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Post by JWest017 on Oct 3, 2014 18:24:32 GMT -5
Hello, my name is Jayden, and I've been using this wonderful forum to research ferrets and a raw/whole prey diet for months now, but I've only just gotten the courage to actually post something! (shy) I am planning on getting my first ever ferrets in a month or two, and I'm really excited and have been doing tons of research. The Holistic Ferret Forum has been a very valuable resource for me, and I just have a couple of questions. I have gotten together a menu plan based on the info I've gathered from this site, and I just want to make sure that it's a completely balanced diet. If there's something that seems unbalanced, or maybe something that is dangerous, or bones that are too hard to chew and I would have to crush up for them, please tell me. All measurements are approximations of how much two ferrets might eat. Monday: Morning- 4oz Chicken heart ( Muscle *Heart) Night- 4oz Turkey necks ( Bone) Tuesday: Morning-1.5oz Lamb liver, 1.5oz Veal kidney, and 1 Whole egg ( Organ) Night- 4oz Pork neck ( Bone) Wednesday: Morning-4oz Turkey tail (Bone) Night- 4oz Catfish (Muscle) Thursday: Morning- 4oz Turkey wings (Bone) Night- 4oz Bone-in duck (Bone) Friday: Morning- 1oz Veal kidney, 1oz Pork liver, 2oz Beef heart, and 1 Whole egg (.5 Organ, .5 Heart) Night- 4oz Pork tail (Bone) Saturday: Morning- 4oz Chicken neck (Bone) Night- 2oz Beef cheek and 2oz Pork rib tips (.5 Muscle, .5 Bone) Sunday: Morning- 4oz Chicken gizzard (Muscle) Night- 4oz Chicken spine (Bone) Possibly cricket hunting or mealworms as a snack/treat Now, I would really like to do whole prey, but it would be WAY too expensive to do 100% whole prey, so I was thinking I would feed frozen mice for 2 meals a week. Does it matter which meats I kick off the menu to replace with the mice? Because preferably, I would want to replace my two most expensive meats (duck and catfish) to keep costs low. If I were to feed mice 2 meals a week, how would the bone/muscle/organ ratio change (what would menu look like)? I found 200 medium adult mice for $129 at TSK feeders with FREE shipping (so I was pretty excited). The mice would last about a year, and it's 64 cents per mouse with free shipping. Is this a good deal, or do you think I could get a better one? On to my next question! I was considering adopting ferrets (retired breeders, I think kits would be too much of a handful for me (giggle)) from Little Saints and Demons Ferretry, have any of you adopted from there and had a good/bad experience? If so, please share. I am hoping they raw/whole feed so I won't have to do the switch, but if I do end up adopting kibble fed ferrets, I will definitely come back to the forum for a mentor.  Last question! So I was looking for cheap trays/bins that could work for litter boxes, since I would need a decent amount of them, and I came across something that might work: roaster pans. Like the aluminum ones with lids that you would put a whole chicken in to roast. However, I was a little wary because I've never heard of anybody using these as litter boxes, but it would be SO cheap, under $1 a pan! And it seems like the perfect size for a ferret. Is there a reason nobody uses these, like aluminum is dangerous, or has nobody thought of it before?  Finally, I would like to thank all of the knowledgeable ferrents on this forum, you all have helped me so much to prepare for adopting fuzzies! I love ferrets, and I'm determined to be a great ferrent! :thankyou: |
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Post by Deleted on Oct 3, 2014 18:52:09 GMT -5
Hi and Welcome to the HFF  I love that you would adopt retired breeders. They've worked hard and deserve a nice home. I'm not familiar with that Breeder. We do have some Breeders online and someone may have more information for you. You really have been paying attention and learning. Your menu has the required amount of Bone, Muscle and Organs. You have at least 3 sources of protein and you've followed your Organ meals with Bone In meals to help firm Poos. If you plan of feeding Whole Prey like Mice, you will adjust your other meals by subtracting those two meals from the fourteen planned meals. So, your organ meals are based on twelve meals not fourteen. gfountain and @abbylee22 have both had students who fed Whole Prey. I tagged them and they should pop in and offer some advice. I don't know if ferrets would use aluminum trays for boxes, I use Puppy pads and mine are free roam. I haven't heard of anyone using them, so maybe you are the first to think of it. I hope you'll hang around and tell us all about the new little ones, when they come home. You will Love Ferrenthood. Ferrets are funny, smart, curious, Loving and addictive. They do need alot of enrichment, so the more time that you spend with them and the more time that they spend outside of the cage, the Happier and Healthier, your ferrets will be. (dance) |
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Post by gfountain on Oct 3, 2014 21:42:30 GMT -5
Hi there! And welcome to the forum. I just popped on for a moment and don't have time to study your menu above, but a couple of things did jump out at me. I see you have turkey necks, pork necks, turkey tails, and turkey wings listed as bone-in meats. Turkey necks are difficult to chew and may need to be smashed or cut into small pieces. Pork necks are nearly impossible for a ferret to eat and MUST be smashed; even then they may not be able to eat these. Turkey tails are mostly fatty tissue and really shouldn't be counted as a regular part of the menu. Turkey wings, except for the wingtip, are likely going to be too large.
