Ferret Food suggestions

[Jay_Bunny]

I've been feeding my ferrets the Zupreem food since I've had them (about 2.5 years). I like it a lot and its reasonably priced. I looked into the raw diet because I love my fuzz-butts and I do think that the raw diet makes the most sense for ferrets. However, I still haven't given it a try.

EVO recently put out a new ferret food that I think sounds fantastic, but its pretty expensive. I bought a bag and talked to my vet about it. She said that because the food is so new she wouldn't switch them over to it completely. She said that such a high protein content may be bad for their kidneys. So I feed them about 20% EVO and 80% Zupreem. I've gotten such good results! Both of their coats are looking amazing, and my little girl has put on a little weight. Their poo does smell a bit worse though...lol

Here's the label info:

Ingredients:
Turkey, Chicken Meal, Chicken, Herring Meal, Potatoes, Chicken Fat, Egg, Turkey Meal, Natural Flavors, Apples, Carrots, Alfalfa Sprouts, Cranberries, Tomatoes, Cottage Cheese, Root Extract, Dried Chicory Root Extract, DL-Methionine, Lecithin, Rosemary Extract, Vitamins/Minerals

Calorie Content:
3985 kcal/kg (136 g = 1 cup)
542 kcal/cup (4.80 oz = 1 cup)

Crude Analysis:
Crude Protein (min) 50%
Crude Fat (min) 21%
Crude Fiber (max) 1.5%
Moisture (max) 10%
Linoleic Acid (Omega-6 Fatty Acid) (min) 4%
Carbohydrates NFE (max) 8%
Vitamin E (min) 300 IU/kg
Vitamin C (min) 500 mg/kg
Omega-3 Fatty Acids (min) 0.4%
Docosahexaenoic Acid (min) 0.1%
Total Microorganisms (min) 90,000,000CFU/lb

All completely unneeded ingredients. I'm sorry, but kibble is such a horrible diet. I've posted a lot of good info on why its not a suitable diet in my other ferret threads and I will be working on a ferret care guide very very soon. Evo makes an acceptable ferret food, but its still a kibble.

Of course their poo smells. When my ferrets eat kibble their poop looks and smells horrible. Give this a read about food and poop http://holisticferret.proboards.com/...lay&thread=695.
The weight gain is due to more carbs in the diet, not necessarily that the ferret is getting enough nutrition.

You really should give raw a try. I'd be happy to help you and answer any questions you have.