HELP UNDERSTANDING RAW PERCENTAGES

[Marti]

I was wondering if there was a particular formula used to calculate the basic frankenpray menu?  I do best with understanding and learning when everything can be added up to make sense.  So, how do I know for sure that I'm feeding 10-15% percent raw meaty bone in the 7-9 meals fed? Do I use a GA Calculator? How does this all balance out?  I'm assuming that the meat on RMB counts towards the 65-70 percent Muscle Meat, so how would you calculate that all to equal the proper amounts?  I can see where the organs and heart being 1.5/14 meals each would equal 10% each over time, but I don't know how you'd calculate the bones to meat ratios.

[abbeytheferret6]

I do not worry about it---I just follow this menu and make sure the bone in meals are edible bones, and that they are meaty bones-- not weight bearing bones like chicken legs or turkey legs.
holisticferretforum.com/natural-diet/raw-diet-the-meat-of-the-site/basic-frankenprey-menu/

Then if you want to add alternative meals to your frankenprey diet---you can use this chart.
Read across to find how it counts toward the frankenprey diet. If you need some examples,  I will be glad to help you.
holisticferretforum.com/natural-diet/raw-diet-the-meat-of-the-site/balancing-frankenprey-with-alternative-meals/

[abbeytheferret6]

This was from my mentor way back when

One thing you must remember is that with ferrets and their food, we have to speak in generalities - feeding raw is not an exact science. Our goal in feeding raw is to replicate as closely as possible what a ferret would eat in the wild with the correct balance of meat, organs, and bones, but how can we determine EXACTLY what that balance is? Because the difference in bone mass and the size of organs even between two animals of the same size and the same species can vary tremendously, we cannot set a DEFINITE ratio for our prey model and say “This is it; this is the exact amount of meat/organ/bone my ferret must have to be healthy.” Even if every single prey specimen were identical in proportions, who is to say that every single wild ferret would eat every part in exactly the right amount, especially with larger prey that cannot be consumed by a single ferret in one meal. So we get as close as we can to ‘natural’ by using a prey model that has been used for decades, a rough average of many species of prey animals - 80% meat, 10% organ, 10% bone. This prey model was originally geared toward dogs and cats who generally do not need as much bone in their diets as ferrets, which is why we say ferrets need 10-15% bone, depending on their poops. (This will be addressed later.)

Because of the different vocabulary used when discussing the different kinds of diets, there has been some confusion regarding the correct balance of a raw diet. Whole prey is easy. Each prey animal is a completely balanced meal, so there’s no need to think about numbers. Commercial grind companies use a ratio to determine the amount of meat, organ, and bare bone in their foods. (An ideal commercial grind would be approximately in the ratio of the prey model, or 80:10:10.) Frankenprey feeders don’t just toss a bare bone to their pets, but rather give them bone with meat attached, what we call edible bone-in meat. This terminology is where the confusion lies. Because the bone is served with meat, the percentage of bone-in meat is about 50-60% of the total diet (as opposed to the 10% of bare bone in the prey model). This SEEMS to be in conflict with the prey model ratio, but if you were to pick apart a frankenprey menu and weigh and measure every single thing separately, you would find that the ratio of meat to organ to bone would be very close to 80:10:10.
holisticferret60.proboards.com/thread/14397 )