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Post by Celene on Jan 9, 2015 21:42:41 GMT -5
Only a month from kibble to raw bone @deariie? That's amazing!
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Post by Deleted on Jan 9, 2015 22:39:46 GMT -5
Actually I'm sorry, it has taken a little over 2 months (shy)
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Post by Celene on Jan 9, 2015 22:42:49 GMT -5
Still quite impressive
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Post by katt on Jan 10, 2015 1:33:20 GMT -5
Salmon is great for them! Lots of great fatty omegas. I have a whole box of heads and tails and eggs for the boys. Koda in particular goes nuts for the strips of salmon I have given them (fresh, not dried). I would limit it to 1-2 times a week if you are doing meals, but daily in smaller amounts as supplemental bits or treats should be fine. Watch poops though as it is an oily meat and can be a bit rich for their tummies if they eat too much too often.
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Post by Celene on Jan 10, 2015 1:47:05 GMT -5
Fresh? Yeah right. The ferrets would have to compete with me for it and I'm much taller! Salmon is my absolutely #1 favourite food in the world. The dried strips are stinky and fishy though so they ferrets can have 'em :\
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Post by katt on Jan 10, 2015 1:58:05 GMT -5
Fresh? Yeah right. The ferrets would have to compete with me for it and I'm much taller! Salmon is my absolutely #1 favourite food in the world. The dried strips are stinky and fishy though so they ferrets can have 'em :\ HAHAHa ME TOOO!!!! We used some leftover salmon last year though for bait, and there was still some left over (we had had a particularly good fishing year the year before) so the boys got a big pile of leftover bait scraps! The heads, tails, and eggs in my freezer are all scraps from this summer's catch. I had it all in 2 gallon ziplock bags and only just finally got around to separating it into smaller portions and cutting the heads open. I always mean to cut some slivers off of the edges of our salmon when I cook it but I forget. AND I want to savor every last bite for myself too. Made some KILLER salmon tacos earlier this week - OMG. *drools* HIGHLY recommend! Pan cook the salmon with some chili pepper, cumin, salt, and pepper. Right before it is fully cooked, remove kin and bones, shred it, and put it back in the pan with some lime juice to finish. Use the salmon, some un-dressed coleslaw mix (shredded cabbage, it's just easier to buy the coleslaw bags lol), and some chipotle ranch. We use tortilla chips for taco salad, or hard-shell tacos, or tortillas. MMMMMMMMM!
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Post by Celene on Jan 10, 2015 2:07:04 GMT -5
SOOOO jealous katt! In BC regular folk aren't allowed to fish without a license and there's a limit and stuff. I have a coworker who goes fishing as a hobby and by the time he pays to charter a boat and buys the license and pays all the fees and such it cost much more than buying it from a store. My parents live in Tsawwassen (near the boarder and a reserve) so they buy their salmon directly from aboriginal fishers (who have different and less stringent restrictions) for much cheaper. Either way though really expensive but super worth it. You'll probably think I'm absolutely insane, but I don't really like the skin, although it makes for a great protective barrier when I grill it on my BBQ I prefer not to buy it frozen but when it comes back in season I will peel off my skin before I cook it and save it for them since he's nice and fatty and stuff. I've had salmon tacos and they definitely ARE amazing. And salmon burgers with tartar sauce, and cedar plank grilled, or with lemon/butter/dill sauce, or a brown sugar/soy sauce... So many different ways to prepare! Now I really really want some. Might need to go buy some frozen.
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Post by katt on Jan 10, 2015 2:34:25 GMT -5
SOOOO jealous katt! In BC regular folk aren't allowed to fish without a license and there's a limit and stuff. I have a coworker who goes fishing as a hobby and by the time he pays to charter a boat and buys the license and pays all the fees and such it cost much more than buying it from a store. My parents live in Tsawwassen (near the boarder and a reserve) so they buy their salmon directly from aboriginal fishers (who have different and less stringent restrictions) for much cheaper. Either way though really expensive but super worth it. You'll probably think I'm absolutely insane, but I don't really like the skin, although it makes for a great protective barrier when I grill it on my BBQ I prefer not to buy it frozen but when it comes back in season I will peel off my skin before I cook it and save it for them since he's nice and fatty and stuff. I've had salmon tacos and they definitely ARE amazing. And salmon burgers with tartar sauce, and cedar plank grilled, or with lemon/butter/dill sauce, or a brown sugar/soy sauce... So many different ways to prepare! Now I really really want some. Might need to go buy some frozen. Oh you have to buy a permit in AK too, and there are definitely limits that depend on household size. We dipnet on the Kenai and Kasilof rivers. RE the skin, I don't eat it. I never even knew people ate it until this year! lol Must be a Northern thing or something bc none of my family or our friends ever ate the skin. I recently tasted it though after learning people love it, and it wasn't bad. It could definitely grow on me, it was crispy and salty. These are from a few summers ago. I LOOOOOVE fishing! Dip Netting salmon We also halibut fish off the boat: Prepping Halibut Oh we also dig clams:
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Post by Celene on Jan 10, 2015 15:20:18 GMT -5
Still jealous! I don't like clams though but I bet digging them would be fun!
