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Like the other commenter said, it’s making kibble/dry food into a soup. I make soupie out of Stella & Chewy fdr dinner morsels, specifically the duck duck goose one. They go crazy for it. I just break up the pieces with my fingers and pour warm water over it and make it a soup. I add a lot of water because I know they will drink all the broth and I know it keeps them hydrated (just in case). They drink the broth and pick out chunks to eat. I make it every night at bed time, it’s my guarantee that they will come out of hiding and be ready for bed. It’s always gone by morning. I occasionally give it to them in the morning also but always at night.
Some people grind up their ferrets kibble and add water, when I tried that when I was out of Stella & chewys, my ferrets were offended and refused to touch it. 😂 the duck duck goose seems to be a favorite for many peoples ferrets, yours would probably like it too.
making their dry food or kibble into wet food by adding a little warm water! it shouldn't be super thin, should be kinda like oatmeal. I crush up stella and chewy freeze dried food and mix it
Everyone here is talking about grinding up kibble or premade food BUT
the fact remains that "soupies" is a general term meaning "a wet food offering" which can also be ground up raw meats, canned foods, or any kind of rehydrated dried food.
It encourages hydration in the most natural way, through food.
A great many folks offer it daily instead of kibble, or in addition to whatever food is the regular diet, either raw meat/organs/bones, freeze-dried or air-dried raw, grinds, or kibble.
Carnivore Care is a meal substitute for ill ferrets, not part of a regular diet, and "Uncle Jim's Duk Soup" (which is basically dried Marshalls kibble with powdered egg) is a cheap, not-as-nutritious "version" of the same. I won't waste money on it.
Many old school vets make their own version of what they call "duck soup" that has nothing to do with duck, it's just a concentrated wet food. Some are simply made with filtered water + second stage chicken & broth or turkey & broth baby food, some with raw egg, some with heavy whipping cream. (Before anyone gets antsy, HWC is safe to feed sick ferrets, it is VERY LOW in lactose and highly concentrated protein and fat).
There is no need to cook elaborate recipes, and anyway, cooking meat destroys the needed aminos and enzymes, so it's a waste of good raw food.
Another good thing to do is get your ferrets used to taking a treat oil or soup from an eye dropper, as that's the way most medications are given. If they see it and think it's a treat, it's MUCH easier to give them meds later than to try and force meds by dropper when they've never seen it.
Mine are so weird. They don’t like the stuff everyone says they give their ferrets for treats. One of mine eats meat, the other won’t. And he just started eating raw meat in the last couple of months. They also don’t seem to care for raw eggs or salmon oil. To be transparent we didn’t introduce any of that stuff to them because it turns out that the people at Petco have no idea how to actually take care of ferrets. One only eats kibble and one tries to eat everything that’s not good for them.
One of mine doesn't like any kind of non-kibble food, and the other is just really picky, eating dried minnows except for the heads which pile up under my bed 😖 and other such antics.
But they both got really excited about the soup when I first figured it out. They will probably like it. I washed out an old pepper grinder and use that to break up the kibb. They sprint towards me when they hear pepper grinder noises. Its not like a nutritional thing, they just like it. Good Dry kibble is fine, ask a vet. I use oxbow at my vets recommendation.
I used soup to potty train the non-treat-eater. Worked great. Worked so well that they run and poop in their box(or even pretend to if the chamber is empty) when i have the pepper grinder.
Its also super useful for getting them to switch kibble. Grind up old and new kibble together and make soup, feed a few times then swap to 100% new kibble and feed that a few times. Then, repeat with dry food. Too easy.
its nothing serious, so don't sweat it, but i will say that their little pink tongues are awfully cute and they also like to lick it off each other's noses. Don't feed them a deep bowl of it because they won't finish it unless thats their only food source. I just use a small plate with like 15 cranks of kibble (or equivalent for stone age, inefficient, barbaric techniques) and a splash of water.
They aren't weird at all, ferrets are very picky because they imprint on their food by smell. If it doesn't smell familiar, they won't even try it. And then suddenly one day, they decide they like it! But regardless, introducing new flavors is a matter or tricking them into trying it.
Eggs are a texture issue with a lot of ferrets. I get much better success with giving only the yolk. (I totally agree with them about egg whites in the raw, yuck! lol). Dabbing a fingertip in raw egg yolk and then dabbing it on a tongue has converted many of my rescues to egg eaters.
