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Post by Deleted on Aug 6, 2015 12:42:50 GMT -5
Oh that's a good idea! Plus then Emil will eat it for sure! I like it! - Devan
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Post by Deleted on Aug 6, 2015 22:58:32 GMT -5
Well good news Emil ate without force (had to guide him to it though) he ate a lot. Noa does eat it however she thinks its more like a actual soup then solid chunks...any idea how to h*ll change that? And Mia and Rumi eat on their own Mia doesn't eat much but Rumi chows down. - Devan
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Post by Celene on Aug 7, 2015 10:01:08 GMT -5
Sorry.. I'm not exactly sure what you mean by that. Do you mean she just licks at it rather than trying to use her teeth? I had that problem with my girls when I switched and it just continued all the way until the chunks were big enough that they couldn't lick them up anymore!
Anyway, now that everyone is cooperating and eating, it's time to start working them up to a full frankenprey menu. This is a chart I made fairly recently that sort of outlines the process: The optional sixth step is to start incorporating some whole prey (most often rodents or small birds with feathers) into their diet. I didn't include this in the chart because the only cartoon photos I could find to represent whole prey either looked too adorable, or were morbid like roadkill
The main frankenprey menu that is as follows: (menu based on two meals per day / 14 meals per week) 9 meals of bone-in meat 2 meals of boneless "muscle" meat 1.5 meals of heart 1.5 meals of liver and other organ (half and half)Since feeding "half a meal" is kind of awkward, what I do (and recommend) is feeding 3 meals composed of 50% heart, 25% liver and 25% other organ.
Edible bone-in meat includes ANY part of birds the size of a chicken and smaller (e.g. chicken, cornish game hen, quail, partridge, etc.), turkey wing tips and neck, duck neck, any part of a rabbit, and other "small" animals (for example I feed frogs legs sometimes). Larger bones like chicken thigh are difficult for some ferrets to eat, and not recommended as a "starter" bone.
"Muscle" meat is basically ANY boneless meat. This includes poultry, beef, lamb, pork, bison, ostrich, venison... Any meat that people eat. Gizzards, tongue and heart are also included in the "muscle" category. Ferrets need a minimum of 1.5 heart meals per week in order to get enough taurine, but since excess taurine is excreted in their urine they can have more.
Heart and liver and pretty self-explanatory. Other organs are basically the secreting organs of an animal, such as pancreas, kidneys, brain, etc.
Variety is important! On a final meal plan it is recommended you feed an absolute minimum of 3-4 different proteins (animals) per week. We also usually recommend at least one meal per week of "red" meat in order to provide a better balance of nutrients, since it is higher in certain vitamins and minerals such as iron, zinc, B vitamins, etc.
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Post by Celene on Aug 7, 2015 10:05:19 GMT -5
So for now I recommend starting to add some tiny bits of meat to the soup. Thinner slivers usually work best, then you can start increasing the size and the amount of slivers as they start eating them. At first they might try very hard to eat around these pieces, and spit them out, but eventually they will "accidentally" chew them and realize they're edible too.
Once there is a significant proportion of chunks, you may want to start increasing the heart, liver and bones in the grind recipe so it remains balanced. The other option would be to feed the frankenprey menu as above, and grind each component separately. The ratio of eggshell powder should remain at 1/2 tsp per 8oz of meat.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 7, 2015 11:16:36 GMT -5
AH THE MATH MY BRAIN AGGH ...All jokes aside looks like its time to get a meat clever and slice up slivers! (So excited!) - Devan
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Post by Celene on Aug 7, 2015 12:08:26 GMT -5
If math isn't your strong suit, I made a little graphic awhile ago for the heart/liver/organ meals Then you just need to adjust to however much your fuzzies eat. Have I already mentioned the veggie peeler trick? If not, my favourite way to get slivers is to freeze meat, let it thaw just a teeny bit, and take a vegetable peeler to it! The more frozen the meat, the thinner the slivers (if it's 100% frozen they will be like crumbly shavings). If you let it thaw a little more you will get larger, thicker slivers. Some ferrets do better if you also cut them lengthwise so they are spaghetti-shaped
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Post by Deleted on Aug 7, 2015 12:50:54 GMT -5
Is any kind of avian wing or Leg acceptable to be a bone meat I've been calling around and no where sells neck... - Devan
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Post by Deleted on Aug 7, 2015 12:53:35 GMT -5
Oh thank you for the tip and the chart! - Devan
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Post by Deleted on Aug 8, 2015 9:48:04 GMT -5
So last night I tried cutting up some decent size hearts (like cut olives size) none ate it won't lie got peeved so I grabbed some thigh and cleaved it into some pretty big slices....Noa...LOVES the ____ out of it she went straight for eating the chunks, Rumi jumped right on board too till she was full!, Mia is picky she only likes slices with lots of skin however Emil wouldn't even touch it (here we go again.. ) any ideas on heart eating? I was thinking of making lots of small sizes of thigh and laying it around heart slices see if they eat it then. - Devan
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Post by Celene on Aug 8, 2015 11:26:53 GMT -5
I'll start at the top and work my way down: Wings are generally good all around. If it's a large wing (say from a turkey, goose or duck) the upper third (closest to the shoulder) might be too big to start. With any of the smaller birds, basically ANY part of the bird is fine. It generally helps though to start with the smaller bones (wings, ribs, etc.) and work up as they get used to it. Most grocery stores I've been into also sell necks on their own (I think people like them on their own and also use them for soup stalk). (This photo I found from a cooking website on turkducken/stuffing birds into each other, but is a good size reference.) Hearts: Hearts have a much different taste/texture compared to thigh, and since the soupie is mostly thigh, that's the smell/flavour they are used to. You can try grinding some heart on its own and getting them used to that to begin with, or start by mixing it into their current soupies. Ferrets generally LOVE heart - it's much more difficult to get them to eat liver and kidney I actually feed my current heart/liver/organ meals in soupie form. I HATE the smell and touching them too much, so this way I can prepare 2 months worth of organ meals at once. Plus, that way they can't pick out all the heart and leave the liver and kidney/other organ behind. When I serve it, I weigh and split the portions up so I know each ferret is getting an equal share (rather than one ferret eating all the organ, and the other not getting enough).
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Post by Deleted on Aug 8, 2015 19:14:36 GMT -5
It was a chicken thigh...though only one store here sells neck but it won't be until late fall and that's it...I suppose I could blend it again shouldn't be too hard. Mmk off to work I go! - Devan
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Post by Deleted on Aug 9, 2015 8:24:55 GMT -5
I sizes down the slices a bit and all but Emil went at it (the sound of them eating is oddly soothing to me) and since Emil wouldn't eat I grabbed the fish oil and put a little bit on some he licked at some and ate a little bit but man do they power through food I went to do dishes and over half the meat is gone already @_@ - Devan
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Post by Deleted on Aug 9, 2015 10:11:37 GMT -5
Uh...How's stool came out quite a dark brown...is that normal? - Devan
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Post by Celene on Aug 9, 2015 10:42:48 GMT -5
Yup, especially if they've eaten organ. My girls have nasty liquid almost-black poops after organ meals
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Post by Deleted on Aug 9, 2015 14:07:41 GMT -5
Ok good that scared me... - Devan
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