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Post by mermaidsirena on Jan 16, 2018 20:07:36 GMT -5
No soup this morning -- very little eaten by this evening. I added a bit of fresh chicken pieces and a tiny chicken leg broken up. I'm willing to wait them out a bit and see what they do.
New soup is made and freezing into meat muffins.
Cornish Game Hen is still defrosting.
Boys are pretty lazy today so maybe that is why they aren't as hungry. Another cold spell here in Florida.
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Post by Sherry on Jan 17, 2018 9:40:49 GMT -5
Sounds good If they DON'T eat it- mix a tsp or so of warm water and give with that
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Post by mermaidsirena on Jan 18, 2018 13:28:46 GMT -5
yesterday evening I cut up the game hen. I added lots of pieces with and without bone last night. Almost all of it was gone this morning!!
I can't believe that Ghost is eating it all -- so Branch must be eating some of it.
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Post by Sherry on Jan 19, 2018 6:48:38 GMT -5
Oh he is I guarantee Some don't like to be watched. Example- I seldom see Aristotle eat. And yet winter weight he is almost 5lbs lol! This is one of the reasons we insist on taking regular weights in the mentoring program. To track gains/losses. I had to start doing it myself years ago with aN 8m old I took in. I actually thought she was eating would see her at the food dish licking away. Turns out that's ALL she was doing. One day I suddenly realized how skinny she'd gotten and actually WATCHED her at the dish. Kibble got put back in that night and we wenter back several steps and worked her up again.
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Post by mermaidsirena on Jan 19, 2018 16:01:49 GMT -5
I found great garden pruners in my garage which cut small chicken bones great! It has been such a life saver as I really don't have a cleaver and the hammer makes a mess.
I'll keep an eye on the weights. My oldest son gets a kick out of weighing them as he himself has his own weigh training regiment and weighs himself frequently. It's been interesting watching the grams for these guys. Glad I got a new scale.
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Post by mermaidsirena on Jan 21, 2018 16:10:45 GMT -5
Week of 1/21 Ghost and Branch Ferret's name: Ghost Ferret's weight: 1370 grams Ferret's Daily Medications: none Ferret has eaten "X" amount on average per meal. Eats between 2 and 4 ounces morning and night. Stools on various proteins. Dark to brown. A bit grainy after bone-in meal. Much darker after organ meal. Egg meal ends up a bit watery. Activity levels: Active as always! Ferret's name: Branch Ferret's weight: 1030 grams Ferret's Daily Medications: none Ferret has eaten "X" amount on average per meal. Eats between 2 and 4 ounces morning and night. Stools on various proteins. Dark to brown. A bit grainy after bone-in meal. Much darker after organ meal. Egg meal ends up a bit watery. Activity levels: He sleeps a bit more than Ghost but will also be the one to start the tussles. Pork is a true favorite of both of them! Is there any bone-in pork I could look for? Really no soup needed but I do water the food a bit. Monday Turkey necks and chicken chunks Turkey necks and pork chunks Tuesday Raw egg/duck grind Duck grind Wednesday Quail grind Heart Thursday Venison grind/duck grind Venison grind/duck grind Friday Quail with bone Heart, kidney, liver Saturday Turkey necks Pork chunks Sunday Pork chunks Kidney and liver Sleeping Ghost Sleeping Branch I'll try to get up and about 'top view' pictures tonight!
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Post by mermaidsirena on Jan 21, 2018 21:38:38 GMT -5
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Post by Sherry on Jan 22, 2018 8:14:22 GMT -5
They are doing really well, and they look great! For pork, some will eat the button bones, or the pork rib ends(mainly cartiledge) but that's about it. Now, since you are very close to graduating, I've got some questions for you 1. You have run out of heart, how much taurine supplement should your ferrets get? (be specific) 2. How can you tell if your ferret is getting too much or too little bone? 3. What counts as a "different protein source?" 4. List 3 organs aside from liver. 5. Give 2 examples each of muscle meat, edible bones, and organs.
