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Post by katt on Sept 8, 2013 14:01:42 GMT -5
I need updates.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 8, 2013 16:28:41 GMT -5
working on it right now, making there food BRB with whats going on.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 8, 2013 16:39:16 GMT -5
ok doing well, everybody is eating chunks, i made a mashup today consisting of
chicken legs smashed with a mallet to make small bones pork cut into quater size chunks chicken strips in qaurter size chunks
I prepared the heart and liver on the side, how much of each a week do they need? should i still mix it in with the rest? they eat it with or without it mixed so i didnt know what you thought would be better
there poo is back on schedule, there solid slightly bigger than before poos, i didnt forget the eggshell powder this time (headwall)
They also began to boycott the litter box, so i switched to puppy pads, i was fed up lol they now have 2 very nice eating dens (:
Ill have to find organs, theres only one or two asian/trans markets around me id have to hunt in portland for something like that which ill do as soon as i can, i bought liver and heart anyways, i tried to feed them a bit of beef the other day, nobody was having it so thats gonna take some time but ill work on it im gonna try a diffrent part of cow next time hahaha
anything im missing?
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Post by Deleted on Sept 8, 2013 16:44:31 GMT -5
oops and chicken necks too !
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Post by Deleted on Sept 9, 2013 9:17:08 GMT -5
well the necks were bad , had to toss them all. But there eating smashed up chicken legs no problem there crunching away right now (: , poops are back to normal and there even doing good with the pads, only 2 mishaps instead of covering there entire floor FINALLY! i was sick and tired of climbing in there and scrubbing the floors lol I individually bagged the heart and liver into 8oz baggies and there meals are divvied into 2 8oz bags a day, more if and when they need it What kind of bones can i find besides chicken? i know mouse but dax and bubby still wont eat mouse i can get game hens and pig neck bones and those raw cow bones for dogs at shaws, theres duck too but its like 16 bucks a bird and i dont even know if they eat it :?
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Post by katt on Sept 10, 2013 2:00:28 GMT -5
chicken legs smashed with a mallet to make small bones pork cut into quater size chunks chicken strips in qaurter size chunksGreat! What did they all think of the bones? Esp Dax and Bubby? Are they chewing and EATING the bone chunks? I prepared the heart and liver on the side, how much of each a week do they need? should i still mix it in with the rest? they eat it with or without it mixed so i didnt know what you thought would be betterSee my previous post. They need one and a half meals of organ a week and one and a half meals of heart a week. Day 1: am: organs pm: heart Day 2: am: 1/2 organs, 1/2 heart pm: bony meal there poo is back on schedule, there solid slightly bigger than before poos, i didnt forget the eggshell powder this time (headwall)Good! They also began to boycott the litter box, so i switched to puppy pads, i was fed up lol they now have 2 very nice eating dens (:Great! Just watch out and be sure that they aren't digging at the puppy pads as that can be a blockage hazard. I'm speaking to YOU Dax! Ill have to find organs, theres only one or two asian/trans markets around me id have to hunt in portland for something like that which ill do as soon as i can, i bought liver and heart anyways, i tried to feed them a bit of beef the other day, nobody was having it so thats gonna take some time but ill work on it im gonna try a diffrent part of cow next time hahahaDefinitely look around for more organs when you can. Another option is to order a bunch from HareToday and be all stocked up on Organs for a while. If you have the freezer space this can be a good option. Beef is a bit stronger flavored and does tend to take them longer to get used to. First you can try mixing a TEENY bit of beef into their other meat (mix it well so the other-meat juices coat the beef and hide the flavor a bit). You may have to hand feed a few bites too. If after a few tries that way they are still fighting it, I would suggest making a thick soup that is about 3/4 other meat (chicken or pork perhaps), and 1/4 beef. Give them this soup about 2-4 times a week (add some eggshell) and gradually increase the beef while decreasing the other meats. Kind of like a min-switch.
