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Post by Deleted on Apr 15, 2012 18:20:02 GMT -5
I'm planning on doing raw, not whole prey. I think raw might test the limits of my stomach as it is. My boyfriend knows and is pretty much okay with the meats and defrosting, I'm just concerned with not having enough space for human food AND ferret food. What the minimum in cubic feet I should look for?
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Post by Sherry on Apr 15, 2012 19:26:36 GMT -5
Honestly? I don't have a clue ;D I try to buy theirs in bulk(family packs, etc), portion, and toss in a box for that purpose. One box for muscle meats, one for bone in, one smaller one each for heart and liver. I buy ours weekly and use the fridge freezer ;D Ok. Averages. Males average 3-5 oz a day. Females 2-4. So depending on what you get(let's go with two males for argument's sake), you'd be feeding a average of 4 oz a day, so 8 oz. Going by one week 56 oz, or 3lbs, 8oz. Now remember- this can vary wildly. Babies will eat about twice that amount for a while. And something like chicken wings will take up a lot more space than say- pork chunks. Don't know if that helps much, but it's about the best I can do!
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Post by Deleted on Apr 15, 2012 19:31:19 GMT -5
I'm going to call it 15-ish pounds/month for now, just to be safe. And all of your posts have been super helpful! <3 thanks for putting up with my zillions of questions.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 15, 2012 19:40:06 GMT -5
What do you store your meat in after you get it home, but before you divvy it into mealsized bits? And for that matter, what do you keep it in after you HAVE divided it into meals? I'm thinking either very tiny tupperware containers (we have a couple already that I think just hold half a cup or a cup) or snack-sized ziplock baggies. I really should wait for the mentoring program, probably...all well
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Post by Deleted on Apr 15, 2012 20:28:08 GMT -5
Ha...my son opened up my freezer to find a whole 12 lbs rabbit fur and all. Prey always gets a rise. My daughter was totally disgusted to find thawing on a plate in the fridge, 4 full sized rats on a plate (they were individually wrapped in plastic bags ) ciao If my mom were to see that... IF they saw what went in to kibbles - they'd think the thawing whole prey looks delicious - well from the ferret's standpoint anyway! If they 'lived in Peru, South America, it would be a common site to see a guinea pig as human food! www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/10/19/world/main650148.shtmlRats apparently make fine cuisine: www.aaanimalcontrol.com/blog/eatingrats.htmland for the more adventurous: www.newvision.co.ug/PA/9/38/422540If it means people visiting my home become uncomfortable or icky for a moment opening the freezer and spying frozen feeder animals- so be it - the health of my pets trumps their queasiness! Cheers, Kim Raw would no longer be fed in this house!
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Post by Sherry on Apr 15, 2012 20:52:54 GMT -5
I use freezer baggies, then toss them in a box.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 15, 2012 21:10:46 GMT -5
Depending on what it is, and how thawed it is when I divvy it up, I use a combination of wax paper and press n seal freezer wrap and put it in small portion bags (snack bag/quart size) before putting it in a labeled (contents, date) gallon freezer bag.
That might be a bit extreme but I tend to try to stock up for months at a time, so I want everything to stay as fresh (and non freezer burned) as possible, while using the oldest stuff first.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 15, 2012 21:51:19 GMT -5
I like the idea of meal-sized baggies in a bigger bag, so I have a big sack of heart and the meals already divided inside it.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 15, 2012 22:23:57 GMT -5
It *does* come in handy, I'll admit.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 15, 2012 22:30:41 GMT -5
I use those cheap sandwich bags with no seal for each "meal." I weigh out the portion on my scale, pop it in the cheap sandwich bag, and set aside. Repeat for that protein. I then have high quality freezer bags (really nice, thick seal) that each protein will go in. I write the label on scotch tape (protein, boneless or bone in, date), tape it to my nice bags, and then stack the meats into the baggy. This allows me to throw out the cheap bags for daily meals (and also gives them a bag to thaw out in) and reuse the nice ones because the nice ones don't get dirty. It seems to be keeping my meats pretty fresh When I defrost, I have largish square Tupperware in a fridge drawer that I just put my meat in cheaply bags in. That way, if it leaks, only the Tupperware gets dirty. Easily rinsed clean
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Post by Deleted on Apr 15, 2012 22:31:21 GMT -5
Ah, sunnyberra, we do the same thing!
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Post by Deleted on Nov 8, 2013 13:16:49 GMT -5
In my side by side fridge/freezer, my raw diet has taken up 2 shelves, started as 1, then I wanted to stock up a little and it went up to 2.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 8, 2013 13:57:33 GMT -5
Currently my raw takes up the door shelves of my fridge-top freezer. I'm looking into getting a small chest freezer so I can put more human food in the freezer. I'm thinking something like this one. <--clicky link! Big enough to store a fair amount of food for one ferret and one cat. (not there yet with the dogs, not sure I could convince the hubby for them)
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Post by Sherry on Nov 8, 2013 19:08:28 GMT -5
We have a mini freezer for the ferret's food in particular. They also take up two shelves in our upright freezer It does creep up, especially when you buy in bulk!
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Post by RedSky on Nov 11, 2013 16:28:31 GMT -5
I'm currently ferret-less, just here for research! My dog is raw fed though and freezer space we have a smallish counter top freezer for him at our house (we have a slightly smaller one for our selves) but this is just for 2 weeks (ish) worth of food. The rest is stored at my parents house in a fairly large chest freezer. This lasts him about 2 months, maybe a little more with additions from the supermarket and butchers. He has about 700g (which is about 24.6oz) a day, so feeding a ferret or two shouldn't be that noticeable. We used to make do with sharing our freezer with him, then got him his own, then my mother suggested using the one at hers since it wasn't doing anything. As for defrosting it, sometimes we feed it frozen, especially on a hot day he quite enjoys a meat-ice-lolly! We often leave it out for a few hours to thaw or if planning ahead we leave out a day or 2's worth in the fridge. We all share the 'raw meat' shelf but with everything in tubs. This has also in the past included the mice for the snakes but we normally just leave them out on a side to defrost.
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