Bonbon
Junior Member
Raw Feeder
Posts: 194
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Post by Bonbon on Dec 6, 2015 9:50:42 GMT -5
Sorry I didn't see this last night. I was out for my friends birthday and managed to miss it. I would have thought boar to be a good protein for them and now I'm worried about my decision. I haven't fed anything to them yet, I will definitely have to read over that article.
Answers for my pop quiz. A1: aside from Taurine Powder you could use beefs tongue as its have taurine in it. A2:"normal flora" im plies that there is bacteria living within an organism and doesn't cause harm as they have a symbiotic relationship. A3: and taurine is important for a ferrets diet because it's important for brain functionality and eye health.
And I have done a few deaf test with Benji. Within the first week he would always turn around to eat like he was shy or protecting it. I took the opportunity to shake loud things behind him bells, clapping loudly. He didn't seem to care but Bonbon did. But now I vacuumed the one day and he was started by it and went to attack it when Bonbon ran away from it. It's possible he felt the vibrations from the vacuum and maybe he attacked it because he couldn't hear it. I'm not sure but as of now I have him labeled as selective hearing ferret. Lol But I will say training him is a lot harder then Bonbon, Benji freaks out for nail clipping and like I can't tell if he's reacting to praise when he uses the out of cage litter box or not.
Also today is weigh in day and I will get all the information for the questionnaire after breakfast as well as their new menu for the upcoming week.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 6, 2015 22:21:01 GMT -5
Sorry I didn't see this last night. I was out for my friends birthday and managed to miss it. I would have thought boar to be a good protein for them and now I'm worried about my decision. I haven't fed anything to them yet, I will definitely have to read over that article.
No problem. I didn't know about the Boar until recently either. I also double checked with the other mentors and they said it should be fine as long as its not hunted from the wild. Answers for my pop quiz.A1: aside from Taurine Powder you could use beefs tongue as its have taurine in it. Correct! A2:"normal flora" im plies that there is bacteria living within an organism and doesn't cause harm as they have a symbiotic relationship.
Correct~ I knew you would nail this one hehe! A3: and taurine is important for a ferrets diet because it's important for brain functionality and eye health. Correct~ Also, In mammalian herbivores and omnivores, the pancreas is the organ responsible for the biosynthesis of taurine but in obligate carnivores, taurine synthesis does not occur, so they must ingest taurine via diet in order to maintain proper taurine levels in their bodies. And I have done a few deaf test with Benji. Within the first week he would always turn around to eat like he was shy or protecting it. I took the opportunity to shake loud things behind him bells, clapping loudly. He didn't seem to care but Bonbon did. But now I vacuumed the one day and he was started by it and went to attack it when Bonbon ran away from it. It's possible he felt the vibrations from the vacuum and maybe he attacked it because he couldn't hear it. I'm not sure but as of now I have him labeled as selective hearing ferret. Lol But I will say training him is a lot harder then Bonbon, Benji freaks out for nail clipping and like I can't tell if he's reacting to praise when he uses the out of cage litter box or not. That's interesting! I managed to find a thread that discusses selective hearing. Heather mentioned in this thread about variably deaf ferrets. "Meaning they can hear within certain ranges but not everything." holisticferret60.proboards.com/thread/14914/selective-hearingMaybe Benji is like that and can hear certain ranges. Yuki loves my vacuum (sigh) So many times has Yuki gotten his face stuck in the front and I would have to quickly turn it off. I've heard some ferrets are also afraid of vacuums, kind of like how some cats are afraid of them. Benji kind of sounded like he was protecting Bonbon from the Vacuum monster hehehe. My girl Haru hates nail clipping too. I actually thought she was deaf at first as well but she responds well to her name sometimes, well I think she does. In general I find she responds more to vibrations rather than voice. Yuki and Beavis come when called but unless Haru visually sees me and I give a hand signal or pat the ground, she wouldn't take a second look my way and completely ignore me hahaha. Since ferrets rely on their strong sense of smell, how about putting some oil on your hand when you handle Benji for clipping? Maybe the smell will distract him and cause less freaking out. Also today is weigh in day and I will get all the information for the questionnaire after breakfast as well as their new menu for the upcoming week.
