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Post by Deleted on Jun 17, 2014 10:00:46 GMT -5
I updated the spreadsheet! docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1dIFmdQAW2hG2IRmElzyqKkxm7aanvsVMD2eojcOBFhA/edit#gid=0Right now, what he's doing is stashing food by his bed and leaving it there until the next meal is served. So if I feed him mice this morning, he still has a whole slab of CGH bone-in, and the mice will still be there tonight until I serve whatever he's getting tonight. Normal? It's making him a meal behind... but I guess as long as he's consistent, it doesn't matter. Better to have extra food than not enough, and as long as he's eating, I'm happy. Anyway, today is weight day, so I'll be weighing him and taking another picture. I think he's lost some weight. He's still big, but not fat anymore.
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Post by gfountain on Jun 17, 2014 10:06:51 GMT -5
Looks like he's eating everything you give him now at least, even if it is a meal late, lol.
A couple of questions: Are you serving straight from the fridge? Are you removing the leftovers when you serve the next meal?
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Post by Deleted on Jun 17, 2014 10:09:41 GMT -5
We serve straight from the freezer. It thaws within the hour usually, and he'll eat it cold if he's hungry, we've found.
We aren't removing leftovers. The only things we've taken out are mouse skulls that have been completely picked clean (I wonder why he doesn't crunch the skulls? I'm thinking he could if he wanted to...) and a couple of brownish peices of meat that I think were beef kidney at some point, but were all stuck in his bedding when wash day came up. Other than that, we leave everything for him to do with what he will.
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Post by gfountain on Jun 17, 2014 10:23:11 GMT -5
a couple of brownish peices of meat that I think were beef kidney at some pointLOL.. mystery meat Nothing wrong with serving from the freezer (I do it all the time when I forget to thaw the next meal), but it does explain why he's a meal behind. My kids like some things frozen solid (beef and gizzards), but mostly they prefer that their food be room temp or warmed w/ hot water. I was going to say to just skip a meal to get him back on schedule and so there won't be a chance of the meat turning, but if you're feeding frozen that shouldn't really be an issue, especially with the whole prey. As long as you're OK with a whole meal sitting there, and you're not having problems with bugs, I don't see a problem with the leftover meals. The general rule is there should always be a bite or two left at the next meal time to ensure that they're not going hungry. He's just taking that to the extreme.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 17, 2014 10:26:02 GMT -5
Cool. If it's not a concern, then we won't change anything. He's doing very well, so I feel like cooperating with him is the best thing to do. We'll see how he does with the lamb when it comes in tomorrow.
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Post by gfountain on Jun 17, 2014 10:30:39 GMT -5
I feel like cooperating with him is the best thing to do
BAHAHAHAHAHA... Ain't that the truth! They tell us what to do, and we just do it! My daughter commented yesterday that I never let the dogs or cats do....(whatever), but the ferrets get away with everything!
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Post by Deleted on Jun 18, 2014 8:39:03 GMT -5
I didn't weigh Ezra in yesterday because we went to Petco to look at the baby ferrets and they had a cat rescue visiting and we adopted a cat.
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Post by gfountain on Jun 18, 2014 8:51:51 GMT -5
He(?) is a cutie... got a name yet? How does Ezra like him? Make sure he has someplace to go to get away from Ezra, and vice versa.
