|
|
Post by Deleted on Jul 12, 2015 1:13:10 GMT -5
I have a new privately bred, intact hob who is 15 weeks old. Teddy was started on large adult mice (frozen) and small chicks (frozen) by the private breeder. He was also given a little Freshpet chicken with ocean fish each day. I keep a small amount of Raw Instinct Chicken kibble (cat) and CORE chicken kibble (cat) available at all times. He eats very little if any of this kibble (he plays in it). I purchased whole chicken gizzards for him and he loves them. Just this week, I purchased grinds from OMA's Pride pet food. I received ground with bone: turkey necks, quail, duck (he loves all three). I also purchased ground chicken gizzards with hearts (he loves it). I will attempt to feed him the ground turkey liver, heart, and gizzards tomorrow. However, he absolutely refused to come close to the ground venison and ground beef liver, kidney, and heart. I have not had luck in getting him to come close to chicken liver. I have tried mixing with meat he likes and he won't even smell it. So, I need guidance in setting up a weekly menu for Teddy. I think he is going to be a "poultry lover." I have ordered salmon oil. Any suggestions? Read more: holisticferret60.proboards.com/conversation/29371#ixzz3fefOKf18 |
|
|
|
Post by lyles on Jul 12, 2015 1:21:32 GMT -5
Still too young to imprint yet, you'll just have to scruff put some in his mouth till he starts to chew then set him down with the rest. after a few sessions he'll start to eat it on his own. Nei didn't like chicken when I first switched her, she would stash it away to make me think she ate it. Now she is eating it for real.
Mixing is fine too but you have to start off with very little of the new food. I would also drain as much blood as you can from the new food so that his preferred food's blood will soak into it instead of the other way around.
|
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Jul 12, 2015 1:30:04 GMT -5
Awesome! Thank you! Do I need to buy beef liver at the grocery store and have them grind it? Is that the best liver?
|
|
|
|
Post by lyles on Jul 12, 2015 2:05:04 GMT -5
Awesome! Thank you! Do I need to buy beef liver at the grocery store and have them grind it? Is that the best liver? Liver is liver, you can get from any animal for variety or just one. I find chicken livers to be cheaper personally. No need to grind, just cut up into small pieces. Beef livers are very soft, I find that they are mushy when fully thawed so best to freeze a bit first then cut while semi frozen. It's usually the other organs one has trouble finding. You are supposed to have one other organ to feed as well (spleen, pancreas, kidneys, ect.) that are hard to find. Your best bet is looking for chicken kidneys, most stores should have it. |
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Jul 12, 2015 9:47:53 GMT -5
Poro is a Tummy with Teeth. He will eat well and he will eat alot. You will probably want to feed him around 4 times a day. I like to leave food out for my five free roam ferrets.
He is still a baby and use to having his Mom with him. You're now his Mom. Sit with him while he eats and try coaxing in that one last bite.
He will need to develop jaw strength to tackle some bones. Bone In meals are the Non Weight bearing bones of an animal the size of a chicken or smaller. Think chicken wings, quail, cornish game hen, rabbit.
He's also old enough to follow a Frankenprey menu. The Frankenprey menu is designed to mimic eating whole prey. It's carefully balanced. You want a minimum of three proteins.
Here is the basic menu:
Monday am: edible bone in meat
Monday pm: edible bone in meat
Tuesday am: edible bone in meat
Tuesday pm: muscle meat
Wednesday am: edible bone in meat
Wednesday pm: heart
Thursday am: edible bone in meat
Thursday pm: edible bone in meat
Friday am: edible bone in meat
Friday pm: ½ heart + ¼ liver + ¼ other organ
Saturday am: edible bone in meat
Saturday pm: muscle meat
Sunday am: edible bone in meat
Sunday pm: ½ liver + ½ other organ
Edible bone in meat: is just that meat with bone included. It is NOT bones with just a bit of meat on them (ie: most of the meat removed). If you fed bones like this you will throw the balance of the menu off. See below for acceptable bone in meats
chicken: any / all, quail: any / all, rabbit: any / all, turkey: necks, ribs, and wing tips, duck: neck, ribs, and wing tips. pork: button bones, rib ends, cornish game hen: any / all.
Any commercial frozen raw with 10% to 15% ground bone. Any freeze dried raw with 10%-15% ground bone.
