My ferret nearly choked on bone...?! Is that ‘normal’??

[dt241]

So, I’m really getting into the idea of raw feeding. I’m preparing for it, but before going ALL IN and buying several types of meat - I went ahead and bought beef liver, and frozen quails.

I thawed out the adult quail, and gave her one quail leg (sooo... tiny) and got a wide knife and laid the knife on one side and basically had the quail under the knife and I applied pressure so the bones were still intact BUT ‘cracked’ so it wasn’t 1 solid bone (though it was pretty narrow).

One piece of bone stuck out and it was surprisingly super sharp.. and like a ‘shard’ of bone. I took it out and it was super sharp but flexible and easily broken in my fingers.

I gave my ferret the leg to see if she would even take to it - I didn’t cut the leg up at all (again this is tiny anyway, but bigger than any whole piece of meat she’s ever had before with me - not sure about previous owner/s). She absolutely loved it and devoured it - including the bone but at 2 points she gagged and coughed up a bone and continued eating... at the end she kept on rubbing her ‘neck’ on the ground repeatedly as if trying to get something to ‘go down her throat’ I was really concerned but after less than 5 mins she wa fine and played a lot and is now sleeping. I’ve taken her kibble away for digestion for now, but will give it back later since she’s not transitioned to raw, and I only gave her 1 leg just to see if she would like it.

I’m worried that she will choke on bones if I go raw?? And if she does, and I feed her then leave or she decides to eat it later after I leave - and she chokes - what am I supposed to do? This was some tiny frail quail - imagine if it was another type of bone that’s isn’t as tiny and flexible..?!?

Also, I bought beef liver and I just wanted to know if this is safe? (Haven’t fed any to her as I wanted to ‘stock up’ on meat for Raw if I do go raw so I have everything ready before I transition)... I was reading on this site that there are some issues with beef liver...?? And that it HAS to be cut up in ‘small pieces’ - and that too much liver = vitamin A toxicity.

How do I avoid any problems with vitamin A toxicity?? And why is it important to feed it in tiny chunks as opposed to 1 bigger chunk?? I’m just worried that I’m missing something that could jeopardize her health or safety.

[abbeytheferret6]

How do I avoid any problems with vitamin A toxicity?? And why is it important to feed it in tiny chunks as opposed to 1 bigger chunk?? 

I am going to copy from this site but you can go here also to see it.
holisticferretforum.com/natural-diet/raw-diet-the-meat-of-the-site/basic-frankenprey-menu/

Out of the 14 meals for the week, you will see only 2 organ meals(in red).
1 full meal of organs is given on Sunday, and a 1/2 meal of organs on Friday.
Because a ferret needs 1.5 meals of organs for the week and also 1.5 meals of hearts, they made it easy by putting the half meals together to get a full meal.
So ferret should be fine.


Monday am: edible bone in meat
Monday pm: edible bone in meat (or muscle)**
Tuesday am: edible bone in meat
Tuesday pm: muscle meat
Wednesday am: edible bone in meat
Wednesday pm: heart
Thursday am: edible bone in meat
Thursday pm: edible bone in meat (or muscle)**
Friday am: edible bone in meat
Friday pm: ½ heart + ¼ liver + ¼ other organ
Saturday am: edible bone in meat
Saturday pm: muscle meat
Sunday am: edible bone in meat
Sunday pm: ½ liver + ½ other organ(kidney, spleen,pancreas,testicles,uterus)

I use scissors to cut my quail--- so much easier and you can give big chunks.

[Sherry]

As for the bones, she is new to them It takes practice, and yes this behaviour is normal. So is regurgitating if they eat to quickly. The quail I usually just segment into quarters and let them have those. Though you could also feed them whole, or even in half if you like.

[caitmonster]

Re: tiny chunks; I'm guessing you were reading the section about transitioning ferrets from kibble to raw--it's suggested to cut the meat into little slivers so you can essentially sneak it into soupy or grind, and get your ferret used to eating it, is all. Since your girl seems to be quite happy with bits of raw already, it's not necessary. I cut my liver into about 1 inch by 1 inch chunks and Rocky chows down on it no problem. Word of warning, it feels like very dense Jello so you'll want a good knife.

