homeBoilers and equipmentWhat treats can you give your ferret daily. Proper nutrition and treats for your ferret
What treats can you give your ferret daily. Proper nutrition and treats for your ferret
Proper, high-quality and varied nutrition is one of the main conditions for the health of your pet. A ferret needs vitamins in small quantities if its nutrition is well thought out and it contains all the necessary substances. As mentioned earlier, the ideal vitamin is Ferretone or Linatone. You can use both cat and dog vitamins (in this case, be sure to give both). Be sure to calculate the concentration of vitamins for the weight of the pet. Excessive consumption of supplements causes various diseases. Mix vitamins with vegetable or olive oil.
Means for improving the coat of fur-bearing animals, vitamin yeast, seafood supplements and other vitamin complexes for predatory animals are suitable for a ferret. Sea fish complements the diet. Some types of fish are absolutely not suitable for ferret food due to the presence of specific substances (trimethylamine oxide, thiaminase), which are very harmful to ferrets. Such fish include haddock, hake, silver hake, saithe, pollock, polar cod, blue whiting.
Treats. Each ferret has its own idea of what is tasty and what is completely unsuitable for food. You can pick up a treat by sorting through various vegetables and fruits. The things most likely to please a ferret are: crushed banana, raisins, nut butter, a piece of soft pear, mints (not too much), dried liver (sold as a cat treat), soaked rice cake, green peas, wheat crackers. Some say: "the animal knows what it needs." This human opinion has led many pets to death.
Despite the fact that many ferrets adore ice cream and milk, these products should not be given in large quantities. The lactose in cow's milk causes diarrhea in ferrets. Goat milk, on the contrary, is well absorbed by the body of the ferret.
Excessive amounts of raisins, plums, bananas, oatmeal, bran can also provoke diarrhea. Sugar is bad for the teeth of mammals, so don't choose foods that contain sugar as treats. Be careful with chocolate. In addition to the fact that chocolate contains sugar, it also contains xanthine / theobromine, the toxicity of which has not yet been proven, but there is a version that these substances are harmful to animals. Licorice is also undesirable. Both chocolate and licorice are dangerous for ferrets with heart problems. Onions and garlic cause anemia of the body in cats and dogs, but it is not yet known whether they are harmful to ferrets. To be on the safe side, don't feed large amounts of onions and garlic to your ferrets (the small amounts found in kitten food are fine).
Description: High protein treat for ferrets with vitamin E, 3 types of fatty acids. From natural chicken. 85 Company manufacturer: 8 in 1
Description: High-protein healthy and tasty treat for your baby with chicken and fruit flavors. Promotes the growth of a beautiful and shiny coat. Large variety of flavors. Give your ferret in small amounts as a treat.
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Description: Yogurt treat for ferrets with banana and raisin flavor. Yogurt treat for ferrets with a nutty flavor. Weight: 100gr
Description: Chewing gum for ferrets with completely different flavors. 100% edible toys with eraser texture. Such toys prevent the chewing of rubber objects (+ the entry of unwanted elements into the stomach of the animal). Toys do not contain dyes and rubber. With sugar. Pack of 3 or 12 toys. There are flavored with molasses, chicken, spices, original, with raisins, banana, wood, garden grass. Compound: animal protein, vegetable glycerin, Dicalcium phosphate, artificial and/or natural varieties, color.
Description: 100% edible and tasty treat for ferrets. The taste is similar to French fries, and the texture is foam rubber (which ferrets are madly in love with). There are flavors of raisins, fragrant spices, garden grass and molasses. Pack of 6
Description: treat for ferrets based on animal protein with added protein. Application: 2-3 things a day. Flavors: Chicken (101-1), Bacon (101-2), Peanut Butter (101-3), Raisins (101-4). Weight: 115g
Description: Bacon flavored treats enriched with vitamins and Omega-3 fatty acids. Stool odor control. For ferrets. Manufacturer country: Belgium Feeding rates: Up to 4 pieces per day. Compound: Cereals, milk and dairy products, processed vegetables, oils and fats, seeds, minerals, Yucca extract.
