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Post by Deleted on Mar 7, 2016 0:26:57 GMT -5
Most grinds (and any grinds you would WANT to feed) are nutritionally balanced and therefore will not upset the overall balance of your diet. I feed grinds one day a week because it a) allows me to add greater variety as a local grind producer does proteins like elk, boar, reindeer, kangaroo, etc. that I wouldn't normally be able to acquire and b) keeps them used to eating a soft food in case on of them is ill and has troubles eating. I actually made a chart on how to balance grinds with the frankenprey diet (can also be used to balance frankenprey with other "balanced" meals such as whole prey). One warning would be not to overdo it - even though grinds can be "easier", many have vegetable matter in them which isn't a good thing. It also doesn't help with their teeth or jaw/neck muscles in the same way eating whole meats does. Edited to add: I re-read through the thread and see that you want to do 100% commercial grinds. I would not mix the different ones in the same meal, it is better to do different proteins on different days so if a ferret does have a reaction to one then you can tell what is causing the problem. It is important to make sure any commercial grind you feed is balanced. Ideally should be 10%-20% heart, 10% liver (or 5% liver 5% other organ which is less common in grinds), 10%-15% bone, and the remainder muscle meat. Thanks a bunch for the information! I will read over the chart as this summer I want to add in Franken/whole prey. I have three commercial diets I am looking at I can switch out through the week for variety:
Stella and Chewy FDR:Ingredients: Duck (ground with bone), Turkey, Turkey Liver, Goose, Turkey Gizzard, Pumpkin Seed, Potassium Chloride, Sodium Phosphate Monobasic, Choline Chloride, Dried Pediococcus acidilactici fermentation product, Dried Lactobacillus acidophilus fermentation product, Dried Bifidobacterium longum fermentation product, Dried Enterococcus faecium fermentation product, Taurine, Tocopherols (preservative), Zinc Proteinate, Zinc Sulfate, Iron Sulfate, Iron Proteinate, Vitamin E Supplement, Niacin, Copper Sulfate, Copper Proteinate, Riboflavin, Manganese Sulfate, Sodium Selenite, Manganese Proteinate, Thiamine Mononitrate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Folic Acid, Calcium Iodate, Vitamin B12 Supplement Has ingredients I am unsure ofRad Cat Raw: www.radfood.com/productsFree-Range Raw Chicken Cat Food Made with HPP'd chicken thighs and organs Organic chicken thigh and leg meat, organic chicken heart, organic chicken liver, filtered water, powdered egg yolk, powdered eggshell, organic dulse, gelatin, organic psyllium husk powder, manganese gluconate. Has husk powder but I brush the teeth, no bones but has eggshell?Small Batch Raw: smallbatchpets.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/SmallBatchPet_21.jpg 97% turkey, 1% produce, 2% supplements turkey, turkey necks, turkey backs, turkey livers, turkey hearts, turkey gizzards, salmon oil, organic dandelion greens, organic apple cider vinegar, organic kelp, organic bee pollen, organic barley grass, organic cranberries Moisture (max): 71.6% Crude Protein (min): 16.4% Crude Fat (min): 7.7% Crude Fiber (max): 0.3% Ash (max): 2.5% Calcium (min): 0.3% Phosphorus (min): 0.3% Approx. 37 kcal per slider Cat sliders contain 48, 1oz. sliders (3 lbs.) Not sure about the vegetable parts, might be really small part of the diet?Do these look nutritionally alright to feed on a rotation? Lamb, beef, duck, turkey, vension and chicken are all different meats they offer although I read about the chicken possibly creating a reaction. I currently have chicken Rad Cat I got before I read that. I have fed it for 3 days (with kibble) and haven't seen anything different but I'll probably switch to a different meat just in case.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 7, 2016 0:31:04 GMT -5
