|
|
Post by Deleted on Apr 21, 2013 3:19:07 GMT -5
Hi all, I am currently switching 3 ferrets to raw. Currently they are all at different stages. My questions are concerning Zo who is the furthest along in the process.
She is currently eating soupie, and will eat small meat chunks and today I put a chicken wing broke apart and cut into chunks into her soup and she ate that. She is starting to automaically look for the soupie and ignore the kibble all together.
My question is that she's not eating bone consistently yet and we haven't got into other meats yet, so will she be okay with one meat and basically soup for a little while? Also my husband was able to take some bone from a chicken leg quarter and grind it, would this be safe to add in her soup (the bones are tiny ground and sharp)? And if it is should I leave the egg shell out when I add the ground bone?
I hope this makes sense.
|
|
|
|
Post by Sherry on Apr 21, 2013 9:17:40 GMT -5
Yes, it all makes sense  And that's fantastic that she's come along as far as she has! She will be fine with just the one protein for a while yet. Since he's ground the bone(as long as it is fully raw) it's fine to use this instead of the eggshell. I gather he used a grinder with it? |
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Apr 21, 2013 9:59:33 GMT -5
Yes, we were curious whether our hand crank grinder would do this and it did. How much of the grind mixture should I add to the soup? Oh and I' m having a horrible time finding hearts, my current soup has a heart but I bought hearts and gizzards and there was only one heart, what else can I use? When I started I didn't worry because she was eating more pet food, but now she will need something.
|
|
|
|
Post by Sherry on Apr 21, 2013 16:07:23 GMT -5
Get and use taurine powder capsules until you can locate a reliable source of heart meat. One 500mg capsule per ferret per day. For the bone meal, approx. 1/2 ground bone per 8oz of meat |
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Apr 21, 2013 19:43:17 GMT -5
thank you for the ideas! I'm going to cut up some of the little cornish hen I purchased...maybe a wing or leg..and put it in their rad cat/pumpkin soup, just to give in a try. Who knows...maybe they will eat it! |
|
|
|
Post by Sherry on Apr 21, 2013 21:16:00 GMT -5
Hey- it can't hurt!
|
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Apr 24, 2013 0:29:20 GMT -5
So far adding in different things to the soup has done well, but sometimes I get ahead of myself and need to take a step back. I tried some liver and gizzard inside the chicken without grinding it in and they ate around it, so organ meats are a no go. I hope the cornish hen works for you inside the soup. And thank you Sherry for your help, before buying the taurine powder I'm going to try some ethnic markets and see what I come up with for a real source. I know I will have more questions, I try to read the forum often but there is so much info it can be overwhelming.
|
|
|
|
Post by Sherry on Apr 24, 2013 12:43:12 GMT -5
I've found with organ meats it can take a while to get them accepting them. I actually wound up making an organ soup and hand feeding for quite a long time.
The thing is organs are a mandatory part of a balanced diet and they HAVE to have them. It's just a matter of finding the way to get the liver etc into them!
|
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Apr 25, 2013 19:45:35 GMT -5
I'm so happy, I found sliced beef heart and some beef kidney! Has anyone else noticed the strange looks you get when you are earnestly looking for these items? I think it's funny! Anyhow Zoe is now eating ground meat with minced bone without the need to make it soup, so I will be working out a menu for her, and Bit will still get soup. I'm backing Max up to kibble soup, he is very difficult and refuses other textures, and raw meat period. I went to quickly with him so I will keep trying.
It is okay to add the organs and hearts in instead of having a separate meal isn't or should I not? And if so how much heart should I add daily since I'm dealing with beef heart? And how much organ meat, I know how much for a soup but I didn't know if it changed when water is not added.
|
|
|
|
Post by miamiferret2 on Apr 25, 2013 20:27:25 GMT -5
Get and use taurine powder capsules until you can locate a reliable source of heart meat. One 500mg capsule per ferret per day. For the bone meal, approx. 1/2 ground bone per 8oz of meat she means 1/2 a teaspoon of bone meal powder for every 8 ounces of meat.  |
|
|
|
Post by Sherry on Apr 25, 2013 20:44:54 GMT -5
Generally I feed a couple ounces a week each of heart, liver, kidney per ferret. Mix and match that up in a way that works for you and them.
|
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Apr 25, 2013 21:58:41 GMT -5
Get and use taurine powder capsules until you can locate a reliable source of heart meat. One 500mg capsule per ferret per day. For the bone meal, approx. 1/2 ground bone per 8oz of meat she means 1/2 a teaspoon of bone meal powder for every 8 ounces of meat. I hope I'm doing the quote thing right. My question about the bone was about bone I grind myself not bone meal powder, so would it be 1/2 teaspoon or 1/2 of a grounded bone. I assumed 1/2 a bone would sound about right, but thought I should check. |
|
|
|
Post by Sherry on Apr 25, 2013 22:59:36 GMT -5
It would be 1/2 tsp per 8 oz meat |
|
