Post by gfountain on Dec 17, 2014 15:01:55 GMT -5
I just now saw that I was tagged in this post.. sorry about that. @bellasophia, did you ever get into the FB group? What is your username there?
As far as some of your other questions, you've gotten some good information, but to add to some of the answers..
It says that while on the RAW diet they are fed twice daily and do not need to have food all day long??
Msav is absolutely right. You want to feed them enough at each meal that they have a bite or two left over when it's time for the next meal to be served. That is difficult to figure out. The best way to determine how much to feed per meal is to weigh all their food for a day before you feed them and weigh anything is left over at the end of 24 hours. Subtract those 2 weights to determine how many ounces they ate that day. Do that for several days and average the amounts they ate each day. That will tell you about how much they need per day, so you can divide that amount by 2 to figure out about how much to feed per meal. It's not an exact science and sometimes they'll need a 'snack' between meals and sometimes they'll leave a lot of leftovers, but that will at least give you a starting point.
are we supposed to warm up their food a little prior to feeding them?? Or do we give it to them straight from the refrigerator?
That is up to you. Again, msav gave you good tips. Your ferrets will learn how to manipulate you. If you're willing and able, as poncesmom is, to warm all of their meals all of the time, that's fine but be aware that the ferrets will learn to EXPECT that. If you're like me, and often forget to thaw their meals or don't have time to warm food up in the mornings, it's very convenient to have ferrets who either like meatsicles or don't mind eating the others' leftovers after it comes to room temperature. If you decide you want to heat their meals, do NOT use a microwave. Either mix it with warm water or run your container under warm water.
Is it ok to supplement the 8 oz of chicken in the soupie recipe with 8 oz of rabbit??
Yes. You can replace the chicken with any protein you want. We use chicken in the basic recipe because it's easy to get and generally well accepted by ferrets. If you want to use a variety of proteins or other organs, that is fine also, as long as the proportion of meat/heart/organ/eggshell or bonemeal is correct.
@julesalot, just FYI, while you are correct in saying that we introduce new proteins one at a time in case of a sensitivity or allergy, that does not necessarily mean you have to do it slowly. If your ferret is going to have a sensitivity to something, for example the rabbit in the question above, that sensitivity is going to show up whether you mix the rabbit with the chicken or just serve straight rabbit. The reason for mixing proteins as you recommended is to get the ferret used to a new taste or texture. To keep track of sensitivities or allergies, you have to stick with one protein for a few meals or days, then add another for a few days, then another, then another.. not a new protein each meal, or several proteins all mixed together. You're doing great with your unofficial 'mentoring', btw.
As far as some of your other questions, you've gotten some good information, but to add to some of the answers..
It says that while on the RAW diet they are fed twice daily and do not need to have food all day long??
Msav is absolutely right. You want to feed them enough at each meal that they have a bite or two left over when it's time for the next meal to be served. That is difficult to figure out. The best way to determine how much to feed per meal is to weigh all their food for a day before you feed them and weigh anything is left over at the end of 24 hours. Subtract those 2 weights to determine how many ounces they ate that day. Do that for several days and average the amounts they ate each day. That will tell you about how much they need per day, so you can divide that amount by 2 to figure out about how much to feed per meal. It's not an exact science and sometimes they'll need a 'snack' between meals and sometimes they'll leave a lot of leftovers, but that will at least give you a starting point.
are we supposed to warm up their food a little prior to feeding them?? Or do we give it to them straight from the refrigerator?
That is up to you. Again, msav gave you good tips. Your ferrets will learn how to manipulate you. If you're willing and able, as poncesmom is, to warm all of their meals all of the time, that's fine but be aware that the ferrets will learn to EXPECT that. If you're like me, and often forget to thaw their meals or don't have time to warm food up in the mornings, it's very convenient to have ferrets who either like meatsicles or don't mind eating the others' leftovers after it comes to room temperature. If you decide you want to heat their meals, do NOT use a microwave. Either mix it with warm water or run your container under warm water.
Is it ok to supplement the 8 oz of chicken in the soupie recipe with 8 oz of rabbit??
Yes. You can replace the chicken with any protein you want. We use chicken in the basic recipe because it's easy to get and generally well accepted by ferrets. If you want to use a variety of proteins or other organs, that is fine also, as long as the proportion of meat/heart/organ/eggshell or bonemeal is correct.
@julesalot, just FYI, while you are correct in saying that we introduce new proteins one at a time in case of a sensitivity or allergy, that does not necessarily mean you have to do it slowly. If your ferret is going to have a sensitivity to something, for example the rabbit in the question above, that sensitivity is going to show up whether you mix the rabbit with the chicken or just serve straight rabbit. The reason for mixing proteins as you recommended is to get the ferret used to a new taste or texture. To keep track of sensitivities or allergies, you have to stick with one protein for a few meals or days, then add another for a few days, then another, then another.. not a new protein each meal, or several proteins all mixed together. You're doing great with your unofficial 'mentoring', btw.