Haven't looked at the final yet, that's next. This is what I have for you now (please forgive me!):
Being that this will most likely be my last weekly update, and final menu posting, as a raw feeding (frankenprey) student on HFF I am going to be a bit more thorough than in some of my previous posts. Hang in there! I have learned a lot, and I want a place to refer to in my own words should I ever forget – even though I can’t see how I could.
This week:
Kai has maintained a consistent weight at 2 lbs. 4 oz. (1025 g) – so she gained 5 g. Stools regular, and consistent with diet: Firmer after bone-in meals; a bit darker and looser after organ meals. Calm and confident, yet playful and cuddly; loves attention, and enjoys playing with Zoe as well as having some one-on-one time with her Mum and the kitties.
Zoe weighs 2 lbs. 3oz. (991 g), and is almost as big as her sister now. She gained 4 oz. this week, and I think that in the next few weeks her weight will settle into what will prove to be an ideal weight for her. Her hair is growing in beautifully, and overall I am quite amazed by her transformation from just a month ago. Stools also regular, and consistent with diet. She has been more interactive in her play, and again even less aggressive and nippy this week. She is still somewhat tense, but she is surely learning how enjoyable cuddling can be too; she is less squirmy and tense overall. No licks this week, but less nips, and a lots more close cuddles.
On average each of the girls eats 1.5 oz. per meal. They eat from the same bowl so the amounts may vary, but Kai’s weight is being maintained at a consistent level since I began tracking it, and Zoe has been gaining weight, and her hair is growing in nicely - so I have good reason to believe they are being equal and nice enough with their sharing.
Their current heart and organ meals consist of ½ chx hrt, ¼ beef liver, ¼ beef kidney, and one quail egg yolk mixed in. When I originally portioned this meal I was using goat tripe as an organ, but since it is white, and lacks nutritional value, I added the beef kidney – but the goat tripe is still a part of this meal, so there is an additional portion of food which I just stock up to treats as I haven’t figured out a great treat food for them yet, and haven’t really been treating them. I did purchase the salmon oil, and will hopefully find that as useful as they find enjoyable.
The girls have tried a lot of different proteins, and I don’t really think they have an absolute favorite. The only think Zoe will not eat is the goat tripe, and that’s okay because I just treat Kai with it – she loves it!
In the poultry department they have had chicken neck, chicken back, chicken thigh muscle meat, chicken wings, chicken breast (I don’t serve this anymore), chicken heart, chicken liver (they will eat this, but prefer the beef liver far more), turkey neck, Cornish game hen, and quail.
I have served them pork loin and pork rib tips (muscle only). They really like the rib tips, and I like it for them too because it has a lot of chewy sinew to work their jaws.
In the red meat department they have tried beef stew meat, beef bottom round, and goat chunks (stew meat). I would like to get them some lamb next, and I may try some smaller oxtails just as a treat and chewing exercise, and I do know they shouldn’t have the bones.
The shrimp was a total miss – I forgot about that until just now – and I haven’t tried any more fish. They do like their frog legs though, and I will continue to feed this meal once a week especially because this is the one meal where only a few small bone “crumbs” are ever left behind.
I finally found a butcher with some some rabbit, and although it is quite spendy I am glad that I made the decision to splurge a bit extra than usual with regard to this protein. I will be getting a whole rabbit, skinned with head and feet removed, organs included. And all said it will create about forty meals, or twenty meals for each fuzzie. At a little over a $1 a meal it isn’t really something to complain about after all. If I feed them each one rabbit meal per week they can have rabbit for 4-5 months for each 3.5 -4 lb. rabbit I purchase, and I’m okay with this ratio. So they haven’t tried the rabbit yet, but I imagine it will go over like every other new meal: they will pretend not to like it until they are really hungry, and then they will dig in! After the second or third feeding they will dig right in right when it’s feeding time every time rabbit is served. I’m going to pick up the rabbit at the butcher Wednesday on my way home from work, and then spend some time portioning it out. I’m excited about getting the organs too because it will provide some more variety in the girls’ organ meals.