Description: A delicacy for ferrets from pieces of natural chicken. The delicacy consists of 100% poultry meat and is distinguished by its excellent taste and useful properties. Compound: Water 10.00% Crude protein 46.00% Crude fat 32.00% Crude fiber 1.00% Raw ash 10.00% Ingredients 100% dehydrated chicken meat. Recommendations: giving treats should not exceed daily allowance main feed more than 50% for a long time.
Description: Nutritious, balanced treat without sugar and fruits. This healthy treat contains vitamins and minerals to keep your ferret healthy. Promotes healthy hair growth. The chicken delicacy has a crunchy texture, keeping the ferret's teeth and gums healthy (destroys tartar).
Description: nutritious chicken treat for ferrets without sugar and fruits, contains vitamins and minerals that support the health of the ferret, promotes the growth of healthy coats. The crunchy treat develops the jaw and brushes off plaque. Application: 2-3 pieces a day. Tastes: chicken. Weight: 45g
The ferret is not found in the home as often as, for example, cats and dogs. It is all the more interesting to know that they tamed it, it turns out, more than 800 years ago - and with a specific purpose: to catch pests.
This medium-sized predatory animal weighing up to 3 kg - a representative of the weasel family - lives at home for 12-13 years. And although today there is rarely a need for his hunting talents, there are many lovers of keeping this cute animal at home, because the ferret is an excellent companion.
These nocturnal animals like to sleep during the day, but during wakefulness they are very mobile, funny and playful. When in a good mood, a ferret can jump up and down and hum at the same time. Seeing that the animal fluffed up its gorgeous tail, you can guess that something interested him.
Apparently, from life in the wild, they have a habit of organizing "hiding places", so treats for ferrets and tasty treats can also sometimes end up in an unexpected secluded place.
The health of a ferret depends on nutrition, and proper feeding will provide him with a long, full of adventure and fun life, while improper nutrition - diabetes, obesity, poor hair and chronic ill health.
Ferrets are carnivores, so at least half of their diet should consist of meat and fish products. The second half is cereals and vegetables. Of the meat products for these small predators, the most useful raw beef and offal, cartilage, chicken heads and necks, heart and liver.
The diet can be diversified by giving animals twice a week chicken eggs, kefir, cheese, cottage cheese (a little and not too often).
But it is dangerous to treat your pets with sausage, bacon, ham and similar products containing preservatives.
Ferrets are big sweet tooth, and they are ready to absorb many treats for animals without measure. This desire is understandable, but excessive indulgence, unfortunately, introduces an imbalance in the ferret's diet, with the ensuing consequences in the form of health problems. And yet, not a single owner will deny his pet a tidbit, and the wisest owners will combine business with pleasure and give the ferret a “delicious” for educational purposes - for example, to wean biting.
As a treat, you can offer the animal ready-made treats bought at the pet store and specially adapted for ferrets (provided that there is no sweetener in these foods). Ferrets are very fond of sweets: ice cream and chocolate are the most delicious treats for them, but, unfortunately, the animals do not understand what is the most harmful. However, this must be understood and remembered by the owner.
Most ferrets love fruits - especially bananas and raisins. They will also not refuse to crunch cereal for breakfast. In any case, all these delicacies must be strictly dosed so as not to harm your pet.
The ferret has long ceased to be an exotic animal, and it can increasingly be seen on a leash while walking. But keeping and feeding a ferret is fundamentally different from caring for cats or dogs. Feeding a ferret at home is a very complex and expensive process, for which anyone who wants to have this animal should be ready.
Many people mistakenly believe that ferrets are rodents. In fact, this animal belongs to the weasel family. And this means that the ferret is a real predator, and its diet should not differ from what it used to eat in nature.
In their natural habitat, the ferret feeds mainly on meat. The simple structure of the ferret's digestive organs and fast metabolism means the need for fast-digesting animal protein products. The most favorite food for ferrets in nature are small rodents, birds, frogs, or fish. These predators do not disdain carrion. Ferrets live closer to human habitation, often making their way into poultry houses, where they steal eggs and chicks.
