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Post by Deleted on May 26, 2013 16:50:22 GMT -5
Der... I'm supposed to say what I feed eat day... God I'm a dummy... Well I basically just make up a batch of all their goodies chopped up, then i mix it all up and separate it all into ziplock bags, one for each day, so that I can freeze them. Currently their ziplock bags contain 10oz but next batch will be 8oz. each meal is just 3oz of mixed goodies plus a tsp of pumpking and an egg yolk and/or oil on the days when they get it. i hope that makes sense I'm sick so i'm a bit slow
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Post by bitbyter on May 26, 2013 21:13:52 GMT -5
That's looking good to me. I might cut back the egg to maybe twice a week as it can affect their poops (any problems in that department?). Has the smell issue with your room-mates resolved? How is Panda's nip training coming along. I'll get Sherry to have a look at the menu and see what she thinks.
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Post by Deleted on May 29, 2013 21:32:05 GMT -5
Poops seem fine as far as i can tell, smell isn't an issue any more now that meat isn't being stashed. panda is still being a turd to me and bites me hard but she is getting better, eventually she will get the message I'm glad i finally have a satisfactory menu ^_^ i will cut back on egg to twice per week in that case i was giving almost every day until i noticed that was making them a bit runny der i'm so glad that my two fuzzy bums switched to raw nothing but benefits ^_^
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Post by bitbyter on May 29, 2013 21:56:18 GMT -5
Sherry said the bone in meat amounts look a little high. I'll take a second look when I get a chance (work has been crazy the last few days).
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Post by Deleted on May 31, 2013 5:14:43 GMT -5
yeah? I just followed the guide you gave me :/ how would i know for future reference how to tell how much is too much??? should i just make it 2oz more than the boneless???
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Post by bitbyter on May 31, 2013 8:04:19 GMT -5
I'll give you the amounts once I go through the math and figure out where we went wrong. It could have been me as I tend to have more bone in my girls diet due to Wilma's bum issues.
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Post by Deleted on May 31, 2013 19:43:56 GMT -5
ah ok, well at least i havent made up their new batch yet ^_^
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Post by Deleted on Jun 1, 2013 21:32:57 GMT -5
Hey, detected a slight calculation error on my part, i was 3oz too high. have adjusted menu accordingly.
4 x daily food by weight (? oz) of Bone In Meats = ? oz 2 x daily food by weight (? oz) of Boneless Meats = ? oz 1 x daily food by weight (? oz) of Heart = ? oz 2 oz of liver x number of ferrets = 4 oz 2 oz of other organ x number of ferrets = 4 oz
Ferrets Eat per week; (Daily Food By Weight - 8 oz) Chicken Wings - 16 oz Chicken Necks - 16 oz Gravy Beef - 8 oz Duck Giblets - 8 oz Lamb Heart - 8 oz Lamb Kidney - 4 oz Lamb Liver - 4 oz 1 tsp Pureed Cooked Pumpkin Per Meal 1 tsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil Each Sunday 1 Whole Raw Egg 3 Times Per Week (Monday, Wednesday, Friday)
Current Meal Weight - 3 oz Per Meal (Fed Twice Per Day) Weekly Menu Is Based Upon The Daily Food By Weight + 2 Oz To Allow For Appetite Increase.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 1, 2013 21:35:24 GMT -5
also today is sunday which means weigh in, will weigh them after breakkie and post their weights also i haven't edited raw egg amounts in the menu just yet because i forgot should it be a max of two times per week?