Kai and Zoe eat together from the same bowl, and this seems to work for both of them and me. The eat at approximate 12 hour intervals, 6:30 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. Kai is a slow, methodical eater whereas Zoe is all in from the moment the dish is placed down. Kai is not really a stasher, but she does sometimes like to create her own little eating zone to enjoy her meal … slow and steady, with a few breaks in between. Zoe will usually quickly grab a (bigger) chunk from the bowl, scurry down the ramp to stash it in a tunnel, and then quickly return to what’s left and have at it with all her might. Then she will usually return to her stashed chunk within an hour or so, after a nice little nap. So all-in-all I don’t have to deal with stinky, old meat; I do have to make sure I find all the little scraps of dried-up hard bone they leave behind, especially after a turkey or chicken neck meal, though. But this is an easy chore because in general they eat on the top level of their house, and they seem to understand that this area is for eating only for the most part. All that is on this level is a knitted blanket that is just a bit too big for the space, and their food bowl. (Thank You Celene for teaching me this trick!) Their water bowl is on another level. I do this because 1.) they don’t seem to mind going to where their water bowl is if they are thirsty during a meal (almost never), and 2.) Kai is a little swimmer; keeping the water bowl away from blankets is better, and allows for access to both drinking water and paly. I do change out the water daily.
Also, right now the girls get three heart and organ meals per week. Each of these meals consists of ½ chicken heart, ¼ beef liver, ¼ beef kidney, and one quail egg yolk mixed in. I pulse the hearts and organs in the food processor to make sliver-sized chunks before mixing the egg yolk in. I would like to try beef heart to switch up with the chicken heart, I think I’ll stick with the beef liver, and I’d like to try some other organs too. I did see testicles, but I just couldn’t do it – yet!
Okay, so, my final menu posting is as follows:
Monday: AM turkey neck, PM heart and organ meal with yolk
Tuesday: AM Cornish game hen, PM pork
Wednesday: AM chicken neck, PM rabbit
Thursday: AM heart band organ meal with yolk, PM frog legs
Friday: AM beef (or goat, or lamb), PM chicken back
Saturday: AM heart and organ meal with yolk, PM chicken neck
Sunday: AM chicken gizzard, PM quail
This menu includes 8 bone-in meals, 3 heart and organ meals, and 3 muscle meals. There are technically eight varieties of proteins (chicken, turkey, Cornish game hen, pork, rabbit, beef (or goat, or lamb), frog legs, and quail), but given that chicken, Cornish game hen, and quail are so similar we shall say five, and I think that is good, especially considering that I will be alternating the red meats category weekly, and that will give some more variety as well.
Kai and Zoe are both strong eaters, and they seem most satisfied with their frankenprey diet. Their stools are consistent with what they are eating for the most part. If their stools get too bony I will feed them muscle instead of bone-in; if their stools are too loose I will feed a bone-in meal, or add some pulverized egg shell to their muscle and/or organ meals. I will make sure they always have fresh water available also, of course!
I believe I am ready to take the reins of my fuzzie’s diet sled into my own hands, yes. I believe there may be changes in portion sizes from the warmer to cooler seasons (even in south Florida), and I believe I know how to compensate their dietary needs based on stool samples, and what to do with their diet when they become generally ill (I mean in addition to getting an immediate-if-not-sooner vet appointment!). Thank you for going over this lengthy final post of this sort – being that I am graduating so soon I just wanted to make sure that I had it down pat for sure, and details are important! I think I do know how to nourish my girls well through the frankenprey diet / feeding method. I hope that they will be with me a long fuzzie time, and I look forward to sharing more of their adventures with you via HFF.
Now, a final exam, and a graduation celebration!!!!! That means I am going to return the final exam you sent by tomorrow please. And ... here's a FB video of the girls. Not quite what I was hoping for, but oh well, here...