|
|
Post by squishystoat on Mar 10, 2011 10:06:40 GMT -5
My ferret has just about moved to a pure whole food diet. She would snub her ground up bunny, so I decided to order whole pinkies. (Got fuzzies but she did go after them) I currently feed her at random between:
1-3 day old quail (that she loves as much as her mice)
pinkie - medium sized mouse, mostly mediums
Chicken Gizzard
Duck Heart
Pinkie-fuzzy sized rabbits.
I was hoping someone might suggest other and how much. Heard from a friend the quail is best as a treat once in a while more than frequently.
|
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Mar 10, 2011 10:39:36 GMT -5
I think you've got a good start, but you need to add some more whole prey. Some examples are: rats, guniea pigs, hamsters, chicken-sized birds.
I think you should also work towards incorporating more adult whole prey. The pinkies and fuzzies are good for switching and for adding variety, but the adults are were the bulk of the nutrition lies.
Some other good muscle meats to add are: beef, pork, lamb, goat, turkey, CGH. You can get most of those at the local grocery store.
You should be feeding a general guideline such as:
4 days(8 meals) bone in
2 days(4 meals) muscle meats
1 meal liver/organ
|
|
|
|
Post by Sherry on Mar 10, 2011 10:43:01 GMT -5
Your friend is right. Although they tend to adore the day old anything, it's like popcorn- great to eat, tastes wonderful, but little nutrition. Same thing with the rabbit fuzzies.
They need a lot more in the way of calcium than they are getting right now. And the best way to get that is adult bone.
|
|
|
|
Post by Heather on Mar 10, 2011 15:50:51 GMT -5
I was just reading through that, and my concern is that everything being eaten is really young. This will not support the nutritional needs of your little one. You need to add adult meat and calcium (bone) to your diet. Excellent start though  ;D. Good luck ciao |
|
|
|
Post by squishystoat on Mar 12, 2011 7:08:39 GMT -5
Alright, maybe she was just being a little picky kid and thus why didn't eat the ground up whole bunny. Think part of it is I am just a tad squeamish on cutting up anything large for her but do want her eating right. As far as mice are concerned, I order from www.bigcheeserodents.com if someone could suggest which of the mice I should be ordering from there as well unless the simple adult. As for the other food, I get that from Hare Today-Gone Tomorrow. Haven't tried anywhere else just yet. |
|
|
|
Post by katt on Mar 12, 2011 12:22:15 GMT -5
Pinkies should be fed more like threats than a whole meal. Any baby animal actually. The reason is their bones are not fully developed and so they lack proper calcium content to keep your furries healthy. I second what everyone else has already said. And like Jackie mentioned, I would strongly recommend adding more variety to the diet - the more the better! Chicken is GREAT. It you can get a whole chicken from the store, you can cut it up and freeze it in portion sized ziplock baggies. Cornish Game Hen is something you might be able to find at the store hwole as well. Not sure if you can find it with organs in tact, but of not you can make up for it with some chicken or beef liver and heart (not an organ but needed for taurine).
|
|
|
|
Post by Sherry on Mar 12, 2011 14:49:41 GMT -5
I just see mice and rats on that site, unless I'm missing it somehow? Anyway, I'd get a mix of mice from hoppers on up. She'll likely just eat one of the jumbos. And for the rats, likely from pups to mediums. A medium rat may take her a couple of days to finish, and you'd likely have to cut it open to get her started on it, but then she can do the rest herself I do know getting any of mine to actually accept commercial grinds took a fair bit of coaxing, because they all preferred their chunks. |
|
