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Post by Deleted on Dec 15, 2014 21:02:04 GMT -5
oh my Lord! I cannot believe that someone could do that to these sweet babies! I'm glad they have you now. They are super cute I know they are going to be excited to be part of the Christmas goodies that you find. Mine LOVE goose so much that I have to make sure they aren't in the room when I open the fridge or they'll climb in and run away with the portion bags! LOL this weeks menu is: Monday: boneless lamb / ground chicken organs (.5 liver .5 other mix) Tuesday: whole ground Llama / bison heart Wednesday: rabbit leg / chicken wings Thursday: boneless bison / whole ground goose Friday: rabbit with bone / quail with bone Saturday: whole ground goose / CGH with bone Sunday: chicken with bone / whole ground Llama
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Post by fretki on Dec 17, 2014 13:50:07 GMT -5
woooot, I'm finally back on my own computer! and I have a day off tomorrow, I hope I'll have enough time to post you the amino acid list I promised you; might get a few days later, if it doesn't rain too extremely I'll install a playground slide in the outdoor enclosure (dance) and then we will talk about graduation would you like to graduate before or after Christmas? hahaha, I had a similar problem 2 days ago: I defrosted whole frozen pigeon, they come in sealed bags and I leave them in the bag to defrost, went into the enclosure to clean and put 2 on a shelf where usually no ferret climbs up.... usually... when I finished cleaning I had to fight with my furry piranhas to at least get the plastic bags back, pigeon-addicts!! (headwall)
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Post by Deleted on Dec 19, 2014 16:17:22 GMT -5
hahaha! They smelled pigeon and dared to defy gravity in order to reach it I am fine with after Christmas. I know that it's a busy time of year right now! Just tell me what I need to do and then I'll be getting ready for whenever the time comes But I hope we stay in touch bc I know how ferret math works and I have a feeling that sooner or later someone will ask me to take in their ferret. I'm kinda known as the ferret lady around here since in my little town, I'm the only one with ferts! LOL! And when that happens I'll be back to square one with starting on raw.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 30, 2014 11:31:10 GMT -5
This weeks menu is:
Monday: whole ground turkey / bison heart
Tuesday: chicken wings / boneless bison
Wednesday: CGH with bone / liver and pancreas (50/50)
Thursday: whole ground turkey/ rabbit w/bone
Friday: soupie / boneless pork loin
Saturday: chicken thigh w/bone / CGH with bone
Sunday: soupie / rabbit w/bone
I ran out of the grinds so I substituted soupie this week. Due to the holidays, Hare Today isn't shipping bc they can't guarantee that it would be a 2 day shipment. I will be so glad when they get back to regular shipping! I hope your Christmas was wonderful =) I saw lots of pics of the snow. I am so jealous bc we haven't seen in 3 years =(
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Post by fretki on Dec 30, 2014 17:12:21 GMT -5
Glad to "see" you here! Thank you for the menu! I'm so sorry I feel like I haven't posted here in months Christmas time was crazy, my bf's birthday is on dec 25, we had friends and family here day after day. Was great to have a full dosis of social life after all this construction work and sometimes neglecting a bit the social part during all this, but I still had to work during holidays, so all in all it was a lot. I had to bring the young ferret boy for castration, gosh he was so smelly and slimy, ewwwww! I needed a few vet check-ups for my oldies and their implants as well. Oh and I scored goose My furballs love me, hahaha! We have snow, first winter season for my ferrets outside and I'm completely paranoid, I check 100x per day if they are ok... And I'm no longer used to do snow clearance on my own, my back hurts from shoveling. Well, if you want to see/feel snow, come here we have more than ever I'll continue tomorrow and explain you as well how to proceed for graduation. Sent from my SM-G900F using proboards
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Post by fretki on Jan 1, 2015 10:04:03 GMT -5
Grrrr! I didn't got on my pc the last days, bf was/is sick, so had to take care a few things more than I thought... bf still wanted to celebrate New Year, so we left for a short trip (in a hurry for me), will be back tomorrow evening! Hope I don't get sick, my stomach feels weird... In the mean time I have forum access through my phone and can explain you the process for graduation: there are 2 things to do 1) a little quiz, I'll post a few questions for you to answer about raw feeding (as a repetition of what you already know) 2) please post an example menu and a list of available proteins (you can copy a menu you already posted) Aaaaand: don't forget we'll stay in touch, if you have questions, I guess you know how to contact me We can always re-open this switching thread later on, if you need help for a next switch! And Katt might contact you after graduation, I suggested you for the mentor team Sent from my SM-G900F using proboards
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Post by fretki on Jan 1, 2015 16:04:57 GMT -5
Oh and where the heck is my head!
HAPPY NEW YEAR to you and your family, hope you had an excellent start into 2015! ;D
Sent from my SM-G900F using proboards
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Post by Deleted on Jan 17, 2015 13:04:57 GMT -5
thinking of you! Hoping that all is starting to calm down for you. I will check this periodically to see if you've checked in. DON"T worry about me though bc everything is good here and all fuzzies are healthy and happy. =)
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Post by fretki on Jan 20, 2015 4:06:05 GMT -5
Thank you! I'm so sorry I'll take a little longer than expected, I'll be back on Friday!
