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Post by Deleted on Dec 8, 2011 1:40:52 GMT -5
What if I broke the denser bones up so they could get to the marrow/insides? Would that be a good idea? Ill start feeding the hearts first and see if that changes whether they eat them or not
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Post by Deleted on Dec 8, 2011 15:09:55 GMT -5
They ate hearts as a first meal! Well my eldest didn't but I'm sure he will get hungry enough later and eat because that's all he's getting (he's spoilt and mopes if he doesn't get the food HE wants) but the rest crowed down! ;D
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Post by Deleted on Dec 8, 2011 18:26:35 GMT -5
Of course that great marrow's the best part of the bone! However, unless you really pulverize it, the majority of that bone will not be eaten by a ferret - they'll work the marrow out, but most likely leave the rest. It's just best to look to the more natural sized prey for bone in meals.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 8, 2011 18:57:14 GMT -5
re: hearts. YAY! That is AWESOME news! \o/
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Post by Deleted on Dec 9, 2011 1:45:39 GMT -5
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Post by Deleted on Dec 9, 2011 21:16:36 GMT -5
Great news! Remember, tomorrow or the next day, I'll need you to write up the menu from the week (as well as approximate amounts each ate), as well as a quick narrative sketch of each ferret (energy, poo, etc. Anything of import).
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Post by Deleted on Dec 9, 2011 22:54:36 GMT -5
okay I will remember to do that Today we ate 180grams of liver and 200grams of chicken wings I think I will start writing down what I put out for the day to help me remember. I got pork bones (with meat on them) out for them but today they were off They had been out for about 3 hours then in the fridge for the rest so i don't really understand.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 10, 2011 12:25:27 GMT -5
It might not have been the way you unthawed them. From the sound of it, they were off (stores aren't the most ethical places, if we get right down to it) way before that, but just sold anyway. It happens pretty frequently, unfortunately (it's happened to me countless times with beef tips, ugh).
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Post by Deleted on Dec 10, 2011 22:56:39 GMT -5
Well I thawed some out in the fridge yesterday and they were ok... its weird this week we ate: Monday - 1 Chicken carcass (whole, bashed up with a tenderizer and cut up into pieces) about 200 grams Tuesday - Beef chunky mince about 300-350grams Wednesday - 1 Chicken carcass about 200g and ox spleen that they totally ignored Thursday - mum fed them so I don't know what she gave them because she can't remember Friday - 400g of hearts in two sittings AM/PM Saturday - Chicken livers 200g and Chicken wings 200g Today - 30g of Salmon as a treat and 180 of cut up pork bones and meat (marrow exposed) Gomez: Energy is up and we are playing more (he is mainly bonded with me and follows me around and prefers to play with me) Poops are normal appetite is good Bert: Energy is up (he is energetic normally but now more ) Poops are normal Caprica: Energy is up she got sick on tuesday and threw up food which was a worry i quarantined her and pumped her full of pumpkin, vaseline and oil as well as hydralite and on Wednesday she was ok and has been since Poops are runny and a bit weird Morticia: Energy is up Still biting as usual Poops are the same as Capricas Im thinking the weird poops were from the livers cause it started yesterday it was really weird and mixed in with their urine and was liquidy and black so I'm gonna give them some pumpkin in a bit but today all the poops look ok is this update ok??
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Post by Deleted on Dec 11, 2011 0:40:08 GMT -5
That's a great write up! Only thing missing is weight. Actual weigh ins would be fabulous, but if you've got a good sense of it, you can eyeball it, and just approximate if they've lost/gained/stayed the same We need to work on upping the bone content, and shooting for about 390-400 g worth of food/day (total for everyone, of course). Total bone (counting the carcass meal as two, since that's all that was fed those days, right? Same for the mince, which has bone in it, right?) I counted was 7. We need at least 8, preferably 9 (will also help with wonky poos). re: pork bones - watch them when they eat them. If they EAT the majority of the bones, not stashing or just gnawing them and leaving them, then you can count it as a bone in meal, but if they don't - or they only eat a bit, or just gnaw and work on it, then it can't count.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 11, 2011 5:18:38 GMT -5
oh woops everyone has stayed roughly the same rate at about 800g - 1kg for Bert, Caprica and Morticia. Gomez has lost a little but is still roughly above a kilo maybe 1.10kgs The salmon meal we had today had bones in it, would this count? We have them the head and the spine as well as some meat. So up the weight of the meals entirely? The only reason I don't give them more is because they don't seem to eat it because we bring them in later in the day. Would bringing them in earlier make them eat more? The last three days they've been eating more than usual. After I posted the update they ate about 150-200g of beef mince. As far as I know the beef has beef in it (obviosly ;D) and then some gristle and other offal type stuff. The people I get it from aren't sure what's in it completely.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 11, 2011 10:54:59 GMT -5
Okay, everyone sounds pretty good. Leave the meals the same for now. If anyone starts losing more weight (here's looking at you, Gomez) then you're gonna have to increase, or offer them (him) a bit of food separately, and see if he's getting enough, okay? Right now, though, slight fluctuations are to be expected, though, and if his attitude/energy is normal, there's nothing to worry about. Yes, the salmon counted as a bone in, definitely If we don't really know what's in the mince, I hesitate to count it as bone in. Right now, I'd count your chicken as your main bone in source (can you get turkey? turkey neck and wing tip, as well as rib areas can be great, as well), and make up for that lack of variety with your other sources (so feed chicken bone in, but don't feed other chicken meals, instead using your beef, pork, what have you. Except for heart meals, I take it those are chicken, correct?). Does that make sense? Well, and remember to watch when they eat the pulverized pork bone. If they do well, that can be another bone source.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 11, 2011 10:57:59 GMT -5
At this point, too, you might want to add some bone meal powder/powdered eggshell to meat meals. It's not as great as bone, but it gets some of the job done, and it just supplements the bone meals you ARE giving.
1/2 tsp powdered eggshell/bone meal powder for every 8 oz of meat.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 12, 2011 23:46:55 GMT -5
They're not eating the bones just gnawing on them Im still trying to find another bone in meal in a different protein, it's proving to be difficult! I wouldn't count the mince as bone in. It doesn't look like there's any ground up in it. It's christmas so I might be able to stock up on some small whole turkeys after christmas when they're on sale (i LOVE sales! ) and cut them up for meals and then keep searching for something i can find regularly. The hearts are chicken yeah :c Next time I think I will get ox or beef or whatever and try some other different non-chicken organs Also; Gomez's weight fluctuates a lot. It's kinda odd but I'm used to it and there seems to be no medical reason behind it that we can pin point. With the egg shell powder, how powder-y does it have to be? I've been grinding it in my mortar an pestle but its still just tiny bits of shell
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Post by Deleted on Dec 13, 2011 4:59:21 GMT -5
Also! Gomez only has three canines. Would this stop him from chewing certain things? They mainly crush bones with their molars though i think but I thought i'd ask anyway
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