There are three main types of food we feed the ferrets: Marshalls Premium and Marshalls Chicken Select are the preferred types, but they also like Wild Harvest, usually available at Walmart. The other two we get online at Chewy.com. There are other brands, but these are the top three. When we have a ferret that needs special attention and extra nutrition, we make up a little soup. It's called Uncle Jims Original Duk Soup Mix (pronounced duke), and it's a gravy mixture that makes a soup of extra nutrition. The recipe is as follows: You mix some of your packet of the Duk soup and add to it some pieces of the dry kibble, like Chicken Select, Premium and Wild Harvest. Add enough water to make a soup. Microwave about 20 seconds, and let it cool a minute or so, and they really love it. It'll give them an extra boost, and the healthy ferrets will benefit as well.
We also give them a vitamin paste called Furo-Vite; an inch ribbon once or twice a week is fine. It will cause their poo to be loose, but the benefits outweigh the consequences, especially for a ferret who had poor nutrition and needs their system cleansed. Another product is called Ferret LAX, and is a hairball paste for their coats. It has the same directions as the other paste. Between the two pastes, they like the Furo-Vite the best. These aren't required for a healthy ferret, but they still benefit. Another good product is Furo-Tone, a skin and coat supplement that is an oily base.
As for treats, they really like Milk Bone Mini Biscuits, flavor snack variety. Usually available at Walmart and Dollar General. These are just the right size for a ferret. They don't have any sugar and at least their grain content is low; they compare with ferret treats for grain levels. They really enjoy hiding them around the house, too. That's part of their game! Then they will sit and munch on them in their peaceful abode somewhere. There are many crumbs left behind, they never eat the whole thing, so be prepared to vacuum! Not all ferrets like them, but most of them here do, and those from the past. Great for their teeth, too.
Other treats that they get include Bandits brand Chicken treats; they come in other flavors, too, like banana. These you can only give two a day. It'll make their poop runny, and you do not want that in a ferret. Most, but not all of the ferrets really like Ferret chew sticks. We joke about it being ferret crack! Also limited to two a day. These come from N-BONE and salmon variety is their absolute favorite, but also like bacon. The other flavor was chicken, but these ferrets don’t like them at all. Then the company decided to change everything about it, and the new and improved recipes, while softer, doesn’t seem to have the same flavor to the ferrets.
Ferrets are also meat eaters, but need the ferret kibble for nutrition, too. NO CAT FOOD! Also, no pea products/legumes. If you can get them to eat meat, it’s a picky palette! You can try oil sardines; we’ve had good results with it. In the wild, they would hunt for eggs, too. Some of our ferrets love mice! Hunting AND eating. We have gotten small ones from the pet store, and used a box for them to each have their own kill. Now, I can’t do it or watch it, but this is a skill in their lives I’m glad they have. Not all the ferrets wanted one, but at least their instincts perked up. Cookie Monster loves it, as well as Kiki, Remmy, Toothless. We never find a carcass! There are frozen mice, but have no idea about them since they never crossed our path.
Ferrets must also drink only bottled water. It doesn't have to be an expensive brand of it, but they cannot tolerate the chlorination that's in tap water. And they need it in a bowl, too. They are not hamsters. And they must be able to have water freely all day. They need it to eat the dry kernels in their mouths. Or they will choke. We have noticed that stick pieces can lodge into the ferrets' teeth; if they start pawing at their mouths you might have to knock it out of the way.