What to feed the ferret?

Some people for some reason mistakenly classify ferrets to rodents. But in fact, the ferret is a predator of the family of cunts, its closest relatives are ermine, weasel and mink. Once a ferret is a predator, then the basis of his diet will be meat. In nature, ferrets eat small rodents, and if they live near people, they can also climb into the poultry house. But what to feed the ferret at home?

The second common misconception aboutferrets - this is what you can feed the ferret just like a cat or dog. But ferrets have other needs for food due to the structure of their gastrointestinal tract and very rapid metabolism. A ferret needs a lot of animal protein, it can not be replaced by a vegetable protein.. Feed the ferret often - he digest food on average for three hours, so that two meals will not be enough for him. Ferrets eat about seven times a day, but a little bit.

So what to feed the ferret to provide it with a much needed animal protein? As in the case of cats and dogs, there are two options - ready feed and natural diet. Let's start with the ready forage. Of course, it is best to feed the ferret with feeds specially designed for frets. Such feeds have optimally balanced composition: 30-40% protein, 20-30% fat and not more than 3% fiber.

But if special ferret food is not available, you can feed the ferret with cat food. But here it is necessary to take into account two important points. First, it should be Professional feed (super premium class feed), no economical options! If you want to save money, it's better not to get a ferret at all. Secondly, it should be food not for adult animals, but for kittens or pregnant cats: The food needs of ferrets are closest to the nutritional needs of kittens.

The choice of a specific brand of food depends on the individual taste of your ferret. It is best to offer him several feeds "to choose from" and then feed to those that he likes. It is better to give preference to dry foods, rather than preserves. The main component of the feed should be poultry. If you feed a ferret professional food, give him additional vitamin supplements do not need: the food is already balanced.

If you decide to feed the ferret with natural food, you need to think about its diet. The basis of the diet is poultry meat - chicken or turkey. It is easily digested and perfectly suited to ferrets. Low-fat beef or mutton can be given limited, pork should generally be avoided. It is not necessary to feed the ferret exclusively raw meat.

Supplement to the meat will be offal (chicken offal, kidney, heart) and a fish. Fish should not be more than 15% ofration, and most fish species (especially freshwater) are not suitable for ferrets. They can be given flounder, cod, mackerel, horse mackerel, herring, trout. 15-30% of the diet should be porridges, best of all - wheat and rice, you can give buckwheat, sometimes - oatmeal.

Also in the diet should include the so-called corrective ingredients - sources of vitamins, minerals, fatty acids etc. So, vitamins A and D are in the liver, calcium - in cottage cheese, fatty acids and vitamin E - in fish oil and vegetable oil. You can also give the ferret quail eggs, ready-made vitamin and mineral supplements.

To accurately calculate the proportions of products,making up the ferret's diet, it is better to contact the veterinarian: it's extremely undesirable to make a diet at random. It is also important that the ferret in the bowl always has fresh water at room temperature. You can not mix natural food and prepared feeds: mixed nutrition disturbs the balance of the diet. In addition, mixing ready-made food with natural products can lead to the development of urolithiasis.

Than you can not feed the ferret? As for prepared feeds, you can not give itfeed below the super premium class, as well as feed for adult cats and for dogs. Of natural products should avoid fruits and vegetables, rich in fiber. This is in humans, it facilitates digestion, and ferrets can cause intestinal obstruction. Also, ferrets, milk and bakery products, many kinds of fish and food from your table (especially fried, fatty, smoked, etc.) should not be given to ferrets.

Malnutrition can lead to the development of various diseases, say, rickets, diabetes, intestinal obstruction. therefore it is very important to feed the ferret correctly, then your pet will be healthy and cheerful.