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Post by Deleted on Feb 21, 2015 17:11:25 GMT -5
She loves her bone-in meals, typically eating most or all of it except for large white pieces of bone. Her chunks are usually the simplest thing I can break the chicken wing/drumstick or rabbit flesh into. If it's a bone, I leave flesh on the bone, and any flesh without bone I divide into about half-inch chunks. I may have to think on my questions before I answer.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 23, 2015 15:36:08 GMT -5
So just testing out the potential final menu: Thoughts?
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Post by gfountain on Feb 23, 2015 15:59:00 GMT -5
The menu looks good. Make sure you rotate all those proteins; don't get stuck in a rut of all one thing. And she does eat all those proteins, right? For treats, you have listed quail eggs, heavy cream, and freeze dried meats. Why the cream? Milk products are not good for them. Here is a thread to read about ferrets and milk. linkAny questions for me before I post your final exam?
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Post by Deleted on Feb 23, 2015 21:54:10 GMT -5
I thought cream very sparingly was ok, since the lactose concentration is low. She adores cream, but of course it can be omitted, it's just a treat She's being picky about her beef recently, so I'm looking for another red meat besides pork that she'd enjoy. I think I can take the final exam.
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Post by gfountain on Feb 23, 2015 23:39:58 GMT -5
You can try venison, bison, goat, or lamb in place of the beef. They're all a little pricey. Or you can just wait a while before serving the beef again. My crew goes on protein strikes every once in a while when they just refuse to eat a certain thing. I don't serve it the next time or two that it's scheduled and BAM, it's like a new food again and they can't get enough! We did that with chicken recently. They had it a LOT when daddy was feeding them while I was sick, and they were absolutely sick of it. I didn't serve it for a little over a week and the next time I served it, they went nuts. I had to give them 2 complete meals in one sitting.
I'll get your test questions together and post them for you tomorrow. After you change the menu to take the cream off, please repost it so I can submit it. We need to have a final approved menu at the very end of the thread because sometimes people will only look at the last post and copy the menu. You're almost done!
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Post by gfountain on Feb 24, 2015 20:04:39 GMT -5
I didn't get to your test questions today. I'm sorry. I slipped on ice Friday morning and my foot has been sore so I went to the doctor and it took ALL afternoon. I'll try to get them posted tomorrow.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 3, 2015 13:56:38 GMT -5
Hey Gina, this is super delayed, but are you ok?! The ice in jersey right now is positively horrific. I was driving back from a birth on Sunday from Jersey Shore and my little car was floating all over the place. Get well soon! (I'm so relieved! I thought you had left questions for me weeks ago and I just didn't get back to you! )
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Post by gfountain on Mar 3, 2015 15:25:21 GMT -5
Hey! Yeah, I'm OK. Hairline fracture in my foot and damaged tendons, but I'll survive. I did post those questions last week but I don't know where they went! Here they are again.
1. List 2 good sources of taurine. 2. In an emergency (you run out of bone), what are 2 acceptable bone substitutes and how much should your ferrets get? (be speficic) 3. Give 2 examples each of muscle meat, edible bones, and organs. 4. Is it best to feed the egg whites, egg yolk, or the entire egg? 5. How much and how often can egg be fed? 6. How can you tell if your ferret is too fat or too thin? 7. How can you tell if your ferret is getting too much or too little bone? 8. What percent of the diet should be organ?
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Post by Deleted on Mar 16, 2015 21:44:54 GMT -5
1. heart, dark poultry meat 2. bone meal (3/4t per 8oz meat), eggshell powder (1/2t per batch of soupies) 3. muscle: beef, pork; edible bones: rabbit, CGH; organs: pancreas, kidneys 4. the entire egg 5. Your ferret should be fed twice a day, 12 hours apart. How much it eats will depend on its sex, age, and size, but typically somewhere between 1-2oz per meal. 6. If your ferret is too thin, you will feel mostly bones. If your ferret is too fat, you will feel mostly fat. Your ferret should feel like mostly lean muscle, with a little fluctuation in body fat from season to season. Also, ferrets at unhealthy weights usually have decreased activity levels. 7. If your ferret is getting too much bone, they'll get constipated. If your ferret is not getting enough bone, they'll have diarrhea, foul breath, and dirty teeth. 8. About 20% of a ferret's diet should be organ (if heart is included, which alone makes up 10% of the total diet).