The structure of the jaw and mouth apparatus allows the ferret to tear meat into small pieces and break the bones of the victim. Therefore, there are no leftovers from the meal. The entrails, bones, feathers and wool are used as food. Ferrets do not eat grass, nuts, or root crops in nature, except for what was eaten along with the prey's stomach. But even this small amount of plant food is not digested, but is excreted from the body of the ferret in the form in which it was.
What can you feed a ferret at home
At home, the ferret cannot fully lead a natural lifestyle, so the owner must provide him with the most satisfying predator instinct food. But at home it is quite difficult to provide your pet with the necessary amount of live food. And it will need a lot, because the ferret eats 5-7 times a day, while digesting food in just a few hours.
The entire home diet for ferrets can be divided into three types - dry food, live food and mincemeat. Ferret food should be varied, include vitamins. A properly formulated ferret diet should include 2/3 animal protein and 1/3 fat. The menu includes very little fiber or carbohydrates, which are necessary for the body of the ferret to receive the necessary vitamins.
The necessary amount of vitamins and a balanced complex of minerals can be obtained by a ferret from special premium dry food. But if the owner chooses natural food for his pet, then a consultation with a veterinarian will be mandatory. The specialist will make the right menu, based on the characteristics of the body of the ferret and the capabilities of its owner.
There are several main types of products suitable for a ferret's home diet:
meat;
offal and offal;
cereals in the form of well-boiled porridges.
In a small amount:
boiled eggs, preferably quail;
boiled vegetables;
fish;
dairy products;
fats.
The basis of the diet is natural food
For a domestic ferret, a live mouse or chick will seem like a real delicacy, and he will not refuse the mouse or chick offered by the owner. At home, such food can be not only live, it is also possible to freeze such food immediately after killing. In the form of feeding for ferrets, flour worms or cockroaches are suitable.
But if it is not possible to regularly feed the ferret with live food, then other natural meat products can be eaten. For a ferret, poultry meat is best - chicken, turkey, duck meat. Poultry meat contains a very important amino acid for it - taurine, which is responsible for the good functioning of the heart, liver and active brain activity. In addition to poultry meat, ferrets can be given veal or lamb, but infrequently. It can also be offal - heart, liver, kidneys, etc. It is preferable to give all meat products in their natural raw form. Fish is included in the diet little by little, solely to obtain the elements necessary for the body of the ferret.
The most common natural food for ferrets kept at home is the so-called farshekashi. Such minced meats include a mixture of all the components necessary for the animal, but their preparation takes a certain time from the owner.
Farshekash No1
1 kg of poultry necks;
0.5 kg of avian ventricles;
200 g boiled cereals (buckwheat or oatmeal).
Meat products are ground into minced meat and mixed with porridge. The finished product is divided into portions equal to one meal of the animal and frozen. Before use, minced meat is thawed and mixed with vitamin supplements.
Farshekash No2
(only suitable for adults)
poultry meat with bones and cartilage - 400 g;
veal - 150 g;
fish - 150 g;
offal (liver, heart) - up to 100 g;
cottage cheese - 60 g;
bird fat - 20 g;
vitamins.
The meat is boiled until half cooked, separated from the bones, leaving the cartilage and skin. Porridge is cooked for about half an hour until cooked. The fish is cut into pieces with bones and tripe. Everything is mixed with the addition of vitamins and eggs. The resulting mixture is crushed in a meat grinder and frozen.
There are no specific serving sizes required for feeding a ferret. It is known that the female consumes half as much food as the male. And the male at one time can eat from 200 to 400 g of food. The only condition is that the ferret must be fed to satiety.
Dry food and treats
Sometimes the owner does not always have the opportunity to prepare or purchase natural feed. Then you can immediately accustom the ferret to a special dry food. Dry food for cats or dogs is not suitable for a ferret, because it contains many plant components that it cannot digest. Regular feeding of a ferret with non-specialized feeds for other animals can lead not only to health problems, but also to death.
