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Post by Sherry on Mar 1, 2012 10:40:22 GMT -5
General guide line is 8-9 bone meals a week. The vast majority should be heavier in bone, like wings or necks. For those days when it's a lighter bone day, like thighs or drumsticks, you can always add a pinch of powdered eggshell to bring it up. Ferrets have fairly high calcium needs. Best bet is to watch stools. On these days, the stool should be wet, but well formed. If they are looser like on a muscle meat day, they aren't consuming enough bone. What you may wind up having to do is smashing the bejeepers out of the bone to make it harder for them to pick around them. Once they gain the jaw strength then you will be able to give it to them without doing that. And the advantage of pureeing the lettuce is they can't pick around it either
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Post by Deleted on Mar 1, 2012 16:40:53 GMT -5
I'll trade one of the boneless days for a bone-in day to balance a bit better then, and try pulping the lettuce. What weight roughly should I be serving for each bone-in meal to a medium hob (about 7 months old) and 3 small jills (2 are 9 months old and 1 about a year old). Is it the same weight as for boneless of not?
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Post by Sherry on Mar 1, 2012 18:37:42 GMT -5
Diet plan sounds good. At their age, they'll still be eating a fair bit. When I feed heavy bone in meals, I add about an ounce extra per ferret per day. If they finish that, then give more.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 1, 2012 19:25:12 GMT -5
Okay then. Any tips of how best to crush a bone?
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Post by Sherry on Mar 1, 2012 23:16:59 GMT -5
I use a cleaver and chop the heck out of it ;D
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Post by Deleted on Mar 2, 2012 6:52:01 GMT -5
I have a smallish met cleaver that might work, but I don't normally keep things like meat cleavers lol ;D I'll give it a try tonight and see how I go with it.
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Post by Sherry on Mar 2, 2012 11:05:59 GMT -5
After 3 years of using a small cleaver, I treated myself and got a proper one. Can't believe the difference it made!
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Post by Deleted on Mar 3, 2012 4:19:23 GMT -5
Might be worth the investment then if they don't take to the bone more easily in the next week or two. Penny just been to the vets because she's pulled some of her stitches out they were only the dissolving ones, and she'd already healed up okay, but the vets didn't have any record of her before I took her on, but she definitely hadn't been back for a checkup that the shelter should have taken her to, or informed me about. Was worrying about her all last night, but it was literally go in, snip of the loose threads and look at her wound, and then walk out. Nothing painful for her, no cost for me
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Post by Deleted on Mar 3, 2012 4:24:26 GMT -5
Also, is there any alternatives to powered eggshell? I think I saw on a thread somewhere that you can grind cuttlefish bones, like the ones that some pet birds have? Just that you don't seem to be able to buy just the powder over here, and as I'm vegan I don't eat the eggs, and obviously the ferrets will eat some of them, but too much is bad for them right? Otherwise they'll eat egg instead of the stuff they need?
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Post by Sherry on Mar 3, 2012 9:39:47 GMT -5
Definitely you can use cuttlefish bone Same proportions, 1/2 tsp per 8 oz of meat. And too many eggs are bad because the aviden in the white combines to the biotin in the yolk when raw. And if they have too many, they can start to suffer from a biotin deficiency. Main symptom of that in the beginning is alopecia.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 8, 2012 5:36:28 GMT -5
Having a bit of a problem with the bone- about a week ago they weren't really eating any of the bone, maybe nibbling the ends a bit, and often they would just pick one clean, or sometimes even leave a bit of meat on it. Thinking that maybe if I gave them a bit less food, they might be more inclined to eat the bones and not pick out the bits they like. I also tried to smash the bones up into smaller pieces, and it hasn't gone well They've basically either picked around the tiny bits of bones (which was a serious challenge), or not eaten anything at all. I gave them a chicken drumstick and a thigh yesterday, which are both meaty (figured if I have to get them to eat smaller chunks of bone, better to start with less bone and add cuttlefish on other days and work them up). And they picked the drumstick clean of meat anf left the bones shards everwhere, and haven't even touched the thigh! They seem to have been gradually eating less and less chicken as time goes by. They were obviously hungry because when I gave them their (boneless) pork this morning, they starting chowing down straight away, and normally they'll try and get out and explore at meal times unless they are starving. What can I do? If I go back to giving them minced bone-in, obviously they won't be getting the dental benefits of chewing on bones, but if I give them a mouse each on their "whatever I have leftover" meal, would that be okay? Or is there a reason I shouldn't do that? I think they don't really like the chicken much because it's probably bland complared to the beef and rabbit bone-in mince they used to get, though they seem to go mad for the pork. They were all definitely eating pork this morning, but I noticed yesterday that Tilly just seemed to be licking her chicken, and when I fed them Spike came over all excited, and normally he runs off with his food and stashes it, but yesterday he just walked off. Advice?
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Post by Sherry on Mar 8, 2012 10:07:00 GMT -5
if I give them a mouse each on their "whatever I have leftover" meal, would that be okay? Definitely you can do that! I think they don't really like the chicken much because it's probably bland complared to the beef and rabbit bone-in mince That's what I was afraid of. Can you get whole rabbit? They should be able to eat most of those bones. Turkey necks should have a stronger flavour as well. Pork rib/rib ends can also be edible. Lamb neck. Ox tail. Quail. All will have the stronger flavour they appear to prefer.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 8, 2012 10:14:21 GMT -5
I can get whole rabbit, but ordering it online means that even though it's almost the same price as chicken, it works out really expensive with the shipping, and I have a tiny freezer so I can't stock up and make it worth it really. I can't seem to find any butchers nearby that are reasonably priced either, but I will have another scour of the supermarket aisles to see if there's anything the little fusspots will eat. I need to find something that's sutainable with my lifestyle really, and I can't be sure that I'll have the time every week to make a special trip into town to go to the butchers, normally I go about once a month, but there just isn't enough freezer space for a whole months worth of food. It's just annoying that they ate it all fine for about a week and now have changed their minds Also, I've noticed that Penny (the newest addition) may have started sleeping away from the others. They have a dark box in their run on little stilts which they were all sleeping in together, but the last few mornings I've come out and she has emerged from underneath it. I can't be sure that she's actually sleeping under there, I know that they stash food under there so she might have been eating, but should I be worried if she is? She still doesn't really like it if they touch her, but will dook and war dance around them.
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Post by Sherry on Mar 8, 2012 10:18:38 GMT -5
I don't think it's anything to worry about. She may also just be getting to warm in the sleeping den. Good luck on the bone hunt! And on those times you can't get into town, could you have some mince on hand? For dental benefits, even eating the actual whole bone once or twice a week would work.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 8, 2012 10:24:45 GMT -5
I could make chicken or pork bone in mince, but again with the rabbit and stuff, it's getting and storing the bone in mince that's the problem, as to make it cost effective I need to order more than my freezer could hold, and with the trips into town I'd need to actually go into town to get any bone-in mince or chunks as I don't think there's much I can get at the supermarket here that's not chicken :/ Though could I maybe just put them on bone in chicken mince with some kind of supplement like ferrevite to get them eating it or is this not healthy long-term?
I think I should be able to get beef ribs though- would these be okay for a bone-in staple, or not really? And also, how expensive are they compared to other meats normally (I have no idea how much meat costs lol).
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