From:
"Amy Rectenwal"
Date: 2008-12-08 16:11:36 UTC
Subject: [ferrethealth] raw hamburg
To: <ferrethealth@yahoogroups.com>
Debra,
If you are looking to feed a natural, raw diet to your ferret, you are better off feeding whole prey (mice, rats, voles, frogs, insects) or frankenprey for a number of reasons:
1. Ground food has greater surface area for bacteria to grown (and although the ferrets stomach is highly acidic and designed to cope with these things, an overload could cause problems)
2. I'm assuming this ground meat does not include bone or organ which would be found in whole prey and is necessary for a "balanced" diet (e.g. an all meat diet can cause rickets - need bone and organs, too).
3. Ground meat does nothing for oral health - it does not help keep the teeth and gums healthy.
If you're feeding as a one time meal, you could maybe add some eggs (with shell) and get away with but I recommend stearing clear of the ground and going for either whole or large pieces of specied appropriate size prey (chickens, cornish game hen, etc.)
Amy & Ferrets7
Auburn Hills, MI
----- Original Message -----
debra aliano wrote : 12.8.08:
Hi all!! Can someone please tell me if raw hamburg is healthy for a 4 month old baby ferret???? I picked some up at a farm on saturday.,and its thawed out as of today.,want to be sure.... thank u.,Deb
[Moderator's Note:
This last year there have been many incidences
of chopped beef recalls in the U.S. for the
worst strain of E. coli and sometimes for some
other types of food poisoning, so always check
http://www.fsis.usda.gov/News_&_Events/2008_news_releases/index.asp
and
http://www.fda.gov/opacom/7alerts.html
and news sources like
http://news.google.com/news
I think this is the most recent one:
http://www.cattlenetwork.com/Content.asp?ContentID=271499
other aspects such as a need for balanced nutrition,
mineral needs, etc. can be tackled by those who
post.]
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