Ferret Meal Recipes

There are a lot of fun ways you can add variety to your ferret's diet. Here are a few healthy, wholesome meals that you can feed your ferret to give them a taste of something new.

Photo credit to the South Cheshire Ferret Rescue.

Click their name to learn more about this great rescue!

Chicken Soup: Take 1 cup of water with 3/4 cup of raw chicken cut into very small chunks. In a small pan boil for ten minutes. Remove, let cool, and serve.

Beef Stew: Take 2 cups of water and 1 cup of steak cut into chunks. Boil for ten minutes. Remove steak chunks. Take 1 cup of the boiling water and mix 1 cup of canned tuna into it to make a sort of 'gravy'. Add the steak chunks into the gravy for a truly ferret-worthy meaty delight.

Egg Omelet: Make a typical one egg omelet with no seasonings, add in a bit of cooked ground meat and a teaspoon of mozzarella cheese. Can you say yummy?

Food Scraps & Dog Treats You Can Feed To Ferrets

There are a lot of traditional dog treats on the market that are equally as delicious for ferrets! In fact, there are an array of items that people don't realize are entirely safe and actually very healthy for ferrets that are typically sold for dogs. Here are a few of our favorites.

Photo credit to the Fuzzy Dozen Ferret Rescue.

Click their name to learn more about this great rescue!

Pig Ears: Visit your local pet store's dog snack isle and pick up a bag of all natural dried pig ears. They are a dog treat that most ferrets love! Just one will keep them busy for a while, so a big bag could last well up to two months. Plus it naturally helps keep their teeth strong and clean!

Ham Bones: When your finished with your holiday ham, boil the bone in water to get any 'seasonings' off and then let them cool in the fridge overnight. They make great chew toys and treats for ferrets. They'll love licking out the marrow. If you can, take a bone saw and slice them into small 1 inch wide pieces. This way it's easier for ferrets to move them around and pick out the marrow.

Rawhide Chews: All-natural rawhide chews (like the ones for small dog breeds) make amazing snacks for ferrets. Not only do they find them irresistible, the hard texture helps clean plaque from their teeth. It's a win win. Your ferret's smile stays healthy and they get to gnaw away for a few hours!

Unflavored Jerky: Dried chicken, beef, or wild game that is 100% unflavored (no seasonings or marinades) is an awesome treat for your ferret. The texture will keep them busy for a while and the food will offer up a healthy all-natural treat. It's a great thing to throw in your little critter's cage before you leave for work- as it will keep them busy throughout the day. "Jerky" made specifically for dogs or cats is also safe for ferrets.

Bird Wings: For people that hunt, bird wings are usually useless. But for ferret's that bit of meat where the wing meets the body is an irresistible treat! And the feathers, oh they'll love the feathers! Ferrets love shredding things apart and bird wings are the same kind of food they would eat in the wild. It's a treat that will most certainly become a favorite in your ferrets household. If you don't farm or hunt your own birds, try contacting local hunters and farmers- as they will almost always happily offer you their scraps. You can also feed bird feet to your ferrets, although the tough skin may make them harder for them to chew.

Weekly Ferret Meal Plan

Feeding your ferret can be fun and switching up it's daily meals is a great way to keep it eating, entertained, and healthy. We've created a fun little meal plan you can share with your fur-baby each week to ensure a healthy happy pet.

Photo credit to the Fuzzy Dozen Ferret Rescue.
Click their name to learn more about this great rescue!

Sunday: A serving of bird meat (chicken, turkey, game hen)
Monday: A serving of ground meat, lightly cooked (beef, deer, moose, bison, ect)
Tuesday: A serving of bird meat (chicken, goose, duck, swan, ptarmigan)
Wednesday: A serving of a white-flesh fish (cod, catfish, trout, halibut, pike, grayling)
Thursday: A serving of any bird meat mixed with a bit of scrambled egg.
Friday: A serving of a red-meat (beef, goat, pig, deer, lamb, ect)
Saturday: A serving of meat scraps (lamb, beef, wild game or goat)

Healthy Snack Ideas For Ferrets

There are an array of ‘ferret snacks’ on the market today, but most of them offer no nutritional value for your ferret. There are a few natural alternatives you can feed your ferret that are much more healthy, just as affordable, and just as delicious in your ferret’s eyes.

Photo credit to the Ferret Rescue Society of Ottawa. 

Click their name to learn more about this great rescue!

Frozen Feeder Mice: In the wild a large part of a ferret’s diet is mice. Some ferrets will eat mice naturally, but others will not. You can offer your ferret small feeder mice as a treat. 

Raw Egg Yolk: Another thing that many ferrets munch on in the wild are eggs! Egg yolks are very high in protein and fat and are very healthy for ferrets. You can offer your ferret an egg yolk mixed in with their food- or even by itself. Most ferrets absolutely love slurping up a raw egg yolk.

Crickets: Crickets, whether dried or fresh, are a great source of protein. Ferrets require a high amount of protein in their diet and in the wild it would be entirely natural for a ferret to eat bugs. Ferrets are a crunchy and delectable way to treat your ferret. Some ferrets will happily catch and eat live crickets, while others may be too timid. Experiment- and figure out if your ferret likes live or dried crickets.

Meal Worms: Just as with crickets, meal worms are another fantastic form of protein. Once again these can be fed either alive or dried.

Flies: Yep, even those pesky little flies buzzing around your house can be a fun snack for ferrets! Many ferrets may even catch and eat these flies on their own- but if not you can collect dried ones from your windowsill and offer them to your ferret as a snack.

Berries: In the wild ferrets may occasionally eat a few berries. They do offer a bit of nutrients in terms of antioxidants and vitamins, but they shouldn’t be a staple in your ferret’s diet. With that being said feeding your ferret berries is not bad for them and is a great way to give them a healthy treat that they’ll really enjoy. You can feed your ferret dried berries (organic dried blueberries are a hit with our ferrets!), fresh berries, or frozen berries. Dried berries can be fed weekly (1/2 teaspoon of berries, at most, a week), but fresh berries should only be fed once every 2 weeks and you should limit the serving to one berry.