The best choice of ready-made ferret food is premium dry food that does not include protein components and synthetic fats. If it is not possible to purchase special foods for ferrets, occasionally quality foods for kittens or pregnant cats can be used. If for some reason the food is replaced, then you need to observe the animal, how its body reacts to the new food.
When feeding an animal with dry food, it is necessary to ensure constant access to clean filtered water. Lack of water can lead to dehydration, the animal becomes lethargic and inactive.
Like other pets, the ferret does not refuse treats. In the process of taming or training, small amounts of raisins, pieces of bananas, melons, oat cookies, slices of hard cheese. Pet stores also sell special treats for ferrets. But the preference for any type of food or treat in a ferret can only be determined by trial and error, since each animal can have completely different taste preferences.
Vitamins and Supplements
As with any other animal, vitamins are necessary for proper growth and development of the ferret. Vitamins in the conditions of natural feeding of the animal are mixed into food. These can be vitamins A, E, D in drops, or fish oil, or regular yeast tablets.
Vitaminization of the animal is carried out with a cycle of one month after a month. Be very careful with fish oil. Do not give it to ferrets under the age of 4 weeks.
Veterinary pharmacies sell special biotin supplements that are also very useful for ferrets. As for the dosages and duration of fortification courses, it is best to consult with a veterinarian or a pharmacy pharmacist who will help you understand the instructions for vitamins or supplements. Do not forget that an excess amount of vitamins can harm the animal's body.
Plant foods and forbidden foods in the ferret's diet
Given the carnivorous nature of the ferret and its physiological structure of the gastrointestinal tract, it is necessary to limit the intake of plant foods to 10% of the total diet. The fact is that during the experiments, during which the protein components of animal origin in the menu were replaced by components of plant origin, the occurrence of pathological disorders in the body of ferrets was observed. For example, defects in the fur coat appeared, digestion was disturbed, sexual desire and the ability to reproduce offspring decreased.
Vegetable proteins are not rich enough in amino acids to fully provide the body of the ferret with the necessary components.
When organizing a balanced and healthy feeding regimen for a ferret at home, you need to remember that there are a number of products that can cause irreparable harm to the health of the animal. In the fretka menu should be excluded:
dry food for cats, dogs or rodents;
sweets in the form of sweets and confectionery;
pork can be introduced into the diet only in rare cases and only in boiled form;
sour milk; raw fish (you can eat only after freezing to avoid infection with worms).
Feeding during pregnancy and shedding
While waiting for offspring or molting, the body of the ferret is especially vulnerable. During such periods, special care must be taken in compiling the diet of the animal. For pregnant females, a 20% reduction in food intake is recommended. But at the same time, the nutritional value of food should be increased significantly. This can be done by increasing the amount of natural animal protein in food and reducing the volume of cereals, or even completely abandoning them.
Be sure to add brewer's yeast, vitamins, bone meal to food. During pregnancy, overfeeding is strictly prohibited. In case of excess weight, vitamins are not added in the form of food, but special vitamin injections are made.
Before childbirth and during them, it is worth taking care of a sufficient amount of water. And after the successful birth of offspring, add cottage cheese to the diet, which improves lactation, and maximize the nutritional value of food.
The molting of the ferret takes place twice a year - in autumn and spring. At this time, in addition to a full-fledged balanced diet, you need to take care of fortification. For ferrets, in this case, there are special vitamins 8 in 1. Their use significantly reduces the time of molting and reduces the negative effects on the fur of the animal during this period.
Ferrets are rather capricious and demanding animals. The slightest mistake in their diet can lead to irreversible consequences. If the owner pays maximum attention to organizing the right menu for his ferret, then the animal will delight him for many years. Otherwise, maybe it's better to have a kitten?
Any ferret is pleased when the owner praises him, gives him treats for certain merits, and simply loves him very much, grooms and cherishes. Of course, it is not at all necessary to constantly pamper your domestic ferret with treats, but sometimes it is simply necessary, which is often practiced in training and accustoming the animal to the tray, as well as other merits. And yes, just like that.
