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Post by Deleted on Apr 24, 2011 10:33:26 GMT -5
That's good to know. I guess I was just worried that somehow he wouldn't be eating enough. I guess though given the leftovers he is ! I just gave him a turkey neck this morning and boy was he excited. Its very funny watching him try to eat the whole thing in one go- his mouth is just a litttttle bit too small....don't tell him though, like any good weasel he is completely unaware of his limitations! Anyway, I will be sure to make sure he eats most of what he gets and up the amount if he eats it all. Not to give you guys too much information, but he's already pooping much less since i took away all of his kibble. Hoooray (for me at least ). He's making short work of the gizzards and eats the hearts like they're going out of style, so i'm feeling pretty good about this whole raw thing. up next: chicken livers
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Post by Sherry on Apr 24, 2011 11:50:40 GMT -5
Hey- we're ferret owners. We have whole threads just on poops ;D And it sounds like he's doing really well! Let us know how he does with the liver
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Post by Deleted on Apr 24, 2011 12:02:13 GMT -5
Sounds wonderful! Nice to reap the benefits of a raw diet General feeding guidelines (as if feeding 2 meals a day) 8-9 bone in meals a week 4-5 boneless meals a week (1 of which is heart) 1 organ meal (50% liver, 50% other organ)
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Post by Deleted on Apr 25, 2011 9:33:34 GMT -5
I really appreciate all of the help and advice you guys have given me. My little guy has been pretty easy about this whole thing- hasn't really turned his nose up at anything.
I'm still working out the amounts of food though. It seems like when i give him a bigger whole piece, like a turkey neck or a pork rib tip, the food will last him the equivalent of two smaller meals (in this case ~12 hours before it is all gone). However smaller bone in meats, such as chicken wings, are typically gone in a few hours. Muscle and organs are gone in a matter of minutes, so i have to make sure i give him plenty.
He is currently getting three different types of meat- pork, chicken and turkey, with plans to add cornish hen and rabbit this week. Do you think it would be okay to consider a large turkey neck or rib tip 2 meals? Like i said, if i threw away the aforementioned meats at "dinner' time, i would be throwing away about half of a piece or what seems to be one meals worth of food. When left in he finishes the leftovers by the next morning. On this plan my weekly menu looks like this
monday- turkey necks (1 large neck= 2 bone in meals) tuesday - heats and organs (hearts x1 meal, organs/liver x1 meal) wednesday- chicken wing (1 bone in) and chicken leg (doesnt eat the bone= 1 muscle) thursday = gizzards (1 muscle) and chicken wing (1 bone in) friday = pork rib tip (= 2 bone in ) saturday - turkey neck (= 2 bone in ) sunday= muscle meat ( currently chicken, eventually rabbit = 1 muscle meal) + cornish hen( bone in pieces)
That comes out to 9 bone in meals, 1 heart meal, 1 organ meal, and 3 muscle meals . Im not stingy with the hearts or muscle, like i said he makes quick work of those meals so i'm sure to give him plenty. I'm also going to add some pumpkin a few times a week, though it needs to be mixed with olive oil since it's the one thing he doesn't really like ;D.
If you guys see any big problems with this plan i would appreciate any suggestions. Again I cant thank you enough for all of your help
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Post by Sherry on Apr 25, 2011 9:39:26 GMT -5
That actually sounds really good And I always leave in larger pieces of meat for up to 24 hours If it's bad, they won't eat it anyway You've presently got the minimum of 3 proteins, and will shortly have 5. When you have the opportunity to substitute, just do so according to your menu plan. You can swap one muscle meal for another(lamb, goat, etc) Same for various bone in meats, or even whole prey if you ever want to do that. Whole prey is obviously bone in You could even try different heart meats(beef, lamb, pork, etc). Same for liver/organs. If you're little one is doing well with all these, I think you can consider both him, AND you, successfully transitioned
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Post by Deleted on Apr 25, 2011 9:51:21 GMT -5
Pretty awesome menu and you an also adjust it to his needs. Runny poops? More bone. Constipated? Less bone. The pumpkin is great to add
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Post by Deleted on Apr 26, 2011 10:47:20 GMT -5
Uhoh, looks like we're going to have to count the chicken leg as bone-in! yesterday he ate the whole leg (not 100% on the new menu yet -waiting for some more meat to come in). When you feed meat, so you feed it with the skin on? Also, would a chunk of cornish hen with only a small amount of bone still count as bone in? I've got a piece thats about 90% meat, and only about 10% bone, so i'm wondering if that still constitutes bone in.
