grimtas
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Raw Feeder
Posts: 33
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Post by grimtas on Mar 24, 2017 10:51:32 GMT -5
I realized yesterday I had forgotten to record their weekly weights so I did that yesterday evening here they are: Mischief 2# 10.10Oz (+0.3Oz) Mayhem 2# 15.8Oz (+1.3Oz) Havoc 2# 10.45Oz (+1.15Oz) Scamp 2# 12.8Oz (+3Oz)
The leftovers this week are still all over the place. Mostly on the Heart/Organ meals they do not prefer them at all even pureed. I plan to tally the avg leftovers at the end of the week and reduce accordingly for next weeks meals. Right now it appears I can safely reduce 2-3 oz per feeding.
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Post by Sherry on Mar 25, 2017 8:55:00 GMT -5
It does indeed sound that way
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grimtas
New member
Raw Feeder
Posts: 33
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Post by grimtas on Apr 6, 2017 8:33:22 GMT -5
Sorry I've been away for a bit. The transition is still going well, the fuzzies are completely off their soup mix for all meals. They still are being stubborn with the heart/organ meals but they just get what ever they left refreshed and refed on the next meal until they eat it. Poops have been good no concerns there, intake per meal is starting to stabilize around 8Oz per feeding with minimal leftovers. Weights are good, Havoc and Scamp broke the 3Lbs mark over the last two weeks. Mayhem is still hovering just around the3Lbs mark and poor Mischief is shedding so much of his undercoat that he's staying around the 2.5Lbs mark.
I've completed my move and they are well settled into their temporary diggs, now I've just got to get the old house on the market and sold. I've had a bit of a setback as I now need to install a new Roof on the old place. Once that's completed the sale should go quick and I can get the new house under build. Due to my current hectic schedule I'm most likely going to only update this thread once a week going forward.
I'm very grateful for all the knowledge contained within this forum and have consumed a lot of the information provided here. Thank you to all that have helped give me guidance in my fuzzies transition, this ended up being alot easier then I expected it to be, probably because they are still kits but still, I'm confidant that should the need arise in the future I'll be able to do this again.
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Post by LindaM on Apr 6, 2017 13:00:02 GMT -5
Sounds like the babies are doing great! Good luck getting that roof up and selling the old house.
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Post by Sherry on Apr 8, 2017 8:32:02 GMT -5
When you next log in, please post a menu of what they are presently eating so we can help you balance it as soon as possible
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grimtas
New member
Raw Feeder
Posts: 33
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Post by grimtas on Apr 12, 2017 9:21:13 GMT -5
Sherry Yep sorry just been very busy with the move and such to check in daily. Fuzzbutts are doing great poops are normal according to the poop chart here I have not had any concerns in that area thus far. An occasional weird one but it's only ever the one and done and not very frequent. The menu I've been following is below. I try my best to make sure I switch protein types every day, so for instance if Monday they get Chicken, then Tues they would get pork/beef/quail/frog/lamb etc. I'm slowly working in some pork chop/roast on the muscle days to get them used to it. They do fine with the pork heart and kidney. Beef I've given them a little of my home ground meat when I'm making something for people consumption (before any seasoning of course) as a treat to get them introduced to beef. They do fine with beef tongue, haven't gotten to the beef liver yet and haven't found beef heart yet. I still have a duck in the freezer I need to defrost, debone, portion and begin working into the rotation of proteins. The other organ for the most part for all organ meals has been pork kidney, I'm looking for other kidneys as well. I haven't gotten to the pork uterus yet. I'm going to be making another shop run this week as I'm out of quail rabbit and frog at the moment. They are absolutely loving their eggs now, and starting to come around to the salmon oil as well. I've tried to give them a drop on my finger now and again and they are starting to lick that off. Still having issues with their heart and/or organ meals, they are not very keen and most times they are re-fed a refreshed portion the very next meal to ensure they are all eating what they need. This causes a skipped meal between the organ meals and the next on the schedule. yes they are going without some of their favorites and a smaller portion for the next meal when I have to re feed