There's no rush~ Here is the lesson on Vitamin A, which is found in high amounts in Liver.
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Bonbon
Junior Member
Raw Feeder
Posts: 194
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Post by Bonbon on Dec 6, 2015 22:54:59 GMT -5
Okay some questions from the lesson and in general. 1.above you stated the pancreas doesn't synthesize in obligatory carnivores. Why is this? Is it due to the lack of plant based material eaten because I thought the pancreas helped with the creation of bile to further break down foods. Its just weird that they don't have the same finction.
2. It says ferrets can't catch our cold but they can get the flu. I'd it a typo and if it isn't then how would they get the flu if they are inside the majority of the time?
3. Gizzards aren't considered an organ meat correct? So for the 1/4 liver 1/4 organ 1/2 a heart meal I'll have to get something else. Now are we giving them a whole heart with the mask and just saying it's half of the meal or do they get half of a heart?
4. I noticed the boys are itching more recently, should I give them more liver or another egg throughout the week? Or is it perhaps just their winter coats bothering them?
5. Is it okay to just feed one liver protein or should I try to get some more. I have been feeding just chicken liver as of late, but I can get pork (fresh) and beef (frozen) liver. Does the liver being frozen affect the nutrition?
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Bonbon
Junior Member
Raw Feeder
Posts: 194
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Post by Bonbon on Dec 6, 2015 23:13:55 GMT -5
1. Ferret's name: Bonbon 2. Ferret's weight: 2 lbs 9.3 oz 3. Ferret has eaten "X" amount on average per meal. 2.5oz per meal 5oz per day 4. Stools on various proteins. 5. Activity levels: average energy, likes to get in trouble a lot and beat up on his brother. 1. Ferret's name: Benji 2. Ferret's weight: 2 lbs 6.2 oz 3. Ferret has eaten "X" amount on average per meal. 2.5oz per meal 5oz per day 4. Stools on various proteins. Will post throughout the week. 5. Activity levels: high energy levels, fearless. He tries to jump out of the cage and will scale your arm to get out, he's very active and ready to play, but he seems to get calmer as the day goes on. Weekly menu: Monday: AM wild boar (M) PM duck neck (BI) Tuesday: AM (BI) CG hen drum/wing PM chicken (BI) Wednesday: AM Duck wing (BI) Afternoon EGG PM turkey liver, kidney, heart Thursday:AM (BI) turkey neck PM wild boar (M) Friday: AM CG hen (BI) PM hearts (I hope they will be here by then) Saturday: AM (BI) chicken PM turkey (M) Sunday: AM (BI) duck back/spine PM CG hen (BI) If the shipment comes in I will add quail into the week this way it's not just those five proteins.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 8, 2015 7:10:37 GMT -5
Hi! Sorry for my late reply. I've had little bit of a power outage earlier this morning due to some hot weather at the moment. I may be offline for most of tomorrow, but I will check in later in the day. Okay some questions from the lesson and in general. 1.above you stated the pancreas doesn't synthesize in obligatory carnivores. Why is this? Is it due to the lack of plant based material eaten because I thought the pancreas helped with the creation of bile to further break down foods. Its just weird that they don't have the same finction.Taurine is found naturally in animal-sourced proteins but not in vegetable-sourced proteins. It is essential for the formation of bile salts which aid in the digestion of fats and absorption of fat soluble vitamins, healthy eyes, and heart function. Ferrets, like cats and other obligate carnivores are unable to manufacture taurine themselves like herbivores and omnivores can, because they do not have enough of the enzymes to synthesize it from the amino acids methionine and cysteine, therefore, it must be in their diet. Another interesting thing with obligate carnivores is that they also do not have the enzyme, amylase, in their saliva which actually begins the breakdown of carbohydrates in the mouth for herbivores or omnivores. 2. It says ferrets can't catch our cold but they can get the flu. I'd it a typo and if it isn't then how would they get the flu if they are inside the majority of the time?