On another note, we're doing great with the organ meats. I gave him a big chicken liver last night and this morning it was gone....looks like we're going to have to up the liver =]=]
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Post by Deleted on Apr 26, 2011 10:52:58 GMT -5
Wow, what a good boy! Definitely feed it with the skin on if you can. I think as long as you balance the Hen with more heavily boned meats later on in the week it'll balance out. If I feed low bone % meats I usual throw in a turkey neck and chicken wing and maybe add an extra bone in day. Just watch the stools and of they are too runny, add more bone As for the liver, it should make up from 5%-10% of the entire diet. For example: So if they eat 3 oz a day, that's 90 oz a month. 4.5 - 9 oz of that should be liver, which is around 1-2 oz a week. It's ideal to have another organ in the mix, so 5% liver 5 % other organ Sounds like you're doing great!!!
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Post by Deleted on Apr 28, 2011 15:51:52 GMT -5
so, we're well into the switch to raw. Everything seems to be going well- poops are as to be expected, and weasel is eating pretty much everything i offer him.
I have noticed a slight behavioral change though, maybe you guys can clue me in. He's much more laid back since we've made the switch. He's acting borderline lazy or even tired.I'm a little worried, but i could see how if his body is still adjusting he may not be 100% himself quite yet.
Also, he's really really into the organ meats. If i give him hearts and livers, he tears into them like he hasn't eaten in days. I try to keep the bowl full on organ days, but he eats them so fast its a bit difficult. Could this be a minor deficiency that he's correcting by eating organ meats? He doesn't act nearly as hungry on bone in or just meat days. Could this be a sign that I should up the hearts/livers/organs?
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Post by Deleted on Apr 28, 2011 15:58:22 GMT -5
How much does your boy eat a day (meats and bone in?) and how much organ stuff are you giving?
Are you feeding meats with lots of fat? Fat is where the ferret gets it energy from. You could try giving some extra chicken skin, pork fat, etc.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 28, 2011 16:22:08 GMT -5
He gets chicken wings and legs with the skin on 3x a week. He's pretty good about finishing all of the wing and most of the leg. Turkey necks are 2x a week (1 counts as a whole meal, usually takes about 24 hours for him to almost finish it ) and pork rib tips are 1x a week (also count it a whole tip as 2 meals because of the rate at which he finishes them, sometimes he gets two if they're small). He gets livers 1x a week and hearts 1x a week, and i try to keep the bowl full until the evening meal, which can be hard if i have to go out, but generally on liver or heart days he doesn't go more than an hour without food in his bowl. The other meals (3) are either pork meat, chicken breast or gizzards.
Like i said i do my very best to make sure no matter what he's eating, he always has food in his bowl.
Should I maybe replace one of the turkey neck days with pork and/or chicken leg days. Or maybe give chicken breast with the skin on instead of gizzards?
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Post by Deleted on Apr 28, 2011 16:25:30 GMT -5
I don't really feed breast (it's kinda bland for my crew) so maybe replace that meal with something fattier like chicken thighs or pork with lots of fat?
Do you know how many oz a liver he is currently eating?
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Post by Deleted on Apr 28, 2011 16:31:40 GMT -5
Im not sure how many oz he's eating, as i don't have a scale, but he eats about two whole livers a week. It seems like a lot to me
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Post by Sherry on Apr 28, 2011 21:17:18 GMT -5
Two whole livers is one too many. He only needs(and should only have) one chicken liver, or about 2 oz of any other liver in place of that. You can fill in the extra amount after he finishes his liver with any meat you like
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Post by Deleted on Apr 29, 2011 9:24:59 GMT -5
Could that be the reason for the lethargy? He's eating normally otherwise . But he still seems so sleepy. Yesterday when i let him out of his cage he looked around for about two minutes and then crawled under the couch and went back to sleep in his favorite spot. He usually does his best to get in trouble for as long as he's out of the cage. poops are normal, so no evidence of a blockage. I gave him a bit of ferret-vite to see if perhaps it was an blood sugar thing, all to no avail
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