Barb'S Yum-Yum Recipe

I call this "Yum-Yums." My friends laugh at me, but when I ask my ferrets if they want some Yum-Yums, you should see their faces light up!

I cook some chicken in the pressure cooker until it?s so done the bones crumble when you squeeze them (about 1 hour at 15 pounds pressure). Some people do this in a crock-pot and say the bones get soft that way, too. Include everything: bones, skin, fat, etc. I normally buy it in 10lb bags when it's on sale for $0.38 a pound or less. Scoop out the solids (meat, bones, gristle, skin ? you want *everything*) and skim the fat off the top of the juice and SAVE it. You will include this when you process it.

I cool the chicken and run it through my grinder. I?ve found it seems to grind and puree better after it?s chilled. I grind everything ? bones and all. The bones supply added nutrients like calcium and phosphorus (in just the right amounts), and the marrow is very good for them, too. I put a few scoops of ground chicken into the food processor and add enough of the reserved fat to process smoothly, but don't make it too soupy (you can always add liquid later). If you add the fat a little at a time, you?ll find this mixture will get almost as smooth as commercially prepared baby food, but have a lot more nutrition in it.

Then cook some liver by whatever method you care to use. I use the cheapest type of liver (beef) but anything will do. You don't need a lot -- I use 3 cups chicken goo to 1/3 cup liver.

Get some beef suet (ask the butcher) or lard. Again, you don't need much -- same as with the liver, I use 3 cups chicken to 1/3 cup beef fat. If your ferret has Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) or severe diarrhea, you might not want to add the extra fat.

Measure 3 cups chicken into food processor, 1/3 cup cooked liver, 1/3 cup beef fat or lard. Process, adding enough chicken fat (or juice if the fat is all gone) to get very smooth.

Then I use a mortar and pestle (like they use to grind up medication) and grind up 1000mg vitamin C. I add that to the mixture along with a vitamin E capsule (you have to pierce it and squeeze the oil out), an acidophilus tablet, 1 tsp Vionate vitamin/mineral powder or whatever strikes my fancy (I'm always experimenting). Add this to the mixture and process at least 15 seconds, the smoother the better.

Then I spoon it into empty baby food jars (leave some room for expansion!), put the lids on and freeze until I need it.

One baby food jar defrosts in 2 minutes at 30% power (Defrost setting) in my microwave. You'll have to adjust for your own appliance. Sometimes when I serve it, I'll add a little water if it isn't soupy enough.

The sicker the ferret, the smoother and juicier they like it.

--Barb Carlson