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Post by Deleted on Jun 5, 2014 10:05:54 GMT -5
Sounds smart about adding the fur too soon. About the taurine, should I get a liquid supplement or crush a pill?
I will get a couple of new proteins and start adding them slowly.
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Post by miamiferret2 on Jun 6, 2014 9:48:49 GMT -5
i buy NOW taurine which comes in 500 mg capsules. if you have two ferrets you can just add 1 capsule per day to their grinds for extra taurine. it is a water soluble amino acid so you really cannot overdo it. whatever their bodies do not use is flushed out in the urine.
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Post by miamiferret2 on Jun 6, 2014 9:49:54 GMT -5
i order the NOW taurine from amazon.com i buy 3 bottles at once and it is not expensive at all.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 7, 2014 12:20:56 GMT -5
I want to have something to leave in overnight besides kibble. I saw a post about vital essentials freeze dried. Would I get the dog or cat formulas?
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Post by miamiferret2 on Jun 7, 2014 15:37:58 GMT -5
I always leave dry Stella & Chewys lamb and beef. I rip up into little chunks & leave out. It is dry (freeze dried raw). I use the canine formulas which have taurine and are 95% meat, bone and organs. The lamb and beef are tougher and more chewy than the poultry Stella & Chewys formulas so they actually help clean teeth and gums. I have used the canine vital essentials beef, chicken & turkey nibblets which are also freeze dried. I don't know whether they make those in a feline formula. If they do you can use that one.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 8, 2014 2:10:31 GMT -5
Super. Thank you so much. I am going to order what you recommend from amazon.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 8, 2014 2:13:58 GMT -5
I forgot to ask you. My Bella had a terrible experience when trying ground beef for the first time. Within a minute of eating it for the first time, she got very ill and threw up numerous times. Do you think I should avoid giving her anything beef or can I try again? We had angus steaks last night and I saved some from the marinade. Would you recommend I try that with her or just avoid beef altogether?
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Post by miamiferret2 on Jun 8, 2014 14:02:38 GMT -5
Some ferrets are intolerant to beef. Try lamb or venison instead
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Post by miamiferret2 on Jun 10, 2014 11:31:43 GMT -5
Any updates? How are they doing on the meat chunks? Have you tried to add new proteins? Did they eat the wing tips?
How is their weight? Poops good?
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Post by Deleted on Jun 11, 2014 8:42:12 GMT -5
The meat chunks are getting a bit bigger. They had no choice, lol, because when I was making their cubes and my blender broke it was what it was. They aren't as smooth as they had previously been and they are still eating it. The biggest of the chunks they still leave but those are pretty big.
I haven't added a new protein yet. chicken turkey and pork so far. I'm hoping to get to a shop in a town about an hour away. They specialize in different types of raw food so I'm going to look for the lamb or the the venison like you recommended. hopefully we'll get there this week.
They wouldn't go anywhere near the wingtips so that's still a work in progress.
I'll update on weights later today when I get home.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 11, 2014 8:46:45 GMT -5
Forgot to add about poops. They are waaaaay less stinky than they were at first , thankful for that. When they get a bit too runny, I've been sprinkling on the tiniest amount of the bone meal powder. That's ok? Not a lot at all. The poops are usually pretty dark too. Not black but way darker than on kibble. I'm waiting for the FDR I ordered from amazon. Then I'll leave that in overnight. They don't eat very much of the kibble left in overnight.
Sorry I didn't reply sooner. I was on the yard cutting down a tree on Saturday and apparently it didn't help my allergies. I had hives and itchies all over. Sooo uncomfortable. At least it wasn't poison ivy.
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Post by miamiferret2 on Jun 12, 2014 18:28:07 GMT -5
Are you still adding 1/2 teaspoon of bonemeal per 8 oz of meat?
You have to take a chicken wing, cover with kitchen towel or put in plastic bag and hammer the crap out of it so you break the bones. Then you cut the wings up into chunks that are about the same size as the bonelesd chunks that they have been eating.
Yes raw poops are darker. Remember that kibbles are full of fillers like starches and grains. They also add food coloring.
Raw fed poops look different depending on whar you feed. Organs (especially liver) are dark and gooey. Muscle meat also dark (but not as dark as liver) and also loose. Bone in meats, grinds (with bone in it or bone meal) should be well formed but soft.
The color of poop is different depending on what they eat.
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Post by miamiferret2 on Jun 12, 2014 18:30:56 GMT -5
It is ok to sprinkle extra bonemeal if you see that poops too runny or if they are not eating enough bone. But not TOO much bc you can constipate them. It is 1/2 tsp per every 8 oz of meat.
Some people also sprinkle some bone meal or eggshell onto the organ meals so that they wont be so gooey.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 12, 2014 22:25:05 GMT -5
Yes, it's still 8 oz. of meat with 1/2 teaspoon of bonemeal. I just sprinkle on a bit if the poops seem too runny. They have been mostly very good lately. An occasional super runny one followed by darker, more solid ones.
Ok, so I will smash up a chicken wing, cut into their current boneless size and give that as a meal. Should each piece be some bone and meat, or can one piece be just bone or just meat?
I keep forgetting to weigh them until my hubby goes to bed and the scale is in the bedroom closet. (headwall)
Organ meals sound so unfun. I am not looking forward to those. I've seen that some people, IF they can't get the ferrets eating whole, make them into a soup and it goes down better? Is that an ok thing to do to get them used to the taste of the organs alone? Puree their organ serving and add a bit of tasty stuff like oil or egg yolk?
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Post by miamiferret2 on Jun 13, 2014 18:12:25 GMT -5
Cut up the wings so that there is bone and meat (meat still on the bone as much as possible)
Yes many people do organ soups. Some people grind up the hearts and organs and add to the grinds that they feed throughout the week. That is best way to be sure that everyone is eating their required portion of the organs and hearts. What organs are you using now? Just liver?
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