From:
Kmari1222@yahoo.com
Date: 2005-08-23 13:59:30 UTC
Subject: Re: [ferrethealth] RE: Raw feeding//whole prey feeding
To: ferrethealth@smartgroups.com
Message-ID: <7760420.1124813439289.JavaMail.nobody@strontium.smartgroups.com>
I will site a source for every fact, just in case someone gets confused. Someone has
to show the other side of this.
Information about freezing:
http://www.fsis.usda.gov/Fact_Sheets/Focus_On_Freezing/index.asp
Freezing does not actually kill bacteria, except for Trichina and some other
parasites. It puts the bacteria in a 'dormant' type stage, which prevents the growth
of harmful bacteria. Is this site good enough?
Good cleaning is key in preventing illness, also.
http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dbmd/diseaseinfo/escherichiacoli_g.htm#What%20can
%20be%20done%20to%20prevent%20the%20infection
"Never defrost food at room temperature. Thaw food in the refrigerator, under cold
running water..."
http://www.fsis.usda.gov/OA/background/bksalmon.htm
This is to stunt the growth of Salmonella bacteria.
E. Coli is something that is most prominent in beef, so unless you feed your ferrets
ground beef, this shouldn't *totally* apply to raw feed.
http://vm.cfsan.fda.gov/~lrd/ecoli.txt
So you look at the hard facts and decide for yourself.
I won't talk about the feeding container because it is just an opinion. However, there
is a Natural Ferrets yahoo! group that focuses on raw diets, not vaccinating, etc. that
could be helpful for you.
"Contaminated foods are often of animal origin, such as beef, poultry, milk, or eggs,
but all foods, including vegetables may become contaminated."
(CDC)
So as you see, anything can cause salmonella. It lives in everyone's intestines and is
contracted through infected feces (CDC).
Just be careful and take correct precautions. Don't leave the food out long and clean
up good.
One of the benefits of raw/prey is the dental aspect.
I hope this source is OK:
"the ripping and chewing involved in eating raw meaty bones develops the jaw,
neck, and shoulder muscles of the dog. Commercial dog foods will never assist in
this important muscle development." http://www.rawlearning.com/rawfaq.html
That goes for ferrets too. They work their muscles and get their teeth goin'!
If you go to the same site you will see some reasons why kibble is bad.
Good Luck!