what I feed my ferrets

[@tototaniwha]

Scary watching you use the knife to chop the pieces up! I can just imagine someone missing the meat and hitting their finger

[@ruralpestcontrol]

Myon Tan hopefully not me 😁

[@galaxygirl2876]

me 2

[@madyson1236]

Every single time he cuts meat I flinch.. Its so close to the finger...

[@usetobeme4736]

I guess if he does the ferrets will get a new meat

[@tototaniwha]

@@BahbahKaduche Huh? I wasn't worried about his ability at all? Take some of your own advice lol

[@Wolverine60fps]

I'm a visual learner so seeing you do this was really helpful thank you!

[@ruralpestcontrol]

No worries 👍

[@Irishkilla79]

I love the fact that you and a lot of other people are giving ferrets and other animals what they hunt in the wild, even though they are domesticated. Keep it going.

[@ruralpestcontrol]

Ferrets are obligate carnivores so must eat meat . It is their natural diet even though they are domesticated.

[@kayedal-haddad]

Do you ever feed your ferrets Kibbles?

[@ruralpestcontrol]

Yes sometimes over summer to help stop flies. If I do give them dry food the only dry food I buy is ferret feast. It has to be a high protein content. I think at least 40% but don't quote me on that

[@georgewaters5048]

You keep your Ferrets really well mate, just wondered what the benefit of giving them the Goat's milk is? Is it just for extra fats, or are there other reasons? Keep up the videos, it's great to see someone keeping Ferrets properly.

[@ruralpestcontrol]

George Waters the goats milk is just more of a treat really. they don't have to have it and they don't get it everyday but they do like it :-)

[@georgewaters5048]

Nice, I might give it a try with mine

[@louisbailey9336]

Your videos are great but i believe ferrets are Lactose intolerance how come you are feeding them goats milk? Just wonderimg

[@gogilby]

That's why he is using goat mike, not cow milk.

[@wolftone4994]

@@gogilby goat milk contains lactose aswell just not as much

[@skunk3572]

anyone else get anxiety from watching him cut it up i was scared hed cut himself jeez😂

[@ruralpestcontrol]

I still have all my fingers intact 👍 😉

[@ferrets._.loverASMR]

Awesome video! Great to see them chomping away on what they’re made to eat. I made my own ferret asmr channel of eating raw meaty bones, if you could check it out it’d be much appreciated 👍🏼

[@vixtion9180]

Hey man I'm glad you feed your ferrets meat instead of dog food

[@ruralpestcontrol]

Its all I would ever feed them 👍

[@keirashanahan415]

I love his accent and this video was so helpful since I am getting 2 ferrets verrrt soon

[@ruralpestcontrol]

True Yorkshire 😁 👍

[@Irishkilla79]

Love the cleaver. What brand is it?

[@ruralpestcontrol]

Not sure to be honest I bought it in a Chinese supermarket.

[@4normalnoise2]

This is why I can't have ferrets I could never kill a bunny or touch your heart or liver

[@skunk3572]

im getting one soon so ill have to and im not exactly excited to lol i think i might have to wear gloves

[@jasminemason1174]

I mean my ferrets are total sweethearts who have never killed anything. We feed them unseasoned cooked chicken and other meat and any vegetables we have. They get an egg yolk and two punctured fish oil table to lick out of our fingers once a week :) they live a long time of you feed them well. Seeing this video makes me want to feed them more raw meat. I love liver and heart so of course a ferret would. Have you guys never made stuffing with the giblets?

[@weasel8353]

@@jasminemason1174 bruh

[@debil_dd]

@@jasminemason1174 No vegetables, they can't digest them and so they have no nutrients from them, it only causes harm long term.

