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Post by Sherry on Oct 9, 2013 1:33:54 GMT -5
Sorry! I should have been clearer By all means OFFER the pork neck! They are more than capable of eating the meat off the bones If you can manage to segment the neck fantastic. But don't be surprised if you can't. If you already have one try offering it whole. Can't hurt! The problem is the bones will most likely be too dense for them to consume. Pork tail the could likely eat. Pork neck not so much. Now that said- I HAVE had a couple if students who's ferrets quite happily went through pork chop bones, and turkey thighs
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Post by Deleted on Oct 14, 2013 11:57:26 GMT -5
Hi Sherry, A few questions........ Are they suppose to lose 5-7 oz. in weight per week..... I get concerned when I see weight loss....... Should I try hand feeding one meal again........
I pureed the pig brains.... Actually my son did it for me.... I just could not do it.... I think that I have been doing pretty d*mn good dealing with meat (since going vegan many years ago I have had a problem touching and handling raw meat.... really grosses me out) ...... They did not take to it like I thought they would.... Should I try hand feeding a few meals like I did with the Livers & Hearts? Also how often should they have the brains? **shivers**
Does my menu look ok.... Am I giving them too much muscle meat? Do I or can I give more bone meals?
Weekly Update
1. Ferret's name: Gus 2. Ferret's weight: 2.65 lbs. 3. Ferret has eaten: 1 oz. average per meal and they always have a plate of food in the cage. 4. Stools on various proteins: They have been formed and not so black, Pork makes them a brownish color 5. Activity levels: They are out from about 9AM till about 6PM. I leave there cage open so they can go in and eat and go up in the top and sleep in the dark if they want....They play hard and then sleep and then play hard and sleep
1. Ferret's name: Pixie 2. Ferret's weight: 1.60 lbs. 3. Ferret has eaten: 1 oz. average per meal and they always have a plate of food in the cage. 4. Stools on various proteins: They have been formed and not so black, Pork makes them a brownish color 5. Activity levels: They are out from about 9AM till about 6PM. I leave there cage open so they can go in and eat and go up in the top and sleep in the dark if they want....They play hard and then sleep and then play hard and sleep
1. Ferret's name: Waffle 2. Ferret's weight: 1.73 lbs. 3. Ferret has eaten: 1 oz. average per meal and they always have a plate of food in the cage. 4. Stools on various proteins: They have been formed and not so black, Pork makes them a brownish color 5. Activity levels: They are out from about 9AM till about 6PM. I leave there cage open so they can go in and eat and go up in the top and sleep in the dark if they want....They play hard and then sleep and then play hard and sleep Weekly Menu for Everyone:
Sun, Oct 13 Muscle Meats - Pork Organ - Pork Brains 1 oz. Muscle Meats - Pork
Mon, Oct 14 Muscle Meats - Pork Organ - Pork Brains 1 oz. each with Egg Yolk & Keifer Bone - Quail
Tue, Oct 15 Bone - Chicken w/Bone In Muscle Meat - Turkey Hearts Bone - Chicken w/Bone In
Wed, Oct 16 Muscle Meats - Chicken Breasts Bone - Quail with Salmon Oil & EVOO Muscle Meats - Chicken Breasts
Thu, Oct 17 Bone - Cornish Game Hen Muscle Meats - Ground Turkey Bone - Cornish Game Hen
Fri, Oct 18 Bone - Chicken w/Bone In Organ - Chicken Livers 1 oz. each Muscle Meat - Pork
Sat, Oct 19 Muscle Meats - Ground Turkey with Turkey Hearts Bone - Quail with Salmon Oil & EVOO Muscle Meat - Chicken Breasts
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Post by Deleted on Oct 14, 2013 11:59:09 GMT -5
I forgot..... I bought some turkey wings..... Do I chop/smash the bones like I do with other fowl
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Post by Sherry on Oct 14, 2013 12:38:41 GMT -5
Are you SURE they are loosing this much PER WEEK? Because according to your first weigh in, Gus has only lost .07 of a pound(1.12oz), Pixie has lost .12 of a pound(Just under 2oz), and Waffles has actually GAINED .02 of a pound. This is from the beginning of the switch. It is normal to lose some once all carbs are out of the diet, just before they start packing on muscle. Are you feeding 3 meals a day? If so, they are likely still too bone light. The bulk of the diet needs to be meats wtih edible bone, such as wings, quail, cornish hen, etc. The balance looks to be thrown off. What you want is something like Mon- Cornish hen(both meals) Tues- pork chunks(both meals) Wed- quail(both meals) Thur- liver morning, chicken with bone evening Friday- brain morning, chicken with bone evening Sat- turkey hearts morning, ground turkey evening Sun- chicken bone in(both meals) For the supplements just add in a couple times a week where you like. For the turkey wings they CAN eat the tip as a bone meal, but most likely won't touch the rest other than as a muscle meat as those bones are very dense.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 14, 2013 22:17:27 GMT -5
I am sorry... I did not actually mean 5 oz..... I did mean .05 oz. to .07 oz. ..... LOL... sorry bout that......
