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Post by Deleted on Jan 7, 2015 11:43:48 GMT -5
Woo-hoo! They like Quail I was worried I'd have to start all over with it but it didn't take them long to figure out it's food. And I called that butcher today...no good. The woman said they don't have a lot of organs available, they'll have lamb brain tomorrow but just one. I don't get it. And other butchers said they don't even sell the organs....I'm so frustrated. You would think they would be glad to sell something people don't ever buy! I guess they have to eat liver and kidney only. I can find those at this local supermarket.
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Post by gfountain on Jan 7, 2015 14:48:01 GMT -5
Liver and kidney is fine. That's 2. More is better, but 2 is sufficient. I'm glad they like the quail! How did they do with the bones?
How is Sponge doing with his soup? Think he's ready to start adding in a little raw?
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Post by Deleted on Jan 8, 2015 0:50:07 GMT -5
Omg Gina, tonight I gave them both a full meal of quail, the legs whole and I cut a few pieces into thin strips (but not all) and I left the bones pretty much whole as well...they turned into little wild animals Chanel was a beast suddenly. He lunged for the bowl and attacked the food like it was alive and he hissed at Coco. And I tried pulling him back but he was surprisingly strong resisting my hand and holding on to a piece for dear life! LOL It was funny. He was really hungry, I guess. I'm happy to say that they both ate the bones! Chanel does fine eating bigger chunks and bigger pieces of bone I can hear him crunching away right now (he so out-eats Coco...) So! I'm happy! Wooooo (dance) Quail is a success! Oh, is it alright if I add a bit of water in their bowl with the raw food? They seem to drink it better that way. I just worry the raw is too thick and they need something to wash it down and I will give Sponge some raw in a couple more days. I think he needs to eat more kibble soup.
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Post by gfountain on Jan 8, 2015 17:56:37 GMT -5
So they have a new favorite, huh? That's great! And now we know that Chanel's jaw will be OK with those smaller bones. Food fights are pretty funny to watch, but I don't recommend that you try to interrupt one, lol. Sometimes my 4 will get into it over one piece and ignore the 6 pieces still left in the dish. Just make sure there's enough for both of them and let them work it out.
It is fine to add water to the dish, but not necessary. Raw food has so much more moisture than kibble that they really don't need to drink much with raw. My Minnie has always been a big drinker, but Slinkee only drinks from the sink, I see Casper drink from the dog's dish sometimes, but I don't recall ever seeing Leon drink anything. However, he's my potty buddy and goes to the bathroom with me almost every time I go and leaves a puddle beside the toilet so I know he's getting enough liquid from somewhere. As long as there's always fresh water available and they're still peeing, I wouldn't worry about them drinking.
How much soup is Sponge eating per day? How's he doing with his meds?
Do you have a menu made? I know we talked about it, but I can't scroll up to see right now. I want to get that tweaked and make sure everything is balanced. Let's give the boys another day with the quail. Give them part of the back and ribs with a little bit bigger bones and let's see how they do with that. Then we'll get some heart and organ in them and start on that rabbit.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 8, 2015 19:43:53 GMT -5
Aww what a cutie that Leon! Sponge doesn't eat much..I barely see him eat an ounce. And because of not eating a lot, he barely poops and pees. He only pooped once today. Maybe its the meds because before I started them he was pooping a lot. Like five times a day. Here's my menu plan: Sun AM: organ meal - ½ chicken liver, ½ kidney Sun PM: edible bone-in meat - CGH Mon AM: edible bone-in meat - quail Mon PM: edible bone-in meat - rabbit Tues AM: chicken heart Tues PM: edible bone-in meat - chicken wings Wed AM: muscle meat - fatty cut of beef mixed with egg (and just some notes for me lol: whip egg with warm water and pour over it) (ground beef, fatty chuck roast, any fatty cut of beef) Wed PM: edible bone-in meat - quail Thur AM: beef heart and organ (½ liver, ½ kidney) Thur PM: edible bone-in meat - rabbit Fri AM: edible bone-in meat (or muscle) - CGH Fri PM: edible bone-in meat - CGH Sat AM: chicken gizzard Sat PM: edible bone-in meat - chicken wings
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Post by gfountain on Jan 8, 2015 19:56:05 GMT -5
OK, and they're eating the chicken, the organs, the heart, and the quail, correct? Have they had their organs and heart as planned for this week?
