ferretfan123 Posted February 1, 2014 Report Share Posted February 1, 2014 Hi, just wondering if anyone gives there ferrets mice or rats. If so is it frozen pet shop sort or do they catch common garden rats and mice. Thanks josh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kent Posted February 1, 2014 Report Share Posted February 1, 2014 I have known people feed un-poisoned rats to ferrets and its said to lengthen their working life as a ratter, its also very dangerous regards human health. Frozen captive bred reptile food should be fine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luckyshot Posted February 1, 2014 Report Share Posted February 1, 2014 Never heard of anyone feeding mice or rats as most people with ferrets can get a regular suply of rabbit pigeon etc to feed them on all year round. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bantam boy Posted February 1, 2014 Report Share Posted February 1, 2014 Why on earth would you do this? There is perfectly good dried food out there for ferrets, without going through the trouble of Thawing out rats and mice, dried food and a little rabbit or chicken is fine. Based on thirty years of ferret keeping. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subsonicnat Posted February 1, 2014 Report Share Posted February 1, 2014 Used to give mine, Sheeps heads from the Butchers, they loved it.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ferretfan123 Posted February 1, 2014 Author Report Share Posted February 1, 2014 Ok thanks for the feed back, yes mine are on James wellbeloved complete dry food but also give them chicken wings and rabbit. Just thought they might like something new. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luckyshot Posted February 1, 2014 Report Share Posted February 1, 2014 Mine live on 100% rabbit, cant understand why people insist on feeding them dried food, each to there own but why pay for food when you can get perfectly good food for free. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ferretfan123 Posted February 1, 2014 Author Report Share Posted February 1, 2014 That's true but not everyone has ferreting permission. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luckyshot Posted February 1, 2014 Report Share Posted February 1, 2014 That's true but not everyone has ferreting permission. If you don't have ferreting or shooting permission then why have ferrets in the first place, if you want a pet buy a dog. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tharsus Posted February 1, 2014 Report Share Posted February 1, 2014 Mine love mice that I have trapped, when I was a kid I used the ferrets mostly for rats and would feed them to them as well, used to pick up all kinds of road kill for them too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ferretfan123 Posted February 1, 2014 Author Report Share Posted February 1, 2014 If you don't have ferreting or shooting permission then why have ferrets in the first place, if you want a pet buy a dog. because there six month old and to young to work, and ferrets make get pets. Its a shame you only see them as a working tool rather then a pet first!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
babs2020 Posted February 1, 2014 Report Share Posted February 1, 2014 they make great pets as well as worker s Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ferretfan123 Posted February 1, 2014 Author Report Share Posted February 1, 2014 they make great pets as well as worker s yes fantastic pets, like i said they should be seen as pets first before workers in my opinion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tharsus Posted February 1, 2014 Report Share Posted February 1, 2014 yes fantastic pets, like i said they should be seen as pets first before workers in my opinion. This is a country sports forum though Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kent Posted February 1, 2014 Report Share Posted February 1, 2014 Used to give mine, Sheeps heads from the Butchers, they loved it..Those were illegal way back, how far are we going back in time? You couldn't get them from a legal butcher in the 80's Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kent Posted February 1, 2014 Report Share Posted February 1, 2014 Mine live on 100% rabbit, cant understand why people insist on feeding them dried food, each to there own but why pay for food when you can get perfectly good food for free.it doesn't turn rank in the nest in summer and put them down with e-coli and they do extremely well off it and you don't get near as many flies around Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Essex Hunter Posted February 2, 2014 Report Share Posted February 2, 2014 Mine live on 100% rabbit, cant understand why people insist on feeding them dried food, each to there own but why pay for food when you can get perfectly good food for free. +1 I took on a 2 year old jill who was very sluggish, she had been fed on dry food...an £80 operation removed lots of stones built up from eating the dry food (so the vet said) Put her on rabbit she lived until 8 had 3 lots of kits and worked like a mad thing. Mine get mainly rabbit, some hare, also I pluck pigeons and freeze them as a back up also a change. Lots of people use dry food for ferrets, however I don't TEH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kent Posted February 2, 2014 Report Share Posted February 2, 2014 I have done both, over extended periods. I don't think either way is perfect. Fed whole carcass you really need to think in terms of daily (full) clear outs including the nest box and storage of raw carcass is difficult in summer.Bugs picked from rank meat found hidden away in summer are a real issue I have experienced . I never had any obvious health issues with dry personally (though fed totally on pellet from kits they tend to pass over the chance of fresh raw meat) and it should be born in mind that the wild polecat will supplement its diet with some vegetable and fruit matter so not meat diet should lack some veg matter even if its only in the stomach of carcass. Complete was actually originally formulated for the mink fur farmers obviously they had mind towards a good coat and a lack of illness / stock losses. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luckyshot Posted February 2, 2014 Report Share Posted February 2, 2014 because there six month old and to young to work, and ferrets make get pets. Its a shame you only see them as a working tool rather then a pet first!! A ferret is not an animal I would personally class as a pet, they are a working tool just the same as a gun. yes fantastic pets, like i said they should be seen as pets first before workers in my opinion. A pet for me is something like a cat or a dog, certainly not a ferret. it doesn't turn rank in the nest in summer and put them down with e-coli and they do extremely well off it and you don't get near as many flies around Mine only ever get fed rabbit with the odd pheasant, never had food turn rank or had any health problems with any of them. +1 I took on a 2 year old jill who was very sluggish, she had been fed on dry food...an £80 operation removed lots of stones built up from eating the dry food (so the vet said) Put her on rabbit she lived until 8 had 3 lots of kits and worked like a mad thing. Mine get mainly rabbit, some hare, also I pluck pigeons and freeze them as a back up also a change. Lots of people use dry food for ferrets, however I don't TEH Similar diet to mine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kent Posted February 2, 2014 Report Share Posted February 2, 2014 Lucky shot said, "they are a working tool just the same as a gun." Though I am sure its not meant as its said, if it works or not it is still a living creature in our care and cannot be neglected or treated as an object. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ferretfan123 Posted February 2, 2014 Author Report Share Posted February 2, 2014 Do you class a lurcher or a terrier as a working tool then. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tharsus Posted February 2, 2014 Report Share Posted February 2, 2014 If their workers their not pets, their not tools either Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
evo Posted February 3, 2014 Report Share Posted February 3, 2014 always fed my polecats on rabbit or pigeon, never did them any harm,would never dream of giving them wild rats or mice, also never thought of them as pets ever, they where used solely as working animals ,played with on a daily basis but treated as a tool for the job,(for pest control of rabbits) atb Evo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kent Posted February 3, 2014 Report Share Posted February 3, 2014 Do you class a lurcher or a terrier as a working tool then. I class no living creature as a tool. I mistreat tools, lend them out and often fail to care for them. A working animal is just that an animal that works. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gimlet Posted February 13, 2014 Report Share Posted February 13, 2014 Mine get both dried food and fresh rabbit meat every day. They have Chudleys biscuits ad-lib and fresh meat fed once a day when they're cleaned out.They seem to enjoy both and they certainly miss the biscuits when they run out. I occasionally give them a raw egg usually in spring as they would find them in the wild and now and again they get fish skins and trimmings which they love. They won't touch venison for some reason. I've tried them with red offal and bullet hole meat trimmings and they're not impressed, which is a pity because there's a lot of feeds in a deer liver. Whatever they get I try to judge so they've run out each morning. It seems to work. They're in excellent health. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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