but this way I know they are getting what they need. I also make sure all stashes are removed prior to the heart/organ meals to make sure that's all they have avail. They are starting to enjoy chicken feet as a treat I usually give them two in their cage and replace them every few days. I really enjoy watching the food fights with the chicken feet. Now for my current menu: • Monday am: Chicken Wings / Frog Legs / Quail / Rabbit Ribs-backbone (Bone-In) • Monday pm: Chicken Wings / Frog Legs / Quail / Rabbit Ribs-backbone (Bone-In) • Monday pm (Alt): (Chicken Thigh / Lamb / Pork / Beef / Rabbit) (Muscle) • Tuesday am: Chicken Wings / Frog Legs / Quail / Rabbit Ribs-backbone (Bone-In), 2-4 Eggs • Tuesday pm: Chicken Thigh / Lamb / Pork / Beef / Rabbit (Muscle) • Wednesday am: Chicken Wings / Frog Legs / Quail / Rabbit Ribs-backbone (Bone-In), 6 drops salmon oil • Wednesday pm: Chicken / Pork / Beef Heart (Heart) • Thursday am: Chicken Wings / Frog Legs / Quail / Rabbit Ribs-backbone (Bone-In), 2-4 Eggs • Thursday pm: Chicken Wings / Frog Legs / Quail / Rabbit Ribs-backbone (Bone-In) • Thursday pm (Alt): (Chicken Thigh / Lamb / Pork / Beef / Rabbit) (Muscle) • Friday am: Chicken Wings / Frog Legs / Quail / Rabbit Ribs-backbone (Bone-In), 6 drops salmon oil • Friday pm: ½ Beef / Pork Tongue + ¼ Liver (Chicken / Pork / Beef) + ¼ Organ (Kidney / Uterus) • Saturday am: Chicken Wings / Frog Legs / Quail / Rabbit Ribs-backbone (Bone-In) • Saturday pm: Chicken Thigh / Lamb / Pork / Beef / Rabbit (Muscle) • Sunday am: Chicken Wings / Frog Legs / Quail / Rabbit Ribs-backbone (Bone-In) • Sunday pm: ½ Liver (Chicken / Pork / Beef) + ½ Organ (Kidney / Uterus) Edit: Any modifications/recommendations are appreciated.
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Post by Sherry on Apr 12, 2017 9:35:19 GMT -5
It's looking really good The only change I'd make is removing pork tongue as a taurine source. Use more beef tongue or heart instead for the half meal. Pigs don't chew a cud like cows, so the tongue would have far less taurine. Use it as a muscle meal instead. I assume they are actually consuming all of this? How comfortable are you with feeding this and creating menus at this point?
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grimtas
New member
Raw Feeder
Posts: 33
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Post by grimtas on Apr 12, 2017 12:27:23 GMT -5
Sherry Sherry, thank you for the tip on the pork tongue, I haven't found any yet so I won't bother looking now for that. They have been eating all that is on my menu except for the duck which I need to introduce. They have tried pork and beef muscle meats it just still needs some work. All other organs, heart, liver, bone-in, muscle on the list they have been eating without issue. As far as comfort feeding all this I have no Issues I'm a carnivore too and have eaten almost everything I'm feeding them at some point. My Wife on the other hand is vegetarian and has some difficulties in preparing their meals. I'm teaching my teenage son how to feed them should I have to go away for a few days on business. I'm not following your question on the creating menu's. The menu I posted is what I follow daily/weekly. I purchase as much as I can in bulk and process that down to manageable portions in packaged and labeled bags then stick it into the deep freezer. I pull out a few meals at a time after referencing the menu posted on the freezer and place the meals in the fridge to defrost prior to feeding. From there I simply feed the appropriate meal from the fridge and rinse and repeat as necessary. I have been swapping protein types daily so example I don't feed chicken two days in a row. Exception is on heart/organs/liver as I use what I have available chicken/beef/pork etc. I record intake and leftovers each meal and adjust the quantity provided as much as possible to avoid waste and ensure they are getting plenty to eat, this process is still in the works to dial in more accurately.
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Post by Sherry on Apr 13, 2017 10:17:45 GMT -5
What I meant was, if you were suddenly unable to access a couple of regular bone in meats, do you know what else to look for or substitute? And would you be able to create a balanced menu using only one of the four possible bone in proteins distributed properly through the week? Example Monday list chicken wings, Tuesday, frog legs, Wed pork, etc so they aren't getting say just wings for bone in that week? Here is a sample menu of what I mean
Monday am chicken wings Monday pm lamb chunks
Tuesday am Frog legs Tuesday pm beef
and so on for the entire week? What I am looking for is if you can balance a menu listing only one product so I have a better idea of how YOU would set one like this up. You are very close to "graduating" as it were, and I need to know where your knowledge of balancing a menu is at using what you have.
