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Post by Deleted on Jun 25, 2011 22:43:34 GMT -5
Well, as long it's just all meat (no soup/gravy), you can pretty much give them plenty to snack on within a 8-14 hour period. Meats tend to jerkify long before it spoils, unlike soup (mainly because of kibble and the like that's in it). I know I've given enough when everyone's eaten PLUS everyone has stuff to stash, as well.
(leaving bone for long periods can become dangerous if the bone itself dries out and becomes brittle. Mostly, though, if there's any good amount of meat left on it, that keeps the bone moist. Generally if a bone is stripped and not eaten pretty soon after getting it, it was too big for the ferret)
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Post by melcab on Jun 27, 2011 11:45:39 GMT -5
Today is chicken chunks with some liver chunks in it with some turkey babyfood gravy to entice them. They have been eating it, but not sure if any of the liver has been eaten yet. Once again will have to check later. They did eat the heart though, so Should chunks of different meats and organs come before bone? Or should the next big goal be to get them to eat a mashed chicken wing?
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Post by Deleted on Jun 27, 2011 12:49:20 GMT -5
You can give them bone first, that's fine, as long as you continue to work on variety as well. The diet, in the beginning, is expected to be a bit repetitious, and that's okay. Your balance will come over time Also, sometimes liver is tricky. Some people have better success pureeing the liver with some yummy stuff that the ferts like (baby food, etc) and other meat and giving that soup to them. Generally, you can work from the puree up to actually liver pieces, as well. \o/ \o/ \o/ Most ferts adore hearts, and I'm so glad yours do too!
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Post by melcab on Jun 28, 2011 10:57:29 GMT -5
They ate the liver chunks! (at least one of them did, it just occurred to me just now that it may be only one of them eating all the "special" bits lol...hmmm...how to find out without watching all day and night...) I did a complete cleaning of the cage because I saw a chicken chunk under the litter box and was wondering if there was any liver stashed, but didn't find a thing!
So I think what I'm going to do tonight is give the regular chicken chunks and add a smashed chicken wing and see what happens with that.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 28, 2011 18:39:31 GMT -5
They're doing great! Good luck and let me know how it goes with the chicken wing
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Post by melcab on Jun 29, 2011 11:13:13 GMT -5
I took a chicken wing, smashed it with a mallet til the bones broke in several places, but the wing is still whole. Put that on top of a dish with chicken chunks because I had to go out this morning and I didn't want them to starve just because they didn't want/weren't ready for the wing. Came back and the wing has been removed from the dish, placed aside and most of the chunks are gone. Maybe they'll come back to it later. Like always when I put something new, we'll just have to wait and see. I bought some pork chops to cut up for a different protein when we're ready for that. I need to make a trip to a butcher in the area that I found out about online. They have a lot of different meats/organs to choose from. I just hope their prices aren't too bad. Hubby already complained about it costing a lot yesterday but that was because I bought in bulk. I pointed out that I actually paid less money for the meat I bought than he paid for the package he bought because a) I bought more and froze it and b) it was also on sale. He's a very smart man. Why he didn't take this into consideration is beyond me. But I digress... Hopefully tonight's report will say that they ate the chicken wing with relish!
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Post by Deleted on Jun 29, 2011 17:58:44 GMT -5
Bones can be intimidating for ferts, so you might need to cut slits into the wing (center outward) so that they can actually get their teeth into it and rip. As they go, they'll get stronger and more experienced and they won't need that support, but for now that might give them an edge (you can also "flower" the drummette section, so that the meat hangs off, but is still attached).
I've gotten the weirdest since of deja vu, so if I'm repeating something I've said, forgive me! I've just gotten home from work :\
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Post by melcab on Jun 30, 2011 8:57:14 GMT -5
Doesn't sound familiar to me so you're good What I did the first time is I smashed it with a hammer til it was bendy and looked like it was made of rubber, but unfortunately my cat sneaked into the cage and stole it. So last night I gave them another one. Again, smashed it up with a hammer, but I used a big knife to also cut it into sections. It's gone now. (and I'm pretty sure it wasn't the cat this time. Last time I left the cage open while they were having outside time and I think the cat sneaked in. This time it was all closed up.) I also did exactly that flowering thing to the drummette section and they've been tearing at it. It's still not completely clean, but they're not shy about it. The chicken meat chunks, as usual, are gone.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 30, 2011 18:20:43 GMT -5
That's great news! Are the chicken chunks plain, or are you using soup/gravy with those, still?
