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Post by Heather on May 15, 2016 11:03:06 GMT -5
Name: Audry HF Forum Username: aterry1992 Please confirm that you are 18 years of age or older: 23
1. Where did you first learn about natural diets for ferrets?
I read it online, joined this forum and asked more questions.
2. Please describe the type of diet you would like assistance in switching your ferret(s) to. Be sure to include if you are interested in feeding whole prey (live or frozen-thawed) and if you are wanting to FULLY switch to a natural diet or PARTIALLY. If you are unsure what kind of diet you want to put your ferrets on, please express that and we can help you find the best type of natural diet for your ferret.
He seems to be doing well on the hearts , livers , chicken bones and fats and everything else but he eats a ton and I need help on what to feed him in between his raw meals. (we usually like to buy in bulk but I'm not sure if its healthy to freeze his food and then thaw and feed it to him.... plus i'm sure any raw feeder knows how bad it smells.) Having a hard time with the butcher shops here. because I'm in PORTLAND OREGON. they're used to people making their own dog and cat food so they take all of the extra parts and grind them up together and I don't want to feed him that.
3. Why are you interested in switching your ferrets to a natural diet? Yes, he's already on one.
4. Do you understand that switching your ferret to a natural diet can be a lengthy, arduous process? Its not an overnight switch. It requires a commitment of several months at minimum. Your HF Mentor will be more then happy to assist you in switching your ferret(s) to a natural diet, but you need to be equally as committed. The switch takes time and effort every single day. It can also be extremely frustrating at times. If you aren't willing to tough out a potentially lengthy switching process, you have major life changes approaching (baby on the way, moving, starting school, getting married/divorced, etc), or limited time due to work, then it might be a better idea to wait on switching your ferret's diet until you have more time. Are you willing and realistically able to make the neccessary time commitment?
yuss
5. How many ferrets do you currently have? What are their names? Ages? Genders? Do they have any health problems? Are they overweight? Underweight? How long have you had each ferret for?
I've had him for three weeks. His name is Maru, He's about 3 and a half months old - he's a male. and he's just the right weight!
6. What diet do you currently feed your ferrets? (Please include all treats, supplements, etc) Do they already eat some form of soup?
he is on a raw food diet. Currently he's mostly been eating chicken wings - chicken liver, chicken hearts and gizzards. Not sure what else I can give him or where to get it.
7. Have you ever tried to switch your ferrets to a natural diet in the past? If yes, what happened?
yes and he ate it, just took a few days with ferretone
8. What additional information about yourself or your ferrets would you like to share?
My husband and I play with Maru constantly, he's the only ferret we have right now and currently no other animal for him to play with. We just couldn't afford two ferret then but we're hoping to get another one down the road.
9. How often during the week do you have access to a computer?
Always
10. Please post a picture of each of your ferrets (if possible).
11. Have you met the requirements for this program? Are you at least 18 years of age? Do you have your scale, a place to access meats, hearts, livers, etc? i am over 18 - yes. and for the most part i can find certain meats.
Hi and welcome to the mentoring program . In a little while your mentors ( Klarissa & Hurricanekatt), will introduce themselves and you can get started on a new adventure in natural ferret care and diets. Please remember to post regularly (daily or as per arranged with your mentors) so that your mentors can assist you move along safely in this adventure. If you experience computer difficulties or are going to be away, please notify your mentors and most of all relax and have fun :boing: . Your mentors are here to help you on this journey. ciao
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Post by katt on May 15, 2016 21:37:12 GMT -5
Hi! Nice to meet you and excited to work with you and Klarissa! Rather than copy the whole Meet your Mentor spiel...a little about me - I'm a medical student just finishing up my 3rd year with one more to go (woot). I'm from Alaska but in Washington right now for school. I have 2 adorable boys named Koda and Kenai who have been raw fed since I got them as kits. I've been mentoring now for about 6 years! (yeesh, time flies!) haha And I love it! I will mostly be taking a back seat on the switch; Klarissa will be running the show (she's fantastic!!) but I will be checking in frequently. Excited to work with you and Maru. I love the name btw - super cute!
