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Post by Deleted on May 25, 2015 17:24:43 GMT -5
Just checking in. It's a Holiday weekend and so I wasn't really expecting to hear from you. Hope all is well and you're having fun. Hugs to the little ones. :boing:
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Post by Deleted on May 26, 2015 16:09:27 GMT -5
Here's a menu plan:
Sunday: AM: muscle - duck PM: organ - deer liver + pork uterus/kidney
Monday: AM: bone in - duck PM: bone in - CGH
Tuesday: AM: bone in - quail PM: heart - chicken hearts
Wednesday: AM: bone in - duck PM: muscle - chicken thigh
Thursday: AM: bone in - chicken PM; bone in - rabbit
Friday: AM: bone in - chicken PM: heart + organ - chicken hearts + deer liver + pork uterus/kidney
Saturday: AM: bone in - CGH PM: muscle - beef
Do you think it would be a good idea for us to try beef again now? I looked at lamb at the store and it was pretty expensive, so I'm hoping we can use beef instead. I haven't actually tried the duck with them yet, but I'm going to make a soup with it today and try it then. Also, do you think adding fish to the menu would be a good idea? I know they shouldn't have it often, so I was thinking just once a week. I live in a fishing town and I know someone who fishes(the same guy I got the deer liver from), so I can easily get some.
Im planning to weigh them all and take pictures dangling and from above tonight, although I can guarantee I'll get them all done tonight. It takes quite a bit to get all 8 done.
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Post by Deleted on May 26, 2015 16:37:25 GMT -5
Your menu looks good. I noticed that you listed duck once as muscle and the rest of the times as Bone In. So, you had one extra muscle meat meal. I figured that was just a typo. How about including a gizzard meal for one muscle meal? Maybe instead of the chicken thigh. Lamb is pricey. We really want that red meat, so if you're ready, give it a go. What kind of fish will you be able to offer? Mine love fish, especially Cod. Roamy is crazy about shrimp. It's a once a week meal like you said. If it's fresh caught, you will want to freeze it first to kill any parasites or worms. Eight is alot to weigh and take pictures of you. We started with six, now there is eight. I might begin a pool to see how many we have before our switch is finished and you graduate. (giggle) You've got a big heart and they are all lucky to have found you. Is everything good with Bentley's BG? Is he eating enough? How is Hershey? Meds okay? Are Penney and Snowy still looking for kibble? Is everyone else okay and up to normal spring mischief?
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Post by Deleted on May 27, 2015 9:22:42 GMT -5
I was thinking of doing the duck wings/feet/whatever bone in for the bone in meals and the duck breast/thigh as muscle. Or is that still too much muscle? Yeah, we could do gizzards for muscle instead. I can get chicken and duck gizzards. I'm not sure what kind of fish I could get. I could probably get cod. I'll have to ask. Bentley still isnt eating much on his own, but he is eating the carnivore care pretty well. His BG is still stable. Hershey is only on melatonin. He doesnt mind it(probably because it's in salmon oil). Yogi and Penny are doing well with their meds. Penny is a lot better than Yogi with it though. Everyone seems to be okay with not having kibble anymore. Everyone is doing well currently. They're all shedding. I could probably make a whole other ferret with all of the fur. I have pictures of most of them! The only one I'm missing is Hershey, and I need to weigh them all. Bentley Yogi (look at that furry tail (dance)) Penny Snowy Nestle Godiva Woody
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Post by Deleted on May 27, 2015 10:00:28 GMT -5
Everyone is doing well currently. They're all shedding. I could probably make a whole other ferret with all of the fur.
