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Post by katt on Mar 7, 2013 4:52:31 GMT -5
Both of those menus look fantastic! GREAT job! They both show that you have a very good grasp of balancing their menu perfectly. The chunk meals (i.e. boneless bison chunks) are well balanced by the bone in meals (i.e. chicken necks). The variety is fantastic, and you are meeting the organ and heart needs very well. Let me say again - GREAT job. I have no suggestions for improvement. (And considering what you are ordering is what these menus appear to be based off of, you should be fine there) Pending Heather's Official approval, you are ready for graduation just as soon as those little chompers are willingly sinking into chunks and bones. The info I posted was a LOT to take in considering it was my first really info-dense post about proper balance. You have done an excellent job of actually processing and assimilating that info. Usually it takes people a few tries Please ask if there are any questions I am missing!
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Post by Deleted on Mar 7, 2013 9:49:45 GMT -5
LOL well I printed out everything you wrote in that post and made notes off of it for 2 days. I finally broke it down to where I could easily reference it to make menus. Glad I did well!! I will probably start with the chunks by cutting them up just a little bit if that's ok. They have a tendency to pick up and hide the larger chunks of the grind. Are there any species on Hare Today that I should avoid or wait a while to introduce to them? I think you said before that lamb/sheep is kind of an acquired taste for them? I was going to get some goose and duck, maybe some goat, stuff like that, but I wasn't sure if any of it wasn't the greatest for them so I decided to order what I knew for sure was ok for them and maybe next time try to introduce those. I want them to have a good variety of meats. I looked through the forum yesterday for bone-in suggestions and I mainly saw chicken wings and things like that. I thought about getting the oxtails and/or small pork ribs on Hare Today, but I noticed some people saying that it is too dense for them or they don't really eat those bones? If you have any other suggestions for bone aside from chicken parts, I would appreciate some in-put on that one. My order will ship on Monday according the email notifications I have received. They seemed to really like the venison last night at first and then got bored with it or something. They had more fun hiding it than eating it. Though at first Scout and Theodore were literally fighting over it, then Scout took a good portion and ate it elsewhere, and Theo dumped the bowl over on his head, but continued to eat it upside down lol! Anyway, my point here is that when I run out of venison, if the other hasn't arrived yet, is it still okay to blend up the freeze-dried I have left for them? Or is that just moving backward? I will let you know how the cubes/chunks/slivers go next week after I receive them. With the bones, will they just gnaw on them or actually eat them? I'm trying to get an idea of what to expect, watch for, etc. It scares me that they are going to choke on them lol! That's why I only have them on the menu at night so I can watch them. Oh another question (I keep thinking of stuff). As far as a heart meal goes, could I blend a heart up with the grind? Or is it best to feed it on its own? Thanks so much for all your patience and help!! I hope they take the chunks and bones quickly. They seem to have moved pretty fast with the other stuff, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed that they do the same with these I guess there isn't another step to move to after chunks and bones? I really don't think I'll be able to do the whole prey thing. But if there are other options beyond the chunks and commercial grind that would be good, please let me know. Also, I noticed that some of the species have the options of "coarse ground" as well as the entire carcass including feathers and what not. Are those good options to try as well?? I don't know if it would be helpful to other people, or if it would be repetitive of what all of you moderators have already posted for info, but I'll be happy to share the notes I used to condensed the information you gave me. It really made making the menu easier.
