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Post by katt on May 19, 2013 20:21:15 GMT -5
Keeping the ground meats in his food and so far still no concerns, he seems very anxious to get his food and readily eats it. Again he does his best to pick around the ground meat but I KNOW he's still eating some. So We've been very very gradually increasing the amount of ground meat. And we're putting moneys aside to do another order from Hare today so please lay on the suggestions! Ground chicken JUST muscle we can get at home now so we no longer need. But again any and all suggestions! Thank you and hope your move went good. And hopefully ( not sure if your in the area ) but the volcanic ash doesn't disrupt or effect too much around you! That is a good thing that he gets excited about his food! Keep increasing the ground meat SLOOOOWLY but surely. He will get there, some ferrets just need to take their time about it. Okay Hare Today, let me go check out their site and I will be back with some suggestions...
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Post by katt on May 19, 2013 20:36:36 GMT -5
The ground beef with bones tripe and organs is a good mix, you will need to supplement with a little extra heart and organ, but the balance is pretty close. You WILL need to add extra calcium to this as 6% bone is only about half what they need, but that is easy enough to do. OR you can make up for it with some heavier bone meals on other days. www.hare-today.com/product_info.php?cPath=21_31&products_id=323This is a good bone-heavy meat, but does not contain heart or organs. That lack could be made up for by having more organs on another day (I will get to the organ meats in a bit) www.hare-today.com/product_info.php?cPath=21_31&products_id=296Goat is very expensive, but VERY good for them. Either of these grinds would be well balanced as it is the entire goat. www.hare-today.com/product_info.php?cPath=21_33&products_id=54www.hare-today.com/product_info.php?cPath=21_33&products_id=266This is a very good grind. Would need to supplement with a little extra liver, heart, and calcium either mixed in or fed on another day, but it is a good grind. The fattiness of pork is good for ferrets too, esp when we feed them so much poultry (lean meat) in their diets. www.hare-today.com/product_info.php?cPath=21_37&products_id=120Rabbit is another one that is spendy, but super nutritious. This would be a completely balanced meal as it is the whole rabbit. www.hare-today.com/product_info.php?cPath=21_35&products_id=114The turkey is good. Need to add organs, and heart to keep the balance, but is a good source of bone and meat, and is a source of SOME organs and heart. www.hare-today.com/product_info.php?cPath=21_36&products_id=69ORGANS. These are good organ grinds that can be used in addition to the above grinds to keep the balance of organ and heart meat. Good source of organ, fair source of heart (would need more heart) www.hare-today.com/product_info.php?cPath=21_45&products_id=41VERY Good organ source. 1/2 meal of this would count as half of their organs for the week. The other half would need to be all liver. IF you fed 1/2 meal of liver and 1/2 meal of the ground pancreas, in addition to the other grinds that contain some organ and heart, that would satisfy their organ requirements for the week. www.hare-today.com/product_info.php?cPath=21_45&products_id=43Not really a great source of organs (gizzards are a muscle meat), but a fair source of liver at least, and a fair source of heart. Could help to fill in the gaps of some of the other meats. Not the best organ mix they sell though, but would be a little milder tasting due to the gizzards so may be easier to feed a stubborn ferret. *cough cough* lol www.hare-today.com/product_info.php?cPath=21_45&products_id=67VERY good source of organs and heart. 2-3 meals of this a week should satisfy their organ and heart requirements, esp when fed in addition to the other meats. www.hare-today.com/product_info.php?cPath=21_45&products_id=234
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Post by Deleted on May 20, 2013 16:52:43 GMT -5
we have brought Steve out before. But that was when we had meeko and we only brought them out a few times. and we didn't feel it would be fair to bring Steve out with out meeko. We have not brought Sahara out side yet. We wanted to get their diets figures out and make sure they have a healthy bill of health, before we bring Sahara out for the first time and Steve out again
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Post by katt on May 21, 2013 12:20:30 GMT -5
Any updates on Steve's eating? What did you end up ordering from Hare Today? I would definitely take them out. It's a lot of fun, great exercise and enrichment. And there's usually not much reason a sick ferret can't go outside unless you have bugs (heartworm and fleas and such). Obviously Meeko was an extreme case, and allergies were suspected too so that is different. But both of your fuzz are more than healthy enough to be outside. You don't have to wait for them to be on a raw diet for that...
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Post by Deleted on May 21, 2013 20:53:16 GMT -5
Well as for the outside thing - the babies HAVE been outside before. Just with Meeko, as you said he was an extreme case and such we're OVERLY cautious with the babies now. So we've been superbly cautious with anything we do with them. So as long as you also feel ( my gf has also yelled at me that I'm being overly cautious ) that there ok to bring out then by all means they are coming out with us ASAP! On a side note though I felt that bringing them somewhere semi- untouched by humans would be best, as that way they would run lesser of a risk of coming in contact with fecal matter and random waste? We brought meeko and Steve awhile back to a forest and then to an area deep into it before releasing them to run as I had hoped for less waste, again I could just be crazy... We're still giving and mixing turkey with Steve's food, he's still slowly eating it but picking around some of it too so I'm going to stop increasing for a time. Sahara still readily takes bone in and regular meats, she is still unwilling to openly eat heart / organ. Instead she takes ~5 min. before eventually grabbing it and stashing it. ** On a side note with her she has stopped the digging and regardless we're in the midst of finding an adequate dig box. I want a nice big one for them...so trying to find one space appropriate. As for the food!! Thank you!! you didn't need to post links lol, thank you~ your plates full with life as it is We ordered .... ground goat the option you showed. ground chicken organs figured you're right in the sense of picky...he SO jumps at the smell of a pure chicken meal... ground rabbit organ mix ground vension beef and bone ground llama mix hope thats a good mix.. Thank you~
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Post by katt on May 21, 2013 21:41:36 GMT -5
Well as for the outside thing - the babies HAVE been outside before. Just with Meeko, as you said he was an extreme case and such we're OVERLY cautious with the babies now. So we've been superbly cautious with anything we do with them.
