Rabbit fed ferrets

[JoseiesMom 0]

Hi all,

 

Forgive me if this subject has been discussed before, I couldn't find anything specific doing a search.

 

To give more background than what is in my intro:

 

I am in the U.S. and we aren't allowed to use our ferrets to hunt, unfortunately. But I still have managed to veer off the beaten path and no longer feed kibble. Instead I feed my ferrets a variety of natural foods: Live prey consisting of:Mice, rats, guinea pigs, chicks, super worms, night crawlers, crickets; Raw meaty bones from: cornish game hen, rabbit, chicken wings, chicken necks, gizzards, hearts, livers, turkey necks, hearts, some ground meat mixes of pork, beef,lamb, chicken, veal and turkey, eggs, lard and a small bit of heavy cream on Sundays. I am raising my own mice now. the other whole live prey they get when prices and opportunity allows.

 

I've only had ferrets for a little over 2 years now, but all are adoptees and former kibble crunchers. The oldest was 5 years old when she switched and will turn 7 next month, the youngest I have is going on 10 months, the rest are two and three years old. All 6 have had improved energy levels, better muscling and great coats. They are kept indoors but allowed free roam, my lighting is full spectrum and timed with normal daylight hours. I take them on outings regularly, but not every day.

 

Basically what I am trying to discover, directly from the folks who would know, is exactly what parts of the whole prey the ferret chooses to normally eat? I have noticed that very often my ferrets will leave the entrails ( stomach and guts) of the prey, while devouring most of the rest of the animal. Some ferrets will leave the noses, tails and feet of the rodents.

 

I consistently get into dietary discussions with people insisting that ferrets can eat all manner of plants because they eat the plant filled guts of prey animals. These folks consistently spout off at least 5% of the ferret's diet is made up of "predigested" plant matter. I don't see it with my ferrets. I am forever tossing tiny stomachs and strings of guts into the trash. Even IF they ate the guts- those entrails do NOT make up 5% of the total diet. and if you breakdown the tissue quantity of the guts themselves, the contents are no where near 5% of the diet. Then if you consider that frogs eat bugs- bugs are NOT plants, voles are omnivores and will eat insects, fish and other invertebrates, so except for rabbits and muskrats- wild polecats seem to be eating animals that eat other animals and in the wild polecats apparently rabbits aren't as large a part of their diet as are much smaller prey.

 

Then a little bit of research on the internet and an actual study of wild polecats showed a diet high in voles, some muskrats, rabbits, frogs, and even some invertebrates indicated the polecats ate these animals, but didnt specify if the animal's guts were also devoured, or if they were left for other scavengers.

 

I've read how hunting ferrets will often eta the liver of a pinned rabbit - but do they also eat the stomach and intestines with any regularity?

 

So that i a nutshell is what I am trying to find out - how often, if at all, do ferrets actually eat the guts of plant eating animals?

 

Cheers,

Kim

Edited August 20, 2008 by JoseiesMom

[lorelei0922 2]

Hi all,

 

Forgive me if this subject has been discussed before, I couldn't find anything specific doing a search.

 

To give more background than what is in my intro:

 

I am in the U.S. and we aren't allowed to use our ferrets to hunt, unfortunately. But I still have managed to veer off the beaten path and no longer feed kibble. Instead I feed my ferrets a variety of natural foods: Live prey consisting of:Mice, rats, guinea pigs, chicks, super worms, night crawlers, crickets; Raw meaty bones from: cornish game hen, rabbit, chicken wings, chicken necks, gizzards, hearts, livers, turkey necks, hearts, some ground meat mixes of pork, beef,lamb, chicken, veal and turkey, eggs, lard and a small bit of heavy cream on Sundays. I am raising my own mice now. the other whole live prey they get when prices and opportunity allows.

 

I've only had ferrets for a little over 2 years now, but all are adoptees and former kibble crunchers. The oldest was 5 years old when she switched and will turn 7 next month, the youngest I have is going on 10 months, the rest are two and three years old. All 6 have had improved energy levels, better muscling and great coats. They are kept indoors but allowed free roam, my lighting is full spectrum and timed with normal daylight hours. I take them on outings regularly, but not every day.

 

Basically what I am trying to discover, directly from the folks who would know, is exactly what parts of the whole prey the ferret chooses to normally eat? I have noticed that very often my ferrets will leave the entrails ( stomach and guts) of the prey, while devouring most of the rest of the animal. Some ferrets will leave the noses, tails and feet of the rodents.

