From:
sukiec@optonline.net
Date: 2003-12-26 16:41:48 UTC
Subject: RE: Help!! Is it diareah or constipation??
To: ferrethealth@smartgroups.com
Message-ID: <4348731.1072456908209.JavaMail.root@indium.smartgroups.com>
Important addendum:
Remember: FOOD ALLERGIES in anyone (including humans) ARE ALMOST ALWAYS TO ingredients in the MOST COMMONLY EATEN FOODS which is why rice allergies are more common in the Far East and wheat allergies are more common in the Western world. It is also why the number of potato allergies in the U.S. are increasing as the consumption of potatoes increases (interestingly, the increases are to a great extent due to increases in french fry consumption according to one thing I've read).
Some foods are also more inclined to cause allergies, such as peanuts for humans, crustaceans for humans, and apparently poultry (esp. chicken) for ferrets.
There ARE ways to process chicken so that most ferrets who are allergic to it are safe -- though it doesn't work for all -- and the process is used to made feline zd food (a prescription food category). There is also a canine zd food which was found to be less allergenic than feline zd for Rinkie Dink in the past posts of his family in
http://fhl.sonic-weasel.org . Alternatively, people can purchase foods which don't contain the common allergens for their ferrets.