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Post by Deleted on Aug 15, 2014 14:51:45 GMT -5
Omg I found a rabbit and chicken feet (super cute butcher thought it was interesting why I wanted them). And I bought a Cornish game hen since I still can't find quail.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 15, 2014 15:14:19 GMT -5
Good Finds, especially the cute butcher. The rabbit should make for several meals and they cornish game hen should make two meals. Just for fun, I checked Amazon for quail. The six pack that I buy, costs me nine dollars. Amazon wanted almost $45 for the six. Crazy! You might try calling around and save the gas. They're usually in the frozen section of Asian markets. I'd love for you to be able to find them, since they are such a great starter bone. HareToday and MyPetCarnivore are online providers, but their shipping costs can be so high. We don't really have any plans for the weekend. We have a Doctor's appointment on Monday and the Doctor is close to the Wilson County fair. That's a big fair for this area and we'll pop by it. It's a good excuse to buy cotton candy.
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Post by katt on Aug 16, 2014 0:19:53 GMT -5
Sent this to you via PM but posting here so Steph can see too, and anyone who may be following this thread.
Fish for personal use is permitted, but meat and produce is difficult. It varies by specific food, origin, packaging, etc. They didn't even ask us about food when we crossed though even though there were huge signs all over saying "Save time, Report all fish, meat, produce, bla bla etc!!!" There is some really good info on their website here (scroll down to meats): help.cbp.gov/app/answers/detail/a_id/82/~/travelers-bringing-food-into-the-u.s.-for-personal-use
Also, call the border and ask about specific meats you may want to get. The regulations on that stuff are always changing.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 16, 2014 8:33:05 GMT -5
Thank you!
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Post by Deleted on Aug 16, 2014 8:46:11 GMT -5
Good morning! lol The cute butcher was definitely a nice bonus to the trip. We talked nerd talk after the discussion about the chicken feet. As soon as the rabbit and hen are defrosted I will work on breaking them down. I'm not exactly sure what to do specifically for his portions. Do I give him so many ounces or a whole piece? It sounds like he gets half a hen for his meal? I'm not sure if I should do that just yet. When I was able to see it yesterday I realized that he barely touched the wing. I gave him of his turkey soupie yesterday without the extra water (I forgot to grab the gizzards while I was at the meat market) and he barely ate any of it. Having said that today, he is running all over the place. He brought one of his favorite toys (a stuffingless brown dog) from the second hiding place, literally bounded through my entire apartment with it, so he could deposit it in his preferred hiding place. OMG! I will definitely have to keep looking around at the different quail options. Ill check out those websites you mentioned. The fair sounds like a lot of fun. We have a pretty big local fair going on right now. I took some of the individuals I care for to it last week on the opening day. We got ice cream instead of cotton candy. I really wanted to try the green apple kind. It was amazing. I hope you get to go.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 16, 2014 10:17:34 GMT -5
Good Morning Green apple Ice Cream? Yummy Are you a caregiver to special needs children or adults? My daughter worked with autistic children for years. It was part of her community service high school program. Loki won't eat a whole half hen. Consider this one a butchering lesson. Cut it in half and freeze that half. Then with the other half, cut the wing off and smash it up a little. Cut some of the breast meat off of it and put that on the plate with the smashed wing. Cut the pieces into tiny little slice about the size of your fingernail crescent (lunula). Take a tiny piece and while you're holding him, run a piece under some warm water and off it to him. If he turns his head, offer it again. Smash the wing up alot, so that's its in tiny pieces. A little smashed wing and some breast meat will probably be enough for Loki. That leaves you with the other quarter of the hen for dinner, put it in the fridge for his dinner. Side Note: Ferret sighting...I have Doctor Dolittle 2 on the TV and they just showed a ferret. (dance) For Loki's dinner, you will have the drumstick and still some breast and thigh meat. See how he does with that. He won't be able to eat the drumstick, but cut the meat off and smash part of the bone up into tiny pieces and let him try that. For portioning the rabbit, I would cut it into about 5oz portions. Loki is not likely to eat any more than that. The leg bones will be more than he is ready to handle now, but you could try cutting one leg in half and smashing it. Do you have a cleaver? For now, I would just work on getting him to accept the rabbit meat as food. Put the rabbit portions in baggies and freeze the portions. Loki must have been so cute, running all over the place. I love those crazy play moments. As for his not eating much yesterday, maybe he just wasn't terribly hungry. You can always try coaxing him, just to make sure. Sit with him and offer a little food and don't let him run away, until he humors you and accepts a bite or two. I'll check in again, a little later. (dance) Stef
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Post by Deleted on Aug 16, 2014 21:07:15 GMT -5
Good Evening Stef The green ice cream was extremely good. It was just lightly flavored with a sweet apple taste. I do work with adults with special needs. I have been in the field for about 13 years now. That's with a special education degree. Thank you for the help about butchering. I had no idea what to do about that. lol I thought I had a good knife but it's not working at all. So I'm going back to the store tomorrow with the help of my friend (Pond's mom) who is a chef. She said she would help me pick out a nice cleaver that would work out better than what I had. Yayyy for the ferret sighting! He did eat 4 oz of beef this morning. Once I get the cleaver tomorrow I can break down the rabbit and hen and start introducing that. I will finally have the place to myself as I took my mom home today. So I can sit with him and really work on it. On an awesome side note, I thought I would give him one of his chicken feet tonight. He nearly lost his mind over it. He snatched it from my hand and immediately started chomping on it. (Which freaked out my friend a little. lol) I took him back to his cage and he immediately fled with the foot in hand, to the safety of his preferred hiding spot (behind my couch). This process was repeated again when I retrieved the foot and brought it back to the cage. He then snatched it and ran across my bed with it in tow. It was quite the sight to see. I tried to get a picture of him with it, but he would hide the foot when he saw me watching him for too long. He got two walks today, the first one included finding a sandbox at a park close to where my mom lives. He got quite the kick out of digging in the sand. (Specifically burying his head in it?? ) I'll report back tomorrow with how he takes to the new protein. I'm quite excited about it. (And the idea about getting more chicken feet.... (shy)) Good night!