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Post by Deleted on Jun 1, 2013 21:53:39 GMT -5
ok so just weighed them... Panda is 27.80oz and Sable is 24.76oz... Sable seems to be steadily losing... Ferret Weigh In Weigh In Day - Sunday. April 19th Sable - 26.32 oz Panda -27.24 oz April 25th Sable - 25.28 oz Panda 27.34 oz May 9th Sable - 25.64 oz Panda - 28.14 oz May 26th Sable - 25.46 oz Panda - 28.28 oz June 2nd Sable - 24.76 oz Panda - 27.80 oz any idea why this would be? should i be concerned? because i am
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Post by Deleted on Jun 1, 2013 22:09:05 GMT -5
i would like your opinion on something... I used to feed the girls every 12 hours, at ten am and ten pm, but they seemed to go hungry for too long so i started feeding them twice during the day (in the morning and afternoon) and then topping up befire bed, but this led to too much being wasted... Over the past week i have been mostly bedridden with a bad flu, and (I'm ashamed to admit) i have slept most of every day only getting up to use the bathroom, eat, and check the girls and let them out. As a result the girls have gotten less playtime than usual this week (yes i know, i'm a terrible person... i feel awful for it!) but, and this is the really bad part, i neglected their feeding... I fed them when their bowl was empty, it ensured they had a constant supply of food so i guess that's good, and its winter so their meat doesnt go off very fast now, but i still should have been more responsible... anyyywayyy... I want to schedule feeding times so that i can work them into my schedule and keep feeding consistent so that monitoring food intake will be more accurate etc... I was thinking that because uni is over i have almost a month to figure out a schedule before next semester begins, during next semester they will be having play time at approx 5pm everyday because i finish uni late. but they will be let out from 5pm until 8pm which is dinner time, then let out again at 9pm and kept out for an hour which is when i go to bed. So i've got that part figured out (opinions? enough play time? too short?) but, for feeding times... i just don't know :/ i was thinking that i would feed them every morning at 8am before i leave for uni, then when i return home at approx 4pm i will toss and refill, then i would toss and refill again at 10pm which is bed time. but i was wondering if that would be too much? their current daily food weight is 8oz but that isnt going to be accurate given their 3oz meals, but any more than 3oz meals and they toss them... i dunno... i just need some advice ALSO i am noticing odd behaviour in Sable, normally when i fill up the food Sable is all over it and gobbles it up then goes out for a play and then sleeps... but this isnt happening anymore... she sleeps soooo much now, yet she doesn't seem lethargic. she still has energy aplenty but i am noticing she runs out of steam quicker than normal too. i am concerned... she isnt eating enough, is sleeping too much and she is losing weight... yet she is still chubby and looks healthy. and plays hard for hours on end especially if i join in.... is there something i need to be looking into? i'm just not sure... My vet says it sounded perfectly normal! but... surely not? :/ anyway.... sorry for the rambling, i'm eagerky awaiting your reply! hope things are good on your end! Hi Wilma and Socks!
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Post by bitbyter on Jun 2, 2013 14:52:44 GMT -5
i would like your opinion on something... I used to feed the girls every 12 hours, at ten am and ten pm, but they seemed to go hungry for too long so i started feeding them twice during the day (in the morning and afternoon) and then topping up befire bed, but this led to too much being wasted... Over the past week i have been mostly bedridden with a bad flu, and (I'm ashamed to admit) i have slept most of every day only getting up to use the bathroom, eat, and check the girls and let them out. As a result the girls have gotten less playtime than usual this week (yes i know, i'm a terrible person... i feel awful for it!) but, and this is the really bad part, i neglected their feeding... I fed them when their bowl was empty, it ensured they had a constant supply of food so i guess that's good, and its winter so their meat doesnt go off very fast now, but i still should have been more responsible... anyyywayyy... I want to schedule feeding times so that i can work them into my schedule and keep feeding consistent so that monitoring food intake will be more accurate etc... I was thinking that because uni is over i have almost a month to figure out a schedule before next semester begins, during next semester they will be having play time at approx 5pm everyday because i finish uni late. but they will be let out from 5pm until 8pm which is dinner time, then let out again at 9pm and kept out for an hour which is when i go to bed. So i've got that part figured out (opinions? enough play time? too short?) but, for feeding times... i just don't know :/ i was thinking that i would feed them every morning at 8am before i leave for uni, then when i return home at approx 4pm i will toss and refill, then i would toss and refill again at 10pm which is bed time. but i was wondering if that would be too much? their current daily food weight is 8oz but that isnt going to be accurate given their 3oz meals, but any more than 3oz meals and they toss them... i dunno... i just need some advice [img src="http://i1105.photobucket.com/albums/h352/JW_2012/Emoticons/ .gif" src="http://i1105.photobucket.com/albums/h352/JW_2012/Emoticons/ .gif" src="http://i1105.photobucket.com/albums/h352/JW_2012/Emoticons/ .gif" src="http://i1105.photobucket.com/albums/h352/JW_2012/Emoticons/ .gif"] ALSO i am noticing odd behaviour in Sable, normally when i fill up the food Sable is all over it and gobbles it up then goes out for a play and then sleeps... but this isnt happening anymore... she sleeps soooo much now, yet she doesn't seem lethargic. she