Duck gizzards would be ideal. I've mentioned this but I'm a huge fan of gizzards. They clean teeth and build jaw strength. They would be a great choice for a duck meal and cost very little. You could use the feet as a treat. The ideal is 7-9 meals of Bone In and 3-4 meals of Muscle meat. A full meal of Hearts must be one of those. You can configure that how you choose. Watching poops helps. If you see that poops are too loose, go with 8-9 meals of Bone In. If they are fine and you want to add more variety, then you can drop a Bone In and go with a Muscle meat instead. When your final menu is approved by Heather, she will look for the right amount of Bone In's and she doesn't want the menu too heavy on Chicken. They need variety and also too much chicken may often result in an intolerance or allergy. Everyone looks good weight wise. Bentley is still a little thin. He has a waistline. I know his appetite is not good and he doesn't always feel well. Maybe you could coax him to take just a few more bites or a little more CC. How is everyone doing with organs? How about hearts? Is anyone eating whole hearts or primarily slivers? You're doing great so far and moving along nicely. You're a natural at this. :thumbsup:
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Post by Deleted on Jun 1, 2015 16:04:14 GMT -5
I actually haven't tried heart slivers yet. I was planning to try them once we get them on different meals, instead of just the same balanced soupie. Would it be a good idea to add slivers of heart and liver to the soupie? Hershey And weights finally: Bentley - 1 lb 12.5 oz Yogi - 2 lb 5.5 oz Penny - 1 lb 5 oz Hershey - 2 lb 4.5 oz Woody - 3 lb 0.5 oz Snowy - 2 lb 6.5 oz Nestle - 1 lb 9.5 oz Godiva - 1 lb 11.5 oz
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Post by Deleted on Jun 2, 2015 10:25:07 GMT -5
The first stage of our switch is feeding soupies. That has 1-2 chicken hearts in it and 1/2 liver. Once they move past that stage and we move them to slivers and other proteins, then limit the liver to the weekly two organ meals. Liver builds up in their system. It's full of vitamin A and too much is not good for them. Heart has taurine and does not build up in their system. Any muscle meat will have taurine in it, just in varying amounts.
Can you give me a rundown of what each one is eating and about how much daily? What proteins have you tried? I can reread thru the threads, but it's good for you to have it firmly fixed in your head.
All of their weights look good. Bentley weighs a little more than I would have guessed. Woody is a nice big boy. Penny is tiny. She doesn't look that small in her pictures. She does look healthy though. Yogi looks thinner in his picture but his weight is good. Everyone else seems to be doing well also.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 2, 2015 20:22:09 GMT -5
Okay, I can do that Their soupie is some sort of muscle meat(usually chicken breast/thighs or pork, but sometimes duck, rabbit, quail, CGH, turkey), deer liver, bone meal, and chicken hearts. The slivers are all around an inch long and thin Woody - around 5 oz of soupie with half slivers(some with bone) and small bone in pieces(quail, rabbit front legs, or chicken/CGH wings) once or twice a week Snowy - around 3 oz of soupie with half slivers(some with bones) and small bone in pieces once or twice a week Godiva - around 2 oz of soupie with half slivers(some bone) and small bone in pieces once or twice a week Nestle - around 2 oz soupie with half slivers(some bone) Hershey - around 3-4 oz soupie with half slivers Yogi - around 2 oz soupie with half slivers(some with bone) Penny - around 1.5 oz soupie with half slivers(sometimes bone too) Bentley - around 4 tablespoons(dry) carnivore care mixed with half water and half pork bone broth. Kibble(natures variety instinct rabbit, rawboost duck and turkey, and orijen cat and kitten)
They've had chicken, turkey, rabbit, duck, pork, CGH, and quail(I feel like I'm forgetting one but I'm not sure)
Penny is a bit skinny. It's hard to see in pictures because she's so fluffy, but she feels skinny when I pick her up. I think Woody has his seasons switched. He's gotten fluffier and chubbier since I got him. He even has little spots on his belly because it drags on the floor.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 3, 2015 10:38:48 GMT -5
Penny looks like a whippet in her body shape. She doesn't have a waistline though. Can you see her ribs? You should be able to feel them, but not see them. I wouldn't mind seeing her gain some weight, but this might be her normal spring weight. She is so pretty and fluffy.
Woody is adorable. He does look like he has a winter coat and so he probably has his seasons mixed up. My Juliet did and then somehow reversed hers and is back to her spring coat this year.