Muscle meat: any heart meat. Chicken (including gizzard), turkey, duck, lamb, goat, beef, Cornish Game Hen (counts as chicken), venison, elk, basically any meat (unaltered such as smoked, pickled or injected with salt) without bone.
*heart is considered a muscle meat but is ABSOLUTELY necessary as it is their primary source of taurine. Lack of taurine in their diet can lead to eyesight problems and other issues.
Organ meat: Liver, kidney, thymus, pancreas, reproductive organs, lung, brain, basically any part of the body that secretes.
Fat is an important part of a carnivore's diet as this is where they get their energy. It works for them in the same way carbs do for humans. Make sure to pick fattier cuts over leaner cuts when buying your meat (thigh vs. breast, shoulder vs. tenderloin, etc)
I'm not a fan of scruffing. I prefer to sit with them while they eat (in the beginning).
Put Teddy on your lap.
Hold one hand under him and offer him a small piece of his food. After he takes it, you can sit him down on the floor and stay there while he eats. As a baby, his Mother would be with him and now you are his Mother. He will feel secure and you will build a lovely bond.
Soupie is what we start older imprinted ferrets on. However, it's also nice for kits to get use to the soupie. If Teddy were to get sick, then soupie would be a good way to nourish him. You know how good soup tasted when you are sick. The soupie recipe is balanced also.
8oz raw chicken thigh (raw)
1 oz raw chicken liver (or other raw liver)
1-2 raw chicken hearts (approximately 1 oz) or 1 oz other raw heart
½ to ¾ tsp bone meal or crushed egg shell
(air-dry egg shell then crush with mortar and pestle or in a clean coffee grinder)
Weigh out your meat and organs.
Add bone meal or egg shell.
Add water until about the consistency of thick cream (no thinner!!). Blending up in a food processor is the easiest.
PLEASE USE HUMAN GRADE BONE MEAL POWDER! you don't want to know what they put in the bone meal that they sell for pets…
We have a Mentoring program that you can sign up for.
You might want to build Teddy a switching thread and then all the Mentors can offer advice and support. Take a look at some of the Member/Mentor threads to see how the process works. We ask that you don't post to those, they are for the Mentor/Member only.
Did I mention that we love pictures here, pretty please.
You're off to a great start with Teddy. Have fun and see you around the HFF
(dance)
|
|
|
|
Post by Sherry on Jul 12, 2015 11:26:01 GMT -5
Don't forget- kits eat. A LOT  |
|
|
|
Post by FireAngel on Jul 12, 2015 12:31:35 GMT -5
I'm with poncesmom on this, with a kit there is very little need to ever scruff and stuff, just sit with him in your lap and finger feed him or spoon feed him. Usually after a few try's he will do just fine.
|
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Jul 12, 2015 12:47:45 GMT -5
|
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Jul 16, 2015 0:38:24 GMT -5
Oh my! I just typed a full week's menu then lost it! Guess I am not too good at doing all this yet.
So here goes again........Thank you to all of you for your much appreciated advice! Teddy is my eighth ferret in 23 years and the first to be fed a raw diet. I want to do what is best for my baby.
This is what I have in the freezer:
whole adult mice
whole baby chicks
whole chicken gizzards
OMA's Pride grinds as follows:
Turkey necks (grnd with bone)
duck necks (grnd w/bone)
Quail (grnd w/bones)
Turkey liver, heart, gizzard (grnd)
Chicken hearts/gizzards (grnd)
I also have Salmon oil but not sure how often to give it. I give him a dose of Ferret Lax once per week.
I take the grinds and spoon approximately 2T. in each cube in an ice cube tray and then freeze it.
