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Post by animalsgetrevenge on Aug 28, 2008 23:20:59 GMT -5
So this had probably been asked before, but how long can I store frozen meat in my freezer before it has been in for too long to feed my ferrets? What about freezer burn?
I might be buying some rabbit for a local farmer but she said she had to look through her freezer first to find it... which I am taking as it has been in there for a while... I will ask how long it has been in there but first I want to know what is acceptable!
Also... Can I freeze, thaw, refreeze, thaw, then feed? When I bought a cornish game hen from New Seasons it was frozen. I took it home, thawed it in warm water, cut it into meals, froze the meals, then took them each out when I needed them, thawed, then fed. Is this acceptable?
Thanks for the help, as alway!
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Post by animalsgetrevenge on Aug 29, 2008 2:22:31 GMT -5
Here is (part of) the Email from the woman selling the rabbits:
Yes, they are rabbits that I raised here on our farm. Each rabbit weighs about 2 pounds and were butchered at about 12 weeks old (fryers). I checked my freezers and I have quite a few more than I thought buried in the freezer! I have 14 rabbits in one of my freezers . Most were butchered in 2006. They are all either shrink wrapped or in large baggies. Some faired better than others in the freezer burn department. I see about 6 that look excellent and the rest have some freezer burn. For some reason rabbit tends to freezer burn easier than any other meat I have in the freezer. Will sell all 14 for $30.00. (When I used to sell them fresh butchered, they went for $6.00 per pound). Let me know by Friday afternoon if you want them. I am not interested in just selling a couple.
What do you guys think???
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Post by Forum Administrator on Aug 29, 2008 2:30:06 GMT -5
So this had probably been asked before, but how long can I store frozen meat in my freezer before it has been in for too long to feed my ferrets? It depends on the meat. Check out these charts for info: www.almanac.com/food/storefood.phpWhat about freezer burn?You CAN feed freezer burned meats AS LONG as they arent the bulk of the diet. If someone offers you free freezer burned meat, take it! but only use it occasionally. Also... Can I freeze, thaw, refreeze, thaw, then feed? When I bought a cornish game hen from New Seasons it was frozen. I took it home, thawed it in warm water, cut it into meals, froze the meals, then took them each out when I needed them, thawed, then fed. Is this acceptable?Meat is often frozen-thawed several times from the time its cut to the time it gets to you. I'd try to minimize the freezing-thawing. I dont think it kills nutrients but it does encourage the growth of bacteria (or so I'm told). Thawing in warm water is a no-no. Doing that then re freezing then doing that then refreezing will just cause problems. Always thaw in the fridge. Slowly thawing at a cool temp minimizes bacteria. Now can ferrets handle bacteria? Yes, but do you want their meat CRAWLING in bacteria? No, why risk getting them sick from tons of bacteria when it can be avoided. Thanks for the help, as always.No problem...as always
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Post by Forum Administrator on Aug 29, 2008 2:34:32 GMT -5
Personally, i woudnt get the rabbit. Why? Because:
a.) Two years is a long time for anything to be in the freezer b.) Rabbits are already low in taurine, freezing degrades taurine even more, and with freezer burn you can pretty much kiss that taurine goodbye
If they were in the freezer for say...6 months and they werent freezer burned I'd say yeah. but with the state these rabbits are actually in I'd just pass on the offer.
Just my $0.02. What does everyone else think?
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Post by animalsgetrevenge on Aug 29, 2008 2:50:13 GMT -5
Awesome, thank you for that great link Giuli. I often end up using warm water to thaw meals if I forget to defrost in the fridge the night before. No more of that! I will talk to the rabbit lady tomorrow. I will pass unless there's someone out there that convince me not to! Haha. Darn, I wish I could have gotten 14 FRESH rabbits for $30!!! New Seasons sell them (special order) for $9.99! TOO PRICEY! Thanks G!
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Post by Forum Administrator on Aug 29, 2008 3:00:56 GMT -5
Yeah, it sucks about the rabbits but they would just be frozen blocks of ice by now. Atleast I think so, not sure what the others would say. As for forgetting to that here is what I do: Every time I take food out of the fridge to feed I always make sure to put new food in to thaw. If you have a big bag of raw food or a big package of say, raw chicken wings, portion it out into individual meals so you can thaw them as needed without having to thaw the whole thing.
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Post by Heather on Aug 29, 2008 20:53:45 GMT -5
Hi Guys I would take the rabbits....yes there is going to be some degradation but not enough to cause any problems. It's not like your going to feed nothing else. My dogs got a couple of 2 yr old duck (frozen for 2 yrs lol) for Christmas. A friend of mine found them stashed in the bottom of her freezer. The dogs had thought they'd died and gone to heaven. I trimmed some of the hard freezer burn off, but the rest of the meat was fine. I wouldn't have eaten it (I don't like duck anyway) but they thought it was fantastic. So each dog got a whole duck to eat. Do the rabbits still have fur??or are they skinned? If they have fur there will be even less degradation. Personally, I would feed them but I'd make sure they weren't back to back feedings. JMO ciao
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