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grimtas
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Raw Feeder
Posts: 33
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Post by grimtas on Apr 14, 2017 9:10:16 GMT -5
Sherry, Ok yes I think I understand what your looking for now. I purchased a 12 CU freezer just to contain their food. I have it organized by Heart/Organ, Muscle, Bone-In, and on each shelf I have the various proteins separated by type. While I'm currently not feeding the same protein day to day, I switch them for variety, I have yet to run out of any supplies. This week for example I realized I was low on Rabbit, Quail, Frog Legs, Chicken for bone-in so I made another shop to replenish prior to running out. I buy in bulk and generally shop for 45 days supply to account for waste / eating needs. While I was low I live in an area where I have plenty of sources to replenish supplies should something go wrong with a primary. This includes a very good local butcher that has everything under the sun in proteins abliet very expensive, but another source. The menu I posted is to simplify for my memory at a quick glance. I reference/remember what I fed the previous day and adjust for the next. Keeping the records per meal is also helping me keep track week over week what they are eating and protein variations. This allows me to keep track of available inventory and what I need to shop for. Purchasing 45 days supply ensures a consistent 30 days worth of food on-hand. Switching proteins daily is not complicated to me. This weeks weights: Mischief 2# 9.65Oz (+0.2Oz) Mayhem 3# 1.1Oz (+0.2Oz) Havoc 2# 15.5Oz (-1.4Oz) Scamp 3# 7Oz (+3.8Oz) My little piggy he's been gaining ~3Oz /Wk the last three weeks I think the fluctuations week over week have been fine, no concerns with poops, energy levels remain much higher then when on kibble. They so want to play with my husky but that introduction will take a very long time as my husky thinks they are squirrels and want's to eat them.. They are well separated and protected when the husky is loose in the house. My Rottie is getting on in age and only shows mild interest with the fuzzies and I have no concern with them running around a room with him but I still keep a close eye. My cat is still not sure what to do with all their energy and generally just runs away from them. I feel at this point very comfortable with the menu, keeping it balanced between both heart/organ, bone-in, muscle as well as making sure I'm switching protein types daily. Example below should I somehow run out of a protein or two. Ran out of Quail and frog legs Monday AM Bone-In Chicken Wings Monday PM Bone-In Rabbit Ribs/Backbone Or Muscle Sub (Rabbit, Pork, Beef, Lamb, Duck Chunks) Tues AM Bone-In Duck Wings, Ribs, Neck, Backbone Tues PM Muscle (Rabbit, Pork, Beef, Lamb, Duck Chunks) Wed AM Bone-In Chicken Wings Wed PM Heart Chicken, Pork, Beef Etc
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Post by Sherry on Apr 14, 2017 9:49:20 GMT -5
Okay, thanks Pretty much what I wanted yes. I just needed to know that you understand HOW to balance a menu Alright, let's test your knowledge a bit more. 1. Does freezing degrade taurine? 2. How can you tell if your ferret is getting too much or too little bone? 3. What percent of the diet should be organ? 4.What is a healthy diet item that can be used for hairballs, and his often should you give it? 5. How much and how often can egg be fed?
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grimtas
New member
Raw Feeder
Posts: 33
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Post by grimtas on Apr 14, 2017 13:51:50 GMT -5
Alright, let's test your knowledge a bit more. 1. Does freezing degrade taurine? This is a mis-conception, it does not degrade2. How can you tell if your ferret is getting too much or too little bone? Poop review look for presence/absence of bone in stools, and or overly runny poops3. What percent of the diet should be organ? 10% weekly4.What is a healthy diet item that can be used for hairballs, and his often should you give it? Salmon/Olive Oil 1 Tsp weekly.5. How much and how often can egg be fed? 1Egg /Wk per fuzzie double in shedding season.
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Post by Sherry on Apr 15, 2017 10:27:08 GMT -5
Almost right #4 while oil may help skin and coat, it doesn't do much for hairballs already forming in the stomach. Answer would be egg yolk But otherwise very good! Just for neatness sake, would you repost a weekly menu leaving off the pork tongue, and we will get you graduated!
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Post by LindaM on Apr 15, 2017 16:35:28 GMT -5
I'd like to add to answer #2, when checking to see if poops need more or less bone, seeing dry, hard, chalky-looking poops and sometimes even dry seedy poops will point to too much bone.
And typically, it's a better choice to stick to animal oils such as Salmon Oil and just avoid the plant-based/vegetable oils like Olive Oil if you can, or use it very, very rarely (a little can sometimes be used to entice them to clean each other's ears, and then only Extra Virgin Olive Oil too).
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Post by Sherry on Apr 16, 2017 9:13:35 GMT -5
Actually extra virgin olive oil is fine. It does no harm, and has anecdotal evidence of preventing heliobactor when given on a regular basis.
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