Whole prey meals, as poncesmom said, should be subtracted from the total number of meals per week to find the number of meals you need to balance. They need 10% of their total frankenprey meals to be heart and 10% to be organ (half liver/half other organ). 2 whole prey meals are not going to change things up too much. Instead of 1.5 meals each of heart & organ, you would need 1.2 meals of each.
Roaster pans for litter boxes... the only thing I can think of against them is that your fuzzies little feet are likely to slide around. I tried a sort of slick plastic pan for a while and the ferrets only used it once. They couldn't get good footing and they just didn't like it. It also made a crackly noise when they stepped in it, so that didn't help the situation. My solution to both of these issues was to throw it in the trash and buy them some more of the kind they like, lol.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 4, 2014 7:47:12 GMT -5
Welcome to the forum  You'll love it here. I'm new so I don't have anything to add but I wanted to say hello and we're glad to have you. |
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Post by JWest017 on Oct 4, 2014 14:00:11 GMT -5
Thank you all for your responses! I have replaced turkey wings with bone-in Cornish game hen, I'm still trying to find a bone-in replacement for the turkey tail (anyone have any ideas?) There are only 3 meals in my menu where they don't get any calcium (either from bones or eggshell), so would that be too much calcium? Also, does anybody know the nutritional value of blood in the diet? Wild polecats would probably ingest a lot of blood, but grocery store meat doesn't have that much blood in it, right? I was just curious about how important blood is to the diet. Anyway, I found some Sterilite storage totes (like Rubbermaid, but cheaper) that would probably work better for litter boxes, so I'll get those instead.
I will definitely stick around, this is my favorite website, and I wouldn't want to miss an opportunity to show off my new fuzzies! I would love to hear from some more ferrents, especially breeders who might have some info about LSD ferretry, or TSK feeder mice. Wow, I've been researching for months and I'm surprised about how many questions I still have!
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Post by Heather on Oct 4, 2014 15:33:08 GMT -5
I agree with Gfountain, even the most experienced ferret won't probably have a good go at the turkey and pork bones. Cornish game hen (which is just a small chicken and is classified as chicken) is a good substitute. If you want to try pork, something called a pork button bone is a good meal. I give them a good crack with a hammer and they're happy. One thing to remember about ferrets is they're a lazy chew. If they can get away with not eating bone they will. Rabbit is another good bone in meal. My guys love it. I also feed mice, rats, guinea pigs (all prey animals are adults) for bone in meats.
Good luck with your new little ones
ciao
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Post by Deleted on Oct 6, 2014 17:28:31 GMT -5
Hello and welcome! I am a few days past the initial topics, but like @poncesmom said with the feeding whole prey is you would basically just subtract it from your total meals and readjust your total amounts based off the same % of meal types needed.
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Post by JWest017 on Oct 8, 2014 23:24:02 GMT -5
Thank you guys, I adjusted the menu and it's all good! I found out the breeder does not raw feed, so I am going to try switching cold turkey when the time comes (is that okay?) but if I'm having difficulties I will get a mentor and go slower. I will try to keep you all updated.
PS: I don't think I can post on threads that are not on the guest board (right?) but I saw lucyluvspink's thread about her menu. I also live in Las Vegas, and the Butcher Block has chicken hearts, as well as a bunch of other meats! At least I saw it on their website. In fact, all the meats on my menu above (except for mice and eggs) can be found at either John Mull's Meats or the Butcher Block. My menu costs $41 a month for two ferrets. If you live within 25 miles of John Mull's Meats you get free, normally same-day delivery on orders over $50. Could someone tell her this info? Sorry, I just thought I could help her out a little. Thanks!