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Post by mermaidsirena on Jan 22, 2018 11:30:43 GMT -5
Getting excited about how well the boys are doing! I'll be looking for pork button bones just to try, as well as tongue if you suggest. Also - would tongue count as an organ if I can't find kidney? They like kidney, but I should have another back up to it.
1. You have run out of heart, how much taurine supplement should your ferrets get? (be specific)
Taurine can be found in heart and tongue so my thoughts would be first to see if I could find tongue. Thankfully my Walmart frequently has tongue so maybe I should add that to their diet to see if they will eat it? Otherwise, if I can’t find either I would find Taurine at a health food store (might need to walk in and see if they have it) and give them one 1000mg tablet for the both of them per day. Of course I would open it up and add it to their meal, and knowing them, spread it over the meals of the day.
2. How can you tell if your ferret is getting too much or too little bone?
Too much bone and the poo becomes crumbly and hard. There are often pieces of white in the poo that makes the poo white-speckled or almost white. Too little bone and the poo becomes runny and darker.
3. What counts as a "different protein source?"
Different protein sources must come from distinctly different animals. Below are all 'different.' Chicken/Cornish game hen Pork Venison Beef Quail Duck Goat (haven’t tried it yet) Lamb (haven’t tried it yet) Rabbit (haven’t tried it yet)
4. List 3 organs aside from liver.
Kidney, lung, brains, stomach
5. Give 2 examples each of muscle meat, edible bones, and organs.
Muscle meat: thigh and leg from chicken, ground beef, pork pieces, beef stew meat, venison chunks, gizzards (in moderation) Edible bones: chicken wings, Cornish game hen (all), turkey necks, chicken feet (though mine don’t like them), tips of pork ribs Organs: heart, liver, kidney, lungs, brains, stomach
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Post by Sherry on Jan 23, 2018 8:55:12 GMT -5
How comfortable are you with substituting if you can't find a usual protein?
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Post by mermaidsirena on Jan 23, 2018 13:10:26 GMT -5
I have become pretty comfortable with this -- we just added venison and pork and it went well. I like the variety, too, so it make feeding more fun. I have a checklist on my fridge with what types of meat are currently in the freezer and which I need to replace (or pick a new protein for the week/month) and that has been helpful to keep a variety on hand.
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Post by Sherry on Jan 24, 2018 8:16:40 GMT -5
Sounds good! Would you please make up a final menu? That way we can go through and tweak it if necessary
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Post by mermaidsirena on Jan 25, 2018 7:55:11 GMT -5
Wednesdays are BUSY in my house so took until this morning. I hope the below makes sense.
Sample Week of Meals
Monday (bone meat then meat) Turkey necks and chicken chunks Turkey necks and pork chunks
Tuesday (Bone meat then bone meat) Raw egg/duck grind Duck grind
Wednesday (Bone meat then heart) Quail grind Heart
Thursday (bone meat then bone meat) Venison grind/duck grind Venison grind/duck grind
Friday (bone meat then heart ½, organ ¼, liver ¼) Quail with bone Heart, kidney, liver
Saturday (bone meat then meat) Turkey necks Pork chunks
Sunday (meat then organ ½,liver ½) Pork chunks Kidney and liver
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Post by mermaidsirena on Jan 26, 2018 6:29:37 GMT -5
The week has gone really well for the boys. Good eating for most of the days. We did have one day where they didn't eat much of the morning meal and my husband said they slept all day so the food was mostly still there when I got home. I attribute it to the large amount of fresh bone-in game hen pieces from the day before. They did pick up and eat when I got home and their evening meal was given a few hours late and eaten during the night.
I have to try and give them more 'real' bone in pieces because I think they both enjoy them way more. I move further and further away from grinds. My challenge will be variety of bone-in meat.
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Post by Sherry on Jan 26, 2018 10:25:34 GMT -5
I have submitted your final menu to Heather for appraisal I assume when they have the turkey necks alongside the muscle meat they are actually eating the necks?
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