As long as the amount of liver you're feeding in a week doesn't amount to more than the meal plan abbeytheferret posted, you're fine. It's if you were to feed it for a whole meal every single day that toxicity would become a concern.

Eventually you won't even need to break any of the quail bones; they're capable of eating the whole thing. Sometimes they do get something caught and need to cough it back up to chew it better, that's when they'll make a loud "GACK" noise, and then you'll see them go back to munching away. That's probably what happened in her case. Also, they like to rub their chins after they eat something yummy, so unless you see signs of distress like a poofy tail, pawing at the mouth, or repeated face rubbing unrelated to eating, she's just doing the ferret equivalent of patting her tummy after a good meal.

[dt241]

Thank you guys SO much! I’ve been referring to that site/ ‘menu’ / chart when shopping for meats. I had no idea it was ‘normal’ for them to choke while learning (she coughed it out and continued eating so it wasn’t anything more than a few seconds). I also had no idea that ferrets rubbed their chins on the ground after eating a good meal...!

I actually just purchased turkey and chicken necks, and beef stew chunks (I also need this for my dog / mainly for my dog/s but it will be for the ferret too).

So that means, I have:
-whole quail
- chicken heart
- chicken drumsticks
- turkey neck
- chicken neck
- beef liver
- beef muscle meat chunks (no bone)

I’m wanting to buy some chicken gizzard and if possible more quail (eh only found it one place so I’m hoping to find it more places), and I mean if I can: lamb (only found halal so I didn’t get it and it was surprisingly pricey), goat etc..

So... do I have enough meat to start raw feeding?

I heard that organ meat should be 5% OTHER organs besides liver - so does that mean I need to find another organ? Also I read that beef (organs) SHOULD be USDA organic + pasture fed (something about the hormones, antibiotics etc in cows). Of all the places I found beef organs - it wasn’t organic.... is that safe to still buy and for my ferret to consume? One place had it raw and ‘fresh’ while the other place had it frozen. They had beef spleen, kidneys etc... I’ve had practically no luck finding organs from any other animal besides what I already have (chicken heart) and pork organs - but I’m against feeding pork as there’s no safe temperature To cook pork (like chicken) for humans, so imagine if that piece of pork was tainted and I fed it raw...

I want to start feeding my ferret ASAP but I want to make sure I have everything for at least a few weeks before getting started.

Edit to add: I can easily get chicken wings, gizzards and the normal stuff you find easily in an american grocery store. I just am trying to find variety (not only chicken this chicken that, or beef this beef that etc etc).... I’m mainly worried about the organic + pasture fed beef and parasites in pork (haven’t fed pork and haven’t bought it due to my paranoia + warnings online, but I see a lot of people here feed pork??)

[crazylady]

Hi you can also try chicken thighs with regards to the beef liver mine love it but I only feed a one inch cube on top of another meat once per week ( they would eat it everyday if they could lol) and dont be alarmed if you see tarry black stools the following day this is normal hunt around your local stores close to the end of the day they normally mark down the meats lol this way you can squirrel away a good number of meals in your freezer cheaper and for a lazy day I often give my guys ground beef no chewing so they think this is great lol it is topped with bonemeal powder though to mimic bone ( you can use ground up eggshells )
Bev

[caitmonster]

I would love to feed my guy all organic meat--but I'm not able to afford it and I can't find it locally anyway. Non-organic is fine, if that's what you have access to.

Human-grade pork is safe as far as trichonosis is concerned. If you are worried about parasites you can freeze it for awhile: holisticferret60.proboards.com/thread/14803/raw-meat-freezing-parasites

Yes you will need another source of organ meat besides liver, for optimum nutrient diversity. Spleen and kidneys are good choices. (Watch out on the kidneys, they can squirt you if you cut into them too fast... learned that the hard way.)

You will have to hammer the turkey necks; their neck vertebrae are too big for ferrets to break themselves. A mallet is your friend--I use a mallet outside on a cement block because I can't use enough force when it's just on my counter. More suggestions here: holisticferret60.proboards.com/thread/5413

[raynebc]

I used to chop turkey neck vertebrae into 3 or 4 pieces using a cleaver, but they were a lot of work. I didn't mind so much when they stopped being available where I live, and replaced them with frog legs, which are much easier to chop.