[@lemonlime257]

@@jasminemason1174 Vegetables? Is this a joke or....?! If not pls stop feeding carnivores like ferrets an omnivorous diet, they're not dogs. And cooked chicken isn't nearly as nutritious as raw... anything, if you didn't know 😅

[@Harleyswfc]

Hi mate I’m buying a eu kit and just wondering what should I feed it cos I don’t really wanna feed a kit chicken wing bones 👍🏼

[@ruralpestcontrol]

You can feed it any other meat or a high protein ferret kibble such as ferret feast

[@annemacleod4227]

What a brilliant life you give your ferrets. A big enclosure with lots of other ferrets for company, interesting food, mating, bringing up babies, and a job they can go out and enjoy. Although I couldn't handle killing rabbits or rats I can see how a ferret would in heaven out working at that. Your ferrets live such a fulfilling life at home and when out working. And they clearly think of you as a larger, hairless ferret! It makes me so sad for those solitary pet ferrets that live their life in a cage with nothing to do and hardly any interaction with their owner beyond having a bowl of food pushed in every day.

[@ruralpestcontrol]

Thanks I'm a big beliver in "you only get out what you put in"

[@lewisevans4655]

Is it worth getting some good high protein dry food as a backup too? And if so what brand

[@ruralpestcontrol]

Yes, I'm actually feeding mine on dry food at the moment to help keep flies down. I only use alpha ferret feast. although you can also buy james wellbeloved and I think harringtons do a ferret dry food. Look at the protein content the higher the better.

[@alexsaquatics7620]

I was worried for your fingers there .😟

[@ruralpestcontrol]

It's all good I still have all of them 😁

[@alexsaquatics7620]

@@ruralpestcontrol you have had this channel for years haven't you . I remember watching your videos years ago .I haven't even got ferrets anymore I just seen this video pop up haha .

[@ruralpestcontrol]

@@alexsaquatics7620 yeah I think the first ferret videos I uploaded was about 5 years ago

[@alexsaquatics7620]

@@ruralpestcontrol time flys . Have you seen that fella from America who uses mink .

[@ruralpestcontrol]

@@alexsaquatics7620 no I haven't, I have heard of people using mink.

[@jasminemason1174]

I find it interesting that you use goat milk. My dad gives our ferrets cooked meat with egg yolk and some milk sometimes but I think goat milk is a great idea because I was also lactose intolerant as a kid and goats milk was the only sort of milk I could drink without getting horribly sick. Also, "lactose free" milk just has lactase an enzyme added to break it down. While it may taste sweater it has no more sugar than normal milk, you can simply taste it because the lactose broke down into galactose and glucose (

[@ruralpestcontrol]

Yes it's much better for them, though I don't give them it all the time. It's more a treat or when I don't have rabbits.

[@raybrown3458]

Keep at it mate

[@finndrennan541]

Could I feed. Chicken legs. Chicken fillet breast and mince beef. 2 times a week. With dry food 24/7. And a raw egg once a week ?

[@nathandixon471]

2 questions 1 do you breed and 2 can I buy a ferret from you

[@ruralpestcontrol]

I do breed ferrets but not every year. I don't have any ferrets for sale sorry.

[@leefarringtonsferrets8846]

Hello mate. Thank you for all your videos they are very interesting and helpful. I've just had my first ever litter of kits. What is the best thing to feed the Jill to keep her strength up and what's the best thing to feed the kits once they are ready to feed. Thank you

[@ruralpestcontrol]

I would just feed your jill as normal. I would recommend feeding raw if you don't already. Best thing for kits is minced meat. They will start to eat it from about 4 weeks onwards.

[@wolftone4994]

If you do feed them minced meat make sure that you get the meat and mince it yourself because shop bought pre minced meat contains fillers and preservatives

[@videosforwhenyourebored5399]

Ok quick question. I have these raw meat schedule that says to feed bone meat 4 days a week, muscle meat 2 days, and organ meat 1 day. I will be feeding raw only in the morning and then wysong freeze dried ferret food at night. So my question is which of those days would i feed heart and would i feed just heart or heart with whatever meat is for that day?

[@ruralpestcontrol]

Personally I'd chuck your schedule in the bin. If you have the three types of meat I would mix them all together and feed once a day without the dried food on a night.

