|
|
Post by Desiree on Jul 22, 2015 19:27:48 GMT -5
Right now they are on Doggy Bag till I can source better food. My dinky little town and the city north of me do not sell Kent or Mazuri. Oxbow is 16 dollars for a three pound bag at the pet store and the protein isn't high enough for pregnant females. Might have to buy online. Supplementing with wild bird seed and fresh fruit and veggies. And of course ferret leftovers too.
|
|
|
|
Post by Desiree on Jul 22, 2015 19:29:44 GMT -5
I also got a confirmation that it's basically papilloma virus and it appears in older girls. These two probably won't produce for me anyway.
|
|
|
|
Post by bitbyter on Jul 22, 2015 19:33:02 GMT -5
@desiree check farm supply stores for rodent chow.
|
|
|
|
Post by katt on Jul 22, 2015 19:33:45 GMT -5
JK I misread. That's what I get for skimming sorry!  I don't know why I thought FireAngel meant the baby-bumps. Haha I was so confused why you wouldn't accept already pregnant rodents.  |
|
|
|
Post by Desiree on Jul 22, 2015 19:40:12 GMT -5
I've checked Big R and tractor supply company in three different cities. There is another one slightly near by that I can check but I'll call them first.
|
|
|
|
Post by FireAngel on Jul 22, 2015 20:34:33 GMT -5
Looks great! I am off the next couple of days and plan on setting up the bins so I will take pics after that. I'm guessing you didn't notice the lumps when you picked them up from the breeder. I think I wouldn't have accepted them if it had been me and I had noticed. So how many colonies did you end up with? Why not? Just means more food for the ferrets! Lol true. It I was thinking if I was buying them for breeding stock and noticed the bumps I would not want to breed them and in the long run that would mean less food! Desiree that pretty impressive to start with! edit- somehow I always miss the 2nd page before I post a repl lol! |
|
|
|
Post by bitbyter on Jul 22, 2015 21:38:29 GMT -5
|
|
|
|
Post by msav on Jul 22, 2015 22:09:06 GMT -5
I must admit, I have started feeding some of my ASF rats Live. Mine are completely docile, and when I feed them they just sit there, and Mogwai makes short work of them He goes for the neck and it is over in seconds. I have found that they enjoy them warm and fresh over thawed and cold. My asf's are no more aggressive than mice.
|
|
|
|
Post by Desiree on Jul 22, 2015 23:41:11 GMT -5
It's why prekilled is my goal. Warm and fresh goes better with my crowd too.
Jason, I'll check the site in the morning. Sucks on my phone. As for none of the places having rodent food, they had some feed but not the blocks. Some of the stores carry Mazuri pig feed and bird and I think rabbit but no rodent feed.
|
|
|
|
Post by bitbyter on Jul 22, 2015 23:47:01 GMT -5
If they carry other Mazuri feed they can order the rodent feed.
|
|
|
|
Post by Desiree on Jul 23, 2015 9:34:58 GMT -5
Oh! That's awesome. I was trying to avoid paying shipping on a 20-40 pound bag of food. Lol.
|
|
|
|
Post by bitbyter on Jul 23, 2015 14:11:42 GMT -5
Yeah, if they can order one Mazuri product they can order any of it. You just have to convince them you will be a regular customer.  |
|
|
|
Post by Desiree on Jul 23, 2015 22:46:16 GMT -5
Rat bachelor and bachelorette pads are made and finished. Took them a little while to get used to the levels and such but I'm liking that they have more room. The boys seem to be fairing better as well. Full set up. I need one more big tub for growouts for the ASF's but that will be an easy one to do. One of the rats maternity bins is now empty too.  Top of the girls cage.  Bottom of the girls cage.  Front view  Showing the connection between the two bins for the boys  Top for the boys  Bottom for the boys  Babies are now all over 20 grams except for one of them. He (i think boy) is the runt and also has a small cut on his head that is healing well.  AND I culled my first two ASF's today. They will be tonights dinner. CD is not my favorite and I cannot wait till I can get my CO2 chamber.  |
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Jul 24, 2015 3:07:33 GMT -5
Congratulations. It looks like it's going well xx
|
|
|
|
Post by msav on Jul 24, 2015 8:11:52 GMT -5
IMO CD is quick and after you have done about 50 or so you will get better and faster at it. I use a sharpening steel and set them on a grippy silicone pot holder so that there is no slip mishaps. with C02 methd if you do not get the C02 concentration and release rate correct for the number of rats your culling it will take too long to cull or if you get the rate too fast the rats will panic and they will have a stressful death through suffocation. The release has to be enough to slowly put them to sleep and then they will pass in their sleep. Too fast and the C02 displaces all the oxygen before they have a chance to go to sleep. I watched a few Youtube videos of people not knowing what they are doing and that was enough to discourage me from going that route. While CD seems more hands on and more difficult for the squeamish, I know that they are not feeling any pain the instant I pull the tail. Even with all the spasms that follow. But I can see how some would not prefer it. I would work closely with bitbyter as I am sure he has worked out the correct number of rats and the correct rate to administer the C02. BTW I am not sure how your ASF bins are set up, but if you set them up with the plastic ramps and shelves they will be devoured in a month or two. ASF's love to chew plastic, I put a few of those saucer wheels in mine and they had them chewed to worthless in a few months. I also gave them some rodent tubes to hide in, totally chewed. I have been giving them whimsies to chew on (dog chews) |
|
