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Post by katt on Apr 9, 2011 23:24:16 GMT -5
It's just a pain to raise them to large size. lol I want the facts to line up with the convenience... ;D
The data is a little.....inconsistent like you were saying earlier.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 16, 2011 8:33:06 GMT -5
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Post by Corvidophile on Oct 20, 2015 11:52:16 GMT -5
I've got a question I haven't seen addressed before- when it comes to the age of the animal and the differing nutrient breakdown in differing life stages, the advice I've seen over and over again is that adults are more balanced than immature prey. That might be true, but what adults are they talking about in these studies- an animal that has grown to reproductive age and is then slaughtered and tested (likely, most studies are done as soon as possible so that fewer things have the chance to go wrong and nullify the point of collecting the data), or a retired breeder, as all of you guys who order large adult prey tend to buy from these online companies, which is actually much older AND has been in milk producing and baby growing mode?
A retired breeder, as far as logic goes, would be vastly different in nutrient composition than a young virgin. A retired breeder also, as logic goes, is likely to be DECICIENT in the exact nutrients that the baby it just made is HIGH in, wouldn't it?
Therefore, wouldn't it be most balanced to feed these retired breeders in proportion with the average litter size of young they produce?
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Post by Deleted on Oct 20, 2015 12:06:31 GMT -5
If I was getting just females, I would worry about getting retired breeders, but I get lot of males.
Being able to get different sizes of prey in the same type of animal shows they are culling them at different age groups. Anyway rodents proliferate so fast, why would a company want to keep a specific group of females just as breeders?
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Post by Corvidophile on Oct 20, 2015 12:41:39 GMT -5
Most people seem to recommend getting the adult animals, and most prey sites clearly state their adults are retired breeders. I've seen the all-ages recommendation before, but also that pinkies are only suitable as occasional treats a lot, too.
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Post by Klarissa on Oct 20, 2015 12:51:32 GMT -5
So, my ferrets are still get used to eating mice - they have one mouse meal per week. Is it okay to use hoppers until the are accustomed to eating mice? They are more inclined to eat hoppers vs adults.
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Post by bitbyter on Oct 20, 2015 12:53:27 GMT -5
Certainly, just work them up to full size.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 20, 2015 14:14:11 GMT -5
If I was getting just females, I would worry about getting retired breeders, but I get lot of males. Anyway rodents proliferate so fast, why would a company want to keep a specific group of females just as breeders? I have not seen that statement before---not saying they don't. Read more: holisticferret60.proboards.com/thread/972/nutrient-composition-prey?page=2#ixzz3p8YlaDARAs far as rabbits are concerned when, I ordered from Hare Today I got small rabbits, as my ferrets cannot eat bones of adult rabbits. However, they refused to eat them even my dog would not, so I will not order anymore rabbits from them. They really looked good though---like someone pets. They had a strong earthy smell---don't know what that was. |
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Post by Corvidophile on Oct 20, 2015 14:25:29 GMT -5
That's a good point about males! It didn't even cross my mind.
Mice can be buggers and eat their younger neighbors, more mice survive if age groups are divided between moms and nursing ages, and then grow out bins. It also makes more money to only feed adults when their production starts to slow down unless customer demand requires you to produce more.
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