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Post by Desiree on Oct 15, 2015 14:15:25 GMT -5
You can smash the wing or chicken neck with a hammer to break it up. The marrow is the best part and it'll release the juices in the meat as well. I feed in my pantry. I catch them before they can get out and put them back in. It took me a few days for them to get the idea. They have also learned that if they take food out of the "den" the cat eats it. LOL. I used to use a rubbermaid contained with a whole cut in it so they can eat the food in the dark. They loved it but it got really messy. Its an instinct to run away with food but that doesn't mean they know why they are doing it. So she knows to grab and stash but doesn't see the dogs as a threat. If you do make a den, you can attach shower hooks to it and then attach the meat and they have to eat it off the shower hooks. This is of course when they are eating bigger chunks.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 16, 2015 9:34:25 GMT -5
I didn't smash the necks yesterday so they all got stashed and I'm fairly certain one of my dogs ate half of them. LOL I had given them small meat chunks too though so at least I know they ate.
Today I'm trying something different so stop me if it's a no-no.
So far they've had access to food 24/7. I started this with River because she's so slender. I know now that's just her build and she's so very active. Today they have chicken leg/thigh and I crushed the bones up and then cut them into a few large pieces. They had access to it in their cage this morning before I let them out and I'll put them in the cage with their food a few times during the day. I'm not leaving food in there all day like I have been. Then they'll have it in there all night with them. Simon seems to do almost all of his eating at night.
I figure it's worth a try and you'll let me know if I'm doing something wrong. LOL
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Post by Desiree on Oct 16, 2015 13:04:25 GMT -5
You can most certainly go for it. I never had that option as one of my girls is insulinomic but I know others who only feed in the cage. As along as they have access to food every few hours I don't think this will be an issue. It is also a great way to see what is actually getting consumed. I have a male that also almost always eats at night. He is not a day eater at all.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 19, 2015 8:44:58 GMT -5
They've been doing much better with larger chunks! I even crushed the bone in a chicken leg and they ate most of it!
I also gave them some pork rib ends with meat on them. River was chowing down on those soft rib ends! Progress, I love it!
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Post by Desiree on Oct 19, 2015 13:00:09 GMT -5
Fantastic! I love it when they love their food!
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Post by Deleted on Oct 20, 2015 12:56:41 GMT -5
I went looking for stashed food and found Simon holed up in a tube napping with a piece of pork rib end. I accidentally woke him up, so here he is on the floor chowing down on that rib end. Love the sounds of gnawing!
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Post by Deleted on Oct 20, 2015 13:18:40 GMT -5
Almost forgot their weekly weight in:
10/12/2015 River 1lb 10.1oz Simon 2lb 5.1oz
10/20/2015 River 1lb 10.6 oz Simon 2lb 5.8oz
A note on their health and activity: We've had Simon for 3 weeks now and in the past couple days I've noticed his energy has increased. He's up and exploring more now. Compared to River he's still a lazy ferret but he's more normal now. They're both taking chunks of meat like champs and loving soft pork rib end bones and other bones that are crushed.
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Post by Desiree on Oct 21, 2015 0:46:04 GMT -5
I've noticed that almost all boys are lazier than girls. Even my two who are the same age are night and say between energy levels. It sounds like they are doing great on bones and different meats. We kind of skipped over a lot of information because they are moving so fast. But I honestly think that you will guys will be ready to graduate soon. What I want to focus on now is balancing their diet. Have you been feeding organs or hearts at all during the week?
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Post by Deleted on Oct 21, 2015 8:43:31 GMT -5
Yup. So far they get hearts (turkey, pork, chicken, squirrel), lung (chicken, squirrel), liver (chicken, beef, squirrel), spleen (chicken, squirrel), kidney (squirrel, chicken). I'm hoping to get more beef and pork organs, I just need to talk to my local farmers. I try to stick to the 10% for organs. I don't have or keep a strict schedule of what I feed and when yet since I've been trying to get them to bone-in meats and I've found flexibility has been helpful. Now that they've just recently been eating bone-in meats I can do better about that.
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Post by Desiree on Oct 21, 2015 22:09:18 GMT -5
Fantastic!! Why don't you make me a mock menu (or one you will start to use) and we can discuss it and tweak it as needed?
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Post by Deleted on Oct 22, 2015 8:19:51 GMT -5
I was thinking of just using this one that Sherry posted: holisticferret60.proboards.com/thread/146/meat-bone-organ-weekly-menuThis morning they've got bone in squirrel and I can just follow that menu using the meats I've got. I don't want to plan too far out with specific cuts/meats because I don't always have the same thing in my freezer. I figure so long as I'm getting a good variety of proteins it's all good, right?
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Post by Desiree on Oct 23, 2015 22:30:00 GMT -5
Yes that menu is perfect. And don't worry about including all the proteins that you might use later. You can list those at the bottom of the meats you plan to use or have access too but haven't used it yet.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 26, 2015 12:52:47 GMT -5
Okay, so for this week it's going to look like this:
Monday am: pork rib ends Monday pm: chicken wing (bones crushed)
Tuesday am: pork rib ends Tuesday pm: ground turkey
Wednesday am: squirrel, bone in/skin on Wednesday pm: chicken hearts
Thursday am: pork rib ends Thursday pm: chicken meat with skin
Friday am: chicken legs/feet Friday pm: ½ heart + ¼ liver + ¼ other organ (pork heart, chicken liver and spleen)
Saturday am: quail egg and chicken leg bone in Saturday pm: ground beef/turkey
Sunday am: quail, bone in (it's going to be new, being butchered on Saturday) Sunday pm: ½ liver + ½ other organ (chicken liver and lung)
I realize pork rib ends are showing up a lot this week. It's a huge favourite of theirs and I packed the last bunch in bigger batches than I should have.
One of these days I'll try fish for them. I've been so focused on trying to get them to eat chunks and bone in I haven't done that. Saturday we'll butcher quail so they'll get those, can't wait to see how they like them!
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Post by Deleted on Oct 26, 2015 12:59:40 GMT -5
Our weekly weight in:
10/20/2015 River 1lb 10.6 oz Simon 2lb 5.8oz
10/26/2015 River 1lb 12.0oz Simon 2lb 5.4oz
Simon's been much more active and playful this past week, it's been great to see! So far they aren't terribly fond of the squirrel but we're still trying that out. By far their favourite is still pork rib ends. They both love gnawing on those bones.
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Post by Desiree on Oct 26, 2015 19:04:47 GMT -5
The menu looks great! Well done! Quail is easily liked so hopefully they will enjoy it. Weights look good. Not to much loss, how are they doing on thyme chicken bones? Still having a tough time? If they are you can feed some gizzards. It helps build jaw strength while they are working on bones.
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