Little help with planning?

[Deleted]

So this Saturday I am going shopping and want to prep out meals for my three ferrets for the whole month.

I am going to be doing the basic Frankenprey but I want to make sure I am getting enough at the beginning of the month and prepping everything out right.

How much for 3 ferrets will I need to get?
I am thinking this month will be Turkey necks, chicken (and wings), ground beef, ground turkey, heart, and liver.

I don't have much of a baseline of how much I will need.

Eventually I want to start whole feeding mice (My local pet store provides frozen little ones) but I don't think I can get any of my kids to go after that yet.

In addition to the meat I am going to pick up some colored sharpies to label bags, and a scale. I have a calendar I have color coded for the days and what I am feeding on that day to keep my meal plan straight.

Can someone give me some advice for meal prep? Thanks a million!!!!!!! You guys are the best!

[LindaM]

How much do your 3 ferrets eat on average, do you know? They do not all eat the same. Girls eat less than the boys, and seasonal changes and age also play a role. Other than that, the averages are adult male 2-5oz, and adult female 1-3oz per day. But saying that, you could be on either side of those spectrums, so it's hard to say.

Personally, I just buy lots in bulk and pop it into my chest freezer, works out cheaper too. I portion out into 2oz and 4oz containers for my hearts, organs and muscle, and my bone-in goes in slightly bigger containers or zip lock baggies. I use colored stickers by protein to label mine and write which protein (eg. rabbit, duck, etc.), the type (eg. heart, organ, muscle, bone-in), and the consistency (eg. soup, puree, slivers, chunks). So for example, Rabbit Muscle Chunks/Duck Heart Puree. What I don't portion immediately I just leave in there in a big container for later.

Are you still transitioning/switching your ferrets right now? I'm asking since you have bone-in on there, but also ground meats. Or are these just new proteins for them?

If you're starting with a switch, you may also have to take into account some waste for while until they are all eating everything well and you can bring your meals down to just having a bite versus a lot left at meal change times. That, and at the start of switches most ferrets tend to also start off eating more at first and then slowing down over time.

[Sherry]

I also tend to either buy in bulk, or haunt stores for last day sales and buy a number of packages. As Linda mentioned, you will have to account for some wastage at the beginning, as well as increased appetite they all seem to develop for a month or so at the start.
That said, for the first month, I'd plan on 3-5 oz a day per ferret, mainly of chicken. Wings, hearts, liver, necks, whole chicken, and cornish hens.