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Post by Deleted on Dec 19, 2012 21:19:14 GMT -5
alrighty! im going to buy a scale (and hopefully a good knife!) tomorrow.im done my exams before christmas break so i finally have timeto fully focus on getting everything. i was also going to try and look at butcher shop for "special meats" i havent been able to find. besides the meats i already have, is there something that would be "awsomer" to get than others?
also, i have tried pork ribs before but he couldnt get through them and barely ate them, but i will try again with my new knife! sme things goes for turkey wings. i will probably check back in friday night because i have school and work tomorrow
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Post by katt on Dec 22, 2012 1:01:53 GMT -5
Any meat that is fit for human consumption is great, as long as it is not processed, injected with saline, etc. The more variety the better.
Right now with what you have I would primarily focus on trying to find something with more edible bone if you can. Chicken feet, turkey and/or wings, game hen, pheasant, turkey necks, chicken backs, pork button tips, quail, etc. If you have the resources and are willing/able to, whole prey is always a great option as well. It is a fully balanced meal, and very healthy for them. They can eat mice, rats, guinea pigs, etc.
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Post by katt on Dec 22, 2012 1:03:55 GMT -5
Your ferret should regularly receive a bare minimum of 3 proteins. However, the more variety you can offer the better. Even mixing in new meats on occasion is better than never, some meats are seasonal so we understand that you may not be able to feed everything in the menu year-round. A minimum of 3 proteins should be fed year-round (for example, pork, chicken, and beef). Most meats sold as fit for human consumption are okay to feed ferrets as long as they are NOT processed, seasoned, or injected with saline (read labels carefully). Also, some meats not “fit” for human consumption can bed fed as well, these include meats such as commercial raw made just for pets, whole prey, butcher scraps etc. Ferrets should NEVER be fed processed meats, seasoned/flavored meats, meats with additives, meats injected with saline to preserve freshness. Below is a list of food suggestions:
Look around too for a pet store that carries commercially ground raw meats. These are a GREAT way to add variety as they often have proteins that you won't find in the store, and they usually have organ, heart, and bones ground into them (but not always so be sure to check). I can get commercial ground: pheasant, rabbit, chicken (Koda can't eat this), turkey, beef (also a no-no for Koda), bison, quail, tripe.
Also if you have trouble finding anything, there are other routes you can take. There are some places online where you can order commercially ground organ meat patties and such, and Worst case scenario, there are supplements that can help fill in the gaps but that is a last resort.
OK for variety here are some ideas. Pretty much any meat you can get your hands on is ok for them: chicken turkey pork beef (also veal) bison (buffalo) rabbit duck pheasant quail venison and game meats rodent cornish game hen moose goose lamb goat fish (mackerel, salmon, halibut, goldfish, etc also, fish oil is very good for them)
Some parts that are good to have of all of the above animals: heart (is a muscle meat but vital for the taurine) liver kidney spleen tongue (is a muscle meat) brain (VERY nutritious organ meat - high in taurine) gizzards (is a muscle meat - great for cleaning teeth) chicken feet (good bone source - i.e. for a bone-in meat you could feet pork chops and chicken feet) necks (also a good bone source) ribs (pork ribs have edible bones - usually that is right on the line of thickest bones they can eat, some ferrets can handle pork ribs other can't, or at least don't, eat the bones, but they can often still get the marrow out depending on the cut)
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Post by katt on Dec 22, 2012 1:04:31 GMT -5
Right now with what you have I would primarily focus on trying to find something with more edible bone if you can. Chicken feet, turkey and/or wings, game hen, pheasant, turkey necks, chicken backs, pork button tips, quail, etc. If you have the resources and are willing/able to, whole prey is always a great option as well. It is a fully balanced meal, and very healthy for them. They can eat mice, rats, guinea pigs, etc.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 23, 2012 13:08:06 GMT -5
So I went to buy a scale and I called my mom to ask where I could get a knife to cut bone and she yelld eat me saying to not buy knives and to wait until Christmas, so I may have ruined my Christmas gift lol
I have tried whole pray but Molson was really not interested .I can only get chicken necks and backs sometimes...for turkey wings I'm going to wait until I have a knife cause he can't chew through that
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Post by katt on Dec 24, 2012 1:43:52 GMT -5
So I went to buy a scale and I called my mom to ask where I could get a knife to cut bone and she yelld eat me saying to not buy knives and to wait until Christmas, so I may have ruined my Christmas gift lol I have tried whole pray but Molson was really not interested .I can only get chicken necks and backs sometimes...for turkey wings I'm going to wait until I have a knife cause he can't chew through that haha Uh-Oh! Whole prey has to be introduced as a new diet item. Much like switching from kibble to raw, you have to teach them that whole prey is a food. It can be gruesome as this often involves cutting the prey apart and mixing it into other meats (such as chicken) but it is very worthwhile if you have the stomach for it. Especially if you can get whole prey it is an awesome thing to include in their diet, even if only on occasion. It is fully balanced and super healthy for them. And a good source of bone.