still has energy aplenty but i am noticing she runs out of steam quicker than normal too. i am concerned... she isnt eating enough, is sleeping too much and she is losing weight... yet she is still chubby and looks healthy. and plays hard for hours on end especially if i join in.... is there something i need to be looking into? i'm just not sure... My vet says it sounded perfectly normal! but... surely not? :/ anyway.... sorry for the rambling, i'm eagerky awaiting your reply! hope things are good on your end! Hi Wilma and Socks! Don't worry to much about them going hungry. As long as they have fresh food available to them on a 12 hour basis they should be fine. In the winter I usually just put food out for my girls once a day and they work through it. In the summer I split it morning and evening because it tends to go off faster in the warmer temps. As for the caged / uncaged time. Any chance of letting them out for some time in the morning as well as the evening? If you get a solid babygate for your bedroom door it makes going in and out of the room easier without having them escape. You could get up in the morning, let them out while you have breakfast, shower, dress, etc. Then when you get home you let them out for then evening play time. They really need a minimum of four hours out of the cage. As for Sable there are a few options: 1. is her coat the same as Panda's at the moment? A winter coat tends to have a lot of white fluffy undercoat with sparse guard hairs. A summer coat is the reverse, lots of guard hair with little undercoat. She could have her seasons backwards and be in summer mode (meaning she'll eat less). 2. Try upping the fat content of their meals (look for the fattiest meat you can find). Ferrets primary energy source is fat so if it is to low in their diet it could affect their energy level. 3. She is bored, unhappy, depressed and is just sleeping more. 4. She is growing up a little and is losing some of her kit vitality / appetite. 5. She is sick (unlikely from the sound of it). A ferrets weight from season to season can vary drastically. To give you an idea, Socks is currently 1 lbs 9 oz (25 oz), in winter she was 1 lbs 14 oz (30 oz) and I think she will still lose more this summer. Keep weighing her regularly though and make sure it doesn't continue to much further. As far as I know they are both kits still so they should still be growing (how old are they again?). You can also post pics like I did in my switching thread so that we can take a look and make sure she isn't to skinny. As for your menu, I'll take another stab at Sherry / Heather's approval. Wilma and Socks are well but I'm still trying to identify what Wilma is allergic to. I'm having to dose her with Children's Benidryl about once or twice a week still (but leaning more towards once).
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Post by Deleted on Jun 3, 2013 21:59:47 GMT -5
whew lots of questions answered all at once! where do i start?! firstly, thanks for confirming the whole eating thing. I will just keep refilling when empty in that case (i check it regularly) They get let out in the morning as soon as i wake up and while i'm getting ready for my day, then they go away whilst i'm not home and get let back out later. I'm just worried about when i go to uni, i'm thinking about setting up a play area for them and letting them roam free while i'm at uni... must discuss this with the housemates first though currently they are getting 6-8 hours out of cage time which includes a walk almost every day (which they are loving!) I'm just concerned they will get depressed or something when i have to cut back while i'm at uni... but i always make sure they get enough out of cage time and hard play... Sable is most certainly in winter coat mode, it's thick and very fluffy. Where as panda is not seeming very winter coat herself... As they are my first ferrets i could be wrong, so i will try to get some pics or a video of them later today (got an appt soon!) is there enough fat in chicken wings and necks? or is there a fattier version? also i give them gravy beef which has a bit of fat, but should i maybe look into a fattier cut instead? i buy gravy beef as part of their muscle meats. i really hope she is not bored, unhappy or depressed... how would i tell??? she gets play time and lots of attention and has lots of toys and gets walks which are an exciting adventure! how can i improve her quality of life?... i'm gonna cry now i suppose it's possible she is growing up... she is nine months old i think... she was three months old when i got her, 5th january this year... that equals nine months right?... sorry still sleepy panda is a month younger, she was two months old when i got her, january 31st this year. i really dont think she is sick, she isnt showing any signs of sickness :/ i weigh the girls every sunday and i have a record of it in three places (my desktop computer, my thumb drive, and in my dropbox folder which saves to their cloud) should i weigh more often or is weekly enough? i really hope sherry and heather like my menu as i need to make a new batch within the next two-three days :/ poor wilma, i hope you get that figured out soon trial and error i suppose My love to wilma and socks! i cant think of anything else i should mention... but i will try to upload pics or a video showing size and coat, i figure it cant hurt to have an expert opinion talk to you soon!
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Post by Deleted on Jun 3, 2013 22:00:59 GMT -5
also what if i swapped the beef for low quality mince? then they would have more fat! opinion???
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Post by Deleted on Jun 6, 2013 7:52:21 GMT -5
Hey, The girls ran out of food so i couldn't wait for your opinion any longer sorry... I got them mince, its called "regular" which the butcher says it just has more fat than the "premium" so they should have more fat now i hope swapped it out for the gravy beef ^_^
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