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Post by Charlie on Apr 7, 2018 13:17:41 GMT -5
I'm new to the forum. I have a cute little ferret (in my avatar) named Charlie! I'm the ferrent, Maria.
I got Charlie in December when he was 3 months old. I have had him for almost 4 months now. The girl I got him from was feeding him raw and kibble but I didn't get very much info from her as to how much, what kind or anything else. My sister helped me get him. She picked him up for me and had him for a few days until I could go get him. My sister has a ferret too. That's how I decided to get a ferret. Her ferret is so cute so I wanted one. Back in November I visited her and played with her ferret. So I decided to do research and read many sites and watched many videos on ferrets and what others do with their ferrets.
I am an animal lover by nature, growing up on a farm. I have had many pets growing up from cats, dogs, pet chickens, hamsters, a guinea pig and even rats!! Presently I have a cat and a dog as well. Charlie is my newest addition.
When I got Charlie I put him on kibble (high quality cat food) and have fed him raw meats but mostly muscle. Then I found this site and have been reading more about other meats and bones and eggs. He seems to take very well to raw meats. The other day I tried an egg yolk with him and he licked it up no problem. Then today I tried chicken wing tips and he ate those too!! I think I will be able to switch him over to a completely raw diet with very little trouble!!
Sorry for this being so long!
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Post by mermaidsirena on Apr 7, 2018 13:39:16 GMT -5
Welcome, Maria and Charlie! I must say Charlie is quite handsome. It is wonderful news that Charlie is enjoying egg, raw meat and chicken wings. You can sign up for the mentoring assistance but while you wait for a mentor I suggest starting a switching thread now. People here will assist you while you wait! I was halfway switched by the time I had my mentor. Clearly Charlie is happy with the raw diet and won't need the kibble.
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Post by Charlie on Apr 7, 2018 13:46:30 GMT -5
Welcome, Maria and Charlie! I must say Charlie is quite handsome. It is wonderful news that Charlie is enjoying egg, raw meat and chicken wings. You can sign up for the mentoring assistance but while you wait for a mentor I suggest starting a switching thread now. People here will assist you while you wait! I was halfway switched by the time I had my mentor. Clearly Charlie is happy with the raw diet and won't need the kibble. Hi Mermaidsirena! Yes, I think it will be easy to switch him. I have ordered rabbit for him too, so just waiting for that to come in. I have fed him heart, liver and gizzards as well so I know he likes his food! He is quite the healthy little eater! I don't think he will need kibble because he hasn't eaten much of it lately. I just like to keep it on hand just in case. I'm just trying to get other meats for him so I can go completely raw for him. I'm real nervous about giving him bone so I saw a video on here on how to break it up better for him to eat it. I don't know if it will be necessary for me to get a mentor but can I still post in the switching thread to get answers?
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Post by mermaidsirena on Apr 7, 2018 13:50:37 GMT -5
You can always post while waiting for a mentor. In fact, most people do.
Bone can feel nervous but they are built for raw bones. I had a similar fear at first but most is from the reminder that cooked bones are bad for animals (which is true). The great thing about raw bones is that it clean their teeth. Think about how a dog gnaws on a bone -- the ferret is doing the same thing while eating. The bone also allows their poop to be more dense. An all meat diet (with heart and liver and kidney, etc) would be very runny poop without the bone to bulk it up.
I found a good pair of garden cutters works for my chicken wing bones.
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Post by mermaidsirena on Apr 7, 2018 13:59:00 GMT -5
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Post by Charlie on Apr 7, 2018 14:09:41 GMT -5
You can always post while waiting for a mentor. In fact, most people do. Bone can feel nervous but they are built for raw bones. I had a similar fear at first but most is from the reminder that cooked bones are bad for animals (which is true). The great thing about raw bones is that it clean their teeth. Think about how a dog gnaws on a bone -- the ferret is doing the same thing while eating. The bone also allows their poop to be more dense. An all meat diet (with heart and liver and kidney, etc) would be very runny poop without the bone to bulk it up. I found a good pair of garden cutters works for my chicken wing bones. Yeah, I know that cooked bone will splinter and isn't good. I did take a knife today and chop everything up. That was the hard part! lol Yes, according to the poop chart that I found, his poop is consistent with eating an all meat diet. So today I gave him the wing tips and he ate them and I watched to make sure he had no problems with the bone. He was good. I also read that their stomach enzymes take care of the sharp edges. I think I chopped up the chicken enough for him to eat. I'll check out that link you sent me, thanks!! Will it have an example of a meal plan for the week?
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Post by mermaidsirena on Apr 7, 2018 14:13:10 GMT -5
It does. It is the Basic Frankenprey Menu(https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ysfT1bIvXixXYv6QFjW_EZZqHymtRXRTc3E_wAxLbxU/edit) and is very helpful to balance muscle meat, organs, and bone. I just saw your unofficial switching post so I'll start watching that for you. Others will hop on as well.
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Post by Charlie on Apr 7, 2018 14:16:52 GMT -5
It does. It is the Basic Frankenprey Menu(https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ysfT1bIvXixXYv6QFjW_EZZqHymtRXRTc3E_wAxLbxU/edit) and is very helpful to balance muscle meat, organs, and bone. I just saw your unofficial switching post so I'll start watching that for you. Others will hop on as well. Yes, I copied that page and printed it but I'm looking for a plan that has the actual meats they used for each day. I want to make sure I have enough variety. By the way, your fur babies are cute too!!
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Post by mermaidsirena on Apr 7, 2018 14:21:35 GMT -5
During the week I mix chicken, pork, duck, quail, turkey, and limited beef (they don't like beef much). They would probably like rabbit but it is too expensive where I live. I have 'prep days' that I cut and store 1 ounce chunks and freeze them. Then I pop the freezed chunks into ziplock bags in my freezer. I pull out a mixture for the next few days to defrost in little containers. I keep a list on my fridge when I get low on one type of protein and then have another 'prep day.'
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Post by Charlie on Apr 7, 2018 14:28:55 GMT -5
During the week I mix chicken, pork, duck, quail, turkey, and limited beef (they don't like beef much). They would probably like rabbit but it is too expensive where I live. I have 'prep days' that I cut and store 1 ounce chunks and freeze them. Then I pop the freezed chunks into ziplock bags in my freezer. I pull out a mixture for the next few days to defrost in little containers. I keep a list on my fridge when I get low on one type of protein and then have another 'prep day.' My guy likes beef! I find it hard to get duck, quail and rabbit where I am. Sometimes getting organ meats are hard for me to get too. Even in most stores around here they don't sell turkey unless it's around thanksgiving or Christmas. What part of the pork do you use?
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Post by mermaidsirena on Apr 7, 2018 14:33:06 GMT -5
My pork is usually when they are marking down 'pork chunks' which is probably for stew or stirfrying. We don't eat much pork in my house so I am not sure what it would be used for in meals for humans. It has meat and small amounts of fat on the meat. My two love pork - a favorite meal of theirs.
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Post by Charlie on Apr 7, 2018 14:52:00 GMT -5
My pork is usually when they are marking down 'pork chunks' which is probably for stew or stirfrying. We don't eat much pork in my house so I am not sure what it would be used for in meals for humans. It has meat and small amounts of fat on the meat. My two love pork - a favorite meal of theirs. So it has no bone. Then what do you use for the bone part or is that their muscle meat meal? Thanks for all your messages too!! I really appreciate it!!
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