FEEDING YOUR
WOLF
The food we are now using is Blue Wilderness and the company is Blue Buffalo Diamond, the bag is blue with a wolves head on it. It is 42% protein and contains no grain. They also have a cat formula that is 45% protein (that also has no grain), it is a purple bag with a wild cat's head on it. We have been mixing the two formulas, so far they are doing good, i will keep you posted on how the food is working out.
They also have a canned food in both the formulas, but it is not as high in protein as the dry. Although it is higher in fat, is good for baby's just learning to eat, pregnant mothers, and for mother's that are feeding babies.
Remember, always use a mixture of canned and dry food because the canned is not as high in protein, but higher in fat content. When feeding the babies at first use the cat formula because it is smaller in size and higher in protein content. You can throw in a little canned food also but only a little.
You can use a little canned food mixed in with the dry food for sick wolves. It will help them eat more and will give them a little more fat in there diet.
The reason we changed our food is because the Taste of the Wild Company lowered there protein content in the food. They also added corn without any notification label. We believe this caused some of our wolves sick and gave them green diarrhea. One of our pregnant mothers towards the end of her pregnancy got to where she didn't really want to eat anymore. She ended up giving birth to three healthy babies and three dead babies', we believe it was partially due to the change in the food.
I contacted Taste of the Wild, they deny changing the food. We have compared the current protein content to a previous content and it is lower. The food also has yellow flakes in it (that is corn). When we started using the food it had no flake's.
We do not have the phone number for Blue Wilderness but you can check it out on their website, www.bluebuff.com
I would like to share some of my experience with
how to care for a wolf when it comes to feeding.
I have learned all that I know from first hand
experience. My dad raised wolves and shared his
knowledge with me and I have lived with wolves
most of my life. Most of the facts that I share
with you will not be found in your common
learning type text books. But I can assure you
that I have studied wolves, how they react to
food by behavior and physically.
The following is how I feed my wolves; they have
a life span of 25 years and longer. Most wolves
will also if taken care of the correct way. My
wolves range in weight between 90 – 400
pounds, but are not obese, just healthy.
In the wild wolves eat raw meat, plus the hair,
skin and bones of the kill. Wolves are strictly
a meat eater, which means protein only no
vegetables or fruit.
In the wild most wolves are sickle, are full
of worms, and are a lot smaller. The mortality
rate is that one in a litter may make it to a
year old, I have little or no mortality, and
all of my cubs live.
Wolves have a high metabolism, they
only retain the protein and so unlike dogs
they don’t get fat, a wolf is dense weight.
Like humans with a high metabolism,
they can eat anything and not gain
weight, they only retain the protein.
But remember, they are a carnivore not
an herbivore.
They also only eat once a day, their
metabolism is designed so that they
hold most of there food in their system
until they eat again. So it does no good
to feed them more than once a day.
You are just wasting the food and
making them sick. In that one feeding
you should give them about 4 ½ cups
of food. If they do not eat it all put it
up until the next day.
Wolves do not digest fruit and
vegetables it is hard on their intestines
and will just give them diarrhea. So to
keep the wolves healthy remember
protein only and nothing too spicy.
Wolves do need fiber; in the wild
they receive it by eating grass, dirt,
sticks and little rocks. It helps with
the digestion and helps to make there
stool hard.
In the wild they eat a kill on the
ground it gets dirty, which helps
them digest their kill. To help
compensate you can help by
putting there food on the ground
sometimes or put dirt and little
rocks in the food bowl.
HOW TO FEED THEM
A wolf needs a high protein food of 32% or
higher, no less. I suggest a high protein food lick tast of the wild
which is what we use it is made for wolves, that is geared towards helping with their
immune system. Unlike dogs they don’t become
over weight by the protein. Adult dog food is like
diet food, so they don’t get the protein they need.
Or you can feed them cat food which is very high
in protein and since wolves can be traced back to
the feline family it would actually be good for
them.
If you choose to feed them meat that is fine, but
please cook it first. One reason is better to cook
the meat is it will help the wolves digestive system
break down the food easier and faster. This will cause
the wolves to receive a higher content of fat and protein
from the meat. Raw meat takes longer and is harder for
the digestive system to breakdown, thus could miss
some of the importance of eating the meat.
Raw meat will give any animal worms and wolves
are prone to get worms because of an enzyme that
they carry. Wolves should be wormed every six months
to be safe.
If you decide to feed the wolf meat they should still
get their puppy or cat food every day. Think of it
as a foundation on a house. They need their
puppy food first and then you can give them
meat or treats after. IMPORTANT: Remember
they have a high metabolism so everything in
moderation.
I also give and suggest that you give them a
vitamin. Make sure the vitamin helps prevent urinary tract
infections. The vitamin helps replace the vitamins
they would get from a kill. It will also help with stress,
a wolf is emotional and they worry over everything.
Wolves are prone to urinary tract infections, as felines,
so it is important that the vitamin helps prevent against this.
This is especially true during the summer, they tend to not
drink enough water for their kidney's to flush properly.
A vitamin will help the kidney's process and keep the wolf
happy, a happy wolf makes for a happy home! If you
would like you could give your wolf ice cubes, popcicles
or hose down the wolf once per day (only if it is hot outside).
