Treats

[Rascal]

Could anyone give me a good recipe for treats to give my little guy?

I have to say he doesn't like chicken (raw or cooked) I tried giving it to him and he didn't so much as sniff it.

I've been giving him the ferretone as a treat, but I wanna mix it up a notch.

I heard that eggs make good treats...I just don't know how much I'm supposed to give it to him or how to cook it for him (I know how to cook an egg lol )

[Norka]

I used to always give mine egg yolks, warm up the egg yolk enough to take the chill off of it and mine would slurp them up. Talk about a treat that is good for their coats! Sometimes mine would take to scrambled eggs, depending on their mood. But a whole raw egg, nope, they would just slurp the yolk, so I cut to the chase by just giving them the warm gooey yolks!

Whipping cream or heavy cream is a good treat. Yoghurts are great for their digestive tracts, though some don't always take to yoghurts. Kefir is another yoghurt drink that is very healthy and good for them and you. Just easy does it on milk products for it can give the ferret the squirts if you over do it until they are used to it.

N-bones are a good treat if you can find them in the petstore, they are long sticks of chicken chewy goodness that ferrets adore! (But those are treats you can buy, let me think.... home made treats...)

One thing I've found is ferrets like treats that are easy, like the kind they can slurp up. Have you tried chicken baby food? Try a jar sometime and offer Rascal some warmed up so that its aroma appetizes his little belly. If he takes to the baby food you can make your own chicken puree in the blender by just taking cooked chicken adding enough water to puree and woolah your own chicken baby food. You can get fancy with this when they start to take to the puree chicken by adding things like liver, whole hard boiled eggs shells and all, or heart. This is the base to what is known as "duck soup" that people talk about giving to sick ferrets. Sometimes I would soften up their kibble and puree it in with the meats to get mine to eat meat. After a while I was able to cut back on the kibble, then slowly make it thicker until mine were eating something akin to meat slurry. I had one who would only eat that meat slurry I made! He was an oldster who started shunning kibble for the ease of slurping up his dinner for quite a few years until he passed on.

It's not always easy to get ferrets to eat healthy for them stuff, and it's a lot of trial and error. For what one ferret likes another runs from. Sometimes a little linatone on something makes them tempted to eat it, but I've also had ferrets who just lick off the linatone and leave the meat. I've had ones who also like sardines, but that makes for a stinky poop so heads up! I had one who would go bonkers for sushi everytime I ate it he had to have some, so you never know what tickles their fancy until you try. Hope this gave you some good ideas!

[Kyril]

Keep trying chicken and other meats.  Whenever you have some offer him a little sliver of it with some ferretone on it.  The smaller the piece the better because sometimes they end up eating the meat without meaning to do more than lick it clean.  Sometimes it takes awhile, but it's worth the effort.  My guys like boiled chicken breast, raw egg yolks and n-bones.

Definitely make the effort to get him eating some sort of "duck soup".  It's so much easier to care for a sick ferret when they consider soup a treat.  My guys get a meal of soup every day.

[Rascal]

I bought the N-Bones today, and at first he didnt like it then I put some Ferretone on it and he only licked it. After maybe 10 min I tried again and put a bit more of Ferretone on it and he loves it . He's munching away now. Im gonna give him some chicken tomorrow see how he likes it. Btw how should I cook the chicken?

[Norka]

Cook it just like you would if you were going to eat it, that way you can have some too if you have alot left or someone is being a mr. fussy pants not wanting to eat what is good for them. I've had good success with boiled chicken, even fancy rotissery (sp?) chicken. If you boil it, it falls off the bone easily, and the broth is perfect to add to the blender to puree it up to make that meat slurry soup stuff if he takes to it. Fingers crossed that it's a hit!

[Rascal]

Trial and error lol, If anything I'll make him eat it *evil laugh* .....jk. Im more scared of him than he is of me! lol they are brave little guys .

[Lossalfling]

I have yet to have a ferret that wouldnt go for a touch of yogurt.... ( as they say easy cuz it can cause tummy upset..)
My wee badger of the big bottom had a thing for the oils they put around feta cheese...
Found out the hard way to make sure lid is fast on the jar when placing it in the glass recycle bag, I came into the kitchen to find badger half way in the jar( thank goodness her butt wouldnt fit) covered with feta oils and smacking her lips! what a mess to get off her fur!