Feeding your ferret dry food
Feeding pets with ready-made food is very popular these days. This is not surprising: ready-made diets make life easier for pet owners, and in a wide range of products offered by pet stores, it is easy to choose the right line for your pet. However, this type of feeding has its own characteristics, which must be taken into account in order to build a truly correct diet.
- Choose a feed class. Do not forget that there are several classes of ready-made feeds (economy, premium, super premium). The higher the class of the diet, the better it is. For the production of economy class lines, budget raw materials are used, as a rule, with soy content. Therefore, the high quality of the components and the optimal balance in this case are not guaranteed. While high-end foods (for example: VERSELE-LAGA, Fiory) are made from carefully selected ingredients, comply with European quality standards, and their composition is strictly balanced in accordance with the daily nutritional needs of the pet.
- We study the composition. Ferrets are predators, which means that the main component of their diet should be meat products, not grains. Animal protein in the list of feed components should always be in the first place. The body of a ferret easily digests poultry meat, so it is advisable to choose a diet based on chicken meat (or other poultry). But the content of soy meat, barley and oatmeal in the feed is a serious drawback. Such products are poorly absorbed by ferrets and do not carry nutritional value for them. Also, diets high in fish meat (if fish comes first) are not the best option. Such feeds are characterized by a lack of fat, which will negatively affect the condition of the ferret’s skin and coat, as well as its smell.
The content of taurine and yucca in the feed is a significant advantage. Taurine promotes the proper functioning of the cardiovascular system and prevents heart disease, while yucca improves digestion and neutralizes the unpleasant odor of pet waste.
The optimal balance of components in high-quality feed: 30-36% of easily digestible animal protein, 18-22% of animal fat, 3% of carbohydrates.
Feed your ferrets only food specially formulated for them. Although the food habits of ferrets and cats are broadly similar, ferrets require 20-25% more protein than cats, and diets should not exceed 5% fiber. Thus, feeding ferrets a cat diet is not desirable, but it can be resorted to as a last resort. Do not forget that changing the diet is always stressful for the body and it is not recommended to change the feed.
Never feed dog rations to ferrets. The needs of ferrets and dogs are very different, and, accordingly, the foods for these pets contain completely different ingredients.
You can not combine two types of feeding: ready-made diets and natural products. Mixed feeding provokes the development of a number of diseases, in particular, urolithiasis (ICD).
When ferrets are fed a ready-made diet, their need for fluid increases. Make sure that clean fresh water is always freely available to the animal. This is very important for his health.
Do not use vitamin and mineral supplements. Ready-made balanced diets already contain all the elements necessary for a ferret. Do not forget that an overabundance of vitamins is just as dangerous as their lack.
Take care of your pets and choose the best for them!
