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Post by katt on Jan 8, 2015 11:56:40 GMT -5
Now that they are eating bigger chunks, we can start working them on some bones. Small bones like Cornish game hen or chicken wing tips are usually the easiest to start with. Get a hammer, mallet, ulu, whatever is easiest; and smash the bones up into little pieces. Then cut the smashed up bony meat mass into chunks the same size as what they are currently eating. You may need to do a little scruff and stuff or hand feeding again to get them used to the bone - the marrowy chunks are best. Marrow is like nutritious candy once they learn it's edible. Haha Once they start taking smashed bone, we can work on gradually increasing the size of the chunks while simultaneously smashing the bones less and less. We'll need to start working on a menu too to make sure they are staying balanced. There's still some work ahead, but you are really through the hardest part! Congratulate yourself and give them some extra snuggles. You are doing great and as stubborn as they are, they are doing wonderfully.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 10, 2015 13:05:58 GMT -5
It will take us a few days to go through the batch of meat we just got chopped up for them, but after that we will start on the bones.Actually as I type that Brian says he is going to grab wings while he is out today so we will be trying it tonight after all. :)With them have never having it before what is the likely hood of choking on bones or the bones causing intestinal problems? Ive read everything on the boards about it, I guess I just need reassurance. We are still recovering from the move and the thought of a vet visit is pretty scary right now. I say a little prayer every day here that no one gets sick or hurt until we get insurance again,lol. All in all I just want them to be okay. They really have done good so far and I dont want one to get hurt. Especially if we are trying to poke it down them.
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Post by katt on Jan 11, 2015 4:01:15 GMT -5
The bones will be fine - they're more likely to choke on a piece of kibble than bone. Start by smashing them up as much as you can and hand feeding little pulverized bits. It will help ease your mind some as you can directly monitor the pieces they get. As they get used to the texture and start chewing more, gradually smash them less and less. How many different proteins are they eating right now?
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Post by Deleted on Jan 12, 2015 10:49:58 GMT -5
Right now they are getting Chicken and beef with a little pork thrown in on occasion. I wanted to ask about Seafood. I saw a post on it once before and now I dont remember where. Is seafood okay? Like shrimp,Salmon, catfish, crab...All de-shelled of course. What about fish bones? Same as chicken bones or dangerous? We love fishing during the summer eat a lot of seafood ourselves.
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Post by katt on Jan 12, 2015 17:24:55 GMT -5
Seafood is totally fine and a great source of fatty oils, but it should be fed in moderation due to concerns around mercury content. My boys adore salmon. I also give them salmon eggs, shrimp eggs, halibut bits, etc. Just be sure that it has been frozen for a few days as fish meat can carry worms. Chicken, Beef, and Pork is a good base 3 proteins. However, that does mean that as we move them towards whole meats, they will be eating mostly chicken to meet their bone needs. If we can eventually work in 1-2 (or more - more is always better ) bone-in sources that would be great. Rabbit is wonderful if you can find it - perfect eating bones. Also stuff like duck, CGH (very similar protein to chicken though is the downside), quail (hard to find but nice eating size lol, etc.
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Post by katt on Jan 13, 2015 4:10:42 GMT -5
How's it going? Did you try the chicken wing?
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Post by Deleted on Jan 13, 2015 15:13:20 GMT -5
No, not yet. My husband went and bought wings and bought the little drummets you use for hot wings. No wing tips. We won't be able to get anymore till the end of the week. :/
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Post by katt on Jan 14, 2015 3:23:52 GMT -5
No worries. Are they still taking the chunks okay? Also, let's start working on a menu so you can practice getting the balance down. When you get a chance, will you post a week's menu using the meats that you are currently feeding?
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Post by Deleted on Jan 14, 2015 14:36:50 GMT -5
They are taking the chunks great. We actually have our first few cases of BigBoy trying to stash food in places for later. It really warms my heart to see BigBoy just chewing away on a chunk of meat. I never thought it would happen with him. As for a menu Im not really sure what to tell you. Once a week we get their chicken(Breast and Thigh meat) along with hearts, Beef tips, beef liver some pork and their crushed egg shells and well mix it up and divide it up into Tupperware. We put all but 2 in the freezer and every day take one out to start defrosting 2 days in advance. We make enough for a week at a time. Do we need to do it differently? Oh and When you said seafood is okay does that include the bones and shrimp tails or are those a no go? Brian says the way the three of them go at it he wants to chunk half of a chicken in there with them just to see what they do with it. Bad idea or no?
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Post by katt on Jan 14, 2015 22:43:50 GMT -5
Well HALF of a chicken is a bit much. LOL Go for it if you want to, but expect a lot of leftovers - my two fatty boys can usually get at least a week's worth of meals out of a whole chicken. I'd maybe start with 1/4 of a chicken instead so you don't end up with a bunch of wasted meat if they don't eat it. Absolutely nothing wrong with throwing a big piece in and seeing what they do though! If they start eating the big meat and - even better - nomming on bones, that just means that you get to skip some steps, which is always exciting! For the menu, it should look something like this, but with the specific meals filled in with what you actually feed: Monday am: edible bone in meat Monday pm: edible bone in meat Tuesday am: edible bone in meat Tuesday pm: muscle meat Wednesday am: edible bone in meat Wednesday pm: heart Thursday am: edible bone in meat Thursday pm: edible bone in meat Friday am: edible bone in meat Friday pm: ½ heart + ¼ liver + ¼ other organ Saturday am: edible bone in meat Saturday pm: muscle meat Sunday am: edible bone in meat Sunday pm: ½ liver + ½ other organ
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Post by katt on Jan 18, 2015 23:15:44 GMT -5
Checking for updates
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Post by Deleted on Jan 21, 2015 12:09:33 GMT -5
We have Bone eaters!!! (dance) We Did the wing tip and a few regular wing bones with meat and they went to town. Puddin and LuLu did great. I'm so proud of them. I did however have to separate BigBoy because he was stealing. He wouldn't eat himself, but would go up to the others and literally take the food out of their mouth es and walk away with it. He would stash it then come back for more. I took him out and let the other two finish up then put him back. I need to supervise a little more to see how well he is doing with the bone, but we are on the right track i believe. I also printed out the menu you posted and we are set up to go by that menu. Im really proud of them and excited to see how far they go with this. I also wanna say thank you for sticking with me through this and your patience.