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Post by katt on Sept 10, 2013 2:05:17 GMT -5
well the necks were bad , had to toss them all. But there eating smashed up chicken legs no problem there crunching away right now (: , poops are back to normal and there even doing good with the pads, only 2 mishaps instead of covering there entire floor FINALLY! i was sick and tired of climbing in there and scrubbing the floors lol I individually bagged the heart and liver into 8oz baggies and there meals are divvied into 2 8oz bags a day, more if and when they need it What kind of bones can i find besides chicken? i know mouse but dax and bubby still wont eat mouse i can get game hens and pig neck bones and those raw cow bones for dogs at shaws, theres duck too but its like 16 bucks a bird and i dont even know if they eat it :? Game Hens are a fantastic bone source, the bones are perfectly sized for ferrets. Duck is a FANTASTIC meat and I highly recommend adding it into the rotation at least every now and then. It is nice and fatty so it is good for them, and the bones are mostly edible. The bigger bones you will need to break a little to give them a starting point, but the smaller bones (ribs, wing tips, etc) they can eat. Same for turkey - turkey ribs and wing tips are good sized, and you can use a hammer or meat cleaver to break up the larger bones (turkey necks, turkey legs) for them. Beef bones are too big, stay away from those or you may end up with some cracked teeth. Some pork bones are a good size like pork ribs, pork button bones. I get bone-in pork chops and they can eat the thinner parts of those bones, esp if I smash hem up a bit (they are super hard to smash though lol). Pork neck bones are going to be too big though, but it could be a fun chewing exercise to get the meat off as long as you don't feed them super often. Other small birds (if you have access to any) are great like quail and ptarmigan. And this is pretty expensive but if you ever find Rabbit that is a great meat source and perfectly sized bones.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 10, 2013 12:40:20 GMT -5
alright ill sit and make a list while at work tommorow, the bones there doing very well even bubby and dax there the fighters believe it or not marcellus and novak just take what they want and move on, but them two will attack eachother, and steal eachothers food and make a wicked ruckus lol they just HAVE to have eachothers piece!
Ill get back to you as soon as i can, wed- i work 12 hours so i MIGHT be able to sneak on, thurs is classes and fri i could possibly sneak on before work and errands (payday lol) but sundays are my day off so thats when i can get in to big posts like pics and weights and heavy updates, is this ok? i dont mean to be MIA for a few days at a time, just working out the kinks on this new schedule, and boy is it hectic. But i WILL find the flow and be able to be in touch more often
For a quick update though the boys are doing excellent (: there eating moxed meals and meats on there own, bone hasnt been a problem yet, they only ever leave maybe a sliver or two behind, chicken necks they mow with ease, and heart and liver are not a problem. Ill check out haretoday and see if we can order some, and im working on a meat package from kniffins to get restocked, were going on a weekly basis at the moment.
Thank you! And hope school is going as well for you as it is me lol
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Post by katt on Sept 11, 2013 20:50:22 GMT -5
That is fantastic that they are doing so well on the bones. Be sure to take some time to really watch them eat sometime as some ferrets will chew on the food, and then not swallow it. We just want to be totally sure that they are all actually EATING the bone and not just chewing on it. I'm not too concerned since they obviously like it enough to fight over it, but I've seen it before. They are doing fantastically. From here I would like to see you do the following: 1) Begin to gradually increase the bone size (crush them less and less until they are all happily eating whole bones - note that you will ALWAYS have to crush the larger bones, like turkey bones, a little to give them a starting point) 2) Begin to incorporate more protein sources. You mentioned game hen, that is a great bony meat. Also keep working on the beef, add in some turkey as well. Pretty much any meat that is fit for human consumption, and some that are not (like whole prey) is fine for ferrets. Veal, goat, lamb (lamb is GREAT, I highly recommend feeding it on occasion if you can as it is a very gentle meat and good for upset tummies or allergies), venison, rabbit, fish (only occasionally), quail, partridge, pheasant, etc. 3) Begin to work on building a week's menu. Remember that this is a FRAMEWORK, not set in stone. It is meant as a guideline for you, and as a tool to demonstrate that you are able to create a properly balanced and varied diet. When you submit your first menu, we will make some adjustments as we go, and when you have a solid menu AND they are all eating the meats they should, we will submit you for graduation. 4) As they begin to eat bigger bone chunks I will help you introduce the others to whole prey if this is something that you would like to incorporate this into their diet. If so, my question to you is how squeamish are you? Introducing whole prey may involve some chopping up and mixing up of mice to begin with. Is this something you are okay with? You can either get prekilled frozen feeder mice (check the reptile section of the pet store) or live mice and let your hunter (I forget which fuzz is already hunting?) kill a few mince. Let him keep one and the rest will be chopped for the others. Method 1: You can start by cutting the mouse up into very small pieces and mixing it (mix well so the meat juices cover the mouse pieces) into their regular meats. You may need to hand feed a few bits too. Then just like we did with the rest of the switch, you will cut the mice into bigger and bigger pieces until they will eventually eat the whole mouse. The hardest thing for them to get over is the fur. This method is good if method 2 doesn't work. Method 2: Take a mouse and cut the belly open. Put a little salmon oil in the open belly to entice them to taste it. Once they start licking up the oil they will often (but not always - this trick works for some but not all) begin to eat the rest of the mouse. Once they recognize mice as food, you may find they will become more interested in hunting. Keep in mind that not ALL ferrets are good hunters and that only good hunters who make quick kills should be allowed to hunt. If one (or more) of yours are not good hunters, let a hunter kill an extra mouse and give that one to the non-hunter.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 14, 2013 8:45:19 GMT -5
Helllo!
