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Post by olenka on Jan 28, 2018 12:14:18 GMT -5
Start increasing the size of the pieces. And try to stay with long and skinny when you do. The same size around as you do now, but go for an inch long. I have increased the size already. I cut cubes almost an inch each side. Do I have to go long and skinny? Or same size, just make them longer? |
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Post by olenka on Jan 28, 2018 12:18:40 GMT -5
Give them a couple days on that and it will be time to introduce another protein  Like beef or pork? Another question: I have tons of chicken bones and skin with fat in my freezer. I was buying chicken legs for soup. Would they ever eat that food supply? Some bones have meat left overs on them, but most of them have not. |
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Post by Sherry on Jan 29, 2018 8:15:13 GMT -5
With that i'D make a bone broth for them and freeze for if you need it (great for sick animals) or use as a soup base for yourself. As for another protein pork or beef work well  |
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Post by olenka on Jan 30, 2018 10:53:13 GMT -5
Thank you, Sherry!
All is well. My fuzz butts play a lot and eat big chunks of chicken - 1 by 2 inches. Ruby keeps putting weight on. Now she is 790 grams.
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Post by Sherry on Jan 31, 2018 7:17:43 GMT -5
Excellent news! What I would like you to do now is introduce heart, liver, and another organ if they aren't already eating it also |
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Post by olenka on Feb 1, 2018 20:35:10 GMT -5
My fuzzies had hearts/gizzards and liver alone with cubed meat already. I introduced it long time ago. Yesterday I fed them gizzards only to make their jaw muscles working (I cut gizzards in half). At first they were licking those gizzards, then turning their noses on them... when they realized that other food was not coming, they started chewing:) At night I fed them a whole gizzards...they ate all of them! This morning I served them "chicken winglettes". Those are chicken wings without most desirable tender part - the end of a wing (my mistake! I did not know what it was in the package) Nevertheless, they started chewing those winglettes at a bony side. At the end of day they managed to rip off some meat. Not a lot, though. So, I gave them some chicken liver as a reward for such a hard work. Poor babies jumped on it. Tomorrow I am planning to get real chicken wings to continue our journey to natural diet |
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Post by Sherry on Feb 2, 2018 7:20:06 GMT -5
Oh fantastic! Gizzards are an excellent muscke for strengthening jasw Something else that will work well for them is Cornish hen. That is a small young chicken, but the bones are a perfect size. Can you find kidney, brain, anything that would fit for "other organ"? |
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Post by olenka on Feb 2, 2018 11:21:44 GMT -5
Does chicken have kidney? I fed them chicken hearts and gizzards. And I was under impression that gizzards are kidneys:)
So far my fuzz butts consumed chicken only. At the very begining of transition I offered them veal liver. They did not like it much.
Any way, I will check our local butcher shop for veal brain and kidneys.
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Post by Sherry on Feb 3, 2018 9:59:38 GMT -5
Every animal has kidneys It's a matter of finding them. Here is what kidneys are and do en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/KidneyHere is what gizzards are and do en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/GizzardYou can use beef, pork, lamb, etc for kidney. Odds are you will have to blend half and half with the liver and spoon feed for now until they get used to it. With brain alternate it out with the kidney. So half brain half liver. |
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Post by olenka on Feb 3, 2018 12:12:07 GMT -5
Oh..thanks! I thought that only mammals have kidneys:)
I am going to a butcher shop today for kidneys and other organs.
Another milestone has been reached yesterday: all my fuzz butts, including Ruby, are eating meat off the bone. I was feeding them those "winglettes" yesterday. They manage rip off all the meat leaving bare bones!
This morning the boys finished all "winglettes" and went for a walk. Ruby was in bed when I put a bowl of freshly cut Cornish hen in the cage. Ruby came downstairs and started chewing on bone leftovers. She ignored the actual food! Wash she playing with that heavy bearing bone? or exersizing her jaw muscles? may be her instincts kicked in? Later all ferrets ate cornish hen wings an legs (meat only) They start chewing wings from a shoulder side. I was expecting them to bite into a tender end of the wing. But they did it their way:)
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Post by Sherry on Feb 4, 2018 10:22:23 GMT -5
They are really progressing quickly What you can do to help them along is to crush the bones a bit with a cleaver or heavy knife. Just crack/smash them in 2 or 3 places. |
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Post by olenka on Feb 4, 2018 10:25:35 GMT -5
No brain/kidney/hearts in my local butcher shop  Will check next town tomorrow. My fur kids are doing well: play, eat, and demonstrate mating behavior. Choco is mounting Ruby and drugging her around. And it's not even spring yet! Temperature outside is way below freezing point. Ferrets' room is cold, as always. |
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Post by Sherry on Feb 4, 2018 10:32:09 GMT -5
Mine do that in play as well When she gets tired of it, she'll beat his butt  You may have to check into ordering some of what you need online. Hare Today is one place I know US members order from. |
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Post by olenka on Feb 4, 2018 11:01:09 GMT -5
Such a great vendor! Thank you!!!!!
Should I get pork or veal kidney/hearts? They have even duck and bison ones! So far my ferrets are eating chicken hearts/liver and gizzards.
By the way, yesterday my fuzz butts drugged a quarter of cornish hen out of cage LOL I have not found it yet. I am assuming they hid it somewhere. Doubt that they could have consumed a whole chicken chest with bones and skin.
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Post by Sherry on Feb 5, 2018 7:09:05 GMT -5
As for ordering, whichever you prefer is fine And of course they could(Cornish game hen). They can consume the entire bird with only feathers left behind |
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