got a box an another collar being sent on tuesday from pipa,,i think it comes down to behavour,,shes got sooo much energy.

Edited September 2, 2012 by foxtails

[terryd 8,102]

Sounds like they have a good home now just get a bigger hutch sorted. Not sure about the dog food mine have dried ferret food and rabbit when I get it.

But they do enjoy a dog biscuit as a treat

[joe14 98]

Ditch the winalot mate. All the crap and jelly in them tins wont fill them. No wonder shes not content. Also wet cat or dog food no good for their teeth at all!

 

Get them a good dry ferret food, tommorrow. Vitalin, alpha. (even pets at home sell it)

Meat will fill them up more like chicken wings a quid a pack from supermarket. They love em and great for their teeth.

Cheap frozen value mince aswell. Just leave a bowl full of dry down aswell as feeding her meat and giving them out often. See how you get on.

Edited September 2, 2012 by joe14

[foxtails 272]

i used to feed my last ones liver,,is that ok?i do feed them on rabbit and other game but the season is only now starting,,,thanks very much for your advice though,will use alot of it!

[socks 32,253]

Dog food is no good for ferrets if you can't get meat and can't afford ferret biscuit then buy a cheap cat biscuit much better than dog food ... As for the liver to much will make them scour ... 2 or 3 times a week is ok but no more ............

[joe14 98]

Liver is ok but not everyday of the week! If you can get a big bag of alpha feast, it will last two ferrets agess.

You can get it online for £20 incl delivery if you cant get any local.

http://www.pet-supermarket.co.uk/products-Alpha-Ferret-Feast-Food_HB0090.htm

Edited September 3, 2012 by joe14

[foxtails 272]

theyr both two years old,will they swap from dog food or i expect game was fed to them before,,,to ferret buiscuit,,,i tried a few years back to swap a ferret over and it wouldnt have none of it,,thats not to say these ferrets wont eat it ,,i will defo try it,,what i used to do with my dog was wet the biscuits for a couple hours,,,ill give it to them normally first,,i will keep you up to date on how they are,,,atb,,,ft

[joe14 98]

If they dont eat the biscuits mate you will have to add just a few ferret biscuits in with the winalot, gradually increasing the biscuits. They might

prefer the wet food cos they know no different. Its much less effort for em tucking into some wet food than it is crunching on biscuits.

 

But their teeth on the wet food will just get caked up and the crap that is in the dog food they wont be getting anything from it, it will just be going

streight through em.

[foxtails 272]

THANKS FOR YOUR HELP GUYS,,ILL GET SOME FERRET BISCUITS IN,,AND DO WHAT YOU SAID,,ILL TRY THEM ON THEIR OWN FIRST,,THEN IF THEY DONT TAKE TO EM,,IL MIX THEM WITH THE WINALOT,,AND GRADUALLY KEEP ADDING MORE,,UNTILL THEY JUST ON BISCUITS,,,ILL KEEP YOU INFORMED,,,ATB,,FT

[Tug 168]

I'd start off mixing the biscuits in, it's always best to switch slowly anyway.

[Guest cookiemonsterandmerlin]

What a refreshing change to have a member take advice instead of Fing and Blinding about I do the feck what I want etc etc well done Foxtails and good luck with your ferts.

If some of members took a leaf out your book and take on board some of the wealth of knowledge that the THL membership instead it falls on death ears most of the time.

 

ATB Cookie

[foxtails 272]

thanks mate,for those of us who chose to listen to advise normally live life the easy way,instead of doing it MY way and learning the hard way,,,and for all the arguments that goes on,,on here,i dont understand it,,,(i like the quieter life),haha,anyway have started mixing the alpha ferret biscuit with the winalot and theyr eating the doogfood first but when i check again in a few hours most of the left over biscuits are gone so ill keep at it,,,atb ft

[B.P.R 2,798]

I've got a triple hutch mate with 3 hobs in. The floors are all joined and they have 2 sleeping hammocks. They drag tshirts from their bedding and put them in the hammock to cosy up in. I would love something bigger but a chicken coop was crap for me and I like the triple hutch because if I ever need to separate them then I can with a simple piece of wood over the pop hole.

 

I don't personally get the ferrets out for free time as much as I'd like, I'm working and then spend time with my son and the ferrets (he loves them), bath him, dogs out and then get a few hours to myself. They get out once a day for about 30 minutes and at a weekend get an hour or two in the dog run.

 

They are as quiet as can be, no noise what so ever. Don't scratch or bang and When I do get then out they are placid and not fighting to get out of our grasp. My 2 year old son plays with them and hold them and they're really docile.

 

I'm no sure if this is because all 3 of them are castrated?

 

They get fed on cat biscuit over the summer. costs around 80p for 1kg for the bargain shops. Keeps the flies away. Chicken wings and whatever else when i have it going.

 

Over winter it's rabbits and whatever else we catch.

 

Hope this helps.

 

Good luck.