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Post by katt on Dec 26, 2012 0:29:24 GMT -5
Bump
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Post by katt on Dec 27, 2012 0:34:44 GMT -5
Bump
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Post by Deleted on Dec 28, 2012 12:20:31 GMT -5
Honestly I don't think I have the stomach for it...and my husband would kill me if I started taking apart whole animals in our kitchen lol.
I bought turkey wings that I'm going to try and cut today .I found pig hocks...I have no idea what that is lol but can I give him that?
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Post by katt on Dec 28, 2012 21:49:16 GMT -5
Pick hocks are essentially their ankle to elbow region. Pig legs! He can certainly eat it, the bones inside will be too big, but the skin will be good for chewing on and cleaning those pearly whites, and the meat is good too. Just be aware of how much meat is actually on the bone. It looks like a big piece, but the quantity of meat is pretty low. You might slice up the skin and meat that is on the hocks before giving them (at least for the first few times and gradually do it with less and less slicing) so he learns the meat is under the skin. It will give him a starting point too so he can build up those chewing muscles.
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Post by katt on Dec 28, 2012 21:49:47 GMT -5
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Post by Deleted on Dec 29, 2012 1:48:10 GMT -5
i just gave him on, the piece is bigger than him lol but Ive never seen him so excited about a piece of meat! i figured the skin would be really tough so i made slices in it. i also tried to make slices in the bones with the kinfe i "unexpectedly" got for christmas lol but yah it was really hard lol. although the piece i had, looking at the diagram you gave me, looks like it was at about the ankle or somethign and the rest thigh, cause it was cone-ish shaped, with the smaller end being bone and the bigger end mostly meat.
ill see tomorrow what is left. i dont usually feed him at almost 2 am, but the hocks have been thawing for over 24 hours and they were finally ready so i figured id give him one now
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Post by katt on Dec 29, 2012 12:26:29 GMT -5
Let me know how he does with it. The hocks I have seen at the stores here are mostly ankle. Have you worked on your menu any more yet?
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Post by katt on Jan 1, 2013 5:01:25 GMT -5
Bump. Any progress on a new menu?
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Post by Deleted on Jan 1, 2013 15:20:48 GMT -5
he ate quite a bit of it, but i think he would need more time than I can allow. i saw teeth marks in the bone, but it doesnt seem like he really took bites out of it.
honestly with the madness of the holidays, i havent had time to go over his menu to make the necessary changes, I have just been giving him more bones (chicken and turkey wings) i need to prepare his food to put it all in the freezer and try to cut more turkey wings so theyre ready to go. i guess stress finaly caught up to me and decided i needed to be sick for a while, so i've been vegging as much as i can to try and get better before back to school tomorrow!
if i remember correctly, my menu was just lacking bones? i have eggshells i need to crush so i can add that to his non-bone meals and hopefully turkey wings work out good because all chicken necks/backs seem to have dissappeared from grocery stores..
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