That's a good rundown. Thank you for doing that. They have had a good variety of proteins. All we need is a red meat included. Deer is a red meat, but I'd like to see a beef meal. It's easier to find then deer meat, especially during the Non Hunting season.
Everyone is eating slivers and some bone, except Hershey and Bentley. So, it's time to begin reducing the amount of soupie and adding more slivers. We want the soupie to slowlt disappear and get them use to just slivers of meat.
For the next few meals, reduce the soupie a little more each meal and increase the slivers in size. You can add some small slivers and some larger ones. See how they do with the bigger pieces. How does that sound to you?
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Post by Deleted on Jun 10, 2015 11:32:45 GMT -5
I'm just checking in to see how everyone is. :wave3:
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Post by Deleted on Jun 10, 2015 16:11:31 GMT -5
Penny has had a lump in her armpit for around 2 weeks. We went to the vet yesterday and found out she has lymphoma now, as well. We've upped her dose of pred now to hopefully treat that. I keep hearing about how short ferrets live after being diagnosed with lymphoma and its scaring me. I'm really not ready to lose any of them We still have been moving along slowly with the transition, increasing the amount and size of the slivers. Hopefully next week I will be able to get beef to try with them. I looked at lamb and bison at the grocery store but it was really expensive, so I hope I will be able to use beef instead.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 10, 2015 18:08:20 GMT -5
Oh, sweet Penny. My Heart goes out to both of you. My experience was not positive with Lymphoma. Was it only one lump under her armpit? Did they do any xrays? As you know, Pred makes them lose their appetite. Keep a close eye on how much she eats. Bison is not available around here, so I don't know the costs. Lamb is always so high, even in the spring. Next time you are at an Asian Market, look for lamb tongue or maybe even lamb heart, any of the innards. That might save you some money. Lamb blade steaks use to be inexpensive, ask your butcher. Ground beef is a good choice for inexpensive red meat. A nice fatty cut or ground meat without any additives. I think I already told you this, but to get mine to eat ground beef, I whip up an egg with some warm water and pour it over it. Just about a tablespoon of water. They love egg, so that hides the flavor of the beef. If I buy the really fatty cuts of beef, like a chuck roast, they like that also. Anything with alot of fat goes over well in my household. Is everyone else okay? How's Bentley's BG doing? Give everyone an extra special hug.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 14, 2015 23:07:15 GMT -5
Yes, just the lump in her armpit. No x-ray, just a needle aspiration biopsy. The vet we saw this time was actually not a ferret vet, but he checked with our normal vet about everything. The vet we saw is also a close friend. He just started working at the clinic I go to, so they're trying to get him more used to the exotics. I was teaching him about the common ferret diseases and I taught him how to check their genders. He was happy to learn more about them.
I checked for any lamb at the asian market before, but all they had were thin slices of lamb, which were really expensive. I might ask next time. I'm also hoping to try a meat market near here. My parents say its expensive and doesn't have that much variety, but I'm thinking they might have the organs,
Everyone is good. Bentley's BG has been staying around 50-60. The other two are around that too, if not higher.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 15, 2015 10:24:32 GMT -5
Since the silly lamb is so expensive, you'll probably want to use beef instead, like we talked about. It can be affordable and will give them their red meat meal, that is so important.
I'm glad you were able to help your friend and that he is interested in exotics. We need more good ferret docs. The gender issue always makes me giggle. I've seen so many new ferrents surprised to find out that their little girl is actually a little boy.
It's Monday, so just to add to the fun of a Monday (blech!), how about a little quiz. This should be easy for you. List the meals included in a basic weekly menu of Frankenprey. I don't need proteins, just how many Bone In/Muscle meat and Organ meals. (dance)
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Post by Deleted on Jun 18, 2015 0:27:47 GMT -5
I'm going to get some beef tomorrow to try with them. Hopefully we won't have any projectile vomiting with it this time. I actually had one rescue once who I was told was a male. For about a week after I got her, I thought she was a male. Then I randomly decided to look and couldn't find a "belly button" 7-9 meals of bone in, 3-4 muscle(1.5 heart), and 1.5 meals organ(half liver and half other organ).
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