Sun. - 2 chicks, 3 mice; 2 cubes turkey liver, heart, gizzard; 1 cube turkey neck
Mon. - 2 chicks; 3 mice; 2 cubes duck neck; 1 cube quail
Tues. - 2 chicks; 3 mice; 2 cubes chicken heart/gizzard; 1 cube turkey neck
wed. - 2 chicks; 3 mice; 1 whole chicken gizzard; 2 cubes quail
thurs. - 2 chicks; 3 mice; 2 cubes turkey liver, heart, gizzard; 1 cube turkey neck
fri.- 2 chicks; 3 mice; 2 cube duck neck; 1 cube quail
sat.- 2 chicks; 3 mice; 1 turkey neck cube; 1 duck neck cube
Please let me know what you think of this menu. I just don't know what to do with him not wanting red meat.
|
|
|
|
Post by FireAngel on Jul 16, 2015 14:42:54 GMT -5
Oh my! I just typed a full week's menu then lost it! Guess I am not too good at doing all this yet. So here goes again........Thank you to all of you for your much appreciated advice! Teddy is my eighth ferret in 23 years and the first to be fed a raw diet. I want to do what is best for my baby. This is what I have in the freezer: whole adult mice whole baby chicks whole chicken gizzards OMA's Pride grinds as follows: Turkey necks (grnd with bone) duck necks (grnd w/bone) Quail (grnd w/bones) Turkey liver, heart, gizzard (grnd) Chicken hearts/gizzards (grnd) I also have Salmon oil but not sure how often to give it. I give him a dose of Ferret Lax once per week. You can give him 1/2tsb every day but really he only needs about 1tsp every 3 days or so. Get rid of the ferret lax it so full of sugar and start giving him an egg yolk once a week. You can give the whole egg but make sure it is well mixed together if you do.I take the grinds and spoon approximately 2T. in each cube in an ice cube tray and then freeze it. Sun. - 2 chicks, 3 mice; 2 cubes turkey liver, heart, gizzard; 1 cube turkey neck Mon. - 2 chicks; 3 mice; 2 cubes duck neck; 1 cube quail Tues. - 2 chicks; 3 mice; 2 cubes chicken heart/gizzard; 1 cube turkey neck wed. - 2 chicks; 3 mice; 1 whole chicken gizzard; 2 cubes quail thurs. - 2 chicks; 3 mice; 2 cubes turkey liver, heart, gizzard; 1 cube turkey neck fri.- 2 chicks; 3 mice; 2 cube duck neck; 1 cube quail sat.- 2 chicks; 3 mice; 1 turkey neck cube; 1 duck neck cube Please let me know what you think of this menu. I just don't know what to do with him not wanting red meat. Here is a link to help you balance whole prey and grinds or frankenprey, Keep my diet balanced. Chicks should not be a staple in any diet they are not mature and not considered balanced. They are fine for a treat though. If you are feeding strictly whole prey grinds are not needed. I find it much easier to keep a balanced diet with variety to not feed strictly whole prey.
To coax your guy into eating red meat you can try adding some salmon oil to it and finger feeding him. You can also try running some warm water and quickly putting it under the water and then finger feeding it to him
|
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Jul 16, 2015 19:15:10 GMT -5
Thank you! I gave him a chicken egg yolk once (I have chickens, so I get fresh eggs daily) and it caused him to have blow-out diarrhea for a while. Is it really necessary to do this to keep him from getting hairballs? I am thinking that once all the chicks and mice are gone (I have only 50 chicks left), I will feed only raw meats. BUT, I have a LOTS of mice left. So, should the mice be only treats also? What did you think of my menu thus far? Oma's pride also has a chicken blend that has breast, thigh, neck, ground bone, gizzard, heart, and liver. Or should I order the chicken with ground bone and not the organs? He loves the ground turkey liver, gizzard, and heart blend I give him. If I switch to mostly raw, can I give him one chick and one mouse per day for treats? |
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Jul 16, 2015 19:16:49 GMT -5
Also, what red meat is more acceptable to ferrets? Oma's pride has some. I doesn't like venison or the beef liver.
|
|
|
|
Post by FireAngel on Jul 16, 2015 19:31:23 GMT -5
Lamb is usually well tolerated and accepted by ferrets.
Are the mice adults?
What are the percentages of meat, bone heart, liver and other organ on the Oma's pride?
|
|
|
|
Post by FireAngel on Jul 16, 2015 19:34:36 GMT -5
If you can get hearts then you do not need taurine powder.
|
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Jul 16, 2015 19:44:23 GMT -5
Yes. The mice are adult white frozen and he gets 3 -4 per day. Does he also need bone meal? He just did not do well with the egg yolk. I will find out the percentages on the Oma's Pride blend. I so appreciate all your help. So, I will definitely do the chicks as a treat.
|
|
