|
Post by Heather on Sept 15, 2011 12:45:45 GMT -5
Commercial grinds and freeze drieds are the easiest to calculate costs because then you can deside on brands and quantities that they come in. The whole meats are a little more difficult but you can do rough calculations by just looking through the local flyers and deciding what you're going to feed that week (that's what I do). You learn too, what days are the days that local grocery stores put their meats up on sale because they're close to date or slightly past (your ferrets won't care...really ;D) ciao
|
|
|
Post by revolvingsheep on Sept 15, 2011 13:40:02 GMT -5
Do I really even need to feed whole prey at all if I'm feeding a good amount of bone-in, bone-out, and organs? The only reason I have been sticking to having whole prey in their diet is because that is what the breeder feeds along with Kibble. I could just buy one bag of 50 or 100 adult mice to start with to wean them off of whole prey and then stick to what I can buy in stores. That would cut out the $265 every 8 months for the whole prey.
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Sept 15, 2011 13:43:43 GMT -5
Whole prey isn't necessary to have a balanced diet. It's ideal, but many cannot afford to feed whole prey. Commercial grind & freeze dried also aren't "necessary" - it's also out of my budget. I feed grocery store meats only (occasional freeze dried). The key is variety & balance. The more variety the better
|
|
|
Post by revolvingsheep on Sept 15, 2011 14:00:39 GMT -5
Whole prey isn't necessary to have a balanced diet. It's ideal, but many cannot afford to feed whole prey. Commercial grind & freeze dried also aren't "necessary" - it's also out of my budget. I feed grocery store meats only (occasional freeze dried). The key is variety & balance. The more variety the better So a ferret will be perfectly healthy with a nice coat a fur and less smell with just grocery store meats? If so, I might go that route. I think I'd still like to get whole prey just to have every so often but not once a day as I have been planning. Maybe something like once a week they get some whole prey and commercial grind?
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Sept 15, 2011 14:07:00 GMT -5
Yes, you can have all the benefits of raw with only grocery store meats (with proper variety and proportions). Obviously if you can afford whole prey, that's awesome and it's the ideal feeding model. I'd feed whole prey if I could. But it isn't feasible for me at the moment. Supplementing with whole prey would be great. Mice are rich in taurine and contain everything a ferret needs Mine aren't fond of commercial grinds (they like soup and chunks, but not the in between I guess). It's good to have them used to though
|
|
|
Post by revolvingsheep on Sept 15, 2011 14:16:34 GMT -5
Maybe I could do 2 mice each once a week so... about 16 a month. A bag of 50 mice would last me about 3 months. 200 mice could last me a year.
Or I could do 1 mouse each 2 days out of the week instead of 2 mice each on one day.
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Sept 15, 2011 14:20:26 GMT -5
You'll find what works best for you either would work fine. Do you know what size mice they're use to?
|
|
|
Post by Sherry on Sept 15, 2011 16:21:05 GMT -5
I only feed whole prey one meal a week(when I can afford it!). They love getting their meeces ;D I do also feed commercial raw daily, simply because one of mine refuses to eat enough bone If I could, I'd do just grocery store and market meats.
|
|
|
Post by revolvingsheep on Sept 16, 2011 7:21:57 GMT -5
Well I just ordered a box of 250 mice from Rodent Pro. About how long does it take from order day to ship day? Finally some meat to put in my freezer for the ferrets!
I have never bought commercial grind before. How does that work?
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Sept 16, 2011 8:12:04 GMT -5
Depends on which day of the week you order. RodentPro will send you a tracking email on the day it actually leaves their facility, usually Tuesdays, I think. My last order arrived on a Thursday. Commercial ground stuff is usually a hamburger-like consistency, or at least the stuff from Hare-Today is. It will take some experimenting to see what textures your girls enjoy. My cats and dogs love ground, but the ferrets are not impressed by it... they either want meat chunks or liquid soup, nothing in between
|
|
|
Post by Sherry on Sept 16, 2011 8:38:12 GMT -5
If you do check out commercial grinds, make sure there is no more than about 5% non digestibles in there. That low, it won't hurt them. You can, however, find them with only meat/bone/organ. I do add pumpkin to this however.
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Sept 16, 2011 9:13:26 GMT -5
Before ordering some commercial grinds, you could also buy some plain ground meats and see if the texture bothers the girls. Then you can order the commercial grinds.
|
|
|
Post by revolvingsheep on Sept 17, 2011 23:25:11 GMT -5
So the Whole Foods near me has a frozen case full of pet related meats. I bought a package of turkey necks and a package of chicken hearts. You should have seen the look on the cashiers face when she asked me if I was going to eat it all.
|
|
|
Post by revolvingsheep on Sept 29, 2011 6:01:11 GMT -5
So I have turkey necks, chicken hearts, and 250 frozen whole prey mice.
I get my ferrets in 24 days. What other meats/food product should I buy to prepare for their arrival?
|
|
|
Post by Sherry on Sept 29, 2011 8:06:41 GMT -5
Muscle meats(chicken, pork, beef, lamb turkey to name a few), chicken necks if you can find them(easier for tiny teeth). Organ meats, like liver, kidney, spleen, lung, brain- basically whatever you can find. Cornish hen is also good for bone.
|
|