Very often, novice breeders make a huge mistake when they give their ferret cookies, chocolate, marmalade, marshmallows, citrus fruits and other products that not only do not benefit the body of the animal, but also cause great damage to its health, in particular gastrointestinal tract. And then they wonder what led to these diseases. It's good that you are a responsible breeder and don't want to risk your ferret's life, which is why you are here. Are you interested in what can and cannot be given as treats to ferrets. I'm right?
Remember that any specialty ferret treats sold in pet stores not always meet their nutritional needs of the body, and often bring only harm. This is due to the fact that most manufacturers consider polecats to be rodents, not predators, and therefore the composition of these “sweets” is appropriate (cereals and grains).
To be sure that a particular delicacy is suitable for a ferret, carefully study its composition. Meat ingredients must be in the first place, and there should be no chemical dyes, flavor enhancers and flavorings at all, as well as salt and sugar. Ideally, if there are no grains at all.
From specialized delicacies, I can recommend dry beef lung from TiTBiT. This is the only specialized and store-bought treat that I give my pet ferret, eats with pleasure and does not harm his health at all.
Sometimes, you can pamper your pet with food products that are almost always present in our refrigerators. Be aware that the amount of treats given should not exceed 5% of the ferret's daily diet, otherwise digestive problems may occur. In a word, the amount of goodies per day should be the smallest.
What can be given
Cucumber. A small slice and without a peel. By the way, it is good for the kidneys.
Pepper. Only sweet pepper (Bulgarian), it is better to separate the peel.
Chicken egg. A small piece of boiled yolk. It is not recommended to give a raw egg and protein (including boiled) to a ferret!
Quail egg. Let's a raw egg but not more than once a week. Quail eggs are better than chicken eggs.
Banana, pear, sweet apple, grapes (without skin and pits), strawberries, wild strawberries, currants. In small quantities and not often.
Skim cheese. One of the acceptable dairy products, which can occasionally be given to ferrets, but not in large quantities, and with a fat mass fraction of no more than 2%.
Watermelon melon. Watermelon is very useful, removes toxins, but you need to give in small quantities and not often. Give only Astrakhan watermelons during the harvest season.
Raisin. Washed and soaked in water, give no more than 1 berry per day.
small piece chicken fillet, previously scalded with boiling water.
What not to give
Chocolate, cookies, gingerbread and other flour and sugar-containing products.
Fried, smoked, salted. Products containing food chemical additives (dyes, enhancers, flavors, preservatives, and so on).
Potatoes, spicy and citrus vegetables with fruits.
Onion, garlic, radish.
Nuts and mushrooms should never be given to a ferret.
A huge proportion of pet store treats that do not meet the nutritional needs of the ferret or are harmful to his body. Before you buy a treat, carefully study its composition.
Treats are different for every pet ferret.
When one domestic ferret eats on both cheeks quail egg, it does not mean at all that another ferret will eat it with the same zeal. The tastes of each animal are individual, so if one of the above delicacies is ignored by your pet, then do not torture him. Know that treats for ferrets are not mandatory at all components of nutrition in a balanced daily diet.
Description: Chewing gum for ferrets with completely different flavors. 100% edible toys with eraser texture. Such toys prevent the chewing of rubber objects (+ the entry of unwanted elements into the stomach of the animal). Toys do not contain dyes and rubber. With sugar. Pack of 3 or 12 toys. 
Description: treat for ferrets based on animal protein with added protein. 
Description: Bacon flavored treats enriched with vitamins and Omega-3 fatty acids. Stool odor control. For ferrets. 
Description: Nutritious, balanced treat without sugar and fruits. This healthy treat contains vitamins and minerals to keep your ferret healthy. Promotes healthy hair growth. The chicken delicacy has a crunchy texture, keeping the ferret's teeth and gums healthy (destroys tartar). 
Description: nutritious chicken treat for ferrets without sugar and fruits, contains vitamins and minerals that support the health of the ferret, promotes the growth of healthy coats. The crunchy treat develops the jaw and brushes off plaque. 
