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Post by Deleted on Feb 11, 2012 17:03:18 GMT -5
They actually didn't have taurine supplements Sooo tomorrow (no chance to today) I am going to go drive around to grocery stores again and am ordering from HareToday as well. There is one grocery store where I've found them before so hopefully they will have some again *crossing fingers* I don't recall if there's a health food store or vitamin store in that area (not many of them around me) but if not I can go back to the vitamin store that is further away on Monday. Added the fish oil to their soupies earlier tonight...they were not too enthused but with lots of coaxing and lap-/spoon-feeding they ate most of their bowls eventually. They were eating fine 'til I remembered mid-bowlful and added it...then they were all..."MOM WTF " and wanted to stop eating. heh. Stuff certainly is potent smelling.
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Post by Heather on Feb 11, 2012 17:09:34 GMT -5
Wow...no taurine. That's a huge supplement for weight trainers...protein supplement. I don't add the oils to my soupy (you can if you like but they have to learn to not only like the taste they have to learn to get past the smell). I use it as a treat. It's up to you though. I know a lot of people who do indeed add it to their soupy. I just don't want my guys getting into the habit of thinking that they're going to get oils every time I feed them. It's just a thought. Ferrets are all about excess....once they get that they like how the oils make them feel, they will want them all the time ciao
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Post by Deleted on Feb 11, 2012 17:15:33 GMT -5
Oooh, okay. I will try it as a treat. Soxx was willing to lick it off my finger so hopefully that is a good sign Also I didn't get to check the health food store while I was in Brattleboro. I was in there before I couldn't find the hearts, and was so peeved after dealing with the grocery store I never even thought to check the GNC for taurine I had only checked at the pet store (they are a more holistic pet store, the owners feed their dogs raw and I know they sell some frozen raw like Primal as well as freezedried like S&C). They've told me they can get me freeze-dried lung and liver, but not heart In the meantime I have had to freeze the chicken I had all mixed up with the liver...it was going to have been sitting in the fridge for way too long a If I find hearts, can I defrost it all (there isn't that much left anymore anyway...maybe about 1 icecube tray), mix in the hearts, then freeze it all again?? Or just finish feeding what I have frozen as-is (probably enough for one more day, so that may just be a moot point anyway)? I plan on buying a couple chickens if I can find hearts. If I can't find hearts I am not sure what I am gonna do!!
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Post by Deleted on Feb 11, 2012 17:16:39 GMT -5
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Post by Deleted on Feb 11, 2012 17:24:25 GMT -5
Oh, BTW, the ground meat I am ordering from Hare-Today (rabbit, duck, chicken) is ground including bones and organs. If I'm getting 5 lb of meat, how many pounds of heart should I get? [img src="http://i1105.photobucket.com/albums/h352/JW_2012/Emoticons/ i1105.photobucket.com/albums/h352/JW_2012/Emoticons/0_o.gif"].gif[/IMG] There are already 3 hearts total ground in with that 5 lb of meat. (1 rabbit heart, 1 goose heart, 1 chicken heart)
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Post by Heather on Feb 11, 2012 19:51:51 GMT -5
I believe...that you are supposed to use 1 to 3 hearts per 8 oz of ground meat and bones or there about to take into account if the hearts have been frozen or not. So, the thought would be that for 5 lbs of meat you would need 10 to 30 hearts right? Taurine is very temperature sensitive...I wonder (as I have no experience with freeze dried) what the degradation of the taurine is in a freeze dried product?? I will see if I can find out ciao
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Post by Deleted on Feb 12, 2012 12:03:06 GMT -5
Hm good point (about the degradation). That is not something I would have thought about. I think right now I am just going to stick with ordering some fresh frozen hearts (vs the freeze-dried) from HareToday...getting a couple pounds, so I should definitely have enough Final total from HareToday...1 lb ground rabbit/bone/organ (liver, heart, lung, pancreas and kidneys); 2 lb ground duck/bone/organ (heart, gizzard, liver); 2 lb ground chicken/bone/organ (heart, gizzard, liver); 4 lb chicken hearts. Including s&h...43.06 (meat total was 26.03...2 day shipping) I just realized I never asked...it's okay for them to get the lung, pancreas, and kidneys right? OH! OH! AND! Marley and Soxx ate some sliver chunks when I hand-fed them!! Freya ran off with it, licked it, and left it behind the TV >.>