I'm sorry for not being on top of things this week. I've been pretty sick and just can't remember where we are. I'll try to get my act together again soon.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 8, 2015 22:10:27 GMT -5
It's alright, rest and feel better Yes they've had the heart, but not the organs yet.
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Post by gfountain on Jan 8, 2015 22:15:21 GMT -5
OK, then let's do another quail meal in the morning, then do their organs for the Fri PM meal. Sat AM says chicken gizzards. Have they had those at all yet? Try them anyway. Cut them into slivers and try playing tug of war with them. Gizzards are one thing I always hang. They're very tough and chewy, good for working the jaws. Then Sat PM, do chicken again so they don't forget that they like it. We'll start the rabbit on Sunday.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 10, 2015 19:30:10 GMT -5
Hey Gina, I would like to add more fat to their diet, how can I change my menu for that? I don't know what proteins I should add in. Coco and Chanel are still thin-looking (not thick and with a winter coat). It just bothers me. Sponge is skinny too but I think you know why.
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Post by gfountain on Jan 11, 2015 14:54:08 GMT -5
To add more fat to their diet you just need to feed the fattier cuts of meat. The only protein you have on your menu that is NOT fatty is rabbit. Duck and goose are very fatty meats if you wanted to add those proteins. BUT why do you think they're too thin? Ferrets come in all shapes and sizes. Some have a bulldog body style while others are whippets. Check their weights again and take dangling pictures for me. I want to see the belly side of them, all 3 of them.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 12, 2015 20:40:34 GMT -5
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Post by Deleted on Jan 12, 2015 20:46:37 GMT -5
And I finally gave them rabbit this morning, but they didn't really eat it. I watched them try a few pieces but mostly Chanel stashed a lot of it and I haven't seen Coco eat any more.
Oh! I also found this one asian market in Chinatown that sells spleen and tongue. So I have 3 organs I can give them: Liver, kidney, spleen. Do you think tongue could count?
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Post by gfountain on Jan 12, 2015 21:06:17 GMT -5
Those pictures look fine of Coco and Chanel. Chanel looks better than he did in the last dangling pictures. His waistline is gone and he looks like a tube. That's good. Sponge's hips are very thin though. With the rabbit, since it's new, you're going to have to work it into the menu like you did with everything else new. Start with just a few pieces mixed into their chicken or quail. Once they eat those few pieces without protest, add a little more then a little more until they're finally eating all rabbit. Liver, kidney, and spleen are all good organs. Tongue is a muscle meat. If it's beef tongue, it's very high in taurine also. My kids love beef tongue. How are they doing with their bones? Are they whole bones yet or are you still cutting them? Have you started adding any raw to Sponge's kibble soup yet?
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Post by Deleted on Jan 13, 2015 2:06:45 GMT -5
I will start Sponge on raw soup tomorrow (shy) I'm sorry that I've been behind on what you tell me to do but I'm trying , and I do get it done I promise! I think I've seen beef tongue at this mexican market, but sometimes they have it, sometimes they don't. I'll look for it next time! Coco is doing awesome with whole quail bones and chicken wings. I've looked at his teeth too! They are SO much more whiter, I'm so happy for him. But now Chanel is getting a little build-up because he doesn't eat the bone whole yet. I did watch him eat bone though so I know he can. And he can tear the pieces now. So he does have to eat whole bone or can I cut it in smaller sections (But still larger chunks) so he's able to eat it? And did your ferts have to learn how to eat from the hooks? I feel like mine don't know what to do with them, haha. I just wanted to try and steady the meat for them so they can get a better grip on it, and also keep them from stashing big pieces. Anyway, Gina, thank you, and I hope you are feeling better!
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Post by gfountain on Jan 13, 2015 11:51:09 GMT -5
You're doing fine, no worries. Chanel does need to eat bones that are big enough to actually clean his teeth so they have to be big enough for him to chew, but you can cut them to a manageable size for him since he has that issue with his jaw. The goal is to get them large enough that he HAS to chew them, but small enough that he can manage them. Yes, they have to learn to eat from the hooks. It was pretty funny at the beginning watching them try to run off with a piece only to get it yanked out of their mouths, lol. They looked so bewildered, like "Hey! What's the problem with my meatz?!?" Start by hooking the meat to the side of the cage so the food lays on the dish. Once they get the idea that it's attached, you can start hanging it from the top.
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