All of these can help assist the vitamins.
Wolves like to chew, you can give them
bones too. Just like they would get from a
kill, this will also give them something to do.
I give my wolves beef rib bones; I buy them
with the meat on them. I use beef bones
because they last longer then pig bones do.
I also give them rawhides, natural 100%
rawhide only, no spices or flavoring. It
will replace the skin from a kill and it
helps with the digestion. Again, the bones
and rawhide will also give them something to do.
Since they are so intelligent they need brain
stimulation, like bones, rawhide, sticks and
toys to chew on.
NOTES ON HOW TO FEED A WOLF
· High protein puppy food or cat food all there lives.
· No fruit or vegetables ever.
· Sticks, grass, dirt, small rocks for digestion.
· Rawhide like skin from a kill.
· Bones, meat (beef proffered), cooked only.
· You can give them things like eggs and cheese, peanut butter but remember all in moderation.
· Also a daily vitamin for stress and the stomach. Should be a full spectrum vitamin that includes help with urinary tract infection, commonly a feline vitamin works.
We have found that protein in the diet helps with the healing process, it helps the body produce the antibody needed to help them mate, to heal and to help heal you. Antibiotics run through their system, the more protien in the food, the stronger the antibodys are, the heathier the wolf will be, the longer they will live with you. There are currently schools that are studying the wolf's blood for a cure for cancer. If you have a full wolf it will not get cancer. They are too heathy, it has to do with those antibodys running through their system.
CUBS
If raising cubs, don’t give people food until
six months of age. In the wild the adults
regurgitate the food for the cub which is partly
digested.
An adult’s stomach acid is stronger then that of a
cub, so only puppy food or you will cause their
stomach to over work, which will give them
diarrhea and make them sick.
I suggest puppy food only until they are six
months old. Puppy food is bland and will
not make them sick.
ABOUT DIARREAH
A wolf can get diarrhea for many different
reasons. Because of their metabolism you
can give your wolf or cub Imodium AD.
Two tablets ever time they go until it’s
over and at the same time you can give
them a stomach medicine every three days
until it is over. The medicine is called
Propios or Benabac for animals. It will
replace the stomachs acids.
You can also give the same medicine
to cubs that are going from mother’s
milk to solid food because cubs have
a hard time going from milk to food. That
is why even in the wild a cub will have a
hard time going from mother’s milk to
solid food and sometimes they die because of it.
POISONS: Dye's in food Wolves can't have dye's in their food and medications, especially red dye's (example red dye #8). In medication make sure they do not get any phenobarbytol, it can destroy the liver in wolves and is almost impossible to remove them from this drug. Here is a story from a reader to help explain what I am talking about: Cubs that will not eat and are sick or is eating for the first time: When a cub or adult will not eat you need to give 2cc pracaine penicillin, a half a spoon of probiocin (pet gel) and a dose of kaolin pectin (anti-diarrheal for animals). You will get all of these items when you receive the cub from us or you may order it from Jeffers Pet magazine, 1-800-533-3377. Give these items to the wolf in the morning and then water in mouth with syringe through out the day. You need to do everything possible to get the wolf to eat. Wolves need to eat every day especially cubs who need to eat twice a day. I do something I call tub feeding. I take a syringe and cut off the tip and then make some of the wolf cereal and punch the syringe into the food until it's full. Then put the end in it and put in mouth and push it down their throat, hold the mouth closed until they swallow it. Give six to eight syringe full twice a day. The syringe size's should be 3cc for 3 to 6 weeks, 12cc for 6 to 12 weeks, 20cc for 12 to 32 weeks and 35cc for any wolf older then 32 weeks old. Do this every day no matter what in until the wolf is better and back to eating every day on their own. Remember if a wolf goes one day with out eating they may die, especially cubs. Some reasons that may be causing them to be sick: Eating the wrong thing, they have worms, they have been recently wormed and the dead worms made them sick, they have the diarrhea from too much food or water. Some cubs may get sick when starting to eat food, because of worms but may still be to small to worm. Just maintain cubs and keep it on food until they are old enough to worm at 6 weeks old. Do not worm younger then 6 weeks it can cause health problems when older if wormed too young. Just do these things and hang in there! Feeding tips with Mckenzie Valley Arctic: double every thing in the instructions, even the food, give twice as much except shots that is the same for all.
First try to take some food, put water in it and then cook it, I call this cereal (wolf cereal). This usually works when you are putting them on food for the first time, sometime between 3 to 4 weeks old, until they can eat dry food. Remember you still need to put a little dirt in thier food. Feed them twice a day about a handful at first and increase as they grow, or once a day for adults or cubs that are at least a year old. Remember to use probiocin (pet gel) every three day's until about 2 1/2 months. If you have a a cub that has a touchy stomach you may have to baby it until it is older. Some have a touchy stomach and others have a cast iron like stomach. Just remember for the first six months: only their wolf food, filtered water, dirt in their food, don't let them get to hot, and most important just love them a lot.
Sick cubs and adults:
I hope my experience with feeding and
caring for wolves will help you. If you have
any questions call Katie at 1-915-369-2533.
