Ferret Nutrition

Requirements | Good Stuff | My Views | Analysis | My Choices

Ferrets are carnivores in the wild, they are made to eat meat. They cannot digest vegetable matter very well and can get sick from it. Their short digestive tracts pass food within 4 hours, often between 2 and 3 hours. So nutrients must be absorbed within that time. Vegetable matter takes a long time to digest - time that a ferret doesn't have. So, above all else, feed your ferret a food high in meat, preferably from a known source.

It is recomended that food be given to ferrets at all times so that they will eat when they are inclined. Growing kits and pregnant or nursing females will eat a lot more than your average ferret, so provide them with more than usual.

Nutritional Requirements

Protein: 32-38%; avg. 35%
Fat: 18-25%; avg 20%
Fiber: Less than 3%, avg 2%
Carbs: Simple preferred, no sweets in the food
Starch: Well-cooked, extruded
Ash: less than 7%
Moisture: Less than 12%; avg. 10%

Generally Accepted Good Ingredients for Ferret Foods:

Beef products are questionable because of digestibility and allergic reactions.

Always the first ingredient:

Meat in some form (whole, meal, by-product...)

Always in the first three:

Fat

Never in the first three:

My Views on Pet Food

Most of the food used for pet food is either unfit for human consumption, or it's left over from processing human food. I want my ferrets to eat only the best, even if there's no proven harm done to them from eating waste. The following is my philosophy in feeding my brats, err, babies.

No by-products

By-products consist of such things as necks, feet, bones, blood, intestines, ligaments, and almost all the other parts not generally consumed by humans.

"Pet food provides a place for slaughterhouse waste and grains considered 'unfit for human consumption' to be turned into profit. This waste includes cow tongues, esophagi, and possibly diseased and cancerous meat. The 'whole grains' used have had the starch removed and the oil extracted -- usually by chemical processing -- for vegetable oil, or they are the hulls and other remnants from the milling process. Some of the truly whole grains used may have been deemed unfit for human consumption because of mold, contaminants, or poor storage practices." (An API Report: http://www.api4animals.org/petfood.htm)

Whole flesh is best, more of a natural diet. But they have more water, and there will be less actual meat after the water is taken out during processing. Meat meals are rendered, and unless the manufacturer makes it's own meal, the meals could consist of unfit tissue. Yum. By-products can be perfectly nutritious, but because the term covers anything, it can vary from bag to bag. It's at best uncertain, generally non-nutritive, and problematic at worst. There COULD be a link between slaughterhouse wastes and cancer and other diseases.

You will have to comprimise, there is no one perfect food. It is advisable to mix foods anyways, in case the brand becomes unavailable, or you go on vacation, new good brands come out, your ferret develops an allergy, etc. Ferrets become finicky after a while, but if they know that different kinds of kibble are "food", they won't encounter a problem switching.

Whole ground rice the best grain

White rice is more digestible to cats and dogs, and is less likely to cause allergies than corn or wheat. Up to 20% of other grains can escape digestion. It's used in many ferret foods already. So it's likely the best to use with ferrets...

Avoid corn, wheat, and soy as much as possible. Soy has a lot of protein, and can greatly skew the amount available in the crude amounts in the analysis, especially if there are other vegetable proteins.

No generic meat or fat sources

"Poultry" and "Animal" labels could be misleading. The exact origins of such products is unknown. Many fats are collected from restaurants' grease traps and placed in steel drums. They can then spoil until they are picked up by rendering companies and mixed with preservatives. (API report)

Chicken fat (and other specific fats) probably aren't treated in such a manner and may not require the chemical preservatives (BHT, BHA, ethoxyquin).

"Animal" digest is a broth made from anything that once lived. Chicken digest will be quite nutritious and appetizing to ferrets. Many "natural flavors" are made from digests.

No chemical preservatives - BHT, BHA, Ethoxyquin

Although not proven toxic, they haven't really proven safe, either.

"While the law requires studies of direct toxicity of these additives and preservatives, most of these additives have not been tested for their effect on each other once ingested. Three commonly used preservatives, BHA, BHT, and EQ, have a proven synergistic effect that may lead to the development of certain types of cancer." (API)

Natural preservatives include Vitamins C (asorbic acid) and E (tocopherol); HOWEVER, they are NOT as effective and so their shelf life - about 6 months - is shorter than food preserved with chemicals.