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Post by Klarissa on May 17, 2016 17:24:04 GMT -5
Name: Klarissa Simpson Age: 23 years old Home: Ontario, Canada HF Screename: Klarissa Facebook Name: Klarissa Simpson Instagram: rawfedfurryfiends Hi! I'm a university student from Ontario. I'm currently wrapping up my BSc, and will be off to Veterinary school in a year or so. I'm a mentor in training & this is my first switch I'm excited to work with you & Maru About Me: Favorite color: lime green and/or dark purple Favorite food: Just one? I love all food, but forced to pick it'd be between Sushi or a really good veggie burger with bacon & cheese. Favorite holiday: My husband's birthday - not technically a holiday, but every year we go camping for a week. Favorite Hobby: Again, just one? Another two way tie. 1) Spending time with my family - I visit my parents every weekend & it is always the highlight of my week. 2) Training dogs - I love dogs, but I really love the way they communicate & I've naturally always been good with dogs. Training dogs is like my meditation Something you might be surprised to know about me: I am a tree hugging, Prius driving, earth lovin’ nut  I work extremely hard to reduce the carbon footprint of my family, including my furry, four legged children. I became a mentor because: Feeding raw is something I feel very strongly about - I take my role as pet parent very seriously & part of that is an appropriate diet. I want to help others do the best for their ferrets too I'm going to school for veterinary medicine, and I want to challenge the status quo of feeding kibble. Raw feeding also has other benefits: it has a smaller environmental footprint than kibble and it can help the local economy. My Fuzzbutts! Bear (f), 4 y/o, Albino Bear is my oldest & alpha ferret. She maybe be small, but even my biggest furboy won't cross her. However, she is a benevolent leader & an absolute sweetheart with people. She was a picky switch - set in her ways, and got even pickier when I got other ferrets. She just wanted to be held & hand fed. Willy (m), 3 y/o, marked white; Waardie & Deaf Willy’s previous owners rehomed him the day after his bonded brother died. When we got him home he went off food altogether, and we spent a week tricking him to eat his kibble before starting his switch since he was very depressed. But once he started raw, he never looked back. He is a lazy & loving chunky monkey Fredzia (f), 2 y/o, marked white I have been fortunate to have a long line of easy switches, Fredzia was the first in this trend. She never ate kibble, once she stepped foot in my home. Went right to chunks & whole prey her first week with me. She is an evil super genius, and likes to lay claim to the ball pit & keep other ferrets from entering. She is a little sass master - a ferret after my own heart. She is a perfect match for me. Riker (m), 6 mos, Sable Mutt There was no switch with Riker. He is the only ferret that I've had since kithood, and naturally took to raw. Riker is a jerk. I mean that affectionately, but it's true. He is going to do what he wants, when he wants. He isn't trying to be bad, but he isn't going to let rules get in his way of enjoying life either. But, he is always the life of the party. Harley (f), 1 y/o, marked white; Waardie & Deaf Harley was a fluke, she switched like a kit. I suspect her previous owner, a lizard & snake enthusiast fed her the odd insect or whole prey treat. Harley is Riker’s “girlfriend” & partner in crime. From the second he laid eyes on her, he has been in love. It is the cutest thing I've ever seen. She is incredibly, smart & determined wee thing. Felix (m), 2.5 y/o, Silver; Deaf Felix is a rescue. He was hit, an left in a dog crate with nothing but kitty litter & fed cheap food. As a result of being malnourished he took to raw like a champ! He is a very sweet, cuddly little boy. Types of Switches: I feed frankenprey prey, local raw grinds, and whole prey. I am familiar with freeze dried raw. I am familiar with kibble, that said there is only one kibble I will support (Orijen) if one must absolutely feed kibble. I cannot help with other kibbles.
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Post by Klarissa on May 17, 2016 17:27:08 GMT -5
So, now that we've gotten introductions out of the way, I'd like to see what your feeding schedule looks like right now, and we can take it from there.
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Post by katt on May 17, 2016 23:07:37 GMT -5
@aterry1992
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Post by Deleted on May 24, 2016 14:35:53 GMT -5
Hey! Sorry been so busy with work and buying stuff for our new house i completely forgot to log in. His current feeding... oye... I give him chicken ... hearts livers gizzards. wings with the bones and thats basically all I've been able to get my hands on so far around here. I've been checking other places. in-between he's eating marshals food. and i checked it and made sure there are no peas and things in it. Hes gotten a lot better with eating he pretty much eats whatever i hand him now. >.> he also really loves the smell of bacon but i haven't fed him any.
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Post by Deleted on May 24, 2016 14:36:47 GMT -5
so i feed him the raw food around 3 times a day. morning middle of the day night and then i usually leave the kibble out just if he wants to eat in-between.
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Post by Deleted on May 24, 2016 14:45:07 GMT -5
so i'm needing help all over the board. feeding him in general. he seems happy eats well. he's a great weight! not fat he's just right. but my concern lately is that he's bored. he is the only ferret we have right now and no other animals ( will have 2 cats soon which i'm worried about) so i keep him out constantly and play with him often. I take him outside every day and run him with toys.... he's completely uninterested in things unless they're in my hands, which is okay. but i've started to notice that my BF gets home fro work at like 3pm. I work from 10am-8pm) and when i get home maru is still in his cage.... he just gets on the computer and doesn't do anything with him so i guess I'm kind of alone in it. But my mother is in a week bringing my cats from ohio (i moved about 3 months ago and didn't have the funds to ship them) They're great with my guinea pig.... Sid did not grow up with her, he's an old man but he cuddled with the guinea pig and everything.... My other cat meatball is a punk he's about a year old and he grew up with my guinea pig. I feel like they will be okay with maru. i'm just freaking out about a playing accident. I plan to clip their nails and put nail caps on them they will NEVER be unsupervised. just hoping this goes well. Maru kind of loves everyone and everything. ( i don't disagree that he has natural instincts) but he's so laid back to the point that i think he's just..... flat out bored maybe.. so maybe the cats being around will we good for him..
