From:
Chris Lloyd
Date: 2001-04-04 01:43:00 UTC
Subject: Re: [Ferret-Health-list] Digest Number 94/Obesity from
Patric in Raleigh
"What would you say is the best food for ferrets."
Quail, partridge, pheasant, pigeon, mice, rabbit, bantams and
then chicken in that order that's based on research done on
the feeding of owls and hawks. They worked on the amount of
usable protein and vitamins/minerals against meat weight.
These were to be fed as completely whole carcass ( just
chopped up ). Chicken came a long way down the scale and was
not recommended for feeding birds but was adequate for
ferrets. Birds of pray add and loose weight very quickly so by
weighing all food eaten and water drunk and then weighing the
birds 4 times a day, he reckoned that smallest amount of meat
that maintained body weight and condition must be the best
food. Does this appear right to you experts. Yes he kept
ferrets and tried the same experiment but the ferrets were
more trouble as some days the slept all day and other days
they ran about so he had no idea how to work out weight loss
due to energy consumption. Chris.
PS I don't remember any thing about weighing poop and as poop
is the most important ferret health guide does this mean the
experiment is completely invalid.
Chris Lloyd ICQ no. 44575318
Wessex Ferret Club Southampton. UK. www.wfc.cwc.net
The Pack www.btinternet.com/~chris.lloyd2/