Instructions on how to make Ferret (Duck) Soup

Firstly, I do not think that Duck soup is only for ill ferrets, and it is well worth while getting a recipe you both know you can make, and that you ferrets will enjoy before they are ill, and get them used to eating it.. Ill ferrets are even more fussy about food change.

Ill ferrets are even more fussy about food change.

We feed our guys their duck soup as a treat, at least 4 times a week, if not more. This also means that it does not sit in the freezer for too long. When ever they hear me start to prepare it, they queue up. It is fantastic to see them all standing on their hind legs, in a circle, as I lower the saucer onto the floor between them.

We often offer it to our boarders as well, with great results, I think we have only ever had a couple who would not eat it.

I normally make much larger amounts, so I have divided the ingredients down for people who want to make a smaller amount, but all the amounts are approx anyway, as I tend to make it up as I go along.

I tend use either a whole large chicken, or the 2 of the cheap 1Kg stores own brand frozen bags of Chicken Thigh and Legs from the super market.

I have chosen chicken wings, as they are cheap, and the smaller bones soften a lot easier, some people do this in a slow cooker, but this takes about 5 hours. If using a pressure cooker like me, you can use 3 chicken drum sticks, or 2 thighs instead.

Ingredients

5 chicken Wings

1 cup of normal Ferret biscuits (James Wellbeloved/Vitalin etc )

half a cup Olive oil

1 egg

Optional convalescent powder from Vet (Royal Canin Convalescence Support Instant Diet) comes in a 50g Sachet

Ferretone

Lactose free Milk or unsweetened Soya Milk

Take the cup of Ferret biscuits, we use a mix of James Wellbeloved and Vitalin, place in a bowl and pour in warm water. Leave to soak for half an hour or so. You want the biscuits to swell up and soften, but not break down (Yet). It should be a stiff porridge sort of mixture, that a spoon will stand up in

Take the chicken wings, bones, skin, meat, the lot, and put them in a Pressure cooker, Pressure cook for 1 hour. Our Pressure cooker needs 1 and a 1/4 pints of water for that long.

The bones will have turned to dust after this amount of time in the Pressure cooker, and you can use one of those electric hand blenders to turn the chicken into a thick soup

Put the egg (Shell as well) and Olive oil into a beaker, and use the hand blender to mix and destroy the shell.

Add this to the Chicken, again using the blender, mix it all up.

Now add the soaked Ferret biscuits, blending until it is all thoroughly mixed.

If all has gone according to plan, it should be like a pale Hummus on both consistency and look.

Pour the mix into Ice trays, or you can buy mini airtight containers from the £1 shop (8 for £1) and used those. They are about 2.5 inches square, and about an inch deep.

Freeze them. With the Ice trays, after about 24 hours, you can turn them out, into a polythene bag. Sometimes they can be a bit hard to get out of the trays, but I found if you briefly float the tray in hot water, they pop out quite easily. Put the bags of loose cubes back into the freezer ready for use.

When you want to use them, get one or two frozen cubes out of the freezer a couple of hours early, or microwave them for about 30 - 40 seconds from frozen in a shallow dish.

Mix the cubes with some hot water, Ferretone (if you can get it and want to!) and a bit of the LactoFree Milk, to make a runny soup. Add the Convalescent powder if you want/need. I usually make it just hotter than blood heat, as the ferrets seem to prefer it warm.

Serve to your waiting crowd...

Waiter, there's a ferret in my soup...