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Post by Deleted on Feb 12, 2012 16:54:12 GMT -5
I should have my HareToday order on Thursday! Meanwhile I am hacking up two chickens...each chicken with bones inc'l was a little over 7 lb so maybe this will last me longer than one week >.> I checked all the local grocery stores today...NOBODY had hearts Not to mention they all looked at me like I was NUTS when I asked if they had any SO I am hacking up chicken (I am going to leave bigger pieces of chicken when I put it through the food processor, and one icecube tray is going to be dedicated to sliver chunks now that Mar is starting to eat them if I finger-feed them to him). I will mix the liver in, but keep track of how many hearts I need to add in once they arrive from HareToday (only one of the chickens came with a heart flippin' figures). Then I'll defrost what I have frozen, add in the hearts, and re-freeze. Think 4 lb of hearts should last me awhile? ;D I am getting rather tired of hacking up chickens lol!! (My mom just told me that she previously would have bet her life that I would not go through with hacking up chickens to feed animals...I won't even do that for *myself*...hah! Nice to prove someone wrong mwahaha) BTW again I posted on your thread but I am so sorry about your wee one that you lost [img src="http://i1105.photobucket.com/albums/h352/JW_2012/Emoticons/ i1105.photobucket.com/albums/h352/JW_2012/Emoticons/T_T.png"].png[/IMG] <-- (and I really am crying like that >.>) It sounds like he had a very good life with you though <3
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Post by Deleted on Feb 12, 2012 17:40:29 GMT -5
I also have something that looks suspiciously like a chicken's windpipe What can I do with THAT?
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Post by Heather on Feb 12, 2012 20:40:27 GMT -5
[/IMG] What can I do with THAT?[/quote] Throw it in your mix...everything is a go.... ;D Checked out the freeze dried thing...seemingly there is no degradation, so your guys are safe Oh, be prepared for people looking at you like you're crazy, especially when you start looking for things like organ meats, lungs, brains ;D ;D. You've no idea. I've been doing the whole raw feeding thing for well over 15 yrs, believe me 15 yrs ago you go asking a butcher or grocery for their scrap meat for your dog they think you're crazy...really certifiable crazy or you're eating the scraps yourself Congratulations....excellent success....whole meats that's fantastic. Years ago we had a conversation about the "strange" chickens they're raising today....the little packets often were a "bit" odd. Chickens with 2 necks, no hearts and three livers....no hearts, no gibbies and a neck...strange birds ;D Lungs, pancreas, kidneys....organs right. My guys got venison lung with their organ mix this time Hmmm, 4 lbs should last you a bit...I order mine in 50 lbs pkgs. Liver too...got 25 lbs of gibbies ..my guys are ecstatic Thank you for your sympathies...Captain Jack was a sweet boy, he didn't deserve all the health issues that he had to deal with but he did deal with them. He was a joy to have around. I miss him...a lot. ciao ciao
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Post by Deleted on Feb 13, 2012 18:06:55 GMT -5
I wish I could send you all my giblets!! The kids won't touch them yet and I have what seems like POUNDS of it in my freezer Seriously...at least 1.5 lb of giblets sitting in my freezer. I am getting a bit frustrated with the kids. They won't eat unless I am holding them. And only if I feed one at a time. This means that feeding them can take 30min. This is fine, unless I am in a hurry, like this afternoon. I wound up being late for my doctor appointment Marley will eat a little solo but then wanders off. Soxx and Freya won't touch it unless I am holding them securely so they can't get away (although Soxx DID eat a 1-inch piece of chicken skin tonight, my good boy!). Is there anything I can do to encourage them to eat solo? Or do I just have to wait it out :-\ Also...how long can they go in between feedings? They won't even eat for my mom anymore, it has to be ME. And only me. Charming, but annoying There are some days I almost wish I'd never heard of ferrets and gotten suckered in to it all... >.> For example...since they will ONLY eat for me...if I spend the night at my boyfriend's house they can get stuck going 10 even 12 hours on the weekend. Everyone (parents, boyfriend) are trying to reassure me that this is okay. I feel that it is borderline neglect. What is your opinion on the subject? I know you said every 4-6 hrs but honestly I cannot get that frequent now that I am back to work and they are refusing to eat without being held