I thought this topic was quite interesting because there are many viruses that can cause the common cold in humans. The most common cause for the common cold is the rhinovirus. But then there's coronavirus, respiratory syncytial virus and parainfluenza virus that also can also be the cause of a cold. As for the Flu, Ferrets can contract influenza virus from humans (and vice versa) and were apparently used in studies to help understand the virus in humans. There are also three main types of this virus, Type A, Type B, and Type C. In this one article I found they say "Ferret models (Mustela putorius furo) have been established for numerous viruses that cause respiratory infections, including human and avian influenza viruses, coronavirus, nipah virus, morbillivirus and others" Ferrets and humans share similar lung physiology, and human and avian influenza viruses exhibit similar patterns of binding to sialic acids (the receptor for influenza viruses), which are distributed throughout the respiratory tract in both species. If you would like to read more here's a link to the article. www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3180220/I have yet to find any solid evidence indicating if ferrets can contract the human Rhino virus (“common cold”), However they can contract the coronavirus, which too can be a cause for the 'common cold'. There's also respiratory syncytial virus and parainfluenza virus that also can also be the cause of a cold. Generally if someone has a cold, it should be thought in the same line of 'your ferret is able to contract your illness' even if they cannot contract it- since its always best to be safe then sorry. Anyway, They are also capable of contracting upper respiratory infections and sinus infections from humans. Indoor ferrets would have more of a chance on contracting the flu if there is a human in the house who has it. There are ways to minimise it though. (Cleaning benches, or any place you've physically touched, covering mouth when needing to sneeze or cough then washing hands etc etc) Since the flu is highly contagious, it can easily be spread through respiratory droplets that are released into the air through coughing, sneezing and what not. Even talking can release them too, thats why some people choose to wear masks when they catch the flu. Respiratory droplets can come into contact with eyes, nose or mouth over short distances, and can spread to people from three to up to six feet away. Other ways that the flu can spread is through bodily contact like kissing, touching someone who has the virus and then touching mouth, nose or eyes. 3. Gizzards aren't considered an organ meat correct? So for the 1/4 liver 1/4 organ 1/2 a heart meal I'll have to get something else. Now are we giving them a whole heart with the mask and just saying it's half of the meal or do they get half of a heart? Correct, Gizzards are considered more of a muscle meat and are great for strengthening the jaws and cleaning teeth. As for the heart question, its basically just half a meal. It can also depend on how much a ferret eats per meal. So for example if a ferret eats lets say, 3 ounces per meal: (1 / 4 Liver) of (3 ounces) = 0.75 ounces. (1 / 4 Other organ) of (3 ounces) = 0.75 ounces. That would make Liver and another organ 1.5 ounces for a meal, another 1.5 ounces would be the heart meal. 4. I noticed the boys are itching more recently, should I give them more liver or another egg throughout the week? Or is it perhaps just their winter coats bothering them? Ferrets are normally itchy little creatures, but if it is excessive itching there may be a reason for it. Since you mentioned that it's quite recent, then the Itching may be due to shedding. I noticed my guys started being more itchy during shedding time too. Usually it will run its course and will dull down a lot. If it doesn't it may be something irritating them, possibly bedding. Sometimes certain things that we wash bedding in can cause irritation that could lead to constant itching. If that isn't the case, possibly fleas. But for now I think it would just be due to shedding or the new coat setting in. Daily brushing may help too. Extra liver is probably best avoided as liver contains the fat soluble Vitamin A. The extra egg is very good for shedding as it helps with keep hairballs away. Egg yolk contains lecithin and that helps to break down any fat particles and helps stop the formation of hairballs. Egg yolk also contains Choline, which is an essential