[@videosforwhenyourebored5399]

Rural Pest Control Whitwell ok thanks

[@videosforwhenyourebored5399]

Rural Pest Control Whitwell when you don’t feed whole rabbit and you do these different meats, do you mix them, if so how much of each meat or do you have a schedule, if so what’s it like?

[@ruralpestcontrol]

@@videosforwhenyourebored5399 yes I mix it up so there's a bit of everything. There's usually more chicken as that's where the protein is.

[@videosforwhenyourebored5399]

Rural Pest Control Whitwell so if I mix it up what would the percentage of bone, muscle, and organ meat be. I don’t want to do to much or too little of something that could be bad.

[@ashleigh-juliawilson3237]

Can I do a mix of raw meat and biscuits?

[@ruralpestcontrol]

Ashleigh -Julia Wilson yeah of coarse

[@Gary-qx1yl]

@@ruralpestcontrol hi I have a pest control company in Ireland .is their much success taking ferrets out on rat jobs. It would be cleaner than rodenticide have they much success

[@ruralpestcontrol]

@@Gary-qx1yl people do use ferrets on rats. But I never have and don't do it

[@Mtabor89]

Does anybody use vitamin supplements?

[@ruralpestcontrol]

Nope, I've never used any supplements

[@rhyssmith4]

Is there anything you would add if you were feeding this all year as I don’t have anywhere to get a lot of rabbits

[@ruralpestcontrol]

To be honest not really. You could add raw fish as a treat every now and then but it's not necessary.

[@lewispiper7951]

I've been looking to buy ferrets for working, do you sell any of yours offspring if so I'll look at buying some :)

[@ruralpestcontrol]

Yes I do sell them but I wont know what I have until sometime next month when they are born

[@lewispiper7951]

Ah okay, what prices are they generally?

[@ruralpestcontrol]

£10 each the only reason I ask for that is to make sure the person is genuine

[@lewispiper7951]

Oh yeah, that's good for a working one, will you have different litters so i could get a breeding couple?

[@ruralpestcontrol]

No I'm only breeding off 1 jill again this season. My dark coloured jill this time, with a very small hob so should have some good small ferrets with a mix of different colours.

[@celedoniosantamaria6529]

Thanks for the tips. So they can’t choke on the chicken bones?

[@ruralpestcontrol]

na they will eat all the bones same as they would with whole prey such as a rabbit

[@celedoniosantamaria6529]

@@ruralpestcontrol Thank you for the information, your videos are really helpful. :)

[@ruralpestcontrol]

@@celedoniosantamaria6529 no probs 👍

[@RodentsandRabbits]

Hi I am getting a ferret or 2 sometime between now and June and I wondered if 2 unneutered hobs can live together and whether a Jill has to be spayed if I am not breeding from her Thank you

[@ruralpestcontrol]

Rodents and Rabbits 1374 all my hobs live together all year. You'll just have to keep an eye on them when they're in season. If you have a Jill she will need taking out of season unless you have her spayed.

[@RodentsandRabbits]

Thank you! What is a good price for a non working ferret? Sorry for all the questions!

[@ruralpestcontrol]

Rodents and Rabbits 1374 in the UK you can get them for free or as little as 10 each. Don't normally pay anymore for working ferrets

[@RodentsandRabbits]

Thanx so much

[@ruralpestcontrol]

Rodents and Rabbits 1374 no probs 👍

[@lewisevans4655]

Will ferrets eat as much as they need or do we need to control how much they eat

[@ruralpestcontrol]

Just keep an eye on it, they don't tend to pig out or be greedy. They will stash food if it's small enough and hide it from others for later. It's just a matter of getting the balance right. If there's loads left when they've finished eating give them a bit less next time etc I feed mine once a day. If its a whole rabbit it may last them a couple of days.

[@lewisevans4655]

@@ruralpestcontrol would it be ok to keep kibble in the hutch all the time an give them some raw food once a day or forget the kibble?

[@ruralpestcontrol]

@@lewisevans4655 I would give them one or the other. But you can leave dry food in all the time. But if they have dry food they won't be hungry when you give the raw food.

