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Post by bigsis7 on May 2, 2009 15:10:16 GMT -5
Yep 3 different kinds of meat! Haha yes! Since they are young they are pretty easy to switch! Let me know how it goes!
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Paprika
Gnawing on bones
Raw and Whole Prey Feeder[/b]
Posts: 87
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Post by Paprika on May 5, 2009 12:48:53 GMT -5
ground pork went well. store today. sorry for quick updates!
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Post by bigsis7 on May 5, 2009 15:51:28 GMT -5
Awesome! Let me know how the other meats go! Haha that's ok!
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Paprika
Gnawing on bones
Raw and Whole Prey Feeder[/b]
Posts: 87
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Post by Paprika on May 7, 2009 3:13:17 GMT -5
Full cuts of pork chops today, they liked it. Lol, think it's hilarious to see them fighting over food but wonder if it's stressful? I put in a box and they love to cache food in there. Normal, I know, but should I include another box or possibly feed them on separate levels in the cage? Problem is they probably won't bother with going to two different levels to feed, I don't think... hmm. Maybe i'll just include the other box. I went and picked up some beef (is beef ok for them? just seems like it would be too fatty... I got some shank for them, is that ok?), pork chops, chicken legs, and beef liver. That's 3 different meats. Gonna try the beef tomorrow!
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Post by bigsis7 on May 7, 2009 8:30:09 GMT -5
Yay!! I'm so glad they're not picky, lol! I was wondering how thick are the bones in the pork chops? Or is it boneless? Fighting over the food is fine :]! I give my ferrets seperate meat, all equal quanity, and they still want the other's!! I'd just keep it how it is if you want too :]! Beef is very good for them!! Lots of iron and good nutrition! What might seem fatty to us, is good for ferrets. Has a lot more nutrition then cooked fat, lol! Shank is ok too! Let me know how the beef goes and when you're ready if you can write out a schedule of what your feeding them:
Monday: Tuesday: Wednsday: Thursday: Friday: Saturday: Sunday:
And then you're done the switch! Take your time though! Don't want to rush the fuzzies, lol!
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Paprika
Gnawing on bones
Raw and Whole Prey Feeder[/b]
Posts: 87
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Post by Paprika on May 7, 2009 12:41:46 GMT -5
The bone is pretty thick, so they gnaw on it but can't eat it. Can that not count as a "boneless" day? Sometimes boneless meat is a bit expensive... hmm. Ok! I'll let you know how beef goes today. I don't feel like I'm rushing them... they really just seem to take to any meat I put out there now. lol. Even Leo is getting in on the game when I put food in.
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Paprika
Gnawing on bones
Raw and Whole Prey Feeder[/b]
Posts: 87
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Post by Paprika on May 7, 2009 12:47:52 GMT -5
Oh, and also. I just really want to express how happy I am I found this site and have nearly completed the switch. The difference in my fuzzies is really amazing already.... no smell and their fur so luxuriously soft now, and shiny. No one could EVER guess that I have ferrets in my house now... their energy level is high and they really get excited about food instead of munching on it idly like Mcdonald's! =p Oh, and in other news about them, I opened up the bottom of their FN to them yesterday because they've been so good about going in the litter box consistently now. They are so happy Although now the cage looks so small for only 2...... >_> ... LOL
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Post by bigsis7 on May 7, 2009 14:02:42 GMT -5
As long as they are getting enough meat, the pork chop can count as boneless day! LOL, that's a good thing ! I'm glad Leo's finally getting in on the secret, lol! I'm glad you're happy with the results!! I'm glad you found us too!! It's great to know that our fur kids are getting the best diet possible! And I love the "no-stink" part of it, lol! Haha my ferrets go INSANE when I go to feed them !! Yay!! I wish my Chewie would use the litter box, but he refuses, lol! Haha trust me it's not small for two! I have to wait until I move to Canada to get a second level for my 3 ferrets! One level's hard enough to move, lol!
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Paprika
Gnawing on bones
Raw and Whole Prey Feeder[/b]
Posts: 87
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Post by Paprika on May 7, 2009 23:05:10 GMT -5
As long as they are getting enough meat, the pork chop can count as boneless day! LOL, that's a good thing ! I'm glad Leo's finally getting in on the secret, lol! I'm glad you're happy with the results!! I'm glad you found us too!! It's great to know that our fur kids are getting the best diet possible! And I love the "no-stink" part of it, lol! Haha my ferrets go INSANE when I go to feed them !! Yay!! I wish my Chewie would use the litter box, but he refuses, lol! Haha trust me it's not small for two! I have to wait until I move to Canada to get a second level for my 3 ferrets! One level's hard enough to move, lol! Mine's two stories? You know, the very tall one. It seems like it could house up to 4 pretty easily.
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Paprika
Gnawing on bones
Raw and Whole Prey Feeder[/b]
Posts: 87
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Post by Paprika on May 8, 2009 3:20:34 GMT -5
I was wondering, if I wanted to try them out on any sort of whole prey, what would be a good way to go about it? How can I do a mixture of whole prey and raw? I'm pretty interested in this... I can get live, frozen, and pre-killed "fresh" pinkies, hoppers, mice, and rats.
