I think it's wonderful that you are working with Nei and getting her on a Natural Diet.
You'll build a lovely bond and she will be healthier and happier.
I'm not sure how much reading you have done. So, allow me to link some basic info for you.
Nei is a baby and since you are skipping the soupie stage, you want her weekly menu balanced. That's important for a growing baby.
holisticferret60.proboards.com/thread/13302/raw-dietI'm borrowing
bitbyter 's basic Frankenprey menu: This is what you want to follow. That way, Nei gets all of her nutrients and that is very important for a growing girl:
Basic Frankenprey Menu
Monday am: edible bone in meat
Monday pm: edible bone in meat
Tuesday am: edible bone in meat
Tuesday pm: muscle meat
Wednesday am: edible bone in meat
Wednesday pm: heart
Thursday am: edible bone in meat
Thursday pm: edible bone in meat
Friday am: edible bone in meat
Friday pm: ½ heart + ¼ liver + ¼ other organ
Saturday am: edible bone in meat
Saturday pm: muscle meat
Sunday am: edible bone in meat
Sunday pm: ½ liver + ½ other organ
Edible bone in meat: is just that meat with bone included. It is NOT bones with just a bit of meat on them (ie: most of the meat removed). If you fed bones like this you will throw the balance of the menu off. See below for acceptable bone in meats
chicken: any / all, quail: any / all, rabbit: any / all, turkey: necks, ribs, and wing tips, duck: neck, ribs, and wing tips. pork: button bones, rib ends, cornish game hen: any / all.
Any commercial frozen raw with 10% to 15% ground bone. Any freeze dried raw with 10%-15% ground bone.
Muscle meat: any heart meat. Chicken (including gizzard), turkey, duck, lamb, goat, beef, Cornish Game Hen (counts as chicken), venison, elk, basically any meat (unaltered such as smoked, pickled or injected with salt) without bone.
*heart is considered a muscle meat but is ABSOLUTELY necessary as it is their primary source of taurine. Lack of taurine in their diet can lead to eyesight problems and other issues.
Organ meat: Liver, kidney, thymus, pancreas, reproductive organs, lung, brain, basically any part of the body that secretes.
Fat is an important part of a carnivore's diet as this is where they get their energy. It works for them in the same way carbs do for humans. Make sure to pick fattier cuts over leaner cuts when buying your meat (thigh vs. breast, shoulder vs. tenderloin, etc)
Several things to keep in mind:
Bones are the Non Weight bearing Bones of an animal the size of a chicken or smaller. Nei is tiny and not yet ready to handle big bones. Even grown ferrets aren't expected to chow down on a cow's leg.
Think in terms of chicken wings, turkey wing tips, quail, cornish game hen, rabbit.
Ferrets receive nutrients from uncooked foods. That's where they differ from human. We receive more nutrients when food is cooked. Don't worry about giving her a raw egg, she will benefit from it raw as opposed to a cooked egg.
Taurine is essential to ferrets. That's why we use Hearts in their menu and tongue as a backup. Heart is a muscle meat and full of taurine.
Your two organ meals a week are also very important.
You want to look for a very good Asian market. That's the easiest place to find organs and heart.
Google "find Asian Markets near (your location). Then check Yelp for reviews. You want one that has a good meat section as opposed to a small dry goods market.
After you go shopping, prep all of her meals. Put them into serving size baggies. The freeze them.
In the morning, you put out her breakfast. Then pick up her dinner plates and put them in the dishwasher or wash them. Pull out her dinner and put it in the fridge to defrost.
At dinner time, pull out her dinner and put it on her dinner plate. Pull out her breakfast and put it in the fridge to defrost.
I like to use a ferret only cutting board, two sets of plates and two water bowls. Then the food stays out during the day and night time and everything is cleaned and disinfected each meal.
I have five free roam ferrets and they all like to eat at different times.
Expect her to have some unusual poops. Organ poops are loose and dark. Egg poops look rather like eggs. Bone In meals will be firmer poops.
Mucous is the body's protective mechanism. If she has alot of mucous in her poops, it could mean that she has an allergy or intolerance to a certain food.
Seedy poops are undigested fats. Fat equals energy for ferrets, but the excess is eliminated and looks like little seeds.
Also, consider getting a human grade Bonemeal Powder. The baby Nei needs Calcium now. I'm not sure that cuttlefish will provide a good calcium. Look for the Now Brand, it doesn't have any added ingredients in it.
Gizzards, I love to sing the praises of gizzards. They will clean her teeth and help build jaw strength. Mine love duck gizzards. They are nice and fatty. Plus you get expensive duck for a reasonable price and that gives you another protein.
If you don't mind, I will give you a sample menu that Nei could easily follow and that you can probably find at your local grocer. Everything except hearts, which are often hard to find.
Day One
a.m. Bone In meal: Cornish Game Hen
p.m. Bone In meal: Cornish Game Hen
Nei will not eat the whole hen. Cut it in half and freeze the other half.
then you have two meals for her. You can give her the wings, and smash the back up for her. Add some slivers to the smashed bones and there is a nice meal. You can also puree some meat and make a nice soupy gravy for her.
Day Two:
a.m. Muscle meat: Beef slivers. Beef is high in iron and vitamin B. One meal a week should be a red meat meal.
Ferrets tear with their front teeth and chew with their back. Slivers are easier than chunks.
p.m. Bone In: Chicken wings
Day Three:
a.m.
Organ Day: Liver plus another organ. Mine love pork brains and chicken livers.
Liver is full of Vitamin A. It also builds up in their system.
Nei should only have five percent of her weekly meal in Liver.
The other organ will also be five percent of her weekly meal.
p.m. Bone In: Quail
It's nice to follow an organ meal with a Bone In meal. She should easily handle all of the quail.
She may eat the whole quail, but probably not. So, half the quail and then use the other half for her breakfast tomorrow.
Day Four:
a.m. Bone In: Quail from last night's meal
p.m. Muscle Meat: Heart. It can be chicken hearts, pork heart, duck hearts, any heart.
Beef is a strong flavor and one cow heart will be giant. If she likes beef, you will have alot of heart to package and freeze.
Day Five:
a.m. Bone In: Rabbit. Rabbit can be expensive but you will get alot of meals from it.
You will need to smash the rabbit for her.
You could also do Turkey Wing tips. Whichever you can find, would make a nice bone in meal.
p.m. Muscle Meat: Here is a great time for gizzards. Chicken, duck or turkey gizzards. Slice them long and thin.
Day Six:
a.m. Organ Day: 1/4 liver plus 1/4 other organ plus a half meal of Heart.
I would try to keep to the same protein, preferable pork for this meal. When you mix proteins, in the beginning of a switch, if there is a problem with an allergy or intolerance, it becomes harder to tell what protein is causing the problem.
p.m. Bone In meal: Quail
Day Seven:
a.m. Muscle Meat: Pork. Find a nice fatty cut of pork or use Ground pork. This is the perfect meal for an egg. Whip it up with some warm water and pour it over the top of the pork. You can also do this with beef and that will hide the strong flavor of beef.
p.m. Bone In: Chicken wings.
That menu will give you a basic understanding of what to buy and is easy to follow. However, you choose to build your menu, stick with the same menu for a few weeks. That builds familiarity and Nei will eat better. Then you can begin introducing a new or exotic protein after a few weeks.
I think you're off to a good start. Hugs to Nei and Welcome back to Ferrenthood.