Fierra & Ghia

[luci]

Ack! I'll try to remember everything.

Likes:
chicken & turkey baby food
baby food and egg
baby food, egg, chicken liver & dark turkey mash
boneless turkey, leg & wing
turkey heart
turkey gizzard
pork, shoulder & loin
chicken wings
chicken breast w/bone
chicken backs
chicken heart
chicken gizzard
beef tongue
bison heart

Dislikes:
smelt
chicken liver on its own
beef liver
turkey liver
pork kidney
egg on its own

I think that's everything I've tried so far. I have a beef roast thawing that I'm going to split between humans and critters next. I'd like to try frog, lamb and goat. I have some lamb soup bones that I got for free from my organic farmer guy, but I don't think I'll be able to scrape much off. Maybe enough for a taste.

[Forum Administrator]

It sounds like they are getting really good variety, do you have them on a basic "schedule" as far as feeding goes? Ideally you want to feed them:

4 days a week (atleast) or raw meaty bones
2 days a week of boneless meat
1 day a week of organ meat and egg

Its okay to feed raw meaty bones 7 days a week, and to also feed a little bit of boneless meat on those days too. Ideally you want them eating raw meaty bones almost daily, and organ meat atleast 1 time per week.

I also like to see atleast 3 different types of meat being fed (by types I mean pork vs beef vs chicken, etc). Varying the cut of meat is important as well (chicken legs vs wings, pork shoulder vs pork butt).

Basically what we would do at this point is have you post a "sample weekly feeding schedule" an example of how you are (or plan) to feed your babies each week. It doesnt have to be exact, just a rough estimate.

We will then review the schedule and let you know if perhaps they need more/less food, more/less bone, more/less organ, more variety, etc.

Post it in the format:

MONDAY:
TUESDAY:
WEDNESDAY:
THURSDAY:
FRIDAY:
SATURDAY:
SUNDAY:

I am very proud of them for how far they've come. You aren't blanching their food anymore, right?

[luci]

Gotcha. I need to get a bunch of stuff hacked up and we're making another farmer's market run on Saturday, so I'll start with a list on Monday once I'm squared away. My refrigerator is kind of a mess right now of things that need to be portioned out.

No, I haven't blanched anything since they ate raw pork. I know I tried frying liver a little once for someone, but I can't recall if it was for ferrets or Khina.

[luci]

Last night my boyfriend and I made sushi and everyone got to try a little ahi tuna. Ghia liked it. Fierra licked it a couple of times and gagged both times. Gagged! $28/lb sashimi ahi and she gagged.

The girls got beef chuck roast chunks this morning and they were eaten, but I'm not sure by whom. I'm pretty sure they like beef though.

[Forum Administrator]

My guys really like beef. I can't believe you gave Sashimi to the ferrets! I LOVE sushi/sashimi no way would my guys get any of my sushi!

[luci]

I've been busy the last few days, but I made a soup of turkey liver, egg and baby food with lamb chunks on the side and that seemed to work for everyone, so I'm going to give my liver as soup with baby food and egg for now.

Still need to put my final menu together, but here's what I've fed so far this week.

Sunday: Liver, egg, baby food soup w/ lamb chunks and pork chunks for dinner
Monday: Leftover pork chunks and chicken wings for dinner
Tuesday: Turkey gizzard and chicken backs
Plan for Wednesday: Turkey wing meat and chicken backs

[Forum Administrator]

Looks good so far. Just let me know once you get the rest of the menu put together. Your girlies are very close to graduating. (graduating means we move this thread to the "newbie switch archive" and then you post all of your natural diet questions in the other sections of the nutrition forum: "Raw" "Whole Prey" and "General Feeding Questions/Discussion".

[luci]

Here's my general plan. Right now it seems that I can get a lot of turkey and chicken for free, so that's going to be a big part of their diet for now, but I definitely plan to add in more things as the opportunity arises.

MONDAY: Turkey meat and backs
TUESDAY: Gizzards and hearts
WEDNESDAY: Chicken wings and pork chunks
THURSDAY: Turkey/chicken meat and turkey/chicken backs
FRIDAY: Beef/bison (meat, heart or tongue) and chicken thighs
SATURDAY: Variety day! Frog, bone in chicken breast, kidney, quail, cornish hen, duck, whatever might be "special"
SUNDAY: Liver, egg, baby food soup and pork/lamb/beef/turkey/chicken chunks

They're each eating about 1 1/2 - 2 ounces a day. Some days it seems like they eat and eat and eat and other days I swear I'm throwing out the same amount I put out.

I think they mess with my head a lot too. Like standing and staring at me right after I take the food away that they've ignored for hours upon hours and THEN eating it. Buggers.

[Forum Administrator]

Well this feeding schedule looks a-okay. I think you are ready to graduate! Congrats!

Now there is one last thing I want you to do (and then I am moving this thread to the "newbie switch archive":

If you havent already, it might be a good idea to start popping in toNaturalFerrets. I know forum is small right now, but that is because they are switching to the new forum from a yahoo! group. There are many many senior raw feeders on there and it would be wise to make use of their knowledge. I try and advise all my "completed switchers" to get on there and post a bit. I still want you to say on HF, but I want you to "broaden your horizons" by getting a bit of NaturalFerret's info as well. Sound good?

www.NaturalFerrets.com

You'll probably run in to the Holistic Ferret Mentors on there. This is where THEY go to ask THEIR questions on natural diet (I do too).

Let me know if you get any good info out of here.

and.......

Now that you've completed the switch, have had your feeding schedule reviewd, and been advised to check out NaturalFerrets, its time to retire this thread to the "newbie switch archive"!



No one (yourself included) will be able to post in this thread anymore