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Post by Charlie on Apr 8, 2018 21:21:19 GMT -5
Yeah, he did eat it by the morning! But now another concern is not with the prep in making up his meals, as I know to clean my surfaces after cutting up poultry, etc. It's with the raw chicken meat in the cage!! He doe stake it and hide it in his towels. Right now, it's not a problem but in the summer when it gets warm out and the flies are around, this will mean I will have lots of flies int he house! Keeping stuff like that out attracts the flies! Usually if I have bought chicken and put the empty container in the garbage, if I don't put that outside right away I get flies in the house. Now with keeping raw meat in his cage, how do I avoid that?? That is a very good question. I live in Florida so when it gets that warm we have the air conditioner on. I know others will jump on who have suggestions. Some suggestions I can think of right now would be to tie down the bone-in meat to the feeding den. This way it is in one place and not stashed. Also, feeding at certain times so your ferret is hungry and will eat when you place the meat down. I put uneaten boned meat in a ziplock bag and in the freezer until trash day - but this if fairly common practice in Florida as our trash cans get very hot and raccoons find them fun to play in! So literally tie the meat down? I tried the feeding den, he still takes his meat out to eat it, he didn't stay in the den. I used a cardboard box for a den. I have to close his cage door when he eats. He ate the beef but not the chicken with the bone. He's saving that for later. Lol. He is definitely hungry when I feed him. I'll come into the room with the food and he follows me to his cage! I leave him out in the room where his cage is so he can roam and play. I've got the door blocked off so he can't come out of the room. He's only in his cage when eating (so he doesn't hide his food in the room), at night when sleeping and when I'm not at home. He gets lots out out time. i can imagine in Florida it gets real warm in the summer! You must have to tune the lids on your trash cans too! He left very little from last night's bone in meat, only a few small bone pieces left.
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Post by mermaidsirena on Apr 8, 2018 21:31:33 GMT -5
Some people tie the meat to stay in the den. I haven't needed to but have thought about it as a fun activity for the boys. Where does he take his stash - does he eat his stash? This might help you make a den more like what his hiding place is.
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Post by Charlie on Apr 8, 2018 22:01:15 GMT -5
Some people tie the meat to stay in the den. I haven't needed to but have thought about it as a fun activity for the boys. Where does he take his stash - does he eat his stash? This might help you make a den more like what his hiding place is. He will usually eat his food on the platform in his cage but then if he doesn't want the rest he takes it down to the lower level where I have a pile of towels for him and he hides in there most of the time. If I'm not in the room and I leave the cage open he will bring it out and hide it behind the hamper most times or sometimes hide it on the corner behind his cage behind some boxes which is harder to get to. So far I haven't seen him eat his stash. I did find beef there that turned into beef jerky. I haven't found chicken like that yet. If I leave the cage open and the food is gone I know to look for the stash! I put it back in his bowl.
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Post by Charlie on Apr 9, 2018 8:30:03 GMT -5
I gave Charlie his food this morning and he ate it all!! Is it ok that I mix the morning bone in meal with the night time muscle meal and divide it into the 2 meals for the day because that's what I've been doing. I'm following the frankenprey diet. Looking forward to getting my rabbit for him to try. I have a feeling he will love it!!!
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Post by mermaidsirena on Apr 9, 2018 21:38:27 GMT -5
So glad to hear Charlie is enjoying his meals. It is ok to mix the morning and evening meats as long as he isn't picking around them and only eating one part.
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Post by Charlie on Apr 10, 2018 12:06:48 GMT -5
So glad to hear Charlie is enjoying his meals. It is ok to mix the morning and evening meats as long as he isn't picking around them and only eating one part. Last night he ate the beef out of it and then hide the chicken. He did eat the chicken with bone in later that night. This morning, however, he ate his whole meal!!
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Post by mermaidsirena on Apr 10, 2018 21:13:02 GMT -5
Hurray! Do you think you could write out what your weekly menu is so we can make sure you have a good balance of meat, bone, and organs?
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Post by Charlie on Apr 10, 2018 21:30:55 GMT -5
Hurray! Do you think you could write out what your weekly menu is so we can make sure you have a good balance of meat, bone, and organs? Yeah sure! I'm following the Frankenprey. My rabbit was suppose to come in today but it didn't so I have to wait another week. Monday am - 1/2 chicken bone in, 1/2 beef muscle Monday pm - same as am but the other 1/2s Tuesday am and pm is the same as Monday Wednesday am chicken bone in Wednesday pm - chicken hearts Thursday will be the same as Tuesday Friday am will be chicken bone in Friday pm will be a mix of heart liver and kidney until I use up what I have frozen (not quite the right portions) Saturday am and pm will be the same as Tuesday and Thursday Sunday am will be probably chicken with bone in for now Sunday pm will be my mix of heart liver and kidney until that is used up and will just do liver and kidney Where can I fit 1 whole egg into this?