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Post by melcab on Jul 1, 2011 19:04:00 GMT -5
The chicken chunks are completely plain as well as the smashed wing and drummette! Tonight I gave them a non smashed wing and a drummette because my meat mallet was being washed in the dishwasher at the time of prep maybe I should presmash a couple from now on. Previously they ate all the meat off the drummette (I mean ALL) and they ate completely the smashed wing (found a couple of small, dry shards of bone when cleaning their cage, but that's all) I have a feeling that they will end up stripping the wing and leaving the bone without it being presmashed, as well as strip the drummette again, but who knows, they might surprise me. They are doing phenominally! As far as how much to feed when it's RMB's, does one meaty wing + drummette sound like a good amount for one meal for 2 avg sized fuzzies? (I do note that they are both getting chunky very quickly lol and their fur! It's getting...luxurious! )
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Post by Deleted on Jul 1, 2011 19:09:58 GMT -5
Yes, that's a good sized meal, no worries there! They're doing so great, and I'm so glad you're seeing early benefits of the switch (and their weight should even out once they're stable on the new diet )
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Post by melcab on Jul 2, 2011 20:50:47 GMT -5
Plus they're less than a year old so I assume they haven't reached their full size yet? I was right about not eating the unsmashed wing, of course that COULD be because they knocked the plate into the litter box and then promptly PEED in the plate! They did strip the drummette again and the wing TIP was gone. This morning I gave them chicken chunks which they have absolutely no problem with and then this evening another SMASHED wing + drummette again. (I bought a large package of these last time because they were on sale.) They were noching on it earlier, but there's still some left in the bowl. I'm sure they'll do fine with it as long as they manage to not pee all over it this time. LOL When should I try other types of meat? Should I give them a while on the wings first? Should I go through other forms of poultry RMB's first such as CGH or chicken breast with ribs before starting on other meats?
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Post by Deleted on Jul 2, 2011 21:58:30 GMT -5
These guys are doing pretty well. I don't think it'd hurt to start introducing new tastes in, now. You can sneak a few chunks of the new meat in with their chicken chunks, and as they accept and eat that, include more until they'll eat the new meat by itself. CGH, turkey and pork are nice, light-tasting meats that are generally well-regarded. You can start with those. Beef is usually last to try only because it's a really rich, strong meat. Other types are going to be dependent on where you are and what your stores offer or whether you have a specialty/butchers shop around (or if you're like me and willing to primarily go through the internet for meat ). But other choices are goat and lamb, duck and goose (nice and fatty ), rabbit, quail, pheasant, vension/bison (a bit gamy, so these ones tend to be even iffier than beef!), fish (tilapia is a nice light fish; salmon is stronger and sometimes trickier to get them interested in, but is great for them). You can have one meal just be the chunks (mixing the new with old) and have the other meal be bone (different kinds - the wings/drummettes, backs, breast, etc). It'll be new but if you take everything gradually your (very enthusiastic) babies should handle it fine. Just always remember to start small (size and amount) and work up!
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Post by melcab on Jul 5, 2011 8:30:56 GMT -5
Sorry about the lapse in posting. Busy weekend with the 4th, PLUS it was my anniversary on the 3rd AND I perform in a concert band and we had a concert last night. PHEW! Ok, so they have been having chicken chunks in the morning usually and a wing at night. Last night my meat mallet was being washed again during meal prep so instead I sawed through the bones of the wing and cut them in half. That seemed to be enough for them since I didn't find any wingtip left. They usually completely strip the drummette part of meat but I have occasionally found the smaller end of the bone/joint gone from that too. \o/ This morning I gave chicken chunks and a couple of egg yolks in a separate bowl. Ginny at least likes the egg yolk. This is only the second time I've done it because I had eggs for breakfast and I don't eat the yolk so rather than throw it out I thought I'd give them a treat. I still need to go to that butcher and check it out, but from their website they have a good variety. armandosmarket.com/ I think I'm gonna start on a little bit of pork tonight with some chicken chunks and see what they do.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 5, 2011 15:20:07 GMT -5
Wow, you were busy! No problems, though, I understand, You are making great progress with your guys, and that market looks like a fantastic source for variety!
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