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Post by Deleted on Feb 8, 2017 3:12:34 GMT -5
The recipe for soup is balanced for the short time frame of transitions and the occasional need of a sick ferret. If. He's eating small chunks of wing I would go ahead and try small chunks of muscle meat too, chicken lamb beef pork etc... try each individual organ in small chunks too. But those you might want to try drizzled in soup. Sounds like you're on the right path! Don't be down, you've done a huge accomplishment just getting him to eat bone in! And that's one of the hardest parts. Try each of the thing listed above, then start thinking in terms of the basic frankenprey menu, before you know it he'll be on balanced raw:). You might have to introduce each new idea to him with soup drizzled on top, and that's totsllly okay.
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Post by boogerybooger on Feb 8, 2017 13:23:12 GMT -5
Thanks for asking. Ten cubes. The meat was a shoulder piece and had a small round bone and small other bone. It was a little more than 1/2 lb with the bone so not a full 8 ounces probably.I had thought I bought fresh ground when I started the soup. Sorry this is a bit confusing and I greatly appreciate any assistance. I have not given him any of this messed up batch so maybe there's a way to salvage it.
Thanks!!!
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Post by boogerybooger on Feb 8, 2017 13:26:22 GMT -5
oops I was replying to your question about cubes. Thank you for the above info! Yes, he seems to be very focused on soup when it comes to something new! This is great advice to work him into it! :thankyou:
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Post by Deleted on Feb 8, 2017 16:22:08 GMT -5
A small pinch should be fine for the time being and if his poops are too funny just a small pinch more. No need to apologize, the second comment of mine started a new page which can get confusing sometimes haha. Sounds like you're doing great! Let us know how he does over the next few days with those small chunks and wings
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Post by boogerybooger on Feb 8, 2017 23:36:38 GMT -5
Thank you! could chunks of muscle meat include ground beef or ground pork? Or should it be pure muscle cuts? All I have in pure muscle cuts right now is chicken which he eats ok but stashes some. I feel I need to have soup cubes always on hand. Will be out of town for two nights after the weekend and my son will be in charge of all pets. He probably will not be quite as vigilant at monitoring food so I want to make sure he will eat what he is fed. Want to be sure he is solidly eating and not messing around at the dinner bowl Will keep you posted. thanks so much for your help!
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Post by LindaM on Feb 9, 2017 4:35:54 GMT -5
You can definitely include ground meat with your chunks in a muscle meal, but be aware that your ferret may just eat the ground meat to get their fill and then ignore the chunks (especially if still picky about chunks or just picky in general) unless they're still very hungry and have run out of the ground meat.
Stashing is quite normal with ferrets. Do you use a feeding den for yours? I've found that my boy isn't very bugged with using a den, but my girl needs to eat in a feeding den, which right now, in her opinion, is still the underside of my bedside table. She will drag her meat chunks and chicken wings in there to stash and eat. I check every night to make sure she's eaten her food and to remove any that remain, which usually is barely anything at all since she eats all the food she takes in there.
If you wish to be sure he's eating well in the time you are gone, it's likely the best to stick to a protein that he's already used to eating in a form that he already adjusted to. So if he's eating chunks without any troubles by the time you leave, then he can have chunks for his meal.
