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Post by Sherry on Apr 18, 2012 21:40:52 GMT -5
I'd keep them with the wings until Dexter is eating them as well
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Post by Deleted on Apr 19, 2012 9:08:09 GMT -5
Oh he's been doing great with the wings! Thought I mentioned that, but yeah, he goes straight for the wing joint and starts crunching away as soon as I pop one in the cage If Zoey's asleep, he'll finish one off all by himself, bones and all Same thing with the quail and anything I put in that has bone in it, for that matter (tried chicken necks yesterday and that was a big hit!)
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Post by Sherry on Apr 19, 2012 9:31:39 GMT -5
Alright! How did the liver/heart combo go? Once they are eating those reliably, we'll start working on a formal menu for them
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Post by Deleted on Apr 21, 2012 8:15:11 GMT -5
It's a go on the heart/liver! Ground them up together, didn't add anything else, and they both ate it all up So does that mean menu time?
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Post by Sherry on Apr 21, 2012 11:38:39 GMT -5
Yes, it does! You post your menu, we'll both go over it and tweak it where necessary(if it is), and then I'll submit it to Heather
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Post by Deleted on Apr 21, 2012 15:30:10 GMT -5
Ok, so this is definitely very much a draft, but what do you think? Sunday: AM pork chop (bone) PM heart/liver Monday: AM chicken breast (bone) PM pork chunks Tuesday: AM quail (bone) PM pork chop (bone) Wednesday: AM chicken wing (bone) PM kidney/other organ Thursday: AM pork chop (bone) PM chicken neck (bone) Friday: AM quail (bone) PM chicken breast (boneless) Saturday: AM chicken breast (bone) PM pork chunks I feel like it's pretty heavy on the chicken and pork, but I guess that's just because that's all they've been introduced to so far, besides the quail. I'm planning on trying them on beef as soon as my parents come to visit (they raise cattle and are bringing me a whole bunch of meat!), so eventually I will probably sub that for some of the pork/chicken boneless meals. And I had a question about the non-liver organ meal- I haven't been able to find kidney or anything like that (I must just be missing it in the store ), but I have seen pig uterus. I remember seeing a thread a little while back asking if that would be a good organ meal, but I can't remember what the verdict was. ;D If that's ok to give them, then that's a good option. Is it ok to vary the other organ source? Like kidney one week, uterus the next, etc.?
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Post by Sherry on Apr 21, 2012 17:54:50 GMT -5
You can definitely use the uterus as your other organ! No problem. And the more you can vary it, the better. I also have trouble finding one they'll actually EAT, so frequently wind up using some dehydrated lung or kidney for that. I pick it up at a local pet store. They love it, and think they are getting a treat ;D If you can't get another organ that week, you could also just double up the liver. You don't want to do that long term, but as a "once in a while" cover, it's good. Just do it on two separate days, or your litter box and surroundings will pay the price ;D Now- do yours actually consume the majority of the bone with the pork chop? Also, how much liver are they eating? They should be consuming approximately 2oz a week each. They also need more heart in there. I feed a minimum of one full heart meal a week, two when I think of it ;D For the variety of proteins, you could always try them with a beef meal in the interim. I usually just use stewing beef. Turkey is another good protein to have on hand for them. If you can get necks, that's great. You just have to chop the bejeepers out of them! I'll also pick up just wings/drumsticks from time to time as a different muscle meat.
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Post by Sherry on Apr 21, 2012 17:56:31 GMT -5
Just a thought- pork rib ends or pork button bones are another one they can actually eat. Or should be able to! While all mine will eat the rib ends, I've only got a couple who'll actually CONSUME the button bones
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Post by Deleted on Apr 26, 2012 8:28:30 GMT -5
Hey, just wanted to pop in and say sorry for not being on in a while, I'm in the midst of finals right now (I'm a graduating senior), plus my computer is on the fritz- dead battery, glitchy keyboard, no sound I'm gonna sit down this weekend and work on the menu some more so I will get back to you then!
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Post by Sherry on Apr 26, 2012 8:53:04 GMT -5
Okay, sounds good
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Post by Deleted on Apr 28, 2012 9:55:13 GMT -5
Alright, sorry for the delay! Glad to hear that uterus is fine As far as the liver and heart go, since only Dexter will eat the liver and neither will eat the heart whole, how do I make sure they're getting the right amounts of each? The only thing I can think of is to grind them up separately and just weigh the frozen cubes (they'll eat them that way just fine). Right now I have them ground together into cubes so it's hard to know what the ratio is. Not sure if there's an easier way though Unfortunately I haven't been able to find any turkey yet that isn't the whole bird, and I definitely don't have the space for that! I'll keep looking and get some beef in the meantime. And now that I think about it they're probably not eating enough of the pork bone to count it as a bone-in meal. I guess the only problem I'm encountering is that I can't seem to locate turkey that has the bones left in and I can't think of what else to use as a bone-in source. I'll keep an eye out for pork rib ends or button bones. Any more suggestions??
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Post by Sherry on Apr 28, 2012 15:44:45 GMT -5
Cornish hen is a good one. Pork rib ends if you can find them. Lamb neck, although hard to chop, is usually well received. Have you checked for small high end pet stores in your town, or a nearby one? They frequently have a raw food section were you can get things like turkey necks. For the heart and liver, I think I'd keep them separate for now.
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Post by Sherry on May 3, 2012 17:56:02 GMT -5
update?
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Post by Deleted on May 9, 2012 17:22:00 GMT -5
So sorry it's been so long! My computer died and I'm about to graduate college so things have been hectic to say the least! Anyways, I worked on the menu, is it looking better?? Sunday: AM pork rib ends (bone) PM chicken heart (organ) Monday: AM chicken breast (bone) PM pork chunks (boneless) Tuesday: AM quail (bone) PM pork rib ends (bone) Wednesday: AM chicken wing (bone) PM liver/uterus (organ) Thursday: AM pork chunks (boneless) PM chicken neck (bone) Friday: AM quail (bone) PM chicken breast (bone) Saturday: AM chicken heart (organ) PM pork chunks (boneless) I was finally able to find the pork rib ends, so I subbed those in for the chops as a bone source. Also put in another heart meal for a total of two. I tried giving them some ground beef, and they just weren't interested, so I'm gonna stick with the pork/chicken/quail proteins for now and keep trying the beef every now and then. Will also try and find some cuts of turkey for them. Let me know what you think!
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Post by Sherry on May 9, 2012 23:00:15 GMT -5
It's looking good. Personally, I'd like to see one of the chicken breast meals replaced with a bone heavy meal like neck, rib ends, or quail. But- how are their stools on this diet? Each ferret is different, and just because mine need more bone doesn't necessarily mean yours do!
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