I wouldn't mix the grinds until you have made sure that Spike and Faye have eaten each animal protein and not had any problems with allergies or intolerances to that animal. If you mix them and you're seeing problems then it becomes harder to tell what animal is upsetting their stomach. Chicken is a common allergy/intolerance while lamb is considered a hypoallergenic meat source. Once you're satisfied that Spike and Faye can eat chicken or lamb or beef or the other animals without any problems then you could mix them. I do have a question as to whether this would throw off the organ balance so I'm going to tag bitbyter and Celene to see whether they believe the organ balance could be affected if you mix grinds. I don't think it does but I want to make sure since I don't feed grinds. I haven't heard back from Hurricanekatt yet as to how feeding grinds works with the Mentoring program. She's a medical student doing her residency and can get quite busy. I've Mentored some older ferrets who had medical issues and we ended up doing grinds when they simply weren't able to handle bones so going with grinds shouldn't be a problem but I need her approval to know for sure. They're likely to get messy and play with their food but that's part of being a ferret and ferrets are silly. As long as you keep their cages clean or their feeding dens clean then you're fine. It's just a little more work for you but they do love to make their Ferrents work for them, lol. You're doing great at asking questions and working with Spike and Faye. Give yourself a pat on the back and hugs to them both. :wave3: Good point, I hadn't thought about that. I guess trying each diet for a week and watching their stool before starting a rotation would be ideal. Of course I bought chicken hahaha I figured duck was too gamey and lamb too salty.(Was thinking of my own human preference) Thanks for tagging everyone, do you know of any good Frankenprey/whole prey books I can read before summer approaches? I currently am in my junior year of college so summer is just when there is much more time for me to monitor and prepare/shop and get into a routine. I am more concerned with raw meat being spread in the cage and making them sick Do you need to wipe the cage out everyday if leaving raw out? Thanks <3
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Post by Deleted on Mar 7, 2016 7:32:41 GMT -5
You must be looking forward to summer. What is your major? Duck is wonderful and nice and fatty. It's pricey though so I buy duck hearts and duck gizzards for mine. They love them and get their duck protein without breaking my wallet. Lamb should be going on sale soon since it's springtime. Stock up when you find a sale. There are some really great books out there. Here's a link to thread where I asked everyone for their favorite ferret books: holisticferret60.proboards.com/thread/15036/books-ferrets@machan is a Mentor in Training and just a researching machine. She recently came across a great book written by Tom Lonsdale called "Raw Meaty Bones". Also look for anything written by Bob Church. He is a leading ferret expert and publishes often about Ferrets. He speaks at symposiums and has a PHD in Zoology. holisticferret60.proboards.com/thread/49/bob-churchs-observations-diet-insulinomawww.smallanimalchannel.com/authors/bob-church.aspxYou don't need to clean the cage everyday but if you notice a spill then I would wipe it up. I don't use a cage since mine are free roam but I put a "placemat" under the food and water bowls and it's easy to change that out every day.
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Post by katt on Mar 7, 2016 20:54:28 GMT -5
There is no reason you can't apply for a mentor to help you switch to commercial grinds. Commercial grinds are still raw after all! The balancing is just a little different, and depends on what your GRINDS are (not all grinds are created or balanced equally).
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Post by Deleted on Mar 8, 2016 20:08:03 GMT -5
Thank you Btw I am going to Concept art, I am a junior so classes are getting tough. Thankfully my BF lives with me and he works four 10's so he has 3 days off a week at home.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 8, 2016 20:10:06 GMT -5
There is no reason you can't apply for a mentor to help you switch to commercial grinds. Commercial grinds are still raw after all! The balancing is just a little different, and depends on what your friends are (not all grinds are created or balanced equally). Perfect! I would love to apply. Things would be a little bit different on the questionnaire. I'll go ahead and start a thread/apply and then write notes about the grind. I'll be going full Raw starting of June!
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Post by katt on Mar 8, 2016 21:07:14 GMT -5
That was supposed to say it depends on what the grinds are, not friends. Who your friends are is kind of irrelevant to your switch.... :rofl:
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