Meat Question

[aleesuh98]

Hey everyone! I’m finally ready to switch my ferts to a raw diet and I’m picking up the meat tomorrow. They both have never been on raw so I’m starting with the soup stage but I have some questions for the bigger scheme of things as well.

First, for the soup stage, what part of the chicken do you use? Do you use the thigh and crush the bones up in the blender or do you use a muscle meat? Along with the heart, liver, and eggshell powder.

I was also curious about the variety of meat. How do you introduce new meats into their new diet? Do you introduce it while in the soup stage or when they’ve progressed to the chunky stage?

Finally, I just wanted to make sure I’m starting them correctly. When first introducing the soup, you take their kibble out a few hours prior and then give the soup, right? How long do you keep the soup out before placing their kibble back in? I’m going to start them this weekend since I’m off work so I’ll be able to stay with them all weekend during the first couple days of transitioning.

I feel pretty comfortable starting them and have done a lot of researching, but now that the time has actually come I’m wanting some reassurance and any advice is greatly appreciated!!

[LindaM]

How old are your babies? Depending on their age, you may be able to skip the soup stage and go straight to slivers or chunks.

As for the soup recipe, most people's blenders don't do well with bones, so the raw soup recipe is using boneless meat, which is why you are adding in the powdered eggshell/bonemeal powder. It's generally better to stick to darker meats versus light, eg. using chicken thighs vs chicken breasts.

New proteins can be added in during any stage honestly. Easiest is probably mixing in a little with slivers of a protein they do eat during the slivers stage. You can also make a soupie of the new protein and introduce it the way you did with the first soupie. And some ferrets will be okay with you introducing larger pieces of a new protein as is (eg. kits), or by getting their attention with it by using a piece on a string like you might a cat teaser toy, or by "bugging" them with it in their face until they lick it.

Yes, remove kibble for a few hours before offering soup. Starting them over the weekend is a good idea, it gives you ample time in which to try the Grab'n'Dab method, or to see if they'll start at a further stage.

[aleesuh98]

LindaM Thank you! Zeke is 2 years old and he's been my pickier eater, and Zoey is 1 year old and she's pretty easy to introduce new foods to. I feel like I have so many questions now that it's finally time to start the transition

I do have another question that's more curiosity, but will they naturally eat the bone when they are fully transitioned? And will I need to switch the protein on bone-in and organ days? Or could I use chicken for those days and switch the protein on muscle meat days?

[Heather]

You will need to have a minimum of 3 different proteins, so when you switch back and forth is up to you. Unlike kibbles it's not going to cause any real issues. We advice using chicken in the beginning because it's easily digested and is mild flavoured so easily accepted. As far as other proteins you can use any number during the week. My guys get about 6 sometimes 7 different proteins during the week, depending on how my week's menu is set up
ciao

[LindaM]

In the beginning, you will need to help them get used to eating bones. You can do this by first smashing up bones for them, and even holding pieces for them while they crunch to get the idea. As they start doing better, you will smash bones less and less (some bone-in items such as weight bearing bones may always need some smashing). But yes, after they have gotten used to them during the transition, they will happily munch and crunch bones.
This video by Celene is a great visual tool for showing what I mean above:
holisticferret60.proboards.com/thread/18359/smashing-bone-beginner-ferrets

As Heather already mentioned, you do need to have at least 3-4 different proteins in your weekly menu. Now, it's not terribly important to have protein variety in organs, but it is crucial in bone-in meals. Think of it this way, on the Frankenprey menu, you have at least 7-9 meals in the week that are bone-in. Would you like to have chicken for 7-9 meals in the week?

Provide protein variety in your muscle and bone-in meals. Never have less than at least 2 different proteins for your bone-in meals, and make sure that your muscle meals don't use the same protein as your bone-in meals, unless you are providing a lot of bone-in protein variety already.

Your large animals that your ferret cannot consume the bones of are usually a nice choice for muscle variety, eg. beef, venison, lamb, or pork.

And this link shows an example of the Frankenprey menu, with a list of great bone-in meal sources:
holisticferretforum.com/natural-diet/raw-diet-the-meat-of-the-site/basic-frankenprey-menu/

[aleesuh98]

Thanks! How long should I leave the soup out before giving them their kibble back? Zoey is already munchin on it but Zeke won’t touch it yet.

[aleesuh98]

Also, if they didn’t eat the entire soup, can I refrigerate it and use it tomorrow? I didn’t realize how much the soup ingredients would make and they haven’t made a dent in it.. I’d hate to waste it but will it go bad?