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Post by Deleted on Sept 17, 2014 18:34:23 GMT -5
Can you get turkey necks? Mine love 'em. Cornish game hens and duck are good also.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 17, 2014 21:24:38 GMT -5
I'm pretty sure I can get Cornish game hen, but I don't think the turkey necks are available around here. I'll have to do some digging! Are there any bone in cuts of deer they could have? I'll probably have plenty of that, come fall.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 17, 2014 22:36:02 GMT -5
Deer bone is too hard for them, but they can have the meat if it's been frozen for twenty four hours.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 20, 2014 12:30:52 GMT -5
Wow sorry it's been so long since I updated! I weighed them on Wednesday: Macie: 1lb 10oz Harley: 2lbs 12oz Rio: 2lbs 3oz
They've been doing so so good with the chicken chunks! They ate some really big pieces today.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 20, 2014 12:43:20 GMT -5
Sounds like it might be time to start 'em on bone in meat. Cut some chicken wing tips into half inch lengths and give it to them for the next three days, Drizzle a little salmon oil on 'em. Don't worry, they know it's food. When they get hungry enough, they'll eat it.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 28, 2014 16:35:50 GMT -5
Rio and Harley do very well with the bones, but Macie won't eat them, even with salmon oil :/
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Post by Deleted on Sept 29, 2014 21:34:08 GMT -5
Did you take all other food away for three days besides the sectioned wing tips? Try busting the bone up with a meat mallet.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 7, 2014 12:49:24 GMT -5
Well I left lots of chicken chunks and 2 drumsticks in their cage all day and night and it was all gone this morning! I still don't know if Macie is eating bone. If she's not yet, will she eventually get the hang of it? When I fed her ground pork, she would carefully eat around the little bone pieces or spit them out.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 7, 2014 22:39:31 GMT -5
They are doing so so great with their chunks! I left chunks and 2 chicken drumsticks in their cage for the day. When I got home from work, all the chunks were gone. The drumsticks weren't eaten, but I'm sure they'll eat them when they feel like it Harley started gnawing on one soon after I got home. Good boy!! I cut up some more chunks and drumsticks for their supper, added some beef liver, and some ground beef. So how much meat should I be giving them on a daily basis? I know they are supposed to get bone meats 9 out of 14 meals, but how do I measure how much each one is eating and how much I should give? I also owe you an apology, for sure. I haven't been very active on the forum (or the internet in general), because I just took on two new jobs, and have had a lot of back pain and problems lately. So between getting the hang of both jobs and running to the chiropractor 3-4 times a week (plus my everyday activities of taking care of a household), I haven't had much time for updates. I'm so sorry! I'll try to be better about it.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 8, 2014 10:25:21 GMT -5
Wednesday weigh in! Harley - 2lbs 14oz (biiiiiig boy!) Macie - 1lb 10oz Rio - 2lbs 6oz
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Post by Deleted on Oct 8, 2014 22:33:53 GMT -5
They all seen to have taken a step backwards; I had to give them soup today cuz they won't eat the chicken chunks.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 9, 2014 15:03:12 GMT -5
Give them all they'll eat at this point, and it's okay if they miss meals every now and then. They wouldn't be eating every day in a wild setting. So you don't have to take a step backward. It'll just make their appetite better when they do eat. You want to stick with bone in meats like chicken, Cornish game hens, rabbit, and turkey necks. Pork and beef bones are too hard. How are they doing eating their heart and liver? They should be getting at least one ounce of heart (counts as muscle meat so actually you can feed more than that) and two ounces of liver a week. We need to start trying them on another organ such as beef kidney also. You're making great progress by the way. Don't worry about being too busy to interact with me, My damned back is bad to.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 11, 2014 9:25:29 GMT -5
The only meat they'll eat at this point is chicken, and Macie doesn't eat the bones. When I leave chicken chunks and drumsticks busted up in their cage, her poops are extremely tiny and extremely watery. It's like a little dot of poo in a puddle of pee. I left turkey bones and pieces in the other day, and they went to waste cuz none of them touched it. Harley is the only one who will eat liver, and none of them will touch heart. I've kinda backslidden to the thick soupie stage simply because I worry that they're getting enough of each thing, as that's the only way they'll all eat liver, heart, bone and muscle. Urgggg. I gave them pork brain as well, and that was a definite no go. Even Harley wouldn't touch it, and he's my easy keeper. I've been thinking of getting some frozen mice just to see what they do with it. Rio used to catch mice at his old house, so I wonder if he would eat it. Is it pretty instinctual for ferrets to eat rodents? Or would I have to teach them that, too? I just want Macie to be getting her calcium! On a good note, Rio is so so so much softer and healthy looking than when I first got him! He has one tooth that is yellow and turning translucent. I'm hoping that the diet will remineralize it *crosses fingers* He really likes chewing the bones, so hopefully that helps! Thank you so much for your patience with me back problems are the worst; I don't know how people live with chronic back pain. It's horrible.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 12, 2014 11:14:04 GMT -5
Add some different proteins and crushed egg shells to the soupies a little bit at a time with their organs and build it up from there. Backslides happen frequently during switches so don't feel bad about it. Go ahead and try the mice if you like. They may not eat them but it won't hurt them. Try cutting the mice open and drizzling salmon oil on them. We're gonna have to do some extra work with little Macie. Some ferrants have to feed a grind or soupies once or twice a week to get the organs into them and really it's a good idea. They will accept soupies readily if they are ever sick and need supportive care.
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