|
Post by katt on Mar 15, 2011 12:50:36 GMT -5
The girls really don't balance themselves when they have several meats in front of them (which is why the rabbit worries me). If there is chicken wing, pixie won't eat the beef, Trixie won't eat the wing, etc. So I usually stick to a 1 meat a meal rule. I'm working on feeding liver and heart together, so on the chicken days I could feed bone in for the morning and then some organ stuffs with heart in the afternoon. Same with the misc days. I like that idea for pumpkin! Everything I recently bought is ready frozen, but I will definitely try that next time. Also, what is the amount of pumpkin per ferret a day (or week whatever)? I cannot remember it... Yeah that is the tough thing with having multiple ferrets. :S The amount of pumpkin is usually about 1tsp per ferret, or 5% or less of the overall diet. I don't really measure to be honest. I scoop a kitchen sized spoon scoop in, and scoop more or less depending on the amount of meat in the bag. I just eyeball it and make sure I have enough to give all of the meat a very light coating of it, but not too much excess. Kind of like fur would be, only thinner and less solid! ;D haha
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Mar 15, 2011 13:25:00 GMT -5
Hehe, okay. Stools have been so good since I started adding the pumpkin. *does happy dance*
How big are quail? I'm trying to estimate how many I'll need if I started feeding them.
|
|
|
Post by katt on Mar 15, 2011 13:31:20 GMT -5
That is a better question for someone who as actually seen one. haha ;D Sorry. I have never fed quail. That said, I do believe they are roughly the same size as a CGH, but it will also depend on the age as well. Heather would be a good person to ask on that one.
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Mar 16, 2011 11:51:13 GMT -5
LOL it's fine.
Anyway, the girls are eating well. No issues with chunks, and I've been giving larger chunks and they've been handling them fine. They are about 1 in by 1 in, so I think they've got chunks nailed down. I'm going to mix some meats today and see how they do. Today is chicken wing and beef chunks. I'm hoping that they share the stuff. I also have some ground turkey (plain) from the grocery store as well as some heart and liver. That is dinner/tomorrow breakfast (depending on when they finish todays breakfast). I go on spring break at the end of the week so I'll use that for mouse time.
|
|
|
Post by katt on Mar 16, 2011 11:54:12 GMT -5
Sounds good! Keep me posted.
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Mar 16, 2011 16:23:14 GMT -5
Okay, so on the subject of whole prey.
I don't think it'll be feasible until I get a deep freezer. My poor freezer is filled to the brim and I cannot stuff much more in it (my poor waffles are smooshed next to chicken wings). So, I am now saving for that. I will be searching craigslist for a good one. Any recommendations on sizes?
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Mar 16, 2011 23:26:01 GMT -5
Okay, so I found one that seems to be big enough. It is approx. 7 cu. feet (3 ft tall, 3 ft wide, 2 ft deep). It is 3 yrs old and was in a ice cream store so probably in great condition. It is 3 yrs old and they are asking $90. Is that a ripoff? I know new they are like $175-$250, but it is 3 yrs old. He is firm on his price.
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Mar 16, 2011 23:27:17 GMT -5
Oh, and I'm feeding liver and heart tonight for dinner. The beef and chicken mix went okay (though I don't know who ate what). The beef was gone first, then the chicken wing. Dixie chewed the fingers of the chicken feet (eww so gross looking). I left some heart chunks in the bowl to see if anyone will eat them.
|
|
|
Post by katt on Mar 17, 2011 2:58:06 GMT -5
That freezer sounds like a good size. The price is hard to say. It is not a bad price by any means. I see them free on CL a lot though. But then in AK with all of the fishing and hunting people do up here, most people end up with more freezers than they know what to do with. Shane's family alone has 2 deep freezers (one deep, one upright), and two fridge/freezer combos at their house. Then they have like 2-3 upright deep freezers, and 2 fridge/freezer combos at their beach Cabin. Then they also essentially own their grandparents' cabin which also has more freezers and fridges. ;D ;D ;D ;D The beach freezers are not all full all year though, mainly in the summer and when they go fishing. But the home freezers get filled with whatever meats Shane's dad brings home. Yummy moose and fish! Anyways, off topic sorry. Moral of the story is I see freezers online for as low as free, to as high as a few hundred all of the time. So I would say $90 is pretty good, especially if it is in good shape. Let me know how they do on the heart/liver!
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Mar 17, 2011 13:18:13 GMT -5
They didn't touch the heart chunks last night I did get Pixie to eat one and Trixie to eat 2-3. I think it's just the texture. They have NO issues eating the puree. I will continue to feed it about 2x a week to try to get them used to it. Stools were good and not to nasty today. They got plain turkey with some pumpkin today for a boneless day. Also, Pixie finished off the chicken foot. They are really nice to have around, especially for Dixie who is definitely teething. They are so creepy looking though. I'll probably give them 2-3 a week as a treat and chew thing. Do you prefer chest freezers or upright ones?
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Mar 18, 2011 12:37:05 GMT -5
So yesterday was ground turkey. Went over good. Today is turkey necks, and they are So hard to chop! I finally got them into disk shaped cubes. Hopefully the girls like them! I'm doing a boneless day again tomorrow, and then liver and heart again this weekend. I'm also going to try a Spanish place for some organs and possibly get some mice.
|
|
|
Post by katt on Mar 18, 2011 13:19:38 GMT -5
They didn't touch the heart chunks last night I did get Pixie to eat one and Trixie to eat 2-3. I think it's just the texture. They have NO issues eating the puree. I will continue to feed it about 2x a week to try to get them used to it. Stools were good and not to nasty today. They got plain turkey with some pumpkin today for a boneless day. Also, Pixie finished off the chicken foot. They are really nice to have around, especially for Dixie who is definitely teething. They are so creepy looking though. I'll probably give them 2-3 a week as a treat and chew thing. Do you prefer chest freezers or upright ones? Well they both have their ups and downs. I like chest freezers because they are shorter and easier to get into at times. I also feel like you can keep a lot more in them as you can pack it to the top without fear of booby trapping it so that when you open the door it all comes cascading out! haha That said, you would want some type of organization system because stuff can get buried. That is the nice thing about uprights is you have shelves and whatnot, so stuff is more organized and if you say need to keep something level while it freezes (um ice cream cake?) you can put it on a shelf vs balancing it on all of the other food. haha They also take up less space as they obviously use vertical space instead of horizontal. Let me know how the Spanish Store adventure works out!
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Mar 18, 2011 14:03:57 GMT -5
Will do! I hope I find some good stuff!
|
|
|
Post by katt on Mar 19, 2011 0:42:47 GMT -5
Well the Powers that Be are intervening. I am no longer allowed to be selfish and keep you to myself anymore! ;D haha jk A little. Jackie, you are doing GREAT. And you are more than ready to graduate. Please post a week's menu - based off of what you have now not the whole prey - and Heather will check it out. We will make adjustments if needed and get you graduated!
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Mar 19, 2011 3:21:14 GMT -5
Here is a menu. This is based on what is in my fridge now. I'll also be rotating in CGH and freeze dried duck duck and lamb, but I don't have any right now.
Monday - chicken wing 2 meals Tuesday - beef chunks 2 meals Wednesday - turkey wing 1 meal heart + liver 1 meal Thursday - chicken back 2 meals Friday - pork chunks 2 meals Saturday - turkey necks 2 meals Sunday - chicken drumstick 1 meal heart + liver 1 meal
|
|