So as long as you also feel ( my gf has also yelled at me that I'm being overly cautious ) that there ok to bring out then by all means they are coming out with us ASAP! On a side note though I felt that bringing them somewhere semi- untouched by humans would be best, as that way they would run lesser of a risk of coming in contact with fecal matter and random waste? We brought meeko and Steve awhile back to a forest and then to an area deep into it before releasing them to run as I had hoped for less waste, again I could just be crazy... Understandable! Unless your vet seems to think that Meeko's condition was caused by some sort of external parasite or something though (HIIIIIGHLY unlikely, even IF it was, your others should have contracted it), I really see no reason why they shouldn't go outside. Make sure that you know the risks in your area though. Do you have heartworm? Fleas or ticks? Just be aware of what buggers your area has and what proper preventive measures to take IF needed. An areas untouched by humans is less of a concern. The bigger worries are bugs (see above note about fleas/ticks) and other animals. They are far more likely to catch something from say a wild possum's poop. Unless they are eating the poop though (which they shouldn't be if you are watching them lol) you really should be fine. I do NOT recommend letting them off harness though personally. I know some people do it, but I would never take that risk myself. They could run off, get lost or stuck somewhere, if an accident happens or another animal comes up you don't have a way of being in control to get them back to you as quickly as possible... I just don't take that risk. Especially because Koda would be gone faster than you could say ferret! :/ We're still giving and mixing turkey with Steve's food, he's still slowly eating it but picking around some of it too so I'm going to stop increasing for a time. Good. Keep keeping me posted. Sahara still readily takes bone in and regular meats, she is still unwilling to openly eat heart / organ. Instead she takes ~5 min. before eventually grabbing it and stashing it. ** On a side note with her she has stopped the digging and regardless we're in the midst of finding an adequate dig box. I want a nice big one for them...so trying to find one space appropriate. Any decent sized rubbermaid bin is fine. The ones I use are I think about 1.5 x 2.5 feet base (roughly - I'll warn you I am horrible as estimating sizes haha). As for the food!! Thank you!! you didn't need to post links lol, thank you~ your plates full with life as it is It helps me think to have them. Also helps if I need to go back and refer to the post to see what meats we are talking about. We ordered .... ground goat the option you showed. ground chicken organs figured you're right in the sense of picky...he SO jumps at the smell of a pure chicken meal... ground rabbit organ mix ground vension beef and bone ground llama mix
hope thats a good mix..
Thank you~
That's a great mix. When you get those, experiment with mixing those into the food and see if Steve likes them any better than the turkey. Sometimes you just never know. It's a good idea to try to get him used to more variety sooner rather than later too so he doesn't get super bored of turkey.
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Post by Deleted on May 23, 2013 10:07:45 GMT -5
Absolutely, we have ground pork and ground chicken next to try for him so that'll be a new treat. And absolutely..they never would come off of the harness...ever...lol.
I had another quick question regarding food mixes. While I was on there I saw ground cavie and ground mice. Would these meat options be well? Because eventually the goal is obviously whole prey with possible live prey option so I guess having these protein options now would be good? I just wasn't sure if there's a health concern with the two animals I listed.
Thank you again for everything~
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Post by katt on May 24, 2013 4:48:35 GMT -5
Yes, whole cavy and whole mice would be wonderful food choices.
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Post by katt on May 25, 2013 1:48:11 GMT -5
Just checking in for the night.
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Post by katt on May 27, 2013 3:59:43 GMT -5
How is Steve doing with the ground meat?
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Post by katt on May 28, 2013 21:48:16 GMT -5
Bump
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Post by Deleted on May 30, 2013 19:57:21 GMT -5
sorry we haven't gotten back, we are in the middle of trying to move to Florida. But Steve is doing well with the ground chicken and definitely shows signs of enjoying it.Sahara is willingly eating heart meats, but not organ meats yet.
We'll get back to you with more details tomorrow or Saturday, depending on how work goes this week. Thank you so much and i hope yo have a wonderful evening.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 1, 2013 11:27:58 GMT -5
So I guess our order from Hare got back ordered because of an item ( I wasn't aware... ) So it'll be here this coming Tuesday apparently. I can't WAIT to try the whole chicken as Steve really seems to be doing decent with the ground meats. We haven't ventured out of mainly turkey and chicken. I have some pork and beef ground that I'll be mixing in slowly into his meals and then eventually go to a beef ground for him.
Sahara is same thing, eating all her pieces great! All except organ.... so keeping that up~
Thank you again~!
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Post by katt on Jun 2, 2013 3:27:51 GMT -5
Have you tried organ soup with her? Soup that is MOSTLY organ, but has some muscle meat to tone it down? Sometimes ferrets just prefer organs in soup form. That is GREAT that Steve is doing better with the ground meat! (dance) Keep it up! When you get your Hare Today order start to try different varieties and see how he takes to the organ grinds. He is definitely making progress. Will he eat plain ground meat yet, or does he have to have some soup mixed in still? You are still mixing calcium in, correct? ( If he still needs soup in his ground meat, work on decreasing the soup until he will eat straight ground meat. If he is eating the ground straight with no soup, you can work on mixing teeny slivers in and see how he does with that. The same process will apply of slowly but surely increasing the slivers both in size and quantity until he will eat them reliably. Hang in there, it is slow and steady with these guys (esp little Steve hehe) but you are definitely making progress.
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Post by katt on Jun 4, 2013 1:06:44 GMT -5
bump
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