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Post by katt on Mar 7, 2013 13:53:00 GMT -5
I will probably start with the chunks by cutting them up just a little bit if that's ok. They have a tendency to pick up and hide the larger chunks of the grind. Are there any species on Hare Today that I should avoid or wait a while to introduce to them? That's fine, and any animal is okay. The more variety the better. I looked through the forum yesterday for bone-in suggestions and I mainly saw chicken wings and things like that. I thought about getting the oxtails and/or small pork ribs on Hare Today, but I noticed some people saying that it is too dense for them or they don't really eat those bones? If you have any other suggestions for bone aside from chicken parts, I would appreciate some in-put on that one. It varies by ferrets. Some can eat small pork ribs, some can't. They would certainly need to build up their jaw muscles for that. Same with the Oxtails. They would probably always need to be partially broken up for them though. Turkey wings are another good ones that's ferret dependent. The wing tips are easy enough, but the upper wing bones are too bit for some ferrets UNLESS they are broken up a little bit. My order will ship on Monday according the email notifications I have received. They seemed to really like the venison last night at first and then got bored with it or something. They had more fun hiding it than eating it. Though at first Scout and Theodore were literally fighting over it, then Scout took a good portion and ate it elsewhere, and Theo dumped the bowl over on his head, but continued to eat it upside down lol! Anyway, my point here is that when I run out of venison, if the other hasn't arrived yet, is it still okay to blend up the freeze-dried I have left for them? Or is that just moving backward? Silly ferrets! You can feed freeze dried any time. It is a balanced meal - you can feed freeze dried on its own instead of a kibble or wet raw diet. They recognize ground meat as food now, so the occasional FD meal is not going backwards. I give my boys FD, they love it. I will let you know how the cubes/chunks/slivers go next week after I receive them. With the bones, will they just gnaw on them or actually eat them? I'm trying to get an idea of what to expect, watch for, etc. It scares me that they are going to choke on them lol! That's why I only have them on the menu at night so I can watch them. They will eventually eat the entire bone. That is the goal. The bone content of their diet means EDIBLE bone. Anything left behind doesn't count. At first you may find they mostly gnaw as they begin a) getting used to eating bone and b) building up their jaw muscles but they should start eating whole bone pieces pretty quickly at their ages. Oh another question (I keep thinking of stuff). As far as a heart meal goes, could I blend a heart up with the grind? Or is it best to feed it on its own?Either way is fine, as long as they are getting enough of it in their diet. Thanks so much for all your patience and help!! I hope they take the chunks and bones quickly. They seem to have moved pretty fast with the other stuff, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed that they do the same with these Babies are the easiest to switch as they haven't fully imprinted on their food yet. I guess there isn't another step to move to after chunks and bones? I really don't think I'll be able to do the whole prey thing. But if there are other options beyond the chunks and commercial grind that would be good, please let me know. Also, I noticed that some of the species have the options of "coarse ground" as well as the entire carcass including feathers and what not. Are those good options to try as well??Not really if you aren't going to do whole prey. The only other thing I usually add into a switch is introducing organs and heart as individual meats rather than in soupies, but they are getting their in ginds so it's not really an issue. Whole carcass food is great. The more you can mimic and feed whole prey (in whatever form lol) the better. I do believe that the rabbit whole carcass is mostly fur though, and most people use it as a fiber source rather than an entire meal. I would consider making a post in the main diet section for input, I don't order from Hare Today myself. I don't know if it would be helpful to other people, or if it would be repetitive of what all of you moderators have already posted for info, but I'll be happy to share the notes I used to condensed the information you gave me. It really made making the menu easier. Sure. No reason not to post it - it is entirely up to you. There's a lot of repetitive stuff around here. Seeing things in different forms and locations is helpful for newbies.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 7, 2013 15:55:17 GMT -5
OK So for bone, start with the wings, mainly the tips and break up the upper bones. Sounds good to me. Easy enough haha! I'm sure the "chicken pieces" thing comes with legs and stuff too - I'll see if I can break those up/smash them as well.
I'll post something in the forum about the whole ground thing. Thanks thanks thanks!
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Post by Deleted on Mar 7, 2013 16:00:37 GMT -5
OH the feet!! The chicken feet! Are those a good starting point for bone?
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Post by katt on Mar 9, 2013 3:24:29 GMT -5
Sure! Chicken feet are a great source of bone! Let me know when/what you try and how it goes. I had some family make an unexpected visit, so I may not be on super consistently this weekend but I'll try to still check in once a day.
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Post by katt on Mar 11, 2013 3:48:39 GMT -5
Just a bump before bed.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 11, 2013 8:36:21 GMT -5
Sorry I had no internet signal on my phone at the house yesterday for some reason!
No worries about being busy. Their food won't be in until Wednesday I think, so I have nothing to report on :/ They are eating freeze dried in the mean time.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 12, 2013 8:44:51 GMT -5
All I can say is I can't wait for the raw to get in because their poops are stinking again with the freeze dried LOL! They sure do gobble it up though.
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Post by katt on Mar 12, 2013 18:58:30 GMT -5
haha There tends to be a little more filler in freeze dried, though it is still light years ahead of kibble! Just let me know when the order arrives. In the meanwhile, you could always get a package of chicken breasts or something from the grocery store, but that is completely up to you.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 12, 2013 21:03:59 GMT -5
Funds are tight until next week after the hare today order and the grocery store trip we made on Sunday for ourselves. The only chicken we bought was for us :/ when I cook it ill cut some pieces off for them
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Post by katt on Mar 12, 2013 23:14:03 GMT -5
No worries.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 13, 2013 8:31:25 GMT -5
Should be here tomorrow. I have enough freeze dried to last until then. Plus a little more
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Post by katt on Mar 13, 2013 23:49:09 GMT -5
Good. Thanks for the update.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 14, 2013 8:51:19 GMT -5
YAY should be in tonight. Think I'm going to try to give them some chicken wing or something. Will let you know ASAP - have a quick appt after work and then I'll be home!
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