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Post by Charlie on Apr 7, 2018 14:03:43 GMT -5
1. Ferret's name: Charlie 2. Ferret's weight: 1460 grams 3. Ferret's Daily Medications: none 4. Ferret has eaten "X" amount on average per meal. 2 oz. twice a day 5. Stools on various proteins. more on the loose side as outlined on the poop chart when eating muscle meat 6. Activity levels: active 7. Weekly menu: beef, chicken wing tips, egg, heart, liver, kidney, gizzard
Working on getting more variety of meat into the diet. So far anything I have offered him, he has eaten. Waiting for the rabbit I ordered to come in!
He is a very healthy boy!
Do I even need to make a soup if he is already eating the foods I have given him?
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Post by mermaidsirena on Apr 7, 2018 14:18:33 GMT -5
Welcome, welcome!
So far it looks like you have two meat types Charlie is eating (chicken and beef). And you wrote earlier you will have rabbit soon. That is great as we aim for at least three different types. Others to try would be pork or duck or quail, as some ideas. No soup is not needed if he is already taking chunks of meat. Another thing to look for that I see missing is another organ meat such as kidney, lung, or brain.
Wonderful that he is taking all your options so well - just means we work with you to balance it all. It will seem overwhelming at first but I promise you it gets easier. And with Charlie's open mind about the food, you have more than half the battle won!
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Post by Charlie on Apr 7, 2018 14:19:01 GMT -5
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Post by Charlie on Apr 7, 2018 14:24:07 GMT -5
Welcome, welcome! So far it looks like you have two meat types Charlie is eating (chicken and beef). And you wrote earlier you will have rabbit soon. That is great as we aim for at least three different types. Others to try would be pork or duck or quail, as some ideas. No soup is not needed if he is already taking chunks of meat. Another thing to look for that I see missing is another organ meat such as kidney, lung, or brain. Wonderful that he is taking all your options so well - just means we work with you to balance it all. It will seem overwhelming at first but I promise you it gets easier. And with Charlie's open mind about the food, you have more than half the battle won! Yes, I have given him beef kidney. So I grouped together heart, kidney, liver and gizzard as a meal. I had already given him those before. But with the frankenpery I see that they are separated and gizzard is not an organ.
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Post by mermaidsirena on Apr 7, 2018 14:29:19 GMT -5
Separated is not necessary as long as it is balanced. If Charlie will eat it as a separate meal - good (and easier for you to plan). Mine like it split between morning and evening and the item in the morning or evening split. Not sure that makes sense, but I pull out the morning and evening food and mix it all up and give one 1/2 in the morning and 1/2 in the evening.
You are right! Gizzard is not counted as an organ but it is a great jaw exercise for Charlie. Branch and Ghost (my two) enjoy when I buy gizzards as it is usually a surprise for them.
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Post by Charlie on Apr 7, 2018 14:32:22 GMT -5
Separated is not necessary as long as it is balanced. If Charlie will eat it as a separate meal - good (and easier for you to plan). Mine like it split between morning and evening and the item in the morning or evening split. Not sure that makes sense, but I pull out the morning and evening food and mix it all up and give one 1/2 in the morning and 1/2 in the evening. You are right! Gizzard is not counted as an organ but it is a great jaw exercise for Charlie. Branch and Ghost (my two) enjoy when I buy gizzards as it is usually a surprise for them. That's awesome!! I have a bunch of frozen heart, liver, kidney and gizzard all mixed together. Then I read that they shouldn't eat organ meats that often. So if I give that mix to him twice a week that should be fine until I use that up?
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Post by mermaidsirena on Apr 7, 2018 14:39:30 GMT -5
Twice a week will probably do to cover the "Friday and Sunday" organ meals until it is used up. Do you know the ratio of heart to organ and gizzard you have in your mix? You might be a bit shy of heart to cover what would have been needed for Wednesday. Wednesday is often referred to as 'heart day' as at least one meal of that day should be entirely heart.
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Post by Charlie on Apr 7, 2018 14:46:24 GMT -5
Twice a week will probably do to cover the "Friday and Sunday" organ meals until it is used up. Do you know the ratio of heart to organ and gizzard you have in your mix? You might be a bit shy of heart to cover what would have been needed for Wednesday. Wednesday is often referred to as 'heart day' as at least one meal of that day should be entirely heart. No I don't. I just cut up a bunch and threw in a little of each. I can always use that mix for 1 meal then have a separate heart meal. But won't he get taurine from the beef too?
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Post by Charlie on Apr 7, 2018 14:49:18 GMT -5
How do I give him the egg? I just gave him the egg yolk the first time. I ate the white for myself. I know they can eat shells too so can I just crack the egg and give him the whole egg?
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Post by mermaidsirena on Apr 7, 2018 14:59:35 GMT -5
Each ferret is a bit different. The only rule would be not giving just the white. If you are giving chicken eggs I would suggest keeping with the yolk or beating the two together. Either way would be fine.
Mine will only eat it if I crack and beat the white and yolk together. I haven't tried shell but some people give quail eggs which gives ferrets the fun of breaking it themselves.
What part of the beef are you feeding? Tongue?
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Post by Charlie on Apr 7, 2018 15:04:58 GMT -5
Each ferret is a bit different. The only rule would be not giving just the white. If you are giving chicken eggs I would suggest keeping with the yolk or beating the two together. Either way would be fine. Mine will only eat it if I crack and beat the white and yolk together. I haven't tried shell but some people give quail eggs which gives ferrets the fun of breaking it themselves. What part of the beef are you feeding? Tongue? Yeah, I read not to give just the whites. I ate that! lol If I can find quail eggs I just might try that. lol I give stewing beef or even the good stuff that I eat, top sirloin! Yes, the good stuff! lol
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Post by mermaidsirena on Apr 7, 2018 15:06:42 GMT -5
The heart and the tongue have the taurine your ferret is looking for, otherwise just count the beef as a muscle meat. And sometimes Asian markets have quail eggs, if you happen to have one near you!
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Post by Charlie on Apr 7, 2018 15:10:42 GMT -5
The heart and the tongue have the taurine your ferret is looking for, otherwise just count the beef as a muscle meat. And sometimes Asian markets have quail eggs, if you happen to have one near you! Not sure if we have an Asian market around here. This isn't a big city. lol Oh yes, you are correct about the taurine. I've read so much info that it's hard to keep straight! lol I just have to plug in the types of meats I'll be using and when.
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Post by mermaidsirena on Apr 7, 2018 15:14:48 GMT -5
My suggestion would be to try and get to the ratio of muscle, organ, and bone first. Then tackle a variety during the week; you have rabbit on the way so you are getting there already. Do you have enough to try a menu with what you have and plan out this coming week?
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Post by Charlie on Apr 7, 2018 15:17:19 GMT -5
My suggestion would be to try and get to the ratio of muscle, organ, and bone first. Then tackle a variety during the week; you have rabbit on the way so you are getting there already. Do you have enough to try a menu with what you have and plan out this coming week? Yes, I do! I have chicken with bone, beef and the organ stuff. I'll have to get the hearts thawed and portioned out.
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