Liver, bone and blood meals

Liver might be nutritious, but it's used to filter toxins from the bloodstream, and could contain residues. Avoid it in large quantities.

Bone and blood meals aren't meat. They may add vitamins and minerals, but probably are best in smaller amounts, not a large percentage like I've seen in some less popular brands of ferret food. Don't avoid them, they are good for your pet (I think). They will also make your garden grow better, too.

Food Comparison Chart

The following chart was compiled from some other charts on the Web, sources are in my reference links. Some of the data conflicted (especially for Totally Ferret) in terms of ingredients. I took what I thought to be the most current. I haven't read the labels directly yet. I would love to hear from you if you have the labels handy, from a new bag of food.

The color coding is my subjective view about what is good for ferrets. However, I encourage you to take it into consideration, even if you don't consider it as weighted as I do. Remember, you will have to comprimise, but a mix of different foods will ultimately be the best thing for your ferret. If you have different viewpoints, feel free to e-mail me and I may re-evaluate my chart.

White box = Ingredient is yummy and good for your ferret, either in itself or in its placement in the list; percentage is adequate
Red Box = Bad ingredient in itself or in its placement in the list; percentage too low or too high
Green Box = Good ingredient you might not have known about
Orange Box = Ingredients I don't recomend
Grey Box = Not enough animal sources in the first 5 ingredients

* = Ingredients are "split", example "ground corn" and "corn gluten meal" are still corn.

Vit. E = Vitamin E, mixed tocopherols, natural presevatives
Vit. C = Vitamin C, ascorbic acid, natural preservatives
Ethox = Ethoxyquin, chemical preservative

Ratings are given this way:


Brand of Food - Ferret

Totally
Ferret 		Mazuri Marshall
Farms 		A.N.F. Sheppard & Greene Kaytee 8 in 1 L'Avian L/M
Garaunteed Crude Analysis
Protein 36 38 38 38 35 35 35 32 32
Fat 22 20.5 18 22 20 18 15 20 10
Fiber 1.5 4 3.5 2.5 3 4 3 3 4
H20 10 12 10 10 10 12 10 12 10
Ash 6.5 7.5 6.5 6.5 6.5 ? 6.5 6.5 ?
First 10 Ingredients (When Possible)
1st "Poultry" by-prod meal "Poultry" by-prod meal Chicken by-prods Chicken meal Chicken meal "Poultry" meal Chicken meal Chicken by-prod meal Fish meal
2nd Rice flour Ground corn * Herring meal Rice Ground rice Fish meal Ground corn * Brewer's rice "Poultry" meal
3rd "Poultry" fat "Animal" fat w/BHA Corn Corn * Corn gluten meal * "Animal" fat w/BHT Brewer's rice Ground wheat Ground corn
4th Natural vit. E Corn Gluten meal * Cod fish Corn gluten meal * Chicken fat w/Vit. E Soy flour Corn gluten * "Poultry" fat w/Vit E and C Soybean meal
5th Whole eggs Soybean meal "Animal" liver Dried eggs Ground corn * Kibbled corn "Animal" fat w/Vit E & C, citric acid Corn gluten meal "Animal" fat
6th Corn meal "Poultry" fat Dried beet pulp Chicken fat Dried whole egg Dried beet pulp Corn oil Fish meal Vegetable oil
7th Herring meal "Animal" digest Brewer's dried yeast "Poultry" digest Beet pulp Dried blood meal Dried eggs Liver meal ?
8th "Meat" meal Beet pulp Cane molasses Sunflower oil Natural flavors Dried whole eggs Cane molasses Dried whole egg ?
9th Chicken liver Soybean oil Salt Brewer's dried yeast Brewer's dried yeast Feeding oatmeal Beet pulp Lecithin ?
10th Brewer's yeast phosphoric acid ? Sodium propionate Vit. E Lecithin Wheat middlings Raisin juice Dried cheese ?

