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Post by boogerybooger on Mar 2, 2017 17:14:40 GMT -5
I love your little fridge planner. I looked online but couldn't locate anything like it I will come up with something though just a matter of time. So here we go to the freezers to get an accurate inventory of what is available. I will admit that for the first time I gave him the same thing two mornings in a row- frog legs (FL). I just couldn't bring myself to pitch it and I didn't think it would last a third day in the fridge since I thawed it day before he ate them. So.... today is egg day and I offered it after he was full on FL. Oddly, he licked a little off my finger and then turned up his nose and backed away. Last week, he could not get enough egg it seemed by the way he kept licking the empty bowl. This week, not interested so far. Is that normal? Do they have some sense of how to eat according to their needs? poops are still good, soft and formed, not runny. I will be back with my menu when I get everything in order. Thanks for all the help!!!
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Post by LindaM on Mar 2, 2017 18:28:38 GMT -5
Give a random walk around some of the stationary/office supply aisles in the stores, sometimes you'll find something to surprise you. I think I got the little pad from a Target Superstore in the area they usually put the school goodies. Another great idea, which I have used before as well, is to print a nice blank week menu (you can even use colors if it makes things easier), and get it laminated, then use a white-board or any kind of erase marker on it to write your menu for the week.
As for needing to adjust a menu slightly through the week because you didn't want to waste something, or someone was throwing a fit about a specific meal at the time, believe me, it happens. Hello Post-It Note, old friend. This can especially happen when you introduce a new protein and you need to swap things around a bit because someone won't end up with all the correct meal types.
I try to keep one large container in immediate reach, containing a bunch of portioned containers/baggies I will need for my meals, and as that one begins to really empty out, I start to refill it from the spare bucket which is usually much harder to reach since all OUR food is on top of it, but that way it also lets me know if I need to go out and buy things when I start moving the inventory from the spare container. I've even had that work in just a fridge's freezer, so it can still work with limited freezer space, or a chest freezer.
As for self-regulating food amount.. yes, they do, as for deciding they need or don't need a hairball preventative, not so much. Ferrets will regulate how much they are eating, so will usually not overeat on a raw diet. Egg is yummy, but if your tummy is full.. well.. think of trying to have that dessert after a big, filling meal. Doesn't sound very yummy anymore, does it? I've had it happen before too, and poor Athena was simply stuffed on her food, but I'd forgotten her egg.. and she licked a bit.. but just could not put it all down. She came back for it later and polished it off though. So try offering before the meal, or after a nap when they usually get up and will eat more food. If he's just being picky about it, dab on the nose a few times to get them interested. Shedding season will be coming up soon here, mine are already shedding some, so the egg amount will be doubling for my guys.
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Post by boogerybooger on Mar 2, 2017 19:15:07 GMT -5
I just put everything in the kitchen freezer (small) into a container. Some are portioned for meals in zip loc snack bags, but it isn't by meal, it is all one type, like a bag of snack bags each with 1 oz. of chicken livers, etc, but I am working toward figuring out the meals ahead of time.
A question I have is how do you decide your 24 hour period? do your babies have food available all night? I usually put Booger to bed around dusk/dark and give him his full pm meal. I subtract whatever is left in the morning. I keep thinking there's a better way to keep track of am and pm-- my dividing line is not 12 noon.
Still figuring things out in our 2 chest freezers. I like your idea of knowing when to replenish your supply in the deep freeze.
I will definitely take a walk around some stores, specifically Target since I will be right at it tomorrow. Thanks for all the great ideas!
Back later, could be much later...
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Post by LindaM on Mar 2, 2017 20:03:17 GMT -5
Oh okay, I just label my portioned containers and baggies with colored labels (used per protein type, but organs get their own color) stating what's inside, eg. "Chicken Heart Puree", "Pork Chunks", "Beef Liver Slivers", "Duck Chunks", "Quail Bone Chunks", etc. So my big container will contain several of all the varieties, and I just pick them out by label the evening before or early the next morning and thaw. Been working pretty effortless for me thus far. The 2oz containers also have different colored lids, red or white. I use red for organs and hearts, and white for the meat chunks or some soup.
Yep, mine have food available all the time, from one meal to the next. My babies decide when they want to get out, I just open their cage in the morning when I get up and get breakfast started if it needs to thaw, both ferrets will come over in the morning to the study when they wake up to say "Hi", since I'm a graphics designer and can work from home, at which time I'll get up and give them their AM meal, or if I'm going to be out or busy, I just put their meal out ahead when I open the cage. Some mornings they'll get out of their cage around 9am, sometimes be lazy and crawl out around 11am. I give the PM meal around 7-9pm. I just make sure that their bowls always have a little bit remaining by the next meal time, versus being entirely empty to be sure everyone ate enough, so if their bowls are really low by the time I put them in their cage by midnight, I'll add a little more food, or if it's still good, I just put their bowls in the cage with them as is. Usually, by the time I open the cage in the morning there's only a little left in each bowl.
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Post by boogerybooger on Mar 3, 2017 1:56:19 GMT -5
So the rest of the week: Friday-am-chicken wing drummette cut up pm- ck ht and mix of pork kidney and pork liver
Saturday--am--pork riblets pm- lamb muscle
Sunday--frog legs pm organs- lamb liver and kidneyI will get to work on the entire next week before it starts
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Post by LindaM on Mar 3, 2017 2:31:35 GMT -5
What was for dinner tonight? Okay, so looking at the menu followed this week...
