|
Post by halblingefrau on Jul 30, 2010 13:43:42 GMT -5
I haven't set up a feeding den. I've read a little about it, but what is it exactly? I haven't really been able to picture it. I've seen a post where someone used an open cardboard box to contain the mess, but I don't see how that would help with stashing.
|
|
|
Post by sherrylynne on Jul 30, 2010 18:26:47 GMT -5
|
|
|
Post by halblingefrau on Aug 3, 2010 16:31:18 GMT -5
So I made a feeding den out of a big plastic drawer we had (like one in the thread you linked me to).... It got used as a potty box. *sigh* I think what I'll do is clean it real good and then put their kibble dish in there. Maybe that will help them realize it's a FOOD box and not a sh*t box.
|
|
|
Post by sherrylynne on Aug 3, 2010 18:04:52 GMT -5
|
|
|
Post by halblingefrau on Aug 4, 2010 16:03:02 GMT -5
Last night I ran out of chicken meat (only had a few pieces of raw thigh meat, about 3 oz) so I added a bunch of gizzards and two hearts and made a soupie from that. Is that ok? I read that gizzards are technically muscle meat (as opposed to organs like liver) but I'm wondering if I shouldn't give them so much of that next time. Asher ate some but it got left in the bowl.
Also, do gizzards as a rule smell awful? I opened my package (it was the use by date) and it smelled really weird. Do you think they had gone bad? It's been my experience that eating meet on the use by date (or a day after) doesn't seem to hurt. And since ferts tummies can handle meat better that ours, I figured to feed anyway.
|
|
|
Post by sherrylynne on Aug 4, 2010 18:59:24 GMT -5
If it smells bad, it likely is. I never notice much of a difference in the smell of a gizzard, or any other muscle meat. Mine love a meal of fresh gizzards- it gives them something to really exercise their jaws on!
|
|
|
Post by halblingefrau on Aug 4, 2010 23:07:33 GMT -5
Ok, I'm going to pitch the rest of the gizzards I froze. They really smelled awful.
And Juno decided she was going to obsess over the forraging cup. Too bad it's empty! I gotta refill it!
|
|
|
Post by sherrylynne on Aug 5, 2010 8:41:00 GMT -5
Hey, at least it's keeping her occupied! And as for the kibble in the feeding den, if they don't seem to quite get the idea at first, just keep putting them in there with it, so they know for certain that's where they are supposed to eat. That training will come in really handy for when they are fully raw
|
|
|
Post by halblingefrau on Aug 11, 2010 22:09:54 GMT -5
No real news, just keeping up with the soupies. So far the ferts haven't liked the pork or the beef variation. They only like chicken. Not sure what else to try. Maybe they can eat raw chicken and freeze dried "exotic" meats like rabbit and lamb.
|
|
|
Post by sherrylynne on Aug 12, 2010 18:13:31 GMT -5
Don't forget- ferrets will imprint on any type of food. Kibble, raw, freeze dried, whatever. They may have switched their "imprint" from kibble, to just chicken! I'd really keep up with the other proteins, going back to scratch if you need to. Or- you can trick them This takes a little bit of time, and patience, but does work! Make your usual chicken soupies, and add in a bit of pureed pork/beef, whichever you prefer. Just a bit. Next meal, add a wee bit more, etc., til they are eating all pork, or all beef. Alternately, you can keep on with the chicken til they are eating decent chunks of it, and introduce the new meats then. I'd also start to thicken the soups a wee bit by adding less water every couple of days, til they are eating straight ground meat, with little moisture in it. Which direction do you think you'd like to go in for right now? Whichever way we go, it's going to take some work to convince these little devils you really aren't poisoning them
|
|
|
Post by halblingefrau on Aug 13, 2010 19:45:10 GMT -5
Well, they LOVE the lamb and venison ziwipeak that I've given them so I know they like the taste of other meats. I think I want to get them to eat thick chicken soupie (the ground meat thickness), then at that stage add in ground pork and beef and other things. Once they're used to the flavors, then I will start going to small chunks and on from there.
And yes, they are little devils.
|
|
|
Post by sherrylynne on Aug 14, 2010 10:52:54 GMT -5
Alright, that sounds good! You do know you can also rehydrate ziwipeak? Just takes a little while to do it. Add hot water, and let it sit for a couple of hours.
|
|
|
Post by halblingefrau on Aug 14, 2010 15:49:27 GMT -5
No I didn't know that. I was planning on leaving it in the cage 24/7 in case anyone gets the munchies. Well, after we're all eating meat chunks of course. I just don't like the idea of them not being able to snack. I tried re-hydrating the Stella and Chewys' lamb patties. They actually preferred it if I broke it up into chunks. Juno and Ash ate it like crazy. Loki wasn't interested. But then, Loki is CRAZY bout chicken soupies. Personal tastes I guess. I'm going to the grocery store to buy some ground chicken, ground pork, and ground beef. I have some bone-in chicken in the freezer but I'd like to wait till we're ready for chunks before I start using that. We've been keeping our eggshells which I zap in my coffee grinder to a powder. Since I can't get chicken hearts around here without getting 5x as many gizzards in a package, I was thinking of ordering freeze dried hearts online and adding that to soupies. Does the freeze-drying reduce the taurine a lot? Would it even be worth it to use freeze dried?
|
|
|
Post by sherrylynne on Aug 14, 2010 18:20:52 GMT -5
I use freeze dried hearts all the time! They love it as a treat, and the freeze drying process doesn't destroy nearly as much taurine as cooking will! The only way I can get hearts in is to order them by the case. I just talked to the meat managers at the grocery stores, and found one willing to do it. Worth a shot!
|
|
|
Post by halblingefrau on Aug 15, 2010 1:32:46 GMT -5
Well, with renting a small place, we don't have room for an extra freezer. I would imagine a case of hearts is pretty big! But I'm going to try the freeze dried thing. If they like them, it'd be good to put in their forraging cups. Right now, the only treat anyone responds to are Bandits' peanut butter. And only Loki likes those.
|
|