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Post by katt on Jan 21, 2015 16:51:00 GMT -5
We have Bone eaters!!! (dance) We Did the wing tip and a few regular wing bones with meat and they went to town. Puddin and LuLu did great. I'm so proud of them. I did however have to separate BigBoy because he was stealing. He wouldn't eat himself, but would go up to the others and literally take the food out of their mouth es and walk away with it. He would stash it then come back for more. I took him out and let the other two finish up then put him back. I need to supervise a little more to see how well he is doing with the bone, but we are on the right track i believe. I also printed out the menu you posted and we are set up to go by that menu. Im really proud of them and excited to see how far they go with this. I also wanna say thank you for sticking with me through this and your patience. Wooooot! :boing: Good fuzz!! And go YOU for getting them there. They are making great progress. You're really in the home stretch here. Too funny about BigBoy - he is such a character! At least if he is stealing the pieces, he recognizes them as valuable even if he doesn't want to eat them yet. Baby steps. For him, keep offering the crushed bones. Try hand feeding a bit of meat with some marrow - marrow is fatty and tasty. Once they all get more comfortable with chewing the crushed bones, crush them up a little less and a little less. Same idea as with chunk sizes - slow and steady increases in size. And thank YOU for sticking with it! Life can throw some pretty unexpected events at us (like oh you know, moving halfway across the country half a year earlier than planned, and the entire household being knocked off their feet with the flu...) and unfortunately some people let those events overwhelm and derail them. I'm really, really glad that despite all of the chaos you stuck with it and pushed through. Your babies will thank you. Make sure to take time to congratulate yourself too! Balancing a move, mothering, and switching a business of picky ferrets (I'm looking at you Bigs!! (giggle) ) is no simple juggling trick. You're doing a fantastic job with them - keep it up! Now go treat yourself to celebrate a big step - maybe some nice chocolate and wine! :beer:
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Post by Deleted on Jan 22, 2015 19:09:18 GMT -5
You made my day. This last year has been really rough and getting this far and having a friend say "congrats, good job", well it made me feel good. Im so excited with how well they are doing. I will say I am going crazy trying to keep everything sanitary. Them dragging raw chicken all over the enclosure is nerve wracking. Ive been using clorox wipes, but want to switch to vinegar water so its safer, but will it kill enough to make it sanitary? When they were just noming soup from the bowl it wasn't a big deal, but now we have raw yard bird carcass be dragged all over the place. 20 years working in kitchens and in hospitals and nursing homes says OSHA and sanitation and ......ugh! Its making my brain itch. (twitch) Help please,lol.
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Post by katt on Jan 24, 2015 5:22:59 GMT -5
Aw I mean it - I'm really glad you stuck through. I've seen people quit over less, so don't ever not give yourself credit for being a wonder mom! For the meat LOL It's fine. Deep breaths! A feeding den will help to reduce a lot of the mess and stashing (but won't eliminate it). Don't lick the ferrets or their cage and you should be just fine. I rinse the feeding den daily, and clean the cage weekly - that's it. Unless you have someone immune compromised handling the ferrets a lot or in the cage a lot, you really shouldn't need to worry. I rub my face all over my boys (who doesn't love a good ferret huff!), have had them put their paws and noses and tongue in my mouth (not by choice I assure you!! LOL so gross ), and despite being a massive germophobe, I don't wash my hands between handling them and eating food. (Cooking I wash my hands of course but I'll say pick up and move a ferret who is trying to steal my food, then pick up my bagel or pop an M&M into my mouth. I have yet to get sick. Or Shane, or anyone else in the house who has handled them significantly. As long as you aren't licking the meat or immune compromised, you really and truly should be fine. If it helps put your mind at ease have you heard of the "hygiene hypothesis?" Basically exposure breeds immunity. By over-sterilizing things you prevent yourself from getting exposed to the low levels of bacteria and thus prevent your body from forming antibodies. Low levels of exposure function as natural vaccines. We need exposure to protect ourselves. And it often takes a relatively large dose of a bug (caveat - does depend on the species of bacteria) to really be at much risk of infection. Because you have kiddos, I would just say only mom or dad cleans the cage and feedig den OR if a kid helps clean they must wash their hands afterwards, AND kids must wash hands before eating (many prefer after handling pets period but I believe in the Hygeine Hypothesis). For weekly cage cleanings I use Clorox wipes, but it is good to change up cleaners evey now and then, so sometimes I use vinegar. Nature's Miracle and Simple Green are also good. Every few months I use a little bleach and scrub the pans in the shower and rinse them super well. The feedig den I just rinse with water daily (soap and water would be good for daily cleanings rather than chemicals, but I just rinse it), and every now and then I use a little soap and water or cleaner and scrub it. Any time you use a stronger cleaner OR a cleaner besides soap in the feeding den be sure to rinse super well. I'm not sure if that helps or not or if I really addressed your question. If not make me answer it again!
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