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Post by Deleted on Apr 28, 2015 10:27:21 GMT -5
Their next organ meal is strictly heart and that is Wednesday evening (I'm trying to mimic the set up I found either on here or the Facebook page). I haven't noticed anyone blowing their coat, but no-one really got 'pollar bear' coats. I've never really noticed anyone ever getting really thick coats though. For the most part, they stay inside and are in a rather temperature controlled room all year long (that is, slightly cool).
I give everyone a thorough once over everyday when I pull them out for their free roam (they are used to it and just wait fir me to yank then it, haha). I check for lumps, hair loss, full belly, etc. I haven't really noticed anything of the sort (shedding wise). I know my fiancee does the once over on her three days that she's off, but we share everything. (That's How we noticed Jake had adrenal disease so quickly. He's still not even a severe case).
Technically PetCo didn't tell me how old Belrand was (they're kinda lazy ... to say the least. They just wanted to not have to take care of a ferret anymore). I'd seen him there for about three weeks. Now, I figured he'd been there since he was 8 weeks old? He would have been about 11 weeks then. I've had him almost 3 weeks ...sooooooo, 14 weeks, roughly. I know he should have a birth certificate from marshals, but wouldn't know how to get it ...
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Post by Deleted on Apr 28, 2015 10:52:17 GMT -5
I was also wondering, I got sone lamb shanks on markdown for cheap. Problem is, I'm not sure they can eat the bone. It's a lamb bone too much for them to eat?
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Post by Celene on Apr 28, 2015 10:58:50 GMT -5
They can't eat the lamb bone, but you can cut the meat off them. The Marrow is really nutritious for them though. Last time I got lamb bone I dug out all the marrow with a chopstick
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Post by Celene on Apr 28, 2015 11:01:58 GMT -5
As for shedding, ferrets will fully replace their coats twice per year. Sometimes it's fairly gradual, and sometimes a ferret will "blow their coat" and be left with a buzz cut for a few weeks until their new coat grows in. Part of the problem is that Marshall uses artificial lights and stuff to force their jills into season to breed all year long so many ferrets have their schedules mixed up. There are even a number of ferrets who have their seasons entirely backwards, they gain weight in the summer and lose weight in the winter... Which can really alarm some ferrents!
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Post by Deleted on Apr 28, 2015 11:31:52 GMT -5
Okay ... feeding time ... They ate everything but two slivers ... wad going to weigh them, but Leon and Daisy ate them ...
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Post by Deleted on Apr 28, 2015 13:22:09 GMT -5
I've had a ferret gain weight backwards, haha. Wasn't worried, just confused. And god, I hate marshals ...
Corgis (I have two) have their costs 'fly' but never enough for them to go bald!
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Post by Deleted on Apr 29, 2015 1:12:31 GMT -5
Also, how do you feel about squirrel? My friend who hunts says he gets a lot I'd squirrel that typically goes to waste.
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Post by Celene on Apr 29, 2015 9:22:59 GMT -5
I've never personally fed it, but I know some people definitely do. A couple considerations: - Poison - if they're in forests they're more likely to be fine, but in some urban areas poisons are left out to kill rats/other rodents so you'd want to make sure the squirrel hadn't been poisoned.
- Rabies - this isn't an issue in many places, but there are some areas where rabies is common in wild animals.
- Parasites - most parasites can be killed by freezing meat a minimum of 3 weeks, however some parasites are more resistant. Your hunter friend would probably which ones are common in your area.
Just make sure you are feeding ones that your friend killed personally and didn't find already dead, and freeze for at least 3 weeks. You can feed as whole prey (fur and all). Here is a link that has a little bit more info.
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Post by Celene on Apr 29, 2015 15:56:43 GMT -5
I also just wanted to let you know I asked around a bit with some other mentors who feed whole prey and game, and they said to google trichinella spiralis in your area and see if it's found or not.
The link I attached at the bottom mentioned it is mostly found above the 48th parallel, but is sometimes found a little more south too so better safe than sorry since trichinella is a parasite which is resistant to freezing and you definitely don't want to pass it along to your fuzzies!