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Post by Klarissa on May 24, 2016 19:30:37 GMT -5
It looks like you're off to a great start with Maru. Now that he willingly accepts raw, it is best to ditch the kibble. Maru is getting the basics for a raw diet, enough so that he will be fine in the interim without kibble. Marshalls is primarily filler & by-product, so he won't be missing out if it's removed from his diet at this point So the basic weekly menu for Frankenprey looks like this: 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 none-in meat Friday PM: 1/2 heart + 1/4 liver + 1/4 other organ** Saturday AM: edible bone-in meat Saturday PM: muscle meat Sunday AM: edible bone-in meat Sunday PM: 1/2 liver + 1/2 other organ** In summary, this means 9 edible bone in meals 2 muscle meals 1.5 organ meals 1 heart meal For a balanced diet, a minimum of 3 proteins needs to be fed in a weekly rotation, at least one needs to be a red meat. Since you are already off to a great start, this time will mostly be about learning how to create a balanced diet for Maru. Maru is young & eager to try new things, so this is a good time to introduce lots of new proteins. There isn't a lot of limitations as far as what meats they can eat: turkey, duck, cornish game hen, quail, beef, lamb, fish, and pork are some available at grocery stores. This week I'd like to see the kibble go, and the addition of another protein in Maru's diet. For example, instead of chicken gizzards for muscle meat meals, stewing beef or pork butt. Asian grocery stores are an awesome place to pick up a wide variety of proteins, at a very reasonable price. If you enter your city into google with "asian grocery" it will show you all the nearest asian grocery stores.
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Post by Klarissa on May 24, 2016 19:33:44 GMT -5
**other organ
Other organ is kidney, brain, uterus, spleen, pancreas, and thymus.
Ferrets CANNOT have bacon, it is smoked & contains far too much salt. However, pork belly is the same meat, untreated & is a favorite among my crew.
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Post by katt on May 24, 2016 20:43:01 GMT -5
Welcome back!
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Post by Deleted on May 25, 2016 13:11:09 GMT -5
hey thanks! Yeah i haven't given him any bacon he just gets all sorts of excited when we cook it. I'm not sure if it's the smell or the grease popping sound. could very well be the sound.... everything makes him happy LOL
good to know I have been staying away from all pork.
I will try and remove the kibble. I'm just afraid that we may run out of raw or something and then not have anything for him so maybe if i keep some put away for those times.
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Post by Deleted on May 25, 2016 13:12:25 GMT -5
I had not even thought of asian grocery stores! I have the hardest time making it to the butcher since i'm at work when they open and i'm still at work when they close! I'll have to check an asian market out and see what I can find.
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Post by katt on May 25, 2016 19:17:35 GMT -5
Asian markets are often the best resource for the more unusual meats and good variety. I do most of my meat shopping at Asian markets. Halal markets are also good. If you have a few different Asian markets in your area, go explore them all and see which one seems to have better selections and prices. Go into google maps and search "Asian Market, City, State" also "Halal Market, City, State" and "Ethnic Market, City, State"
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Post by Klarissa on May 25, 2016 22:16:14 GMT -5
Whew! I've been moving all day. Let's discuss daily schedule & kibble, as this seems to be a point of confusion. Raw meat can be left out safely (and without smell) for 6-8 hours for chunks & bone in pieces. So meat can & should be left out in place of the kibble. For example, this is my ferrets daily schedule. We are afternoon/night people, with afternoon jobs, but the premise is the same. This is also for 6 ferrets. 9-10am: My husband grabs the bowls from the cage from their dinner. Fills their bowls with 8-12oz of the scheduled meal. 2pm: My husband checks their food again before going to work. Sometimes it needs more, but not always. 8-9pm: I check the food, it usually needs to be filled. However, if they are protesting the food then I will leave it. Tough love furbags. 11pm - midnight: I throw whatever food out. PM meal. I often feed food frozen, semi-thawed, or I add a little water to keep mince or small chunks moist longer. Today I left at noon & didn't return until 9pm - I made sure everything was full & fresh before I left The kibble is really unnecessary. Like feeding kibble, its best & easiest to buy a month or so in advance. For one ferret that's not much. Take it home, my husband & I listen to music, drink some wine, and portion it all up into Ziploc baggies. We chop it so the bags go reasonably flat. Our little freezer (above the fridge) can hold 32 baggies, of 8oz portions. That fed 4 ferrets 32 meals, in less than 1/3 my freezer. Obviously you need way less meat But buying in advance is really the best way to feed raw. That way running out is never a concern
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