|
|
Post by bitbyter on Nov 2, 2012 12:50:18 GMT -5
To help mitigate Wilma's bum issues I am going to try replacing the fresh chicken liver in their diet with freeze dried (beef or duck, I can't get chicken here for some reason). So if I regularly feed them 1 oz of raw chicken liver what would the equivalent weight be for freeze dried? Does anyone know?
|
|
|
|
Post by Jaclynn on Nov 2, 2012 13:10:56 GMT -5
What I do for liver and organ meals is just feed them an entire meal of organ. So if a normal meal is 2 oz, that's how much they get. If they eat 4 oz in a meal, that's how much they get. 1 meal out of 14 meals represents about 7% of the entire diet.
|
|
|
|
Post by sheila on Nov 2, 2012 13:37:23 GMT -5
I think what he is asking, is how to convert fresh to freez-dried. For example: if he feeds 2oz fresh, would he REPLACE it with the same amount of freeze dried?
|
|
|
|
Post by Sherry on Nov 2, 2012 15:08:05 GMT -5
That's exactly what it is Sheila. Wilma has prolapse issues which the organ meats exacerbate a LOT, even when split over the week.
|
|
|
|
Post by bitbyter on Nov 2, 2012 15:11:06 GMT -5
Yes, that is what I am asking. If I regularly feed 1 oz of liver how much freeze dried do I give since it is so light (having all the moisture removed)? I am think of grinding up the freeze dried and just sprinkling it on their regular meals. Wilma has no issues with heart, the raw fresh liver is just so soft and full of moisture that it aggravates her partial prolapse. BTW: I think that's the first time I've been mistaken for a woman   |
|
|
|
Post by sheila on Nov 2, 2012 16:02:50 GMT -5
Sorry  ! I didn't look at the gender tab! I corrected it. |
|
|
|
Post by bitbyter on Nov 2, 2012 16:33:51 GMT -5
No offense taken, it was funny!
|
|
|
|
Post by mustelidmusk on Nov 2, 2012 16:43:42 GMT -5
UGH!!! just lost a post  Let's try again..... to determine equivalent wet and dry foods, convert both to a dry matter basis by factoring out water content fefore comparing. Hypothetical example: * assume fresh liver has 75% moisture * assume freeze dried liver has 5% moisture 1. determine dry matter % for fresh liver: 100% fresh - 75% moisture = 25% liver dry matter 2. determine dry matter % for free-dried liver: 100% freeze-dried - 5% moisture = 95% liver dry matter 3. Determine how much freeze-dried liver is equivalent to a specific amount of fresh liver: (fresh % / freeze dried %) * fresh amount = freeze dried amount (25% / 95% ) * 16 oz = 4.2 oz Essentially, 4.2 oz of the freeze-dried liver is roughly equivalent to 16 oz of fresh liver. One thing to remeber is that different products as well as different liver/meat types have different moisture contents: * To figure out how much moisture is in your freeze-dried liver, read the package label. * To figure out how much moisture is in the liver (different types of liver have different water content), use the following site: ndb.nal.usda.gov/ndb/foods/list-jennifer |
|
|
|
Post by bitbyter on Nov 2, 2012 17:03:06 GMT -5
Awesome!! That is exactly what I was looking for. Maybe that post should be a sticky?
It looks like Freeze Dried Duck Liver is a hit. They both took a piece and started chowing down on it right away.
|
|
|
|
Post by bitbyter on Nov 7, 2012 21:14:42 GMT -5
Thanks to mustelidmusk's post above I have created a new Ferret delicacy that I am sure will be a hit: Ferret Shake & No Bake!!  This is a small chicken wing and 1 quail chopped up and dusted with freeze dried duck liver. Approximately 0.3 oz which is the equivalent of 1 oz fresh with the product I am using (7% moisture). I ground up the duck liver in my mortar and pestle. I think this will work well for Wilma. She will get part of her organ requirement for the week without aggravating her rear end (which has been doing great recently). |
|
|
|
Post by Sherry on Nov 8, 2012 10:19:25 GMT -5
That is a fantastic idea! Hopefully it works well for her  |
|
|
|
Post by bitbyter on Nov 8, 2012 10:23:28 GMT -5
Well they ate most of it last night so I think between the liver shake & no bake, chicken hearts and the organs they eat from whole prey they should be ok. If I get blood workups done at the vets can they detect nutritionally deficiencies in their diet?
|
|
|
|
Post by Sherry on Nov 8, 2012 10:25:00 GMT -5
Not sure what the test would be, but nutritional deficiencies usually take a while to show up in these guys.
Shoot mustiledmusk a pm, she may have a better idea.
|
|
|
|
Post by bitbyter on Nov 11, 2012 21:15:48 GMT -5
Well the Ferret Shake & No Bake is definitely a hit. This is the second time I've fed them liver this week using this method and it hasn't aggravated Wilma's bum at all. The coating of freeze dried liver doesn't seem to make them hesitate in any way when it's meal time.
The only downside I can see is the price of freeze dried liver vs. the fresh but if it is going to make things easier on Wilma I can accept that. Availability isn't a problem as freeze dried duck and beef liver are popular dog treats.
|
|
|
|
Post by Guest on Nov 11, 2012 21:21:11 GMT -5
That looks yummy!! I seriously need to get some freeze dried~  so hard to find them here~  |
|