[@leonhowarth3874]

Great info pal goats milks a great idea for a treat and they will luv it

[@ruralpestcontrol]

yeah they do like it

[@binglebelle6267]

I'm a novice keeper currently on a waiting list for a breeder I met through Facebook and I have a few questions. 1. I was planning to have a single ferret but I've read that they prefer to at least be in a pair. Is this right? 2. How would you introduce a raw diet to a ferret reared on dry ferret biscuits? 3. Can a ferret be healthy on a combination of raw meat and dry food? 4 my ferret/ferrets will be about 8 weeks old when I get them. When feeding meat should it be minced or just chopped up really small? Sorry for so many questions

[@ruralpestcontrol]

samantha bingham ferrets are a social animal. If kept on there own can become bored. But that can also vary on size of hutch and what they have to keep them entertained. Raw food can be introduced at anytime once they are weaned. You can try feeding it along side dry food and see what they like. You don't have to feed raw, and you can still feed dry food with raw. You don't need to chop the meat up small or mince it. I only chop food up because I have 10 ferrets. If I left it in large chunks the would fight over it. I only feed meat like this when I don't have any rabbits. Hope this helps.

[@Jsarson1976]

What supermarkets did you go to for this meat and organs? I have 5 pet ferrets and been trying to change over their food to a natural digest rather than kibble and they are not liking the BARF food I have been giving them. Where did you get the heart from and all the meat? I'm in UK and shop at Tesco and Asda. Struggle to find hear, liver and organs in the supermarkets.

[@ruralpestcontrol]

This was all purchased from morrisons. You can always try you local butcher and ask for them for it. They don't always have it on display but will have it out back.

[@shirin4150]

I tried to feed my two ferrets some mice a few days ago but they wouldn't eat it. One just carried it in the edge and the other one didn't even touch it. Have you got any tips for me? Do they necessarily need those food-animals like mice or chicks? I am looking forward to an answer. Greetings from Germany!

[@ruralpestcontrol]

I wouldn't feed them mice to be honest. you can feed them day old chicks if they are available. If not raw meat is best.

[@shirin4150]

Rural Pest Control Whitwell Oh, thanks for the fast answering! But why wouldn't you give them mice if I may ask?

[@ruralpestcontrol]

I don't think there would enough meat on them, and the bit of meat there was probably wont be high in protein. (I maybe wrong) but if your ferrets not interested, I would trust the ferret !!!!

[@shirin4150]

Alright. Thank you very much!

[@genissamartinez2725]

My ferret is 6 months old, I have been feeding her Marshal Ferret food, is it to late to switch her? Do you have any other brands of kibble to recommend?

[@ruralpestcontrol]

genissa martinez the only ferret biscuit I would recommend is one called ferret feast. As for switching to raw its never too late. You can do it with a ferret at any age. If you do decide to switch over do it gradually and give them a mix of both raw and kibble. Then slowly reduce the amount of kibble. As long as they are eating the raw meat.

[@charlieboy6315]

Hi I'm just about to get my first ferrets and am finding your videos very instructional in preparation! Can you clarify approx how much of that raw meat mixture I should be feeding each ferret per day?

[@ruralpestcontrol]

Charlie boy to be honest there's no real set amount. You won't overfeed them to a certain extent, cause they will stash they're food for later. At the moment I feed 8 ferrets 1 rabbit a day. I have 2 kits in a separate hutch which I feed about a handful of mixed raw meat a day. It's more trail and error to start with.

[@charlieboy6315]

Thanks for the advice!

[@davidwhite4474]

I would like to know if one can use beef , pig and chicken hearts , liver , kidney ? Just organ meet ( brain including ) . I don't have any yet but thinking about it and want to feed raw .

[@ruralpestcontrol]

They will need more than just that. They will need some sort of muscle meat and bone

[@davidwhite4474]

I know about bone , what kind of muscle meat .