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Post by bigsis7 on May 8, 2009 9:20:16 GMT -5
With my ferrets I just gave them an occasional mouse, but I didn't have to work at switching them, so I don't know a ton about whole prey. Usually you want to start off small. I would start with frozen pinkies and move up from their. Putting ferretone on the mice helps them seem more enticing(sp?)! If you want to feed both raw and whole prey, feed 2 mice per ferret per meal. If you still feed them 3 different kinds of meat you can stick with one age of mouse and however many you want as long as the ferrets get their raw meat for that day. So it could be like this:
Monday: Chicken Leg Tuesday: Chicken Wing Wednsday: Chicken Leg Thursday: Chicken Wing Friday: Beef in the morning mice in the evening Saturday: Pork Sunday: Mice in the morning liver in the evening
Doesn't have to be exactly like that, but you get the idea. So try pinkies first, then hoppers, then adults. Space it out though. With rats you can feed them, too, just not live. Rats are intelligent and not afraid to stand up for themselves!
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Paprika
Gnawing on bones
Raw and Whole Prey Feeder[/b]
Posts: 87
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Post by Paprika on May 9, 2009 2:00:40 GMT -5
With my ferrets I just gave them an occasional mouse, but I didn't have to work at switching them, so I don't know a ton about whole prey. Usually you want to start off small. I would start with frozen pinkies and move up from their. Putting ferretone on the mice helps them seem more enticing(sp?)! If you want to feed both raw and whole prey, feed 2 mice per ferret per meal. If you still feed them 3 different kinds of meat you can stick with one age of mouse and however many you want as long as the ferrets get their raw meat for that day. So it could be like this: Monday: Chicken Leg Tuesday: Chicken Wing Wednsday: Chicken Leg Thursday: Chicken Wing Friday: Beef in the morning mice in the evening Saturday: Pork Sunday: Mice in the morning liver in the evening Doesn't have to be exactly like that, but you get the idea. So try pinkies first, then hoppers, then adults. Space it out though. With rats you can feed them, too, just not live. Rats are intelligent and not afraid to stand up for themselves! OK. I'll just try supplementing them with mice for now then. They may go whole prey at some point, but right now raw is working well for me.
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Paprika
Gnawing on bones
Raw and Whole Prey Feeder[/b]
Posts: 87
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Post by Paprika on May 9, 2009 3:16:00 GMT -5
You know, I noticed that their activity level seems to be wavering... it's been hot the last few days. Are they gonna be OK during the summer? What should I be thinking about for the hot summer days? I've been giving them "baths" when I let them out (some warm water on their fur, dry em off just a little), they seem to really enjoy this (well... they dont like the getting wet part. but afterwards they are all fiesty!). Is this the best I can really do? I tried a ziplock bag with ice in it, but that ended up in a huuuge wet mess, hahaa. I think I'm going to try to give them some sort of bowl they cant knock over and give em a few inches of water to splash their faces into (they love doing that in the cat bowl). just wanna make sure theyre getting hydrated... am I paranoid? Any other ideas?
thanks!
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Post by bigsis7 on May 9, 2009 7:10:48 GMT -5
Hey! Well what I've been doing is freezing a water bottle then wrapping it in a paper towel. I also put ice in their water bowl. Also when you get them wet try using cooler water. Not freezing, but cooler. You can let them splash around in the tub, too. If the room they're in gets to be over 80 degrees I suggest moving them to a cooler room if it's going to be that way for a while. To keep the heat down you can foil the windows. Hope that helps!
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Paprika
Gnawing on bones
Raw and Whole Prey Feeder[/b]
Posts: 87
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Post by Paprika on May 10, 2009 0:46:04 GMT -5
I tried a couple pinkies tonight, no cigar, they've been in there about 3 hrs (granted, the ferts had ate some chicken earlier and then slept after playing... they havent worked up much of an appetite yet, maybe?). Tried putting ferrtone on them and Molly just licks it off. Leopold won't have any of the Ferrtone, makes a face when I try giving it to him, lol. I chopped em in half (ughh! lol) and they still wont really try it... a vaguely expensive waste ($4.50 for 3...theyre much cheaper when you buy in bulk, thought i would pay a premium just to try a couple). Will leave it in there for a bit longer but it's a little hard to look at. :S The things I do for these guys.
edit: Finally! Molly decided she'd like to chew on the pinkie and decided she likes those too. She ate all 3! Leopold didn't happen to get in on it, but i'm just glad they got eaten at all. Ugh, Im just glad i dont have to stare at it any longer in there... lol. Glad it's all over now. More chicken legs tonight.
This week it has been:
Liver, Pork chops[they didnt eat bones, considering boneless], Beef shanks[did not consume bones], Chicken legs, chicken legs & pinkies. More chicken legs for the last two days and that's a correct full week, right? Am I doing this right?! lol.
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