water-soluble nutrient (which has roughly around 115 mg of choline) Choline is important for liver function, metabolism and structural cell integrity. It is also an anti-inflammatory. Here's some more information on eggs. docs.google.com/document/d/1ZRszg59R15epiws13N9FOmJ924bGbjG7yw2zR2S8Lng/editSince I mentioned a couple of fat and water soluble vitamins I thought I would mention some of this. Vitamins are classified into two groups: water-soluble and fat-soluble. Water-soluble vitamins, which include all of the B vitamins, are easily absorbed into the body. If a ferret was to consume more than enough water-soluble vitamins than it needs, the excess will be excreted via urine, and not stored within the body. A good example is Taurine. Anyway, with this, it basically means that the risk of an overdose is relatively low, and the water soluble vitamins needs to constantly be replenished. Fat-soluble vitamins on the other hand, such as vitamins A and D, are like the opposite of water-soluble vitamins. Rather than being excreted, it is stored in body tissues, and organs until the body needs to make use of them. That is why they don't require frequent replenishing and this also means that if a ferret was to take in too much of a fat soluble vitamin, it will build up and become toxic. An overdose on Vitamin A for example could very well lead to this very painful illness called hypervitaminosis A. In this painful condition, your pet's spine begins to harden and other symptoms will follow; Such as Difficulty walking, Muscle degeneration, Pain in the legs and body, Stiff neck, Loss of appetite, and so on. 5. Is it okay to just feed one liver protein or should I try to get some more. I have been feeding just chicken liver as of late, but I can get pork (fresh) and beef (frozen) liver. Does the liver being frozen affect the nutrition?Yes, providing that the entire diet is balanced. I only use lamb liver and lamb (sometimes beef) kidney for organs. It would be great to have extra proteins, but if you are unable to find other proteins for organs, then the one will do providing other meals have different proteins. Pork and Beef are great proteins and you don't have to worry about freezing affecting the nutrition. Generally freezing is a great way to preserve the nutritional value, texture and flavour, but there may be little texture or flavour lost. It's not a lot, so it doesn't really make much of a difference.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 8, 2015 7:40:08 GMT -5
1. Ferret's name: Bonbon 2. Ferret's weight: 2 lbs 9.3 oz 3. Ferret has eaten "X" amount on average per meal. 2.5oz per meal 5oz per day 4. Stools on various proteins. 5. Activity levels: average energy, likes to get in trouble a lot and beat up on his brother. 1. Ferret's name: Benji 2. Ferret's weight: 2 lbs 6.2 oz 3. Ferret has eaten "X" amount on average per meal. 2.5oz per meal 5oz per day 4. Stools on various proteins. Will post throughout the week. 5. Activity levels: high energy levels, fearless. He tries to jump out of the cage and will scale your arm to get out, he's very active and ready to play, but he seems to get calmer as the day goes on. Weekly menu: Monday: AM wild boar (M) PM duck neck (BI) Tuesday: AM (BI) CG hen drum/wing PM chicken (BI) Wednesday: AM Duck wing (BI) Afternoon EGG PM turkey liver, kidney, heart Thursday:AM (BI) turkey neck PM wild boar (M) Friday: AM CG hen (BI) PM hearts (I hope they will be here by then) Saturday: AM (BI) chicken PM turkey (M) Sunday: AM (BI) duck back/spine PM CG hen (BI) If the shipment comes in I will add quail into the week this way it's not just those five proteins. Hehe. Bonbon is a cheeky boy. It's great to hear that he loves his brother Benji I also just realised that Bonbon is roughly around the same weight as my oldest boy, Beavis (He's 2 lbs 9.7 oz) I think its the perfect weight for fuzzy cuddles. Benji would totally get along well with my Albino boy, Yuki. As soon as I open up the cage, Yuki jumps at me if he is unable to climb up my arm. (I'm not even joking) The unique personalities make every day so much fun. The weekly menu is looking great! It's great to see a full meal of hearts there too. If you can throw in one more Liver/Other Organ meal and you would have a full frankenprey meal plan. You have 1 Meal of ½ heart + ¼ liver + ¼ other organ, So all you need now is a 2nd meal of ½ liver + ½ other organ. Here's an example of a frankenprey menu. docs.google.com/document/d/1ysfT1bIvXixXYv6QFjW_EZZqHymtRXRTc3E_wAxLbxU/editYou