Sent from my SM-G900F using proboards
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Post by Deleted on Feb 12, 2015 22:56:49 GMT -5
I hope everything is going okay. I just wanted to check in bc I don't want out thread to get deleted. I'll just keep checking in to see when you get back on here so we can see about me graduating =)
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Post by fretki on Feb 14, 2015 16:06:27 GMT -5
I'm so very sorry for disapearing so long! I'm back tomorrow evening for an extensive catch up on my pc and a step towards your graduation! Looking forward! Sent from my SM-G900F using proboards
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Post by fretki on Feb 16, 2015 9:00:07 GMT -5
I'm running late as usual in the last days, I really appreciate your patience! I'll need a few posts I guess to put all up that I promised you to. And then we'll start the quizzing (dance) So here we go:
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Post by fretki on Feb 16, 2015 9:00:58 GMT -5
Digestion Taken from: vetsci.co.uk/2010/05/14/comparative-digestion/"Introduction The method of digestion which an animal uses depends on its diet i.e. carnivore, herbivore or omnivore. For example not all mammals are carnivores (e.g. dogs and cats), herbivorous mammals include rabbits, chinchillas, guinea pigs etc. Generally, carnivores consume animal tissue which is similar to their own; therefore all the body needs to do is break down the tissue and absorb the different components which can then be used in the carnivores own body. Omnivores have very similar digestive systems to carnivores with the addition of a caecum. Herbivores consume plant matter which is more difficult to break down than tissue. Therefore herbivores have evolved fermentation systems which contain specific microflora, the microflora breakdown the plant material releasing useful nutrients which the herbivore utilises. Digestion by Diet: Carnivores Because meat is easily digested, the gastric system of carnivores is typically short and simple. They are monogastric meaning they have only one stomach (unlike a ruminants’ stomach which has four chambers). Due to the ease at which components required for growth are obtained from food, some carnivores have lost the ability to synthesis them (e.g. cats are unable to synthesis taurine). The teeth of carnivores are sharp and strong, this makes it easy to rip and tear meat from bones of prey. When possible, the meat is broken down further by the teeth to ensure maximum surface area for digestion by enzymes in the stomach and small intestines. True carnivores do not have digestive enzymes in their saliva. Due to the lack of salivary enzymes, food spends little time in the mouth of a carnivore, it is shortly swallowed and travels down the oesophagus. The oesophagus is a tube which runs from the pharynx (back of the oral cavity) to the stomach. The walls of the oesophagus are protected from damage by food by stratified squamous epithelium arranged in longitudinal folds, this also allows for expansion as the food travels down to the stomach. Food is passed down the oesophagus by peristalsis which is the contraction and relaxation of longitudinal and circular muscles, pushing food down to the stomach in wave like motion. The next stop is the stomach, the stomach has multiple roles in digestion, including: A reservoir for food A sterilising chamber, due to the low pH (high acid content – HCL) A churning chamber to mix food with digestive gastric juices a The initial site of protein digestion, primarily by pepsin – secreted by the epithelial lining of the stomach Food is moved to the next site of digestion, the small intestine, by peristalsis. The small intestine is a long and narrow ‘tube’ with a structure and epithelium that maximises surface area. This is important because the small intestine is the primary site of digestion by enzymes. Food continues to travel along the small intestine by peristalsis. The small intestine can be divided into the duodenum, jejunum and the ileum. The pancreatic duct connects the pancreas to the duodenum – the majority of the digestive enzymes enter the small intestine by this duct. To aid in lipid digestion, bile is secreted by the liver (stored in the gallbladder). Bile emulsifies lipids which gives them a larger surface area, increasing enzyme efficiency. The small intestine joins to the large intestine, which consists of the caecum, colon and rectum. In carnivores the caecum has no function (as it is used in herbivores/omnivores as a site of bacterial fermentation of plant matter). The colon absorbs minimal nutrients from the ingested food; instead its primary role is the reabsorption of water, vitamins and electrolytes from the mixture of food, saliva and gastric & pancreatic juices passing through. This prevents excessive water loss and therefore dehydration. The remnants are excreted via the rectum and anal sphincters." → personal note: ferrets don't posess a caecum/appendix. The right proportions of amino acids, energy, fatty acids, minerals and vitamins are essential for the ferrets health, but we stil don't know everything about all factors. How to produce kibble? www.petmd.com/dog/nutrition/evr_multi_dry_pet_food?page=showExtrusion process often uses water and pressure, both can be detrimental to amino acids, most tolerate heat pretty well, but the combination of heat and pressure can reduce nutrient levels drastically. Some amino acids are highly water soluble, if the water isn't used in the manufacturing process, loss is evident. As example how amino acids are broken down and metabolized: curezone.com/ig/i.asp?i=67234Amino acid melting points → destruction www.jbc.org/content/99/1/221.full.pdf
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Post by fretki on Feb 16, 2015 9:32:32 GMT -5
This is about amino acids in general, unfortunately there is not much about the specific requirements of ferrets, most research is done about the minimum requirements for kibble, but not about the optimal requirements for health Amino acid overview: www.chempep.com/ChemPep-Amino-Acid-Overview.htmand in structure: www.chempep.com/ChemPep-Amino-Acid-Standard-List.htmAmino acids are still a younger subject of research, so don't we surprised if what I listed you today will be outdated tomorrow (or maybe rather in 10 years) This is a website worth checking, again, not necessarily ferret related. aminoacidstudies.org/(please note, I posted the website for informational purposes only, I don't promote supplementation, it might be beneficial for a sick beeing but if you are healthy and eat healthy, no need to supplement, same for your pet/ferret) And as a side note: a large part of what we know about amino acid digestion for humans, comes from research on ferrets, they are used extremely often for reserach with digestive and metabolic topics, because they metabolize most amino acids the same way we do
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Post by fretki on Feb 16, 2015 9:37:57 GMT -5
If you are very interested in the subject I can scan and send you the nutrition chapters of: "Ferret, Husbandry, Medicine and Surgery" (second edidtion) and "Biology and diseases of the ferret" (third edition)
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