I think I did ok! (dance) We'll find out. I meant to ask you about a little ferret health concern: Piper has been scooting her butt on the ground after she poops, sometimes squatting for an extra few seconds as if straining to poop more. Tonight her anus was a little inflamed and protruded a little. We suspected that she might be a little blocked and gave her an egg in the hopes that it would help move her along. Anything else we should consider, or are there any red flags you see with that situation?
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Post by gfountain on Mar 17, 2015 8:56:53 GMT -5
Good job! Just a few comments for clarification.. 1. All meat has taurine. The more used a muscle is, the more taurine it contains and dark meats do contain more than white meats. Another good source of taurine is beef tongue. 2. Actually 1/2 tsp per 8 oz meat, whether bonemeal or powdered eggshell. The soup recipe has recently been corrected to 1/2-3/4 tsp per recipe, because each recipe is actually 10 oz of meat. 5. The question was how often can EGG be fed, lol. 6. While your answer is correct, the easiest way to tell is to hold them under their "arms" and dangle them. A raw fed ferret at a healthy weight should look like a tube with a small bulge on the right side (the spleen). If it is pear shaped, it's overweight; if it has a "waistline", it's underweight. 8. Heart is NOT an organ. It is a muscle. Your answer is correct, however. Heart is 10%; organ is 10%. You are ready to graduate! I just need you to post a final menu here so I can submit it for approval. Butt-wiping is a normal ferret behavior so that doesn't concern me at all, but the straining could indicate a problem. How are her poops? It sounds like she has a little prolapse. Is it just after pooping or is it all the time? If you suspect a blockage, use the blockage protocol - alternate 1 tbsp plain canned pumpkin, 1 tsp vaseline each hour until a full orange poop appears.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 17, 2015 11:55:38 GMT -5
Woooooooo hooooo! how exciting! It's only when she poops that she strains. She's 99% litter box trained now except for one problem spot. So to make sure I have this right, first I give her 1T canned pure pumpkin, then how long to I wait before giving her the Vaseline? and the Vaseline I'm giving her- I'm feeding that to her?
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Post by gfountain on Mar 17, 2015 12:46:50 GMT -5
1 Tbsp plain pumpkin, wait one hour then FEED her 1 teaspoon vaseline, wait one hour then feed 1 tbsp pumpkin, wait one hour then feed 1 tbsp vaseline, etc. After about 3-4 hours, she should produce a thick gloopey poop that looks almost like the pumpkin did going in. You may have to stuff the pumpkin and/or vaseline. Some ferrets love them, some hate them. I have more luck if I mix them with a little oil.
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Post by gfountain on Mar 17, 2015 12:47:16 GMT -5
Don't forget to post your final menu!
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Post by Deleted on Mar 17, 2015 18:36:42 GMT -5
She's eaten two doses of pumpkin and one dose of Vaseline. We're hoping she poops this evening, and we'll give her lots of praise and comfort. But if we give her the last dose of Vaseline and there's no poop this evening, what is the next step?
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Post by gfountain on Mar 17, 2015 19:04:36 GMT -5
Just keep alternating the pumpkin and vaseline until you DO get a poop, however long it takes. Usually things pass through their systems in 3-4 hours. When she poops, if it isn't a full poop, keep pushing the pumpkin and Vas. If there's something in the poop, keep pushing the pumpkin and Vas until you're sure everything is out. If she doesn't poop by 5-6 hours, you MAY have a problem. Have you seen her eating something she shouldn't have?
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