have 3 proteins there that are other than chicken, rabbit, cornish game hen or fish. If you are able to get some beef into the diet, that would be fantastic. The reason we say to have 3 proteins other than those mentioned above is simply to ensure they get enough Vit B, iron and a good base of taurine in the diet. However most of the required taurine comes from the heart meals in the diet. You may still need to swap a few meals of chicken/cgh with another protein since it still seems heavy in that area, though like you mentioned you are working on that so great work! You're going to graduate in no time! Also a general rule to keep in mind: If you notice any dry or seedy poops, you can adjust the meals by decreasing bone in meats and increasing muscle meat meals. If you notice loose poops, do the opposite, increase bone in meats, decrease muscle etc. Great work~! :thumbsup:
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Bonbon
Junior Member
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Posts: 194
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Post by Bonbon on Dec 8, 2015 8:08:17 GMT -5
Alright so I will add in another 1/2 liver & 1/2 other organ meal. I originally thought it was three organ meals a week but I wasnt positive when posting my menu yesterday. Also Yuki is such a character, I love to see his craziness. He sounds identical to my little Boy. There have been times where Benji instead of using the ramps inside of the cage will use my arm/body to get down to the second level for his food. I still feed them separately at first. Bonbon is on the upper level and Benji below, but they eat out of each others stuff anyways. It helps me keep track of whose eating what a little better. Although before they never touched the others and now they do.
I tried serving them food on one plate together Bonbon ignores it while Benji is like "mom I don't care what you put the food on or what it is...I'll eat it." While Bonbon is like "that's not my bowl!" And then has a ferret panic attack. Lol
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Post by Deleted on Dec 9, 2015 7:08:41 GMT -5
Feeding separately at first was a good decision. It does help to get a good idea on how much each ferret eats. Feeding them together might take some time for them to adjust but they'll get there~ Oh, I thought I would share some interesting information in regards to wild boar meat. Since wild boar is really foreign to me, I thought I would ask the other mentors about it. They do farm it, and that is where Red Dog/Blue Kat get their's from(commercial grind). Did she get it from a hunter, or is it a grind. If a grind I'd not worry. If bought from a store odds are very high of it being farmed as well. If it was from someone killing one in the wild, then I wouldn't feed it. What Sherry said - though even then I would be a little leery personally. Boar isn't necessarily regulated like pork, so I'd be worried that Trichinella would still be a risk. This seems to be the common information regarding the disease. It seems that it's still not considered to be a huge issue even within wild game. Over the past 40 years, few cases of trichinellosis have been reported in the United States, and the risk of trichinellosis from commercially raised and properly prepared pork is very low. However, eating undercooked wild game, particularly bear meat, puts one at risk for acquiring this disease. During the late 1940s, when the U.S. Public Health Service began counting cases of trichinellosis, 400 cases in the United States were recorded each year on average. During 2008-2010, 20 cases were reported to CDC each year on average. The overall number of cases reported has decreased because of improved pig-raising practices in the pork industry, commercial and home freezing of pork, and public awareness of the danger of eating raw or undercooked meat products. When a human or animal eats meat that contains infective Trichinella cysts, the acid in the stomach dissolves the hard covering of the cyst and releases the worms. The worms pass into the small intestine and, in 1-2 days, become mature. After mating, adult females lay eggs. Eggs develop into immature worms, travel through the arteries, and are transported to muscles. Within the muscles, the worms curl into a ball and encyst (become enclosed in a capsule). The life cycle repeats when meat containing these encysted worms is consumed by another human or animal. Am I at risk for trichinellosis? If you eat raw or undercooked meats, particularly bear, pork, wild feline (such as a cougar), fox, dog, wolf, horse, seal, or walrus, you are at risk for trichinellosis. I did find this interesting in the effect there is a way to freeze pork and kill the cysts.