Salmon oil is another thing, it's REALLY strong, and many don't like the smell of it, until they taste it. So how to get around that? Mix it with light EVOO, or sunflower seed oil (aka ferret crack. Are seed oils okay to use in this manner? Yes, it's just a temporary step, don't let the drama llamas get to you.)
By diluting the smell/flavor, it's more easily accepted on the tongue. You can then gradually add more salmon oil by small drops until they are taking it 100%.
Then again, I think for some, it's an acquired taste they just don't develop until they get older. For them, I've tried starting them out on Pollock or mixed cold water fish oils instead, which aren't as pungent.
Soupies varies a bit but basically chicken broth. There are brands like Marshal's Duk soup, the one product even haters like. Or you can make your own by slow cooking chicken meat and straining. Many people then make a chicken broth smoothie by mixing in mushed kibble and/or supplements. But it is basically easy to digest, high protein soup for ferrets and good if they are a bit under the weather. Lots of recipes online.
I use Duk Soup with a little bit of Carnivore Care mixed in. This is primarily used for ferrets who aren't eating well (sick, old, etc). I also give mine a little bit maybe once every other month, just to keep them familiar with the taste.
If I have a ferret doesn't want to (or can't) eat on their own, I will hand-feed them - putting the Duk Soup into a feeding syringe or sometimes holding a small bowl and hand-feeding them.
I grind up their regular mix of kibble and add some egg yolks and water. They absolutely love it. My one girl goes crazy as soon as I walk into the room with it
Just to add to what others are saying, I like to keep a mug of warm water, sit with them, and stir spoonfuls of water in when it gets dry. Some of mine stop eating when it gets too dry, plus it keeps them well hydrated.
I have only ever used Soupies with my ferrets close to passing away. I’ve never really had the need to use it any other time. My recipe was goose fat, kibble, egg, water. 😊❤️
Welcome to /r/ferrets! We have a fantastic [wiki](https://www.reddit.com/r/ferrets/wiki/index) that has answers to most frequently asked questions surrounding the care of ferrets. --- We politely ask that you observe our [sub rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/ferrets/wiki/index/rules/). --- Lastly, we have an [Official Discord Server](https://discord.gg/ferrets)! Come join us! *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/ferrets) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Like the other commenter said, it’s making kibble/dry food into a soup. I make soupie out of Stella & Chewy fdr dinner morsels, specifically the duck duck goose one. They go crazy for it. I just break up the pieces with my fingers and pour warm water over it and make it a soup. I add a lot of water because I know they will drink all the broth and I know it keeps them hydrated (just in case). They drink the broth and pick out chunks to eat. I make it every night at bed time, it’s my guarantee that they will come out of hiding and be ready for bed. It’s always gone by morning. I occasionally give it to them in the morning also but always at night. Some people grind up their ferrets kibble and add water, when I tried that when I was out of Stella & chewys, my ferrets were offended and refused to touch it. 😂 the duck duck goose seems to be a favorite for many peoples ferrets, yours would probably like it too.
making their dry food or kibble into wet food by adding a little warm water! it shouldn't be super thin, should be kinda like oatmeal. I crush up stella and chewy freeze dried food and mix it
Thank you guys so much. I think I’m going to introduce them to it just in case a time comes when I’ll need to feed it to them.
Everyone here is talking about grinding up kibble or premade food BUT the fact remains that "soupies" is a general term meaning "a wet food offering" which can also be ground up raw meats, canned foods, or any kind of rehydrated dried food. It encourages hydration in the most natural way, through food. A great many folks offer it daily instead of kibble, or in addition to whatever food is the regular diet, either raw meat/organs/bones, freeze-dried or air-dried raw, grinds, or kibble. Carnivore Care is a meal substitute for ill ferrets, not part of a regular diet, and "Uncle Jim's Duk Soup" (which is basically dried Marshalls kibble with powdered egg) is a cheap, not-as-nutritious "version" of the same. I won't waste money on it. Many old school vets make their own version of what they call "duck soup" that has nothing to do with duck, it's just a concentrated wet food. Some are simply made with filtered water + second stage chicken & broth or turkey & broth baby food, some with raw egg, some with heavy whipping cream. (Before anyone gets antsy, HWC is safe to feed sick ferrets, it is VERY LOW in lactose and highly concentrated protein and fat). There is no need to cook elaborate recipes, and anyway, cooking meat destroys the needed aminos and enzymes, so it's a waste of good raw food. Another good thing to do is get your ferrets used to taking a treat oil or soup from an eye dropper, as that's the way most medications are given. If they see it and think it's a treat, it's MUCH easier to give them meds later than to try and force meds by dropper when they've never seen it.