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Post by Deleted on Aug 17, 2014 12:11:28 GMT -5
Good Morning. Loki and his chicken feet are just too funny! Great stimulation and good for building jaw strength. Every once in awhile, one of the ferrets on the forum go crazy over something. It looks like Loki has decided he loves chicken feet. You should take some pictures and build a thread. This is too cute, not to be shared. I love the picture of him burying his head in the sand. Maybe you need to let him know that he is a ferret, not an ostrich. (giggle) A cleaver will really help alot. Pond's mom is a chef, what a cool job. Is she interested in feeding Pond some raw? My daughter is going to school to be a chef. Well, that's this weeks plan. She graduated from the Navy nuclear school program, left the Navy and went to school to be a nurse anesthesiologist and now she's at Le Cordon Bleu, in Orlando. But that's what your twenties are for. There's plenty of time to work, you might as well try on a few different hats. It takes a special kind of Heart to work with special needs adults, or children. I'm very impressed. Do you have a wide range of needs or do you specialize in one disability? Have you taken Loki to meet your group? 4oz of beef is absolutely terrific. Loki has such a good appetite and that makes me really happy. What cut of beef and how did you serve it? Fatty cuts of meats are best for ferrets. Fat equals energy. (hint, possible test question) I hope your Sunday is nice and restful or fun and crazy, whichever is most appealing. It's rainy here and I just made English muffins. We're going to lay around and watch some movies. :wave2:
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Post by Deleted on Aug 17, 2014 14:54:07 GMT -5
Good Afternoon! That is a fantastic idea about taking more pictures of Loki and his chicken feet.) I just got a new phone as my mom accidentally broke my old one. So I'll try and get some more evidence about his new love affair. lol I still can't get over his reaction to them. It was better than I ever dreamed it would have been. I've tried to tell him before that he is neither ostrich or a dog, but he doesn't believe me. lol He does the same thing with long grass and dirt/mud. He loves sliding around in it and huffing it. Yesterday we had some rain, mostly light sprinkling. I took him out during one of the breaks and he kept rubbing himself all over the damp grass. It was so cute. I was able to locate a cleaver so as soon as I am done with my late lunch, I will be breaking down his proteins. Pond's mom (Melissa) wants too, but she has a lot of personal issues going on at the moment. Pond is so tiny and Melissa wants to get her on a better diet. The stuff she eats now is junk from Tractor Supply. But it's all she will eat. Pond has kicked out all of the other kibbles that have been offered. She won't even touch a raw egg. She is 3 years old. I tried going over and teaching her about making soupie, but they just don't have time right now to really sit with Pond and try to encourage her. I hope she can soon. That's so cool about your daughter/skin kid. You must be so proud of her. I completely agree. It's the perfect time to try things out and see what is best for you. When I was in high school I was convinced I was going to move to Japan and become a animator. LOL Now I want to move to Canada and have a house full of ferrets. That's very kind of you to say, it's hard work sometimes, but it's rewarding. I definitely believe that I would rather have a job that I enjoy, even if it meant not making as much. The same can be said of ferrents. You have to have a special heart to take care of these fuzz butts. I used to work in group homes, but now I am a senior staff member of a day habilitation place. I work with a wide variety of individuals, everything from a 21 year old with downs syndrome and behavioral issues to a 70 year old man with OCD and a learning disability. Things are really up in the air about what the future of my field will be like. It's definitely nothing like I would have guessed I would have been involved in. But I love it. I gave him hamburger yesterday and this morning. He had turkey last night with his chicken foot. Now that I have the cleaver I will try some more of the bone in meat from the menu you suggested. (lol fat=energy and no waist for a healthy ferret weight... got it.) My Sunday has been good so far. I drove all over the place looking for a new cleaver, but I found it, the phone I needed, and a I got Loki a new tube. I want to take Loki to the park later. I can't wait for this weekend coming up. I'm going home for a weekend festival. Loki is going to be outside all day. We're going for walks down by the lake! And my friends have beautiful garden front yard. They actually had ferrets years ago, before they had all the mass marketing stuff they have now. So they love Loki and are alright with him tearing around the place. Your Sunday sounds really nice. I hope it's as restful as it sounds. I will check in later with more info about what happens. Thanks again for everything!