* Curing (salting), drying, smoking, or microwaving meat alone does not consistently kill infective worms; homemade jerky and sausage were the cause of many cases of trichinellosis reported to CDC in recent years. *Freeze pork less than 6 inches thick for 20 days at 5°F (-15°C) to kill any worms.* Freezing wild game meats, unlike freezing pork products, may not effectively kill all worms because some worm species that infect wild game animals are freeze-resistant. ciao
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Bonbon
Junior Member
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Posts: 194
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Post by Bonbon on Dec 9, 2015 18:20:32 GMT -5
Thanks for getting back to me on all of my questions and also thanks for sharing the others posts about the wild boar. The wild boar was farm raised and bought at a grocery store. It wasn't a grind but instead a roast, It wasn't seasoned by the way. I have two halves of it. The one I froze. It was suggested by another Rae ferent near me so I figured I'd try it. But I don't I will buy it again after this.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 9, 2015 23:49:31 GMT -5
Thanks for getting back to me on all of my questions and also thanks for sharing the others posts about the wild boar. The wild boar was farm raised and bought at a grocery store. It wasn't a grind but instead a roast, It wasn't seasoned by the way. I have two halves of it. The one I froze. It was suggested by another Rae ferent near me so I figured I'd try it. But I don't I will buy it again after this.
It's no problem. Like wild boar, bear too can also be a carrier of freeze-resistant trichinella. Usually freezing would kill off any parasites in meats, but some strains of trichinella is surprisingly freeze-resistant. It's quite interesting in a way. Another thing I might mention is we also generally we don't suggest feeding carnivores (Coyote/wolves/shark/cougar/crocodile, etc) due to bio-magnification of toxins. Other than that, Ferrets could eat pretty much any meat providing it has no enhancements and aren't potential carriers for any freeze resistant parasites and whatnot. Here are some pop quizzes for your last lesson~ 1. Is vitamin A fat soluable or water soluble? 2. Can a ferret have too much liver? 3. How many organ meals should a ferret get in one week? How are Benji and Bonbon today?
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Bonbon
Junior Member
Raw Feeder
Posts: 194
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Post by Bonbon on Dec 15, 2015 12:43:13 GMT -5
Sorry for the lack of posts it was a very busy week for me between college finals and my uncles wedding. Anyways, there's been some issues with Benji this passed week. He's now picked up some bad food happens and I tried to get in between it and I got a nasty bite to my thumb. * but out of the blue he's become food aggressive. He now eats as much as he can as fast as he can and then gets the hiccups and I'm worried he will cause a blockage on himself. Then he will stash half of his food, but then he goes to Bonbons bowl and will grab his food and bury it in the litter box. Once litters on it neither of them will eat it. So I have begun separating them again during food time... Benji is most definately larger than Bonbon now. Their weights are as followed, I will get the official ferret forum and menu up as well but I'm just posting a little thing for now before I give them lunch. Bonbon 2 lbs 9.2 oz Benji 2 lbs 9.8oz
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Post by Deleted on Dec 15, 2015 18:28:20 GMT -5