10 3 7.5 7.5 8 7 5 5 6


Brand of Food - Cat/Kitten

Innova Iams Kitten Iam's Lamb & Rice Science Diet FG A.N.F. Tami Kitten ProPlan Eukanuba Nutro Max Wysong
Garaunteed Crude Analysis
Protein 36 34 32 33 34 33 34 32 34
Fat 20 22 21 23 18 20 21 18 20
Fiber 2.5 3 3 3 3.8 3 2.5 2 4
H20 10 10 10 10 10 12 10 10 10
Ash 6 7 7 6.5 6.5 ? ? 6.5 6
First 10 Ingredients (When Possible)
1st Turkey Chicken by-prod meal Lamb "Poultry" by-prod meal Chicken meal Chicken Chicken Chicken meal "Poultry"
2nd Chicken meal Chicken Rice flour Ground corn * Corn * Corn gluten meal * Chicken liver Corn gluten meal "Poultry" by-prod meal
3rd Chicken Rice flour Chicken by-prod meal "Animal" fat w/BHA Chicken fat Brewer's rice Chicken by-prod meal Wheat flour * Ground whole wheat
4th Whole steamed potatoes Ground corn Ground corn Corn gluten meal * Fish meal "Poultry" by-prod meal Rice flour Ground rice * Ground whole corn *
5th Whole eggs Chicken fat w/BHA "Animal" fat w/Vit. E Dried whole egg Corn gluten meal * Ground corn * Chicken by-prod "Poultry" fat w/Ethox Corn gluten meal *
6th Whole ground barley Dried whole egg Fish meal Chicken liver digest Whole dried egg Beef tallow w/Ethox Fish meal Ground whole wheat * Ground whole soy
7th Chicken fat w/Vit. E & C Beet pulp Dried whole egg Soy bean mill run Beet pulp Dried whole egg ? Lamb meal "Poulty" fat
8th Ground white rice "Poultry" digest Beet pulp Potassium chloride "Poultry" digest Phosphoric acid ? Rice bran * Dried whole whey
9th Herring meal Fish meal "Poultry" digest Chlorine chloride Brewer's dried yeast Potassium chloride ? Dried egg Dried whole egg
10th Sunflower oil Brewer's dried yeast Potassium chloride Iodized salt Salt Dried whey ? Dried yeast Spray dried "poultry" digest

10.5 10 9 8.5 10.5 5 8.5 5.5 4.5

Innova Feline

100% HUMAN GRADE food ingredients First three are animal proteins; no by-products, corn, or chemical preservatives. It has Eggs and Chicken fat, but possibly not enuff fat. It has fish oil, (Omega 3 Fatty Acids) and Taurine. It does have milk, however. Should be mixed with another brand for variety and to dillute the milk.

Totally Ferret

is the most nutritionally complete; however, it's got by-products and unknown sources. It's also expensive, but probably worth it.

Excel Kitten

(not charted) Chicken meal and chicken, rice flower, chicken fat. No chemical preservatives. Does have a lot of chemical suppliments.

Sheppard and Greene

No chemical preservatives, it smells great! Too much corn, tho. "Three ferret appealing shapes". A good mixer with Innova and a food high in fat.

ANF Tami Kitten

Low in fat, but good (ackording to the labels). Some undiscernable products.

IAM's Lamb and Rice for Cats

It may not have the right stuff for younger ferrets, this is a good mixer. It doesn't say whether the first 10 ingredients has a chemical preservative. It has some by-prods, but no brand is perfect.

Eukanuba Cat Chicken and Rice:

Not Good By Themselves: Science Diet Feline Growth: Too much corn, by-prods, undetermined sources.

Marshall's Premium:
A lot of fish, chemical preservatives, by-prods, unknown sources.

KayTee FortiDiet:
A lot of fish, by-prods, unknown sources. A lot of vegetable "filler".

8 in 1 Ultra Blend:
Too much sugary stuff, soem unknown sources. Not enuff fat.

L/M Vita-Vittles
The worst. It has fish, unknown sources, chemical preservatives, and critically low on fat, and too much fiber. I don't recomend it, always choose a kitten food over this.

My Choices:

$$$! - Mix Innova Feline + Sheppard and Greene + Totally Ferret

$$! - Mix Excel Kitten + Totally Ferret

Ferret Nutrition:
http://unicorn.us.com/ferret/:

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Last Updated: 9/20/98