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Post by Deleted on May 1, 2015 7:08:55 GMT -5
I cannot find anything in regards to trichinella in squirrels around here. I will keep looking, but as far as I can tell, I think we are safe. My colleague seems to like to hunt for the sake of hunting, and (with what he told me) all the hunting seasons are off right now except for small game (which I think he said went all year long). So, I think giving him some squirrel to hunt (which he doesn't eat but will kill) gives him something to do. It is more a favor to him, hahah (I guess?). He also said he will try to catch a rabbit for me when he goes out next (since I would love to start feeding them rabbit but am too wary of them not eating it). I am running into the problem of my babies (primarily my two boys) not wanting to eat chicken any more. Is this a running theme? They seem to like the Cornish Game Hen and the Quail about a million times more (and Goose which seems to be their favorite out of everything). I don't want to have to cut chicken out of their meals, but it is getting harder to feed them chicken but that is the only 'cheap' thing they are getting. They also HATE turkey and won't hardly touch it. All 7 of them turn their noses up at it. Bah. Little brats. They look at me like I'm trying to kill them, which is funny because ground turkey is the first raw meat I was able to get them to eat! My Fiance was wondering about cheaper 'red meats' since we are supposed to toss that in there every week. Have people had success using cow as a source of red meat? I do still have the lamb in the freezer, which was intended half for them and half for us haha. I just was wondering if their was a cheaper option on that part, since beef is the cheapest of the red meat sources (obviously I will buy them lamb or bison if I have to but ...). Also, is rabbit considered a red meat source? Any way, Onto the weekly updates. I will get everyone weighed today after Jake has his appointment for his DES implant (YAYAYAYAYAYAYA! I am supper excited it finallly came in!). I did get everyone to eat their heart meal this time. The big cage seemed to go for it right away, but I did add a smidgen of salmon oil to the boys and that seemed to do the trick. Now to get them to eat the other organs ... I lowered the boys onto 3.5 ounces (approxametly) of food and it seems to be working just fine. Here is my weekly menu on my new cool board. I started it on Thursday since that was when we started our little adventure together. Again, I will weigh everyone in about 4 hours and post their new weights up.
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Post by Celene on May 1, 2015 9:57:11 GMT -5
Your menu (and board) looks great! I'm assuming your second organ meal is half organ/half heart? Also, I noticed (for example) that you have bison listed as a "bone-in" meal - are you feeding the muscle meat with bone meal/eggshell powder? In regards to fussiness, I learned a long time ago that ferrets are much, much smarter that we give them credit for when it comes to manipulating us humans! Ferrets don't become "reverse fussy" - what they are trying to do is hold out for something better or some salmon oil garnish When I first switched my girls would look at chunks of meat like it wasn't edible, and refuse to eat until I poured some (watered down) egg yolk over it, then they'd go to town! I made the decision to try a tough love approach and fed them just chunks with (gasp!) no egg! For awhile they would go up to the food shelf every 5 or so minutes, sniff the food very exaggeratedly, look at me, sigh or speedbump, repeat the sniff/look a couple times and run back down... For creatures who make almost no noise and don't have much facial expression they sure can communicate! Every time they did that I'd go up to where the food was and stare at them so they KNEW I saw them and didn't care... A couple hours later they gave up and just went to eat it on their own. I wish I had tried that approach sooner, but I was scared they'd starve >< They've learned by now that they eat what's there, or they don't eat at all! FYI, cornish game hens are (more or less) just young chickens and aren't different enough to count as a different protein. The two reasons people will feed CGH over chicken is that a) the bones are smaller and easier to chew when introducing bone, and b) some ferrets don't tolerate the antibiotics/hormones used in chickens and seem to do better with CGH. As for beef, you can definitely feed it! Beef, bison, lamb, any red meat will do, and ferrets have no idea that one is fancier than another If any of your ferrets have sensitive tummies, lamb is usually much less allergenic than beef, but other than that neither is "better", just different Rabbit isn't red meat, but it does provide more variety and is an extra bone-in source. Wild rabbits are usually better since they run around a lot and are therefore higher in taurine. Regular farm rabbits are great too, just lower in taurine so if I am feeding a lot of rabbit meals in a week I will add extra heart in their diet to balance it out. You can also feed pork. My girls LOVE pork and I get the nice, fatty cuts which are better for them and usually the cheapest. I usually blend my heart and other organs into an "organ soup" that I feed - I use 1/2 heart, 1/4 liver, and 1/4 other organ, blend it, and feed as a meal 3 times of week (which is equivalent to the 1.5 meals heart and 1.5 meals liver/organ they should be getting). This is the one meal a week they beg for and lick the bowl clean. I hand feed these on my lap to make sure they're each eating the right amount, but it doesn't take long. (Truthfully, a big part of the reason I feed organ soupies is that I hate handling/touching/cutting organs and this way I can prep 8 weeks worth of organ meals in advance at once.) I think/hope I covered everything, I'm really excited for Jake to get the implant! I'm really not happy about the virbac shenanigans and the colossal fail on their part having them unavailable for so long, but glad that some are finally shipping.
