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Post by Celene on Aug 31, 2015 10:58:17 GMT -5
I'm glad they're eating so much! Sometimes ferrets will eat a bunch at once, sometimes they'll eat several smaller meals. As long as everyone is healthy, I wouldn't worry too much.
I wouldn't recommend dying your ferret, as they groom quite a bit and any sort of dye would not be great if ingested. Most people who need to tell two ferrets apart will clip some fur on one of them. A common one is to cut the fur at the end of the tail, so one ferret has the natural pointy tip, and one will have a flat tip.
Also, I really REALLY need you to post a whole week's menu of what they're eating (see template in previous post). I absolutely have to make sure that their current diet is fully balanced.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 1, 2015 16:57:58 GMT -5
Monday: 5:00 am hearts 2:00 pm chicken thigh with skin 9:50 pm bone with gizzards and blood Tuesday: 5:00 am hearts 2:00pm turkey slivers of thigh with skin 9:50 pm bone with ground turkey and blood Wednesday: 5:00 am hearts 2:00 pm beef slivers 9:50 pm beef slivers with bone and blood
The latter repeats itself except for beef. That reserved for Wednesday only.
-Raven
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Post by Deleted on Sept 1, 2015 16:59:36 GMT -5
Oops I forgot to and liver on 2:00pm.
- Raven
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Post by Celene on Sept 1, 2015 17:31:36 GMT -5
Are they getting liver every day at 2pm, or just one of those days? Also, for their nighttime Wednesday meal, are the bones beef as well? I highly recommend you switch to our sample Frankenprey Menu so that you know your fuzzies are getting a fully balanced diet. It will also be much easier for you to feed only two meals a day instead of three. Monday am: edible bone in meat Monday pm: edible bone in meat (or muscle)* 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 (or muscle)* 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 The "other organ" can be kidney, thymus, pancreas, brain, etc. It would also be great if you could get one more different protein into the rotation. Good options would be rabbit, quail or pork.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 3, 2015 13:00:01 GMT -5
Pork is our considered next meat to teach we just got them to try beef and they struggle with it a little and we are both too afraid to make any larger process with bone @_@' - Devan
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Post by Celene on Sept 3, 2015 13:10:51 GMT -5
Red meats like beef, lamb, bison, etc. have the "strongest" flavours and seem to be the hardest to introduce. Poultry (quail, duck, etc.) are much easier to introduce since they're more similar to chicken. Rabbit is pretty mild tasting I think too. Pork is a big favourite in our household
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Post by Deleted on Sept 4, 2015 21:04:31 GMT -5
We made the bone bigger and they all adapted to the new size remarkably. Noa did eat the most only because she hovered over the plate. I have written down the scheduled menu that you gave us. Thank you.
- Raven
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Post by Celene on Sept 5, 2015 22:15:20 GMT -5
Yay! Sounds like everyone is progressing fantastically.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 8, 2015 19:12:35 GMT -5
Noa recently has been eating alot. This is a little worrisome. It excessive eating a problem or are we jumping the gun?
-Raven
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Post by Celene on Sept 8, 2015 23:39:58 GMT -5
Not at all! In most parts of the world ferrets are starting to prepare for winter. This involves either a coat change, a weight change, or both. It will vary by ferret, but many ferrets will actually gain up to 30%-40% of their body weight over winter! It's especially scary in the springtime when they suddenly drop it all (and with shedding on top of that some of them just look terrible lol!) My mocha gets soooo fat over winter and grows a big thick coat. She's like a freaking polar bear. She barely woke except to eat or poop. In the spring she lost it all, along with all of her fur (I had enough almost to build a whole new ferret). Nova, on the other hand, stays basically the same weight all year long and seems to shed more gradually rather than blowing her coat all that once. This is almost entirely based on light cycles, so even though the weather may not seem wintery (it's still very hot here where I am) the changes are still happening. At the Marshall factory they subject their breeders to artificial light 24/7 so they breed all year long instead of just in the spring. Unnatural lighting conditions are a main contributor for adrenal gland disease How is everything else going food-wise? Are they eating bigger chunks?
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Post by Deleted on Sept 10, 2015 16:01:57 GMT -5
I didn't get time to check what raven layed out but from what glimpse I saw they were literally just thigh choped one way by the clever since I saw the bone still poking out in it... Not going to lie the bone part terrifies me but I know we have to do it (I've been stressing out all day over it. ) I even have a video of all but Emil eating beef! =D We still haven't done pork but I'm super excited since its a more sweet meat and they always try to steal our sweet foods. - Devan
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Post by Deleted on Sept 10, 2015 16:04:01 GMT -5
Unfortunately we thought it was assumed unnatural lighting does that...good thing we stopped using our lights unless it's needed...I really hope that's making a difference....My aim is to have them live their adorable lives as long and healthy as possible. - Devan
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Post by Deleted on Sept 11, 2015 18:56:12 GMT -5
Um...hopefully you'll read this soon...I just found some kinda bluish dot on Mia's toe...and it definitely was not there before...any thoughts? - Devan Just talked to raven she says she recalls it long ago...I was hoping she was right and you'd tell me she is and not to worry. - Devan
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Post by Celene on Sept 13, 2015 9:58:30 GMT -5
Sorry for not responding sooner - I'm in the middle of moving so my access to computers is kind of spotty The blueish dot is a tattoo, just like the one in their ears! All of Marshall ferrets have toe tattoos, according to them. Some people insist their ferret doesn't, but Marshall says they just may be hard to find. As for why they have have tattoos on their feet, that is a big mystery. Marshall themselves have given many different answers, such as 1. "Which toe they are tattooed on indicates which vet performed the spaying/neutering/descenting." Firstly, Marshall doesn't have actual vets who do this, they have technicians. Secondly, staff rotate throughout the years, and nobody is ever going to go back and ask who performed the surgery. 2. "Competitors are copying Marshall's tattoo so we tattoo the foot as well so people know which ferrets are real Marshall ferrets". This answer is even stupider because Marshall does not have a good reputation - I can't think of any reason why somebody would want to make a "knock off" ferret. Competitors would also just as easily copy a toe tattoo. Ferret owners have come up with theories regarding the real reason, such as genetic lines, marking ferrets that are to be sold as pets (Marshall's main income actually comes from selling ferrets for lab testing, the pet thing is a side gig), colouring and patterns, but so far nothing really seems to fit. Either way, the dot is nothing to worry about medically. Anyway, because I'm in a nice mood (and you guys are doing so great with your switch), time for a pop quiz! 1. List 3 organs aside from liver.
2. Organs should consist of approximately how much liver, and how much "other" organ?
3. What percent of the diet should be organ?
4. How many meals a week should be organ, and of those meals how much needs to be liver?
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Post by Celene on Sept 18, 2015 21:32:39 GMT -5
How is everything going?
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