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Post by Deleted on Oct 9, 2014 2:04:31 GMT -5
Thank you guys, I adjusted the menu and it's all good! I found out the breeder does not raw feed, so I am going to try switching cold turkey when the time comes (is that okay?) but if I'm having difficulties I will get a mentor and go slower. I will try to keep you all updated. PS: I don't think I can post on threads that are not on the guest board (right?) but I saw lucyluvspink's thread about her menu. I also live in Las Vegas, and the Butcher Block has chicken hearts, as well as a bunch of other meats! At least I saw it on their website. In fact, all the meats on my menu above (except for mice and eggs) can be found at either John Mull's Meats or the Butcher Block. My menu costs $41 a month for two ferrets. If you live within 25 miles of John Mull's Meats you get free, normally same-day delivery on orders over $50. Could someone tell her this info? Sorry, I just thought I could help her out a little. Thanks! Hi thank you! I'll have to go by the Butcher block on Monday when I'm off from work. I haven't tried that one yet. I went to John mulls on Tuesday but wasn't prepared like I thought I would be. It was really cool with all the selection but there was a lot of people there and I felt a little rushed:/ also no luck with chicken hearts there. Larrys great western meats said they could get a whole box of hearts but I'm not sure how much that would be:() Also are you driving all the way to Indiana to adopt a retired breeder? |
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Post by JWest017 on Oct 9, 2014 9:44:09 GMT -5
Yeah, my dad and I are going to fly out there and drive back. We're determined people.  Which reminds me, do any of you know of ferret-friendly hotels? Oh, and also, the Butcher Block takes special orders if there's something you can't find there. |
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Post by JWest017 on Oct 13, 2014 18:36:56 GMT -5
My dad and I have finally settled on a date (just a couple weeks from today!) to pick up the ferrets, and I'm super excited! Since the ferrets don't eat raw currently, I was thinking I might have to get bone-in meats that are easier to eat. I took the pork neck and turkey wings off the menu, but I'm still worried about the turkey necks. I really want to buy quail, but the only quail I could find is $18.99 per pound! Isn't that a bit much? Fortunately, we might take up falconry (in the future of course), and if it works out we could eventually get free rabbits, quail, mice, rats, pigeons, and small birds, which would help out a lot. Anyway, it would be really helpful if you guys could give me some suggestions on ferret-friendly hotels and a good ferret carrier (it has to be able to fit on a plane since we're flying there, but also fit in the car, since we're driving back.) Thank you!
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Post by Deleted on Oct 14, 2014 23:00:02 GMT -5
are you taking your ferrets on board with you or cargo? I have a cargo carrier that you could use and im local lol. my boys would only eat the bone in the cornish game hens. I get the whole game hen for 3.19 each at larrys great western meats on valley view and alta drive. and yes rabbit, quail, and duck is an arm and leg here |
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Post by JWest017 on Oct 15, 2014 20:58:33 GMT -5
Thanks Lucy, you're so kind! (dance)Admittedly that WOULD be really helpful. I have a carrier that I think would work for vet visits and short trips, but definitely not a 3 day road trip (we're flying to Indianapolis, picking up the ferrets, renting a car, and driving back to Vegas), and it would stink to pay for a carrier that I would never use again. Will your carrier fit a hob and a jill, and do you think you could get a picture of it? My dad and I could meet you at Pet Kingdom, since we both know where that is, maybe this weekend (October 18 or 19)? Or next weekend? I promise I will clean it up and get right back to you after the trip. If it turns out you can't do it for whatever reason, that's ok and I'll can work something else out. But thank you so much for your generosity! Oh, and a little bit about me (since I haven't actually posted much about myself yet): My name is Jayden, I actually live in Henderson (but very close to the Las Vegas border). I am a sophomore in high school, and am president of the Animal Advocates Club there because I ADORE all animals (even the creepy crawlies). I currently have a German Shepherd, a Soft Coated Wheaten Terrier, and some goldfish, but I used to have a snake, 6 geckos, 2 gerbils, and 5 rats. I love nature and nature-related activities like fishing, catching insects and lizards, hiking, and am interested in falconry. I also love ferrets, and was going to get a pair when I was in fourth grade, but at that time my family decided we did not have enough time to care for them. Now my schedule has actually cleared up a lot and I'm super excited to adopt my first fuzzies! Anyway, that's my little biography, now we're not strangers anymore! |
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Post by JWest017 on Oct 20, 2014 18:26:59 GMT -5
Sorry I'm bumping this, but I haven't heard anything from anyone in a while and I kind of need to know by this weekend if I need to buy a carrier or if I can borrow one from Lucy. Hopefully she sees this post! Once again, don't feel like you HAVE to let me borrow your carrier, Lucy, I can buy one if need be. Have a great day everybody! |
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Post by Deleted on Oct 20, 2014 18:51:28 GMT -5
That price for Quail is really high. I buy mine at an Asian market and for a six pack (lol), it runs around $9. We have several breeders on the forum. Heather and nancyl come to mind. I've tagged them for you. |
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