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Post by Klarissa on Aug 30, 2015 21:35:22 GMT -5
I couldn't wait until morning. Here is the revised meal plan for Willy & Bear. Bear weighs 1.4lbs (eats most AM) Willy weighs 3.8lbs (eats most late PM) They currently share a dish since they ate from opposite bowls, its also help fostering some friendship skills They get 2.5oz x 3, at approximately 9am, 2pm, and 11pm. The dish always has a few bites left when refilled. **Because they share a dish, they get egg twice a week, since they share the egg each time. I also give one egg during AM meal & one during a PM meal to make sure its getting shared equally** They get chicken and duck liver. Kidney is pork. Hearts are chicken. As they get to bigger chunks, I'm incorporating more proteins. This week's meal prep will add pulverized duck wing and a (live) mouse.
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Post by FireAngel on Aug 31, 2015 11:19:23 GMT -5
That looks much better, continue to increase the types of protiens and the sizes they eat. They are moving along nicely. :goodjob:
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Post by Klarissa on Aug 31, 2015 11:47:09 GMT -5
Thank you! I'm quite proud of the fuzzers & myself Last night they had slivered duck breast (some of mine before I cooked it) and it went over really really well. So, duck wings will definitely be in the meal prep. I have some FDR venison & elk mix (Orijen Tundra) and FDR buffalo/bison/lamb/boar (Orijen Regional Red) , and FDR duck (Orijen singles). I prefer the franeknprey, but we've run out of freezer space, lol. The FDR takes up a lot less room, plus the Tundra & Regional red aren't meat I will have access to in store. I wish I could find FDR rabbit, before I defrost the whole bunny in my freezer.
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Post by FireAngel on Aug 31, 2015 17:37:53 GMT -5
Mine love duck necks. The butchering of a rabbit can be a daunting task for sure but it's worth it!
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Post by Klarissa on Sept 1, 2015 10:50:46 GMT -5
I haven't seen duck necks yet, but tomorrow we are going to the Asian grocery to pick up more chicken heart & I will check.
Today, I'm hopping grocery store to grocery store for discount meats. What muscle meat do you recommend? I usually use stewing beef & stir fry beef. I avoid chicken since that's the bone in meals, they get plenty of chicken
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Post by Klarissa on Sept 1, 2015 16:39:47 GMT -5
I sit now on the floor of the ferret room, proudly beaming over Bear as she gobbles up her first mouse. Below is kind of graphic description, in case anyone is squeamish. I went and purchased two live mice, hoping hunting would motivate them to eat. Bear has killed a mouse before, a house mouse, and she was amazing! It took her mere seconds once she saw to kill it. So I really thought she would be a success, if Willy didn't kill his, she could be our assassin. Except both my mice, batted the mouse around with its paws & licked it So I dispatched the mice(I prefer the CO2 method). One I froze, the other I dangled in front of Bear like a cat teaser toy, which got her chew on it, especially around the head & neck, but she didn't break skin. So I cut its neck a bit (because I want her to immediately go for it in live mice) now she is eating it. Is there anything I can do, to train her to hunt?
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Post by FireAngel on Sept 1, 2015 20:53:00 GMT -5
I'm going to tag katt here because I am not the best person to ask about live feeding. I know there are a couple of people here that do this but off hand I cannot think of any. The mouse was still alive when you were dangling it and cut it or was it already "dispatched"? Edit- just saw your other thread so you don't have to answer those questions for me. You had already used CD on them.
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Post by Klarissa on Sept 2, 2015 6:56:18 GMT -5
I reread it in the other thread, and thought "whoa! That could totally be read the wrong way!" Thank you. I gutted the mouse & put oil on it, but they still didn't eat it so I... *gulp* put it in the blender with their regular meat. I think the mice I'm going to revisit when a) Bear will hunt them b) when they are better eaters of chunks & bones because I don't think I could cut the mouse up - I closed my eyes when I turned the blender on
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Post by FireAngel on Sept 2, 2015 13:09:46 GMT -5
I had a bit of a difficult time getting George to eat mouse at first but I just cut it up and included it in every meal he had for a few days and also gave him a whole one cut open everyday until one day he started eating it. It took me about a week. He is still a kit only 4 1/2 months old right now so I was surprised it took me that long plus the other 3 didn't take anymore then a couple of times either. They are all different though. When I cut it up I left some fur so he would be used to that too. You've done well so far so I'm sure you will succeed with this too!
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Post by Klarissa on Sept 2, 2015 13:20:41 GMT -5
Thanks! It was tough to get Willy off kibble, but they are both great ferrets <3 They gobbled up the mouse soup I made, and next time I will just cut the mouse up in their regular food. The mouse will really help get Bear's bone-in intake up, since she is so resistant to the grinds. Raw feeding is already so much easier now that I don't have to make soup & clean dishes caked in soup
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Post by Deleted on Sept 2, 2015 15:53:43 GMT -5
Yum, mouse soup! Haha. I'll be trying mine with ground Cavies soon, oh the joys of being a raw feeding. Blending up whole mice.. LOL. I'm so glad they're doing well, you've done a wonderful job. How big are the chunks they're eating right now? It's a great feeling when our fuzzers take a step forward, eating mice whether blended or not is a great step, new protein and plus having had contained fur (which is great for their intestines) is a really good thing. :goodjob:
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Post by Klarissa on Sept 2, 2015 16:44:49 GMT -5
They are eating small chunks, pinkie nail size. I think that's why they didn't dive into the mouse, they don't know the approach to eating it.
Last week it was slivers, so hopefully I don't face too much resistance. Last week was Willy's first time eating proteins other than chicken. Willy now eats all the protein Bear does (beef, chicken, duck, pork, and mouse). I have quail & rabbit waiting in the freezer, as well.
I'm sure by Christmas they will be eating full sized pieces of meat & whole mice.
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Post by FireAngel on Sept 2, 2015 17:48:33 GMT -5
If you keep up the momentum and up the sizes every 3 days or so you should be able to be where you want to be with them by Oct really.
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Post by FireAngel on Sept 2, 2015 19:53:18 GMT -5
Remember when you asked me about how frequent you could feed quail eggs and I gave you that awesome nutrition based info? Well it came up on another thread and I gave the same info and asked if more experienced ferrents had any other thoughts on it and it turns out Sherry says it should be still ok to feed them once a day but watch the poops because too many will give you funky ones. Just wanted to let you know! and here is what bitbyter says, On average 5 quail eggs = 1 large chicken egg by weight. The main reason eggs are in the diet are for the lecithin to combat the formation of hair bezoars. Apparently quail eggs have 3 to 4 times the lecithin than a chicken egg. Therefore you can probably get away with 2 quail eggs a week normally and 4 a week during shedding season (per ferret). Read more: holisticferret60.proboards.com/thread/18963/taurine?page=1#ixzz3kdgGUFPM
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Post by Klarissa on Sept 2, 2015 21:46:21 GMT -5
Thank you! They like eggs, so I'm sure Willy & Bear will be happy to hear that They have also gotten fluffier on raw, so more hair to shed, eggs will be helpful. I only did half the meal prep for the week today, so perhaps I will make the remaining meats into large chunks & try to shuffle them along faster I love watching them eat the bigger chunks, Bear makes the cutest faces. Willy played WITH me for the first time since we got him. He had such a rough go. He is finally starting to relax & bond with us. He also chased & tried to play fight with Bear, but she didn't realize it was play. They'll get there.
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