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Post by boogerybooger on Feb 9, 2017 10:25:57 GMT -5
Yes he does have a feeding den--his carrier open with a blanket strip for a "door". He has taken some of the wing bits in and eaten them, but the chunks taken in are mostly left untouched. He eats from a small bowl in the corner by our stairs and when finished, he grabs the bowl and pushes it under a small table. Sometimes he returns and eats more if any is left, but more often once he moves it, that's it. In his cage, he just takes out what he doesn't want to eat. This morning it was a nice chunk of chicken laying right beside the bowl. Once out to romp, I added it back with a little water for the remainder of the food left and I just found it under the table. Maybe the cats will eat it. I have to say I have gotten into a bad habit perhaps with feeding him late at night because he no longer has kibble all the time. It is usually around 1 or 2 am when I go to bed. He always wakes up and gets excited to eat. I probably need to adjust his schedule. I do put him into his cage at dusk usually with a bowl of soup mixture and bits. I keep the cage covered so the street light doesn't get in. I do not however get up at sunrise to uncover it. Ok that is enough "talking" for now. :thankyou:
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Post by Deleted on Feb 13, 2017 22:35:20 GMT -5
Are you back from your trip? And is he eating the muscle chunks all by himself yet? If so I'd like you to start slowly increasing size without soup or grinds that is. you should always have soup cubes on hand for sure, in case your ferret gets sick and needs coaxing to eat or to help introduce new proteins. Sorry for the delay, I was gone on a trip myself
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Post by boogerybooger on Feb 15, 2017 0:08:13 GMT -5
We got back this evening. I don't think my son fed him enough or he gave him a good bit of the archetype raw dried. I just don't think he gets it I even gave him stuff to read about quantities. At least he did not give him any kibble! Booger is not yet eating chunks of muscle meat. He is eating froglegs and chicken wings(cut up) I need to go to the store to get a variety of muscle meats and probably go back to the bits in the soup- the soup I give him is really thick! He has eaten small strips of beef and of chicken by themselves. I have recently bought gizzards and whole quail but have not tried them yet and can see my son didn't either. I also got pork liver to add to ground pork soup. He loves it! It has more fat it seems and he can use some extra fat I think. He's still warming up to the salmon oil. Could you tell me if you give yours fish and if so what kind? I wondered if saltwater fish are too salty. Thanks for your help tessvictoria! Hope you had a nice trip!
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Post by boogerybooger on Feb 15, 2017 22:45:00 GMT -5
update today: Still don't have a great supply of muscle meats so I gave Booger his first raw quail today. results: cut in half and raw with nothing added. He ate the leg right away and stashed the rest. I later retrieved it and chopped it into several pieces and poured a small bit of pork soup on it. He ate more, stashed rest. Still a lot left at his bedtime. added pork soup to leftover pieces. Can a ferret eat a whole half of a quail in a day? He sure hasn't. Guess I didn't encourage it when I added the pork soup even though it was very little soup. He lost a little weight while I was gone and I'm really hoping to get it back on him ASAP. He's barely 2 pounds. He's always been on the thin side though. vet records show 2.3 to 3.0 over 2015. Just realized they did not give me his weight in the new recording forms in 2016. Last visit he was 2 lbs, but he had been gaining since and was 2.3 again until today he's back at 2. He was very frisky and playful this morning so I know he feels ok. Getting some muscle meat tomorrow!
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Post by LindaM on Feb 16, 2017 0:11:40 GMT -5
Athena, my 8 month old sprite ate the whole back half of a quail yesterday. I introduced it the first time on Monday, she only nibbled a little since it was a new protein (apparently FDR and Frankenprey same protein doesn't quite count in their eyes). So I left out her leftovers the next morning, and she polished it off, along with some extra food to boot. So yes, they can eat a whole half of quail.
Do you weigh how much food you are giving him daily and how much of that he eats? Adult males will eat on average 3-6oz of food a day.
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Post by boogerybooger on Feb 16, 2017 1:11:23 GMT -5
I have not ever thought about weighing his food- great idea--if I can get an accurate measure. I'll try that. Nice to know how much they eat! Thank you!!
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Post by boogerybooger on Feb 16, 2017 17:57:56 GMT -5
Do you weigh how much food you are giving him daily and how much of that he eats? Adult males will eat on average 3-6oz of food a day. 3-6oz of food a day.
Would this be a 12-18 hour day or a 24 Hour day? In 24 hours he DID eat almost the whole half of quail! (dance)
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Post by Deleted on Feb 16, 2017 18:29:39 GMT -5
That would be a full 24 hrs yes weighing is a must to know how much they eat so you're not wasting food by putting too much out or too little and leaving their plate for too long afterward. That is fantastic news! If he ate the leg by himself I would say leave it and don't add soup, he will come back to it when he's ready I bet.
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Post by LindaM on Feb 16, 2017 20:41:55 GMT -5
You're welcome! And yes, the use of a scale is very important in raw feeding. Not only does it help you get your portions right, and be able to check how much they're actually consuming, it's also pretty easy to weigh your ferret on, just hold a bit of oil to make them stand still on it. Yep, the male average of 3-6oz food is for a full day, your morning and evening meals. He sounds like he did pretty good then. Be sure to check stashes for any left over bones and remove them, they can get pretty brittle when they dry out.
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