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Post by mermaidsirena on Apr 11, 2018 21:17:25 GMT -5
I have found the egg works well as a treat. Mine still need their meals even when I give an egg. The egg is better on a bone-in day and not an organs day as both produce thinner poop.
Your menu looks good; now to work on meat variety!
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Post by Charlie on Apr 11, 2018 23:03:32 GMT -5
I have found the egg works well as a treat. Mine still need their meals even when I give an egg. The egg is better on a bone-in day and not an organs day as both produce thinner poop. Your menu looks good; now to work on meat variety! Ok so I might add an egg every Monday. Once I get the rabbit with bone in, I'll add that on Tuesday's, Thursday's and Saturdays. The other day I was in the grocery store and all they have is chicken, beef and pork. I'm looking for a bone in alternative in case I can't get rabbit just like this week. I don't know what button bone in pork is. That's what was on the Frankenprey diet. I rarely eat pork myself, like you.
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Post by Charlie on Apr 12, 2018 10:56:21 GMT -5
If I want to put in whole prey once or twice a week does a whole prey replace a bone in meal? I tried looking at that chart with Frankenprey diet combined with alternative meals and it made no sense to me.
I'm thinking this may be another way to give variety since getting different meats can be difficult, especially bone in meals.
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Post by mermaidsirena on Apr 12, 2018 22:13:01 GMT -5
If I want to put in whole prey once or twice a week does a whole prey replace a bone in meal? I tried looking at that chart with Frankenprey diet combined with alternative meals and it made no sense to me. I'm thinking this may be another way to give variety since getting different meats can be difficult, especially bone in meals. The whole prey replacement depends on how many times a week you use it. Give it once and it replaces a bone in meal. Give it twice and it replaces a bone in meal and a muscle meal. Some people use frog legs and mice for bone in meat. For other bones look to see if you have an Asian market. They sometimes have frozen quail. Also, I find turkey necks at Walmart every so often. The smaller rib bones of pork are good, too. Buttons are usually too big for them to bite and chew up.
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Post by Charlie on Apr 12, 2018 23:02:12 GMT -5
If I want to put in whole prey once or twice a week does a whole prey replace a bone in meal? I tried looking at that chart with Frankenprey diet combined with alternative meals and it made no sense to me. I'm thinking this may be another way to give variety since getting different meats can be difficult, especially bone in meals. The whole prey replacement depends on how many times a week you use it. Give it once and it replaces a bone in meal. Give it twice and it replaces a bone in meal and a muscle meal. Some people use frog legs and mice for bone in meat. For other bones look to see if you have an Asian market. They sometimes have frozen quail. Also, I find turkey necks at Walmart every so often. The smaller rib bones of pork are good, too. Buttons are usually too big for them to bite and chew up. Ok great! Thank you so much for your help! Do people get frog legs from an Asian store too? I've never seen them in a grocery store. Lol. I know I can get mice!
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Post by Charlie on Apr 13, 2018 9:24:58 GMT -5
Ok I have a question. In the wild ferrets catch their food and eat it so we actually should be feeding them what they normally catch in the wild. But how was it decided that the Frankenprey diet is balanced or any other diet other then whole prey? I'm just curious. I know animals adapt to their environment and since these little guys have been domesticated and it's not always possible to give them the wild experience, other then letting them go in the wild, we don't want to do that to our furries. I think I'm over protective sometimes lol but better to be safe then sorry.
OK I found info on this!!! Got my answers!!
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Post by mermaidsirena on Apr 13, 2018 18:15:44 GMT -5
Ok I have a question. In the wild ferrets catch their food and eat it so we actually should be feeding them what they normally catch in the wild. But how was it decided that the Frankenprey diet is balanced or any other diet other then whole prey? I'm just curious. I know animals adapt to their environment and since these little guys have been domesticated and it's not always possible to give them the wild experience, other then letting them go in the wild, we don't want to do that to our furries. I think I'm over protective sometimes lol but better to be safe then sorry. OK I found info on this!!! Got my answers!! Glad you went hunting. Lots of great information on here. Nothing wrong with being over protective -- means you love your little guy!! <3 And that you want enough information to be knowing you are making the right decision. So how is the meat going? What size are the meat chunks? Is Charlie chewing up some of the bones when you put them in?
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