Random thought for the day... You look so much like my cousin, it's uncanny.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 18, 2014 8:56:41 GMT -5
She(!) is very sweet... no name yet. I know that whatever we call her has to start with S, she's giving me that vibe. We've been thinking Sierra, Saura, Samoa... not sure... Ezra hasn't met her yet, we're going to give a very supervised meeting, but we want her to get used to the place first. Right now she's in our room on one side of the house and Ezra's in his room on the other side, both doors closed, so they should be fine - but we'll see how they get along when they meet this afternoon.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 18, 2014 15:51:49 GMT -5
Just got the email that our hare-today order has arrived! Woohoo! I'll let you know how it all looks, but it'll most likely be tomorrow since we've got a freezer to pack and a kitty to introduce our little man to.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 19, 2014 10:22:49 GMT -5
Alright, so, we got the hare-today order. Everything was very well packaged, hand labelled, and looked wonderful. We also gave the kitty some soup cubes and she ate them without a fuss. However, introductions to Ezra did NOT go well. She hissed and hissed and swatted at him. She also bit my face and hands all night, kept me up, and tore at the carpet until it was time for me to go to work. We spoke to the owner of the rescue and she said she's been brought back once before for the same issue - biting hands and face during the night - but did not do this when she was in a multi-cat household. We agreed that she will most likely thrive better in a multi-cat household. Our main reserve was how loving Ezra was to her... he even tried to play and dooked at her!! ... and she wanted nothing to do with him. It was really sad to see him dejected like that. Anyway, the owner of the rescue agreed that we can bring her back tonight. She offered a full refund, but we asked her to keep our payment as a donation towards other kitties in need. We would've given it more time, but I nearly skipped work today from lack of sleep, so we just don't have the option. I'm sure she'll find a good multi-cat household to stay in. She's very beautiful. We're planning to take the litter box we bought and make it a dig box for Ezra... so overall, no harm no foul... except I've still not weighed Ezra, and I've not slept in several days. Hopefully I'll get that taken care of tonight... And you were right, the quails I received were MUCH too big to be fed in thirds or even fourths! The ones I got from the store definitely were not fully grown, after seeing the ones from hare-today. The plan is just to chop the full bird up into 1.5oz portions and feed 3 or 4 meals of that a week. I am pretty sure I can give the feathers, but should I feed the head? What about the feet? I doubt he'd handle the beak very well but I think brains are good for him so do you think it'd be fine? I'm still in a funk over the kitty situation, and Sam's parents visit tomorrow afternoon, so forgive me if my updates are scarce. We skipped 2 of Ezzy's meals because he still had leftovers, and he did finish all of his liver and most of his mice. The spreadsheet is updated (except for his weight). Thanks!
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Post by gfountain on Jun 19, 2014 14:23:48 GMT -5
I'm sorry about the kitty troubles, but just think how excited Ezra will be to get Laney to play with.. just his size (well, not quite) and ready for fun!
How many meals will you get with one quail? To stay balanced over the week, he really needs to have the whole thing in one week. Is it too big for that? Feathers you can feed. He'll most likely work around them, but they won't hurt him if he eats them. Sure, give him the head and feet. He may or may not eat them, but it won't hurt to see if he likes them. Bird feet are sold as treats, so he'll probably like those.
How is the size of everything else, about what you expected?
Is his energy & output OK in spite of the skipped meals? Can't see the spreadsheet right now, but I'll check back later.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 19, 2014 15:57:47 GMT -5
True, he'll be excited for Laney. The kits are getting big already. I expect one quail will be 5 to 6 meals if I give him 1.5 oz each time... Haven't weighed them, so that's just a guesstimate. However, since he hasn't been eating a whole 1.5 oz per meal (and I don't suspect he ever will), he might not get the whole thing down in a week. Since he has 4 proteins, I don't mind making quail his primary one and just giving it to him every PM meal, splitting other meals up between mice, cavies, and rat/chicken. I'm confused about that, though - you said I could do liver every other week instead of weekly, so I don't think I understand why the quail cannot be over the course of two weeks as well? This should all be easier when Laney is here, then I imagine they'll go through a whole quail in a week, no problem. Energy has been great. He's running and dooking as always. Poops also look very typical based on the poop sheet. Good whole-mouse poops and a bit runny right after liver or hearts, as expected.
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Post by gfountain on Jun 19, 2014 16:29:44 GMT -5
I quite forgot about you balancing over 2 weeks. You're right, since you're doing the liver over 2 weeks, there's no reason not to do the quail that way also. And you're also right that he and Laney will go through a whole quail in a week.. maybe 2 quail, or even 3! LOL, you're in for such a shock if she eats like my Minnie.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 19, 2014 17:01:21 GMT -5
I would hope not. Minnie is a cutiepie but she can keep her appetite and I'll keep my wallet, thank you very much! Though I'm prepared for it, if it happens!
Okay, so we'll weigh out the quail today... figure out exactly how many meals it'll give us, and see if it's viable to do over a week... If not, I'll give you a two-week menu for next week.
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