Hi! Don't worry too much on posting all the time or every day. Since Bonbon and Benji are doing quite well, a post a week is acceptable~ College finals must have been quite stressful. I hope they went well. Congratulations on your uncles wedding~ Oh Benji! It really does sound like he's become little food aggressive. That can be quite natural with young ferrets, especially when they decide they really like a certain food. I had a minor case of food aggression when I was switching, especially with my boy Yuki. He did the same: eat as fast as possible to the point he would either cough it back up or get some hiccups. When you think about in the wild, carnivores would tend to eat quite fast and little chewing. The reason being is because if they don't, another animal will come along and take their food. Eating fast shouldn't be an issue too much when it comes to blockages. Once the food is in, it will go through the stomach and break down. The only thing that may be a possibility is things such as bone in meats becoming lodged in the throat, or in the back teeth. Even those are quite rare. If you are concerned, you can monitor him during meal time. A good way to minimise the stashing in the litter would be to make a feeding den. It may also help with Benji eating too fast, and gives him some privacy and at ease that his food is safe. Here's a great thread with different set ups if you want to get a good idea on them. holisticferret60.proboards.com/thread/4544/feeding-den-setups
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Bonbon
Junior Member
Raw Feeder
Posts: 194
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Post by Bonbon on Dec 17, 2015 23:20:07 GMT -5
Oh my gosh this week has been so busy I let myself slide on getting the information to you and its almost time to post the following weeks menu. Anyways sorry but here it is. Mon am -chicken wing. Pm- turkey neck Tues am- duck breast BI. pm- wild boar Wed am- turkey neck pm- duck liver, kidney Thurs am- chicken breast (afternoon egg) pm- wild boar Fri am- chicken heart pm- duck back/spine Sat am- turkey neck pm-duck wing Sun am- chicken drums pm- 1/2heart + 1/4organs
Also I had posted the boys weights above. I'm on my new phone and it's difficult to use so I'll try to get all the information from the little survey forum. Bonbon Weight 2lbs 9.2oz Activity level: normal, they seem to be sleeping a lot more. Eating: normal eating about 2.5-3 Oz a meal 5-6oz a day
Benji Weight 2lbs 9.8oz Activity level: he's calmed down a bit and is more of a normal level and not bursting out of the cage the second the door opens. Again sleeping more. Eating: haven't had any aggressive tendencies but he built his own feeding den. He pulled the blanket on the upper level down the ramp and made a cave in the back corner. He's seems to take food and eat back there. I won't touch it. He decides to use it or not. Eating normal otherwise I have been working on the aggression. 2.5-3.5oz a meal 5-6.5oz a day. He will sometimes eat the remains of Bonbon's which is usually a piece or two.
Their food is cut into slivers and chunks depending on the protein. We are trying to move them up to larger pieces. I'm not sure when they can handle a wing on a shower hook. Or if I should always cut up their bone in meat.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 18, 2015 21:10:34 GMT -5
Oh no! I typed up my reply but then I refreshed my browser by mistake and it didn't save as a draft! Frustrating! Don't worry too much about posting. You've been posting a good amount especially since you have had a busy week. I've been feeling quite under weather this week since its been hot, so I haven't been exploring or up to date with the forum in the past few days. Speaking of weather its so hot right now, 40°C (or 104°F) How is the start of the weekend going for you? I just realised it was saturday for me, so it must be friday for you. Your menu looks great! Out of the 14 meals, There's 4 (or 5, I'm assuming that the last organ meal is chicken?) Chicken, 4 Duck, 3 Turkey, & 2 Wild Boar. I love that you have duck in the diet. I was reading a bit about duck recently and learnt that it is high in protein, iron, selenium, and niacin. Apparently it also has only about half the saturated fat of a chicken and also has much less saturated fat than even lean beef. Duck meat also provides more iron per serving than chicken, turkey, cornish game hens; and even some cuts of beef. Pretty interesting. It does seem just a tad chicken heavy, however you've cut out a fair bit since the first menu you showed me. You could do with a few less meals of chicken, maybe try adjusting a few chicken bone in meats by swapping a few out with either duck or turkey. I use just Duck and Turkey for Bone in meals myself. You do meet the current requirement for the minimum of 3 proteins for a good base menu with the Duck, Turkey & Wild Boar. If you're worried about the wild boar for muscle meat, you can always get pork next time. It is the same protein technically, and pork used to be a common carrier of Trichinella, however the FDA have cracked down