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Post by Heather on Feb 13, 2012 18:39:00 GMT -5
When you're feeding them where do you feed them? I'm at the same stage with Atreyu, I sit at the table with him snuggled up and he eats off the spoon. He will eat really well until he's left in his cage alone with the stuff brat! One thing you can do is...will they eat out of the bowl if you're holding them? or do you still have to kick start them? or are you hand feeding them all the way? See, one of the problems is ...well to coin a phrase is ferrets are "attention whores" sorry bad language but it's true. For every piece of attention you give them they will demand more. You're their momma in their eyes (one of the problems of keeping ferrets in the perpetual kit mode). Think of small children and the lengths they will go to get their favourite parent to pay attention to them. One of the things I do, is I cut out a hand feeding meal. Make the soupy exactly how everyone likes it. Make sure they have a good feed, let them play or do whatever you're going to do...when you go to put them away give them their food and leave it. Now, my bet is they won't touch it and wait to be hand fed. Decide when you're going to feed them next...so say for example you've fed them at 7 am, they played then you went to work. You leave them their food, they know what that food is, it's not like they don't know what it is. So, at say 7 pm offer them some food (oh, I would stir the food up when you get home...for some strange reason they won't eat it if it forms crusties..but they're ok with ferret jerky...I don't pretend to know ). Now, I don't know if your wee ones get out as soon as you get home but do whatever you usually do....just don't hand feed them....until 7 pm. My bet is at first they probably won't have touched the food but they're just starting to get hungry so they will eat. Do that for a couple of days. This is where your scale will come into play. Before you start this, weigh them....record their weight. Now, after a couple of days of doing that...push the time that you're feeding them apart...the food is still there if they would just eat it...but they probably won't because they want you to feed them but they might just get hungry enough to try some pieces. Turn the individual feeding into a group feeding. Sit on the floor with the bowl and the spoon. Feed and get them started but don't individually feed for this last meal. If someone does really badly then top them up at the end of the day before bed time. A lot of people just throw the food at their fuzzes and it's sink or swim. Atreyu is going to loose his noon feeding shortly (he was just skin and bones under that coat, he weighed less than my sheferts) He's starting to eat out of the bowl but he'd far rather that I feed him. So, it's time he started eating on his own. While you do this you watch your little ones very closely. I know you're at work but when you get home. If you think someone appears to be unsteady or is sleeping too much then feed and we will work something else out. ciao
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Post by Deleted on Feb 13, 2012 19:00:43 GMT -5
OK.. here's the thing. I really can't afford to get a scale until I get paid in a week. Hopefully then. :-\ My finances are SCARILY stretched right now - it will be challenging to pay my student loans next month. (I just looked at my bank account and I might start crying soon.) If I pay super close attention to how much they are eating...can I start the process anyway?
>.> Actually I think I am going to go have a small freak-out right now regarding the state of my finances <.< >.>
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Post by Heather on Feb 13, 2012 22:11:03 GMT -5
Ok....deep breath....your finances will work out Really Ok, lets try this but you've got to be very careful and very observant. Ok?. Rib check and massage daily. Anyone appears to be loosing weight, we step back and try again and you have to be honest with me. ciao
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Post by Deleted on Feb 14, 2012 16:53:54 GMT -5
Ok. *phew* I can do this. How do I go about their rib check and massage check? I am terrified I will miss something :-\ The good news though...this morning, I got Freya started with a spoon, with the bowl down on the floor. She ate about 1 spoonful and then I took the spoon away...and she licked her bowl clean Soxx I had to hold...ate a few licks on the ground then gets distracted and runs away. I swear, it's like ADD ferret. (MORE than normal...) Marley ate down to his chunks solo, then I held him and he ate most of his chunks. And somebody ate a little bit out of one of the bowls I left in their cage while I was gone at work I'll see if I can get some new pictures too.
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