Yes.... I have been giving them 3 meals a day..... is that wrong? If not how can I correct the menu to give them 3 meals a day and it have the right amount of stuff.....
How much pigs brains should I give per ferret..... Only 2 oz. of liver per ferret... Right?
You have mentioned a few times about dense bones.... What does that mean? So I should chop the turkey win tip but not the rest of the wing? do I need to de-bone the rest of the wing?
Thanks for understanding my lack of knowledge on meats... LOL....
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Post by Sherry on Oct 15, 2013 8:22:55 GMT -5
I have no problem answering any and all questions The problem with more meals is that it becomes harder to keep the proper balance in their diet as they are more than willing to wait a few hours for something they like better than what they have now. Where as if you give one or two meals a day they are more likely to eat something they aren't as fond of. Take a look at the sample menu I posted. It still has 8 bone in meals, 1 heart, 1 liver, 1 brain, and 3 other muscle meat meals. Dense bone is bone that is too hard for them to bite pieces off of. Examples would be most weight bearing bones(except chicken, and smaller mammals like mice and rats). Even smashing these up won't help them be able to eat them. For the turkey wing, cut up the tip and debone the rest, yes
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Post by Deleted on Oct 15, 2013 13:12:29 GMT -5
OK.... I totally understand now...... I just have one more question to make sure I got it right.......
They only get 2 oz. o liver per ferret...... 2 oz. of Turkey hearts per ferret and 2 oz. of pig brains per ferret?
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Post by Sherry on Oct 15, 2013 22:05:10 GMT -5
Definitely an average of 2oz each liver and any other organ(brain, lung, reproductive organ, kidney, etc). Heart I give an average of 1.5 meals a week. Actually I do 1 meal one week, 2 the next. Heart is a muscle meat that they NEED for the taurine. So weight wise give however much they will eat in 12 hours.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 16, 2013 11:28:48 GMT -5
Definitely an average of 2oz each liver and any other organ(brain, lung, reproductive organ, kidney, etc). Heart I give an average of 1.5 meals a week. Actually I do 1 meal one week, 2 the next. Heart is a muscle meat that they NEED for the taurine. So weight wise give however much they will eat in 12 hours. Let me ask you this.... I place a bowl in there cage with 6 oz. of liver in it...... Sometimes they don't eat all 2 oz. at once........ Is it ok if someone has MORE than there 2 oz. .... Will more liver cause them problems?? Should I feed them separately when feeding organs.....
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Post by Sherry on Oct 16, 2013 11:48:52 GMT -5
Generally they average it out themselves. One week maybe an ounce, next week maybe three. What I do is keep an eye out and if I see one consistently avoiding it, I hand feed liver separately. Same if I see one hogging all of it.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 16, 2013 17:24:37 GMT -5
I posted this on Facebook first... not sure which one you will respond to...