on the pork industry so there compared to wild boar, it would be a safer option for the same protein. If you can also manage to get some beef into the menu that would add a good boost for Iron, Vitamin B and Taurine (though they do get it from hearts anyway) and some other good options for bone in meat would be things like rabbit, or quail if you ever find some or get them on sale just to add little more variety on top of your current base diet. As for the survey form, You pretty much covered it. Great job, I hate typing on my phone, I would get so frustrated and give up when writing long things that I would go to my computer haha! Both Bonbon and Benji are perfect in weight and are eating a great amount as well. Sleeping a lot more seems quite normal to me. If I'm not mistaken, you would be in winter right? I'm in summer and my guys are all over the place with their energy haha! It's good to hear that Benji is calmed down a bit. He must have gotten so excited when you first got him. That happened with all of my guys as well. So much to do, so much to explore and play. Funny little ferrets they are. It's another great thing to hear that Benji hasn't had any more aggressive tendencies when it comes to food. He's such a smart little boy. I was just talking to my room mate today about how intelligent ferrets are. They figure things out quite quickly. If you would like, you can try a large piece of meat with them both. Sometimes its good to test them out and if they do well and eat it then you won't need to cut things up or break bones etc. A chicken wing is a good start. You can either try a full wing, or cut it up into sections. Here's a photo I put together a while ago using duck wings. When I started Haru and Yuki on bone in meats, I crushed them first but then completely went to cutting the wing in halves. I think the halves works quite well since it opens up the meat and seems less intimidating to the ferrets. I also personally don't feed whole bone in meats much since my guys prefer them in sections. (I just grab a wingette and chop it in sections without halving it now) Takes more time to prep for me, but easier for bagging and takes little longer to prep. The shower hook may and may not be effective, but if you want to give it a shot you're more than welcome to. Apparently it's good when it comes to ferrets who stash their meals. The hook can be clipped to the cage I think so they have to work on their meal for a good time before they finally get it off he hook. It may be good for mental stimulation too. It's a good idea to experiment and find what suits you and your ferrets and its good idea to stick with it. You've been doing a fantastic job with both Benji and Bonbon. I'm quite happy the they've progressed so well and are doing quite good on their new diet. You'll graduate in no time at all, at this rate. :thumbsup:
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Bonbon
Junior Member
Raw Feeder
Posts: 194
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Post by Bonbon on Dec 21, 2015 21:59:08 GMT -5
Alright so this is the first real problem that I have encountered. Bonbon isn't eating well at all or so it seems that eay. I have gone back to separate feeding. This way I can monitor bonbons food intake. Today for breakfast they eat had 3.3oz of chicken bone in breast. Benji at all of it while bonbon at about 0.8 Oz, this was a concern to me, but I realized maybe it was dry at this point so I tried to moisten it with a little warm water as he ate his food like that the other day. After awhile longer nothing has changed. So we go to give them the afternoon meal. 3.0oz of Cornish game hen and we went to go see the new star wars movie. We were gone for about 4hrs. We return bonbon has only eaten 1oz of food again. This to me is very odd, he's sleeping a lot and his energy level is still playful and exploratory when out of the cage, nothing really has changed but his eating habits. Is it the proteins are too common to him now? I'm worried because he weighed in at 2 lbs 12 Oz yesterday but today I weighed him at 2 lbs 10.8 oz.
So I've become concerned is there anything you can offer me for advice because I really need it. Benji is doing well no real changes. I will write another post with everything after this, it's u st difficult as my laptop has stopped working and I'm typing everything up on a smartphone. I don't want to loose it all, so I'll be posting in smallish chunks.
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