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Post by Deleted on May 1, 2015 13:58:35 GMT -5
That actually makes sense ... we changed to cheaper chicken, and that's when they stayed being more fussy. Didn't put two and two together! I bought them a bunch of the 'old' natural organic chicken they were eating. Should be better now!
On 'bone in' days, they are getting the added egg shell. I figure I'll be more strict about it once they start being better about bone. Everyone's gotten the hang of the quail and CGH bones, but not sure that's enough?
In organ day, they've been getting organ soup with half heart, half liver.
I bought beef and pork and we shall see what they think of it!
For organ day, are you afraid they'd get hungry between feeding? Mine space their meal out almost fully between each time. I'd be especially worried about little Belrand, since he's still growing? Thoughts?
Weights are now as follows: Claire 22.47 Leon 33.79 Jake 35.60 Daisy 27.55 Peach 28.50 ~~~~ Argis 40.74 (he's looking better, so I'm happy with his weight loss) Belrand 31.85
Everyone, with the exception of Argis, has gained weight. Everyone looks very happy, and Belrand is getting HUGE! I love it!
On whole prey, I'm not sure I'm exactly ready for that just yet. I'm good with the meat add soon as it stops looking alive! Haha.
I think that covers everything?
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Post by Celene on May 1, 2015 22:12:23 GMT -5
I'm too squeamish for whole prey too... I just assumed that's what you'd be doing with the squirrels since they're small and I don't know if your friend will want to butcher them for you.
As for organ meal days, I generally don't worry they'll go hungry since their organ meals are over an ounce each and most of their other meals are just under an ounce each and they usually leave lots by the next meal so they are eating quite a bit. I also feed my organ meals in the early evening so I have time to watch and see if they look hungry (they are pretty good at letting me know). I keep a container of "snacks" which are individually frozen meat chunks (once they're frozen on a baking sheet they don't stick together in the container) so if they're hungry I pull out a couple pieces for them to munch on.
I'm so glad everyone is doing well! Raw feeding really does make a world of difference. As for bone, it definitely wouldn't hurt to add in a third source (rabbit most commonly) but two sources is fine so long as they're getting more variety in their muscle meals.
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Post by Deleted on May 2, 2015 0:53:10 GMT -5
I will continue to look into another source of bone, but I'm mashing sure to add bone meal into their bone in meals.
I am also trying and going neck to the other source if chicken to see if they'll eat that. I might take the left over goose that I have to make them snacks, and I'll try hand feeding organ day. Might have to badge it extra tasty at first!
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Post by Deleted on May 3, 2015 13:24:32 GMT -5
So, I'm still struggling with the organ meal (for the boys, not so much the top cage). I'm not really sure how to go about this. Neither really want to eat when they are out of the cage (even though they free roam all night) because time with mommy us play time. I've also tried giving them a smaller meal before, and they still dint care too much. I skipped the soupie stage with these two, and now they won't eat soup in any form... what a bunch if brats. tonight is organ again and for breakfast they're getting a smaller meal ... we shall see. I'm also thinking about moving organs to morning so I have more time to feed it by hand...
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