[@ruralpestcontrol]

@@davidwhite4474 anything really just don't give them only organs

[@AL-dh9sf]

When you chop up the chicken do you worry about small bits of bone fragmenting off and getting lodged in the ferrets mouth?

[@ruralpestcontrol]

No, a ferrets diet is raw meat and bone. Cooked bones fragment not raw.

[@AL-dh9sf]

Rural Pest Control Whitwell okay Cool, just wondered as I’m getting my first ever ferret kitts soon so started “stocking” and cutting up some food and notice some tiny bone fragments from the wings and wondered if they would be dangerous to kitts? Love watching your vids by the way, very informative and easy going 👍

[@ruralpestcontrol]

@@AL-dh9sf thanks 👍 the kits probably won't be able to eat the bone til they are older. They will just chew the meat off the bone.

[@AL-dh9sf]

Rural Pest Control Whitwell ahh I see, what/how do you feed your kitts? Thanks

[@ruralpestcontrol]

@@AL-dh9sf I will normally start them off on just mince. But this year I have just given them a whole rabbit.

[@ryang7579]

Hi mate I have a solo 2 year old hob I’ve only had him a week I want to get him another hob or two for companionship Do they all need to be neutered to avoid fighting etc? I’ve heard conflicting reports. TIA

[@ruralpestcontrol]

If you keep hob's together that are complete, they will try and mate with each other when they are in season. To avoid this you will need to get them all casterated or separate them while they are in season.

[@ryang7579]

Thanks for replying So they would b fine together For the next few months then I can get them neutered before they go in season?

[@ruralpestcontrol]

@@ryang7579 yeah as long as they get on with each other. There maybe a pecking order to sort out when they are all introduced to each other. They should start coming into season around the end of march.

[@ryang7579]

@@ruralpestcontrol yeah I did think it was around March April time. Thanks again for your time and knowledge. First time ferret Owner so only just learning But want to make sure I can give them the best environment possible. Your videos have been a great help and guidance so thanks for that You’re the ferret Guru 😂

[@ruralpestcontrol]

@@ryang7579 enjoy and thanks 👍

[@472twintwo]

I got a ferret at a humane society he was found abandoned in a basement when the new homeowners moved in they found him and his sister roaming in the basement, he's a little over weight from my guess is whatever he could find in the basement, I've been feeding him ferret food but want to bring in a raw diet, is there a good meat I could start out with and if he's never had it before would it make him sick?

[@ruralpestcontrol]

Sam Tobias shouldn't make him sick it's their natural diet. You could start with minced beef or raw chicken and see how that goes.

[@472twintwo]

Rural Pest Control Whitwell alright thanks!

[@ruralpestcontrol]

let me know how you get on

[@rayrayhayward263]

Something you could try is raw meat soup, you can find the recipe on the holistic ferret forums, if they’ve never eaten raw meat before this introduces the flavour of raw meat, from there get to slivers then small-large chunks

[@N3k0Y0m1]

Meat or not.. I don't care, I can do this!

[@ruralpestcontrol]

Of coarse you can 👍

[@CORZER0]

Chicken bone is safe?

[@ruralpestcontrol]

CORZER0 all bones are safe

[@001cardie]

Chicken bones are NOT safe. Cause they splinter. Only bone of a chicken you can give is the neck. But every other bones from other animals are safe.

[@ruralpestcontrol]

Raw bones don't splinter, only cooked bones do !!!!

[@staceyneese8126]

Can you feed them deer meat?

[@ruralpestcontrol]

Stacey Neese I don't see why not

[@davidsloan1033]

Can thay eat bones from cows ect because I get free bones form my local butchers for my dogs just wondering if it OK for ferrets👍

[@ruralpestcontrol]

Sure but they may need chopping up or mincing depending on how big they are

[@Gs-ed9ko]

Is lambs heart and cow liver ok ?

