he who yet to be named! ( aka Gizmo) and raw food success

[Deleted]

okay, so we have a new bundle of joy-- 12 week old male panda ferret, who loves his marshalls but did marvelous with the food being taken away for several hours -- has now eatten 2 oz of liver and gizzard mix ( chunky and chopped), with soupie pour over top. ( Soupy per the forum, plus some marshalls for enhanced smell ).     i have no problem feeding raw and feel confident with the site and basic google skills i shouldnt have a problem but i have several questions-- ( and im sure more over time)


Im planning offering him dinner again at 8, i plan on leaving it in til i go to bed.  should I place back the ferret crack before bed? ( marshalls diet or just be done with it?) or throw a chicken wing in for over night? or just leave the food in all night?



Thanks 

Bryan

[gfountain]

He's 12 weeks old. He's a tummy with teeth and needs food available 24/7. He's eating the raw - I'd ditch the Marshall's. Give him some meats for overnight.

And just a quick warning... we need pictures of the new wee one or the mob will be after you. :angrymob:

[Deleted]

ideally sooner rather than later i can get him on the bigger pieces -- how long for the smaller pieces? 4 hrs is what i have been reading.

also am i horrible for getting him to eat the chicken and the chunks before moving on to other meats or should i start from the beginning giving him a variety? i dont want him to protest and stop eating meat

[gfountain]

Depending on the size of the pieces, chunks can be left out safely for 10-24 hours. Grinds are good for 8-12 hours so even if you're giving him small pieces they should be good for longer than 4 hours. And at his age, they probably don't last very long before they're devoured, lol.

Chicken is fine to start on, but honestly, I'd just start him on variety and larger chunks now. He's most likely going to eat anything you put in front of him. Make a menu, post it for us to go over and tweak if necessary, and get that boy on a balanced diet sooner rather than later.

For reference, my youngest came home at 10 weeks old. She was 6 inches long and weighed 13 ounces. Her first meal at home was a pork chop bigger than her that she stole right out of her big brother's mouth. She ate the whole thing, bone and all, in about 30 minutes and was hungry again an hour later. She ate 15 oz of food that first day.

[Deleted]

i took about 4 boneless thighs, 2 chicken livers and a couple tablespoons for squash baby food, ground egg shells and a few table spoons of marshalls seasoning turned that all into ground meat for him. with food processor to get a better grind. he seems to be wanting to eat it but isnt doing great on the bigger pieces.   ( made a few days worth) ill add beef here soon. i have some in the fridge.


should i start giving him wings and wing tips?

[gfountain]

The balanced recipe for soup is 8 oz meat, 1 oz heart, 1 oz liver, 3/4 tsp powdered eggshell or bonemeal. I've never heard of marshall's seasoning. What is it? The squash is not going to do anything for him except give him larger poops and sugar that he doesn't need. He'll need to learn how to chew bigger pieces of meat. Some take right to it, some need a little practice to get proficient. If you hold a piece for him, it will be easier for him to learn that he needs to use his back teeth to chew. Wings, wing tips, anything you want to give him. Wings are great for little guys who are teething and help keep them from chewing on blankets and toys and things.

[Deleted]

i have coffee grinder milled marshall's food just so it smells something that he has ate already.  i also thought squash was an except-able substitute for pumpkin??

[gfountain]

Ah... marshall's seasoning, lol. Squash is an acceptable substitute but should only be used in emergencies, when you suspect a blockage. It used to be recommended as a regular part of the diet, but there is anecdotal evidence that shows a correlation between pumpkin and insulinoma. It's just better not to take that risk.