 

I consistently get into dietary discussions with people insisting that ferrets can eat all manner of plants because they eat the plant filled guts of prey animals. These folks consistently spout off at least 5% of the ferret's diet is made up of "predigested" plant matter. I don't see it with my ferrets. I am forever tossing tiny stomachs and strings of guts into the trash. Even IF they ate the guts- those entrails do NOT make up 5% of the total diet. and if you breakdown the tissue quantity of the guts themselves, the contents are no where near 5% of the diet. Then if you consider that frogs eat bugs- bugs are NOT plants, voles are omnivores and will eat insects, fish and other invertebrates, so except for rabbits and muskrats- wild polecats seem to be eating animals that eat other animals and in the wild polecats apparently rabbits aren't as large a part of their diet as are much smaller prey.

 

Then a little bit of research on the internet and an actual study of wild polecats showed a diet high in voles, some muskrats, rabbits, frogs, and even some invertebrates indicated the polecats ate these animals, but didnt specify if the animal's guts were also devoured, or if they were left for other scavengers.

 

I've read how hunting ferrets will often eta the liver of a pinned rabbit - but do they also eat the stomach and intestines with any regularity?

 

So that i a nutshell is what I am trying to find out - how often, if at all, do ferrets actually eat the guts of plant eating animals?

 

Cheers,

Kim

 

 

Hi Kim,

 

well done for switching to a natural diet... mine have rabbit mostly.. chicken and anything else the butcher tosses our way weekly including offal and bones etc...

 

when we feed rabbit they skip the intestines and stomach as well... or pierce them and leave a mess LOL... we tend to give them gutted more often .. leaving in the liver, heart, kidneys and lungs etc... and what we are left with in the morning is a pile of fur ( not nearly enough to cover the rabbit though ) sometimes the pelvis bones or bigger back leg bones.. usually the feet... sometimes the spine though they usually stash this to nibble on later.

 

i have quite a few friends with "pets only" ferrets here in the UK who have done as you have and switched... and comparing our healthy naturally fed ferrets up close to the kibble fed ones .. no contest.. sleeker,lovelier coats, better muscles and great teeth!

[lorelei0922 2]

tie the back legs together if your feeding a whole rabbit and it will stop them pulling it off and stashing it inside a sleeping box

 

a great tip! we do this a lot... good enrichement too .. makes them tug and work for the food ...

[stubby 175]

feeding live christ, we'd have our bo**ocks chopped off, if they caught us doing that in england

[JoseiesMom 0]

feeding live christ, we'd have our bo**ocks chopped off, if they caught us doing that in england

 

 

Well the powers that be may be able to tell me what I cannot do in public, but I'll be danged if they'll dictate what I can do in my own home! Feeding live has helped me get two very vicious biters to figure out proper things to sink their teeth into, besides my flesh!

 

One ferret I got was already labeled vicious and bounced from home to to home to home ( I figure I was her 6th home), another my last adoptee was headed in the same direction and I became his 4th and final home and he was only 8 months old!

 

Both of these ferrets had been so traumatized by poor handling they designed sneak attacks while I was sleeping! Fizzle stapled my fingers as they dangled off the bed's edge, and Roman woke me up by piercing my eyebrow!

 

Now I can pick them both up at will, tote them about the house and they keep their weapons sheathed! Fizzle has turned into a big mushy lap puppy and Roman is headed that way. I wish I could let them burn off more energy by letting them ferret out rabbits. But if I did and some bleeding heart bunny hugger saw me- that would mean curtains for the ferrets! So I let them go after smaller rodents in the confines of the bathroom!

 

So far it seems that its an individual thing, whether the ferrets eat the entrails or not? Mice- they'll eat, but rabbits they tend to leave? The only rabbits my kids get have already been processed by a butcher, how much would you say the stomach and guts weigh in relation tot he rest of the rabbit?

 

Thanks!

Cheers,

Kim

[Malt 379]

When you're feeding whole prey items and nothing else, the ferrets need to consume the contents of the stomach to gain the trace elements of vegetation they need for a complete diet.

 

Try this website for more info: http://www.britishferretclub.co.uk/feedingferrets.htm

[undisputed 1,664]

Ferrets will consume whole carcase guts n all if left long enough

[Malt 379]

Ferrets will consume whole carcase guts n all if left long enough

Mine consume the guts first!

[Malt 379]

thats cos yours are phsycos

They say ferrets are like they're owners Will, be very careful.......

 

Here's a photo of me in my ferreting gear, getting ready to clear some thick cover from a bury...

[Julia 0]

My ferrrets switches... Some times they will eat the hole thing, others... Maybe only those crunchy legs and heads...

[MikeTheDog 153]

Both of these ferrets had been so traumatized by poor handling they designed sneak attacks while I was sleeping! Fizzle stapled my fingers as they dangled off the bed's edge, and Roman woke me up by piercing my eyebrow!

 

 

Fecking hell!...Bet you don't get many people sleeping over