"Raw Troubleshooting" is my new series dedicated to each component of the raw diet. Each part of the series will offer detailed information on what to feed, how to feed, and the most affordable options for that category. The first topic up for discussion: Organ meat. The type of raw we feed ferrets goes by many names; Prey model raw, natural diet, ratio diet, species appropriate diet, etc. All essentially mean the same thing. To start, we follow the basic guidelines of 80% meat (10% being heart meat), 10% bone, and 10% secreting organs. These ratios are very baseline, and can be (and should be!) built upon when needed. Fact is, not all prey animals are built the same! The average prey includes... (data courtesy of Dogs Naturally)
By weight, organs make up around 25% of most prey. That being said, it's still recommended to keep a ferret's liver consumption to 5% of their total diet, overdosing can be deadly due to the rich amounts of fat-soluble vitamins, even if toxicity may not be seen until months or even years later in some animals. For other organs, I meet the minimum of 5% but often do 5-9%+ depending on the week and the organs I have available. If you want to stick to 5% that's perfectly fine and your ferrets will thrive, but to make the diet slightly more species appropriate, you can up that amount a bit (more on how to do this later!) Organizing the OrgansDespite being a necessary component of the raw diet, organs are frequently overlooked or done improperly. Organs are often fed in inaccurate amounts or only one type is used (P.S. gizzards are NOT considered an organ!). This issue is relevant for home prepared diets as well as commercial pre-made raw. There's a couple different types of organs available for feeding:
If not fed enough organs, ferrets will experience a great quantity of ill effects as they're packed with nutrients required by ferrets to flourish, and are lacking in other components of the diet. Most organs offer...
Secreting OrgansSecreting organs, also called offal, are required by ferrets in 10% of their total diet. 5% of this amount should be liver.
Muscular OrgansOne of the most important "muscular organs" we feed is heart meat. Cats and ferrets are unable to create taurine, making it an essential amino acid that must be supplied in their food. While taurine is naturally found in most meats; heart, beef tongue, and certain fish contain the highest amounts. Beef tongue can be tricky to source, and fish should be kept to one meal a week, so feeding heart is the easiest way for ferrets to meet their requirements. Most raw feeders follow the rule of at least 10% of the diet. Note: Taurine is destroyed via the grinding process, if you feed pre-made raw grinds, you may want to supplement with additional heart meat. Same for homecooked diets, taurine can't withstand heating.
Choosing & Sourcing OrgansSecreting organs: Along with liver, kidney is the easiest secreting organ to source, but you don't want to just feed kidneys if you have other options! My favorite organ "concoctions" that we have sufficient nutrient data for include:
Muscular organs: Heart should be fed at least 10% of the total diet. If you'd like to incorporate other muscular organs, they're considered boneless meat sources. For ferrets, these can be added to bone dense meals (like rabbit head or poultry feet) or fed alone to soften stools / calcium load of the diet. Heart is the easiest and cheapest "muscular organ" to source. If your ferrets are having tarry, black stools you need to cut back the extra organs and feed raw meaty bone and non-organ muscle meats. To include heart in the diet, I make two meals of organs a week. First, you should determine your ferrets' organ requirements by using the National Research Council (NRC) recommendations for kittens. There's no NRC guidelines for ferrets just yet, but the kitten requirements will be fairly close.
Sourcing Locally sourced, grass fed & finished animal organs are the best to feed. These can be found at butchers and local farms. You can also choose to shop at ethnic markets, but quality of the product will not always be clear. Due to my current location, I need to order most organs online. I have an entire sourcing list here: Raw Food Suppliers I personally use (USA based): Organs in Pre-Made DietsMany suppliers believe a variety of organs is optional, that liver alone can be used to fill requirements. When feeding any raw diet that isn't whole prey, your animals are already missing out on the rest of the varied organs in most prey animals. This is why it's crucial we feed at least one other secreting organ along with liver. In addition, feeding a diet of 10% liver can be potentially hazardous. Here's an example of a label you may find on pre-made raw that doesn't contain sufficient organs: "Free-Range Meat and Organs (98.5%): Chicken Meat, Chicken Necks (Including Bone), Chicken Gizzard, Chicken Livers, and Chicken Hearts. Trace Minerals and vitamins (1%): Tomato Pomace, Potassium Chloride, Taurine, Magnesium Proteinate, Choline Chloride, Inulin, Sea Salt, Zinc Proteinate, Vitamin E, Iron Proteinate, Manganese Proteinate, Copper Proteinate, Thiamine Mononitrate, Vitamin B12, Iodine (EDDI), Folic Acid, Vitamin D3" As you can see in this frozen pre-made grind, the only secreting organs included is liver. Because of this, (and potentially quality of meat ingredients as well) a large handful of synthetic nutrients are added back into the food. Compare this label to that of a grind with more secreting organs: "Contains ground up chicken: meat, bone, heart, liver, kidney." Yep, this is a real ingredient label. Nothing else is added to this grind because the ingredients are of quality, and it contains sufficient organ meat. If you want to feed a pre-made raw diet, you need to be looking at the label of each individual grind you want to purchase. End NotesTo wrap everything up here's the most important bits of information from this "Raw Troubleshooting" Organs edition!
Additional readings... Case, Linda P. , et al. Canine and Feline Nutrition. Third Edition. Moseby, 2000. https://therawfeedingcommunity.com/2017/12/23/organ-meat-in-a-raw-diet/#:~:text=But%20when%20it%20comes%20to,meat%20instead%20of%20organ%20meat. https://perfectlyrawsome.com/raw-feeding-knowledgebase/liver-other-secreting-organs/ https://www.dogsnaturallymagazine.com/mistake-raw-feeders-make-with-organ-meats/ https://www.rawpetsrule.com/organs.html https://keepthetailwagging.com/organ-meat-offal-and-raw-feeding/
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5/23/2021 07:45:58 am
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