On Friday PM, "ck ht"? Chicken heart, yes? Just double checking. So from what I can count thus far without knowing tonight's dinner, there's 8 bone-in meals, 2 muscle, 1.5 heart (if the "ck ht" is for heart), and 1.5 organ (liver + kidney). So that's great!
One thing I'd like to comment on though is that frog's legs are quite lean, and ferrets get their energy from fat. So I'd maybe try to bring those down to just 2-3 meals a week instead of 4, or follow that up with something fattier the next meal like pork muscle, or the next day meal like the pork riblets, since he loves the frog's legs so much.
Have you been having any troubles with him eating his organs? Or does he eat them all without issue?
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Post by boogerybooger on Mar 3, 2017 23:11:00 GMT -5
Hi,
Thanks for the comments! Yes it's heart. Last night he had quail and by morning it was all gone and the egg that he didn't eat was mostly gone- some dried and I'm sure he couldn't get it all for that reason. BUT there are two lovely egg poops. Speaking of poops, today, he had the biggest poop I think I've seen since the diet change. It just kept coming out! nice, soft and formed and probably the entire length of his intestines I'm guessing.
Tonight was organ night and I did what has been suggested- cut up fine, then pureed with a little water to make a lumpy pudding. I added a couple drops of salmon oil and a dusting of his FDR chicken. He seems to love it. I will check in before bed to see how much he took in. If all gone, I may give him a duck tongue. Then I suppose I will need to adjust his meal size. He seems to be eating a bit more as he gets accustomed to the change. It will be another week probably to figure it out for sure.
I will switch out the next frog legs because he can stand to continue putting on weight. I got some pork belly muscle but I know it's more fat than muscle so I'm not sure how to feed it. Is it more like a snack since it doesn't fit any of the categories?
Thanks for your help!!
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Post by boogerybooger on Mar 3, 2017 23:13:26 GMT -5
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Post by boogerybooger on Mar 4, 2017 18:27:00 GMT -5
Update on organs
He ate every bit of the lumpy organ soup!
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Post by LindaM on Mar 4, 2017 19:43:03 GMT -5
Sorry for the late response, yesterday was a bit crazy for me, I was out for most of the day and came home late. Excellent news on the organs! Sticking with a puree, lumpy soup or tiny pieces/slivers mix for organs can be helpful making sure they eat all of it instead of stashing, nor just picking out favorites from the meal as some ferrets will do. As for the question about pork belly.. I'm not 100% sure myself, as it isn't something I've fed before, but I believe it falls under the muscle meat category, so can be fed as a muscle meal. Pork belly compared to other cuts of pork can be very fatty though, so just keep an eye on poops, as white poops can signify getting too much fat in a meal, but should otherwise be okay. You could also probably cut it up and do a split of it mixed in with another muscle meal, so it's not just all fat, but can add some fattiness to meats that are lean. Which can really help benefit those meals since ferrets need the fat for energy.
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Post by boogerybooger on Mar 4, 2017 21:23:52 GMT -5
Super! Thank you!!! So I got some shrimp to try for one meal possibly if he goes for it. Would that be lean muscle meat or is fish in a class all by itself? Thanks!!!
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Post by LindaM on Mar 4, 2017 21:52:15 GMT -5
Fish is classed into the muscle meat or bone-in meat categories, as well as having its own limitation. Fish should be kept to no more than one meal per week. If you're feeding deboned fish, it's muscle. If you're feeding fish that still includes the bone, it's a bone-in meal. Shrimp I think might fall under muscle for a meal, but I've mostly just known it as a treat myself, and my ferrets have never eaten enough in a go to make it count like a meal. So I'd lean on it being a treat more. I use shrimp with my ferrets to snorkel out of a water container for enrichment or as a treat. Occasionally, they'll eat one or two from the container they fish them out of, but that's it. In which case, that week we skip any fish treats (I have both Salmon and Shrimp FDR treats) or fish meal too. Here's a thread in which Machan shows their ferrets snorkel for shrimp: holisticferret60.proboards.com/thread/20761/fishing-ferrets
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Post by boogerybooger on Mar 5, 2017 0:06:07 GMT -5
copied below
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Post by boogerybooger on Mar 6, 2017 11:05:22 GMT -5
Ferret's name:BOOGER 2. Ferret's weight:2.2 lbs 3. Ferret has eaten about 2 ounces amount on average per meal.I'm still determining this. seems it may be more than 2 ounces, but using 2 ouces to figure the organ meals. 4. Stools on various proteins--pretty good, but still poops out some undigested meats- much smaller amounts now. He seems to need all the bone-in meals with no muscle substitutions. 5. Activity levels: great and greatest! 6. Weekly menu:week of March 6th
You are right LindaM, that Booger is going to make a planner out of me!
Sunday am Duck bone-in, shrimp treats pm organs-- CK liver+ PK kidney Ate 4 shrimp during night.
Monday am CK wing flats pm Duck neck
Tuesday am Duck leg pm Pork Musc.
Wednesday am Frog legs and porkbelly for fat pm PK heart
Thursday am Quail pm CK wing
Friday am PK riblets pm CK heart + Lamb liver + spleen? (if I have it by then)
Saturday am Duck feet + a little lamb muscle OR may do duck neck if foot not liked pm Lamb Musc.
Sunday am CK NK pm organs- PK liver+ pancreas? (if I Have it)
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Post by boogerybooger on Mar 6, 2017 11:08:16 GMT -5
my abbreviations:
CK= chicken PK= pork NK= neck Ft= foot or feet musc.= muscle
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