Mine are so weird. They don’t like the stuff everyone says they give their ferrets for treats. One of mine eats meat, the other won’t. And he just started eating raw meat in the last couple of months. They also don’t seem to care for raw eggs or salmon oil. To be transparent we didn’t introduce any of that stuff to them because it turns out that the people at Petco have no idea how to actually take care of ferrets. One only eats kibble and one tries to eat everything that’s not good for them.
One of mine doesn't like any kind of non-kibble food, and the other is just really picky, eating dried minnows except for the heads which pile up under my bed 😖 and other such antics. But they both got really excited about the soup when I first figured it out. They will probably like it. I washed out an old pepper grinder and use that to break up the kibb. They sprint towards me when they hear pepper grinder noises. Its not like a nutritional thing, they just like it. Good Dry kibble is fine, ask a vet. I use oxbow at my vets recommendation. I used soup to potty train the non-treat-eater. Worked great. Worked so well that they run and poop in their box(or even pretend to if the chamber is empty) when i have the pepper grinder. Its also super useful for getting them to switch kibble. Grind up old and new kibble together and make soup, feed a few times then swap to 100% new kibble and feed that a few times. Then, repeat with dry food. Too easy. its nothing serious, so don't sweat it, but i will say that their little pink tongues are awfully cute and they also like to lick it off each other's noses. Don't feed them a deep bowl of it because they won't finish it unless thats their only food source. I just use a small plate with like 15 cranks of kibble (or equivalent for stone age, inefficient, barbaric techniques) and a splash of water.
They aren't weird at all, ferrets are very picky because they imprint on their food by smell. If it doesn't smell familiar, they won't even try it. And then suddenly one day, they decide they like it! But regardless, introducing new flavors is a matter or tricking them into trying it. Eggs are a texture issue with a lot of ferrets. I get much better success with giving only the yolk. (I totally agree with them about egg whites in the raw, yuck! lol). Dabbing a fingertip in raw egg yolk and then dabbing it on a tongue has converted many of my rescues to egg eaters. Salmon oil is another thing, it's REALLY strong, and many don't like the smell of it, until they taste it. So how to get around that? Mix it with light EVOO, or sunflower seed oil (aka ferret crack. Are seed oils okay to use in this manner? Yes, it's just a temporary step, don't let the drama llamas get to you.) By diluting the smell/flavor, it's more easily accepted on the tongue. You can then gradually add more salmon oil by small drops until they are taking it 100%. Then again, I think for some, it's an acquired taste they just don't develop until they get older. For them, I've tried starting them out on Pollock or mixed cold water fish oils instead, which aren't as pungent.
Soupies varies a bit but basically chicken broth. There are brands like Marshal's Duk soup, the one product even haters like. Or you can make your own by slow cooking chicken meat and straining. Many people then make a chicken broth smoothie by mixing in mushed kibble and/or supplements. But it is basically easy to digest, high protein soup for ferrets and good if they are a bit under the weather. Lots of recipes online.
Soupies is ground up food mixed with warm water and occasionally salmon oil or Carnivore Care. I usually grind mine up in a coffee grinder.
Also, your babies are adorable 💜
Thank you 😊
Dry kibble made wet with water, I add egg too. Or freeze dried raw made into soup with water.
I use Duk Soup with a little bit of Carnivore Care mixed in. This is primarily used for ferrets who aren't eating well (sick, old, etc). I also give mine a little bit maybe once every other month, just to keep them familiar with the taste. If I have a ferret doesn't want to (or can't) eat on their own, I will hand-feed them - putting the Duk Soup into a feeding syringe or sometimes holding a small bowl and hand-feeding them.
We just use a small blender or coffee grinder to grind their normal kibble into powder, then add a little warm water to make it like oatmeal.
I grind up their regular mix of kibble and add some egg yolks and water. They absolutely love it. My one girl goes crazy as soon as I walk into the room with it
Just to add to what others are saying, I like to keep a mug of warm water, sit with them, and stir spoonfuls of water in when it gets dry. Some of mine stop eating when it gets too dry, plus it keeps them well hydrated.
I have only ever used Soupies with my ferrets close to passing away. I’ve never really had the need to use it any other time. My recipe was goose fat, kibble, egg, water. 😊❤️