Ok ill be going to kniffins tommorow ill grab a variety and let you know what I got, I can start working on a menu today I just need to check out the menu thread a few times haha
Marcellus and Novak are my hunters Dax and bubby haven't been interested I'm thinking ill try again maybe now that there eating chunks an bone they'll be more interested, I've cut mouse up before a few months ago when I tried to sneak it in there soup it's gross but I can handle it ill do what it takes for them boys lol
In Sunday ill send in some pics and weights and hopefully a menu idea I'm a bit weary I wanna make sure I got this down pat hahaha
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Post by Deleted on Sept 14, 2013 10:53:26 GMT -5
Duck pieces Ground rabbit Rabbit organs Beef lung Beef kidney Beef tails Pork trim 1 day old quail Rabbit chunks Chicken necks Ground chicken feet
Anything else you think I should add? Ill get chicken breasts and such locally but once I get them liking more meats I'd like to take it easy on the chicken they've been eating it forever I feel like lol
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Post by katt on Sept 14, 2013 14:21:06 GMT -5
Duck pieces Ground rabbit Rabbit organs Beef lung Beef kidney Beef tails Pork trim 1 day old quail Rabbit chunks Chicken necks Ground chicken feet Anything else you think I should add? Ill get chicken breasts and such locally but once I get them liking more meats I'd like to take it easy on the chicken they've been eating it forever I feel like lol lol It is FINE for them to continue getting chicken and you may need some on hand to mix the new meats in. Most ferrets won't just take to whatever meat you out in front of them just because they accept raw as food. Just look at Beef. You also need more edible bone. Day old quail is a treat, not a meal. Their bones are still developing and they do not have much calcium content. Don't get me wrong, it is a great healthy snack, but is best fed in moderation and does NOT count as a bone source. The pork tails I am also leery of, the bones are typically too big for ferrets. If you smash them up they might be able to eat them but I would still be leery of counting it as a bone source, and they don't have much meat on them... The chicken feet are a great bone source - can you get them whole instead of ground? They make great chew toys and teeth cleaners. You should think of them as a bone-only though. There isn't any meat to speak of on the feet, it should be fed with a boneless meat (like chicken breasts or beef chunks for example). You can offer the whole or ground chicken feet this way (with meat), but I would really get whole I stead of ground if you can. Much, much better for their teeth and jaws. Your organ selection is awesome, just be sure to get lots of liver too. Their organ should be HALF liver, half other organs. Other than that your shopping list looks great. Remember too that the minimum is 3 different proteins, but more is always better.
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Post by katt on Sept 15, 2013 17:58:11 GMT -5
Just popping in.
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Post by katt on Sept 16, 2013 1:37:27 GMT -5
So I just found out that my biochem "quiz" this Thursday is worth 40$ of the entire class grade. As such, I will not be on the forum for a few days. I have asked the other mentors to check in here though, so please still pop in with updates. I just won't be posting until at least Thursday evening.
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Post by Sherry on Sept 16, 2013 1:42:33 GMT -5
One of us will be here no matter what keep posting as per usual!
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