Remember the last time I contacted you on FB I thought I was having explosive diarrhea and thought it was the pork......... I don't it is diarrhea..... I think it's puke and I think it is from the livers..... I fed separately some liver ...... Pixie ate about 1 1/2 oz. ......... Waffle only ate about 1/2 oz. ...... and Gus ate about 1/3 oz. ......... So after reading your post in HFF..... I put a bowl with the rest of the uneaten pureed liver in cage and put them up about 45 min. ago ..... I went to go cover them up when I noticed a horrible puke smell.... there where 3 large piles of puke...... IDK who it was from or if it was from all 3.... but I know it was the liver last time because the same thing happened and we were not sure if it was liver or Pork....Anyways the bowl I put in the cage was half gone..... and the puke was like coagulated brown....... I think it was Pixie.... she like to eat EVERYTHING...... Should I feed them anything tonight or let them all go till morning..... and isn't it weird that they can eat one - two ounces but if eaten more they get sick..... I have been hand feeding liver up until the last two times and both times big puke
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Post by Deleted on Oct 23, 2013 11:50:54 GMT -5
Hi Sherry,
This weeks Update
Weekly Update
1. Ferret's name: Gus (dance) 2. Ferret's weight: 2.80 lbs. 3. Ferret has eaten: 1 oz. average per meal and they always have a plate of food in the cage. 4. Stools on various proteins: They have been formed and not so black, Pork makes them a brownish color 5. Activity levels: They are out from about 9AM till about 6PM. I leave there cage open so they can go in and eat and go up in the top and sleep in the dark if they want....They play hard and then sleep and then play hard and sleep
1. Ferret's name: Pixie (giggle) 2. Ferret's weight: 1.61 lbs. 3. Ferret has eaten: 1 oz. average per meal and they always have a plate of food in the cage. 4. Stools on various proteins: They have been formed and not so black, Pork makes them a brownish color 5. Activity levels: They are out from about 9AM till about 6PM. I leave there cage open so they can go in and eat and go up in the top and sleep in the dark if they want....They play hard and then sleep and then play hard and sleep
1. Ferret's name: Waffle 2. Ferret's weight: 1.74 lbs. 3. Ferret has eaten: 1 oz. average per meal and they always have a plate of food in the cage. 4. Stools on various proteins: They have been formed and not so black, Pork makes them a brownish color 5. Activity levels: They are out from about 9AM till about 6PM. I leave there cage open so they can go in and eat and go up in the top and sleep in the dark if they want....They play hard and then sleep and then play hard and sleep Weekly Menu for Everyone:
Sunday Muscle Meats - Turkey Hearts 1 oz. Muscle Meats - Chicken Breasts Muscle Meats - Turkey Hearts 1 oz.
Monday Bone - Chicken Bone - Chicken
Tuesday Muscle Meats - Pork Chuncks Organ - Chicken Livers 1 oz. each Muscle Meats - Pork Chuncks
Wednesday Bone - Quail Bone - Quail
Thursday Muscle Meats - Ground Turkey Organ - Chicken Livers 1 oz. each
Friday Organ - Pig Brains 1 oz. Bone - Chicken Organ - Pig Brains 1 oz.
Saturday Bone - Cornish Game Hen Bone - Cornish Game Hen
Does this new menu look better?
I had to give Organs in separate meals as the problem that occurred with Pixie..... I tried giving the Pigs Brain in 2 oz. and the same thing happened... She just wants to eat it all up at one time..... anyways, I decided to just give the Organs in two separate meals per week.... I also split the turkey hearts up into two separate meals only because they would not eat all 2 oz. in one sitting.
They don't like it when I leave the meat in big chunks... Like quarter size..... Should I chop it into Nickel size?
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Post by Sherry on Oct 23, 2013 13:03:46 GMT -5
Looking good What size pieces are they taking now? If it's "nickel sized" already, increase by about a quarter of that again. So size would be "nickel plus 1/4 nickel".
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Post by Sherry on Oct 23, 2013 13:04:09 GMT -5
And splitting organs and heart are fine
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Post by Deleted on Oct 23, 2013 13:54:47 GMT -5
Looking good What size pieces are they taking now? If it's "nickel sized" already, increase by about a quarter of that again. So size would be "nickel plus 1/4 nickel". I chopped quarter size and they eat around the big pieces to the smaller ones like nickel size...... I will take it back down and try and increase it...... Is it ok if I just leave there food chopped quarter size.... or do you want it larger ......
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