[@ruralpestcontrol]

sean kelly yes both absolutely fine

[@bianca8691]

Just wondering but what is everything you feed your ferrets? Because just feeding wings, liver, and heart would not be balanced! They need an 80/10/10 ratio (75% muscle meat, 5% heart, 10% bone 5% liver and 5% other secreting organ! You can learn more about raw feeding at pazuandfriends on KZbin!

[@ruralpestcontrol]

I feed them whole rabbits

[@bianca8691]

Rural Pest Control Whitwell that’s great! I love whole prey, do you feed any other animal? Since ferrets will need a minimum of three proteins per week!

[@ruralpestcontrol]

they sometimes get pigeons, squirrels, chicken carcasses, just depends what's available and what I'm shooting etc. But their main diet is rabbit. same as it would be in the wild.

[@leefarringtonsferrets8846]

Hello. Can I defrost meat and chop into bits and refreeze

[@ruralpestcontrol]

don't see why not, you could always just chop it up while its frozen.

[@sambaker3212]

How old can the baby ferrets see the dad and how old can they have ror meat

[@ruralpestcontrol]

they will still start to eat raw meat from about 4 weeks old. I wouldn't introduce any kits to they're dad until they are about 8 weeks old.

[@sambaker3212]

There about 3 weeks old and some have had some meat but not filling up on the milk and there 4 weeks on Tuesday

[@ruralpestcontrol]

they wont be fully weaned from they're mum until they are about 5-6 weeks old. They might try and eat meat at a younger age but they will still be dependant on there mum. Their eyes don't open until around 5 weeks old.

[@rawegg8880]

Do you feed your cat raw too?

[@ruralpestcontrol]

no, he only gets bits as treats when I'm doing anything with raw meat. Our cats are fed wet and dry cat food.

[@ethanlockwood4261]

How many times a day for 2 jills?

[@ruralpestcontrol]

StaticRoyals I feed all my ferrets once a day everyday. Unless they have whole prey like a rabbit that lasts longer than a day.

[@ethanlockwood4261]

Rural Pest Control Whitwell is that enough for them?

[@ethanlockwood4261]

Rural Pest Control Whitwell is that enough for them?

[@ruralpestcontrol]

StaticRoyals yes

[@Gs-ed9ko]

Do you feed them a hole rabbit?

[@ruralpestcontrol]

yes I only gut them.

[@gowersponger1]

This may sound really silly but do they eat the bone or leave it mate

[@ruralpestcontrol]

Gowersghost it all gets eaten even the bone.

[@gowersponger1]

Rural Pest Control Whitwell thanks for the reply I had a ferret for years when I was a teenager I bought it from a proper old school worker but he chose me mine from hes litter as he new it was going to be a pet , lovely old boy big albino hob. Iam going to set a cage up soon and hope to end up with a few . Great vids , excellent , cheers.

[@ruralpestcontrol]

Gowersghost no probs 👍

[@sidwills]

I'm hoping to get a couple of Jills this year so I can start looking for some work with them. I already feed my dogs raw meat so that's one less thing to worry about... just need to figure out all the other aspects of ferret keeping!

[@signyerika]

I would recommend you not give them egg whites as it can cause biotin deficiency, this can cause your ferret to lose its fur. Apart from that your ferrets diet is at its healthiest. Good job.

[@ziggybarbuto4788]

Signy Erika That’s incorrect feeding only egg whites over time will cause biotin deficiency. Always feed the whites with the yolk. There is plenty of biotin available in the egg yolk to overcompensate for the avidin in the egg white

[@signyerika]

@@ziggybarbuto4788 Feeding the egg whites as well with the yolk can still cause biotin deficiency. If you're going to feed a raw egg to them...remove the whites and leave the egg yolk. You clearly haven't done your research.

[@aidkgjehebejje]

Chicken should be frozen first to kill the bacteria. Wonderful anyway. Lucky ferrets! (I only give the yolk to mine).

[@ruralpestcontrol]

what bacteria ?

[@kalithekow]

The bone isn’t dangerous for them to eat? Thanks for the video!!

[@ruralpestcontrol]

No they can eat all bone as long as its raw. I wouldn't advise giving them cooked bone.