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Post by Deleted on Aug 17, 2014 15:40:29 GMT -5
Just checking in, after watching a scarey movie and before we find another movie. I'm glad you found a cleaver, as fast as Loki is moving along, you will need it alot and soon. A new phone is always fun. I'm amazed at what phones can now do. We're pretty rural here and have little wireless capability. I haven't had a cell phone since we moved from Florida to Tennessee, and my Kindle has to be downloaded from my computer. Its rather sweet here, like stepping back in time to the early sixties. Think Mayberry with more cows. If Pond's mom wants to get Pond on a better kibble, look at our kibble chart. She may have to order higher quality kibble online. If she mixes some of her current kibble with the new kibble, and stores it in a tupperware container, then the smell will be familiar and she will accept the new kibble. She just has to slowly increase the amount of old, and increase the amount of new kibble. She'll be doing little Pond a big favor and down the road, she will avoid some big vet bills. Insulinoma is expensive to treat. I know that you can only make suggestions, but wait until Pond's mom, sees the difference in Loki's coat and teeth, and of course when he gets Grapetail and smells so good. Do you know about Grapetails? Your career sounds like it is so rewarding, and you're lucky to get to work in a field that you enjoy. I know how much the medical field is changing. It will be interesting to see how all the changes affect Health care workers. Okay, off to find another movie.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 17, 2014 17:46:29 GMT -5
I love scary movies! Lol I just finished breaking apart the rabbit and hen and washing dishes. So I'm going to take Loki for an evening park trip and then come home to work on dinner. (How long should I leave that chicken foot in his cage? ) Don't feel bad about being so rural. I have friends who love by Erie Pa and they didn't have good internet until the mid-2000's. There are areas on the way to where my family/friends live that my GPS and signal get dropped all of the time. It's amazing to think that even in this modern age that reception is still sketchy. I will let her know and help were I can. She is worried about Pond's health and wants what is best for her. Those are some really good suggestions. She was amazed at how beautiful Loki's coat is from just the few weeks he has had raw already. But more so its the weight. We think Pond is under weight. I have heard about grape tail but so far nothing like that for Loki. He has actually returned to smelling a bit bad after that hiatus of indulging in kibble. Hopefully he will finish detoxing from that soon. Have fun and talk to shortly!
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Post by Deleted on Aug 17, 2014 19:44:15 GMT -5
Quick mini update. Loki ate about 4 small slivers of the rabbit. I'm going to give him more before I go to bed here in a little bit. Loki throughly enjoyed his walk. When we came back I found out he had managed to sneak his chicken foot out of his cage! It was behind the heater in my living room. I put it back in the cage before I made his dinner only to find it gone again when I returned a few minutes later.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 18, 2014 14:25:33 GMT -5
Loki did not eat the bigger chunks of rabbit from last night, but it looks like he might have nibbled a little more on his breakfast chicken wing than he did before. I used the cleaver to break it up better.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 18, 2014 19:31:14 GMT -5
Good Evening 4 slivers of rabbit is pretty good. Loki seems to be good with accepting new proteins. Yeah! (dance) The funny little fellow and his chicken foot, just cracks me up. You should be able to leave the foot in with him for up to 24 hours. He won't touch it, if its bad. However, ferrets seem to like their chicken, "jerkified" to quote Bella. When you finally take it away, you'd better have another one for him. The guide to leaving food out (hint, possible test question) is Raw soups/commercial grinds 6-8 hours chunks of muscle meaat up to 12 hours Bone In up to 24 hours Whole prey 48 hours You mentioned that you and Pond's Mom worry that he is too thin. How much does he weigh? Did you dangle him and see a waistline. Some ferrets have a "whippet" body type and can be very lean and thin. My Juliet is like this. If you want to post a picture, I can look at it and have some of the Senior Mentors check it out. It's been a long busy (for us) day. I'll check in again in the morning. Give Loki a big hug and tell him, I've proud of him. He (and his Mom) are doing so well.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 18, 2014 20:04:36 GMT -5
Good evening! That's a relief (about the amount he ate being good). I thought it wasn't enough. His foot was definitely jerkified lol. I replaced it with the chicken wing this morning,which he is now dragging around my living room. (I just can't win, lol) But I do have another for him. How often should I give him a foot? Eeeep more test questions. Let me see if I remember everything so far. Waist=under weight, fat=energy, soupie/grinds=6-8, chunks=12, bone=24, whole =48 Pond is a girl and I think she might have a waist. I will ask her her ferrent today to make sure. I would be surprised if she weighed a whole pound. She is just a teeny little sprite. I have a picture of her with Loki, I will post it asap. I completely understand. Loki took a nap and then I drug him back to the park (not that he minded at all). I will give him lots of love. Do the same for your crew, skin and fur kids alike. Awwww thank you so much! You are also doing a fantastic job.
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