Also my daily ferret-raw-update thing:
Long-term weights (lbs):
Mocha Nova
15-Nov-14 1.45 1.60 (pre-raw) 13-Dec-14 1.45 1.60 (just starting/partial raw) 19-Dec-14 1.40 1.60 (partial raw) 22-Dec-14 1.60 1.55 (full raw) 28-Dec-14 1.62 1.54 30-Dec-14 1.59 1.53 02-Jan-14 1.70 1.53 06-Jan-14 1.70 1.60 08-Jan-14 1.64 1.63 10-Jan-14 1.65 1.60
So basically Mocha's gained a little weight, and Nova lost a little when starting but both are mostly weight-stable now.
Yesterday I introduced kangaroo (commercial grind) - Mocha will eat it if spoon fed, but won't gobble it down or anything like she does with chicken.
They were probably THE MOST hyper this morning that they have been in at least a couple weeks. Lots of silliness and craziness and wrestling. This morning I noticed Nova had a poop which was on the skinnier side and had a bit of fur in it, so I let them share an egg yolk. They kept begging when it was gone so I thought I'd let them have a quail egg, but instead of cracking it just squished it a bit and tried to get them to open it themselves. It ended up in a lot of licking while the egg slowly deflated.
Shortly after eating the quail egg they went into their cage (where they always go to sleep) and snuggled in. A few minutes later I heard a weird licking noise and looking and turns out it was Mocha licking up some eggy vomit which had obviously just come from her! It had a couple little pieces of eggshell in it so I'm hoping it happened as a result of the shell irritating her throat or something (I didn't hear any coughing though). I don't think it's a blockage but am definitely going to keep a close eye on her today.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 10, 2015 18:14:12 GMT -5
Okay, you guys are making me so hungry...and jealous. We get Catfish in Tennessee. I love Salmon.
Mocha is determined to frighten her Mommy. She must get very excited and eat too fast.
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Post by katt on Jan 10, 2015 20:37:14 GMT -5
Egg is slimy so if she ate too fast that could have been why she threw up too.
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Post by Celene on Jan 10, 2015 20:42:47 GMT -5
Egg is slimy so if she ate too fast that could have been why she threw up too. Maybe, but she's had egg (many) times before and never puked... Ever, for any reason. Mocha doesn't even get gross egg-poops like Nova does either. She made a nice, big poop though a couple hours later so no blockage. For now I'm going to assume that it had to do with the eggshell, but keep an eye on her just in case.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 13, 2015 4:52:28 GMT -5
Getting a little overzealous while eating something tasty happens every so often. Marco ate some pork too fast the other day and puked it all over everywhere. Blech!!
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Post by Celene on Jan 13, 2015 10:39:45 GMT -5
Ferrets... Last night (around 2am) my friend's ferret choked on something (presumable a kibble) and turned blue! She gave her the ferret-heimlich and then her ferret puked and just laid there lethargic on the way to the emergency vet. By the time the appt was 5 minutes in she was back to normal! Of course the vet still charged $150 and she has to go to the regular/ferret vet today just to make sure everything is okay. But seriously, ferrets just seem determined to give their ferrents heart attacks.
In transitioning news, let's start with weight update:
Mocha Nova 08-Jan-14 1.64 1.63 10-Jan-14 1.65 1.60 13-Jan-14 1.65 1.63
So their weights are pretty stable still. It's hard to believe they're the same weight. Mocha looks SO much fatter, but I know it's just winter fluff. Should I continue to give weight updates, or only if anything changes?
Yesterday I tried, again, to offer slivers. Mocha seems determined to refuse, and even Nova didn't want. Just in case it was a protein preference thing, I offered both beef AND chicken slivers. No luck.
I didn't want to waste all that time I had spent slivering, so I cut the chicken and beef very very finely and mixed about 65% meat and 35% commercial grind (plus some eggshell powder). They ate it! I think I might give up on slivers entirely and introduce meaty pieces by mixing with grind and slowly increasing size. I'm worried about nutritional balance though - should I go out and buy liver/hearts to cut up and add? I don't know if they'll eat it not-puréed in though. (For reference, my commercial grind is 20% heart and 10% liver.)
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Post by Deleted on Jan 13, 2015 11:50:57 GMT -5
Your poor friend ferrets like to give us heart attacks for sure You can definitely keep doing weights. It'll be a good log for you to keep track of. If you mix in muscle meats you'll have to balance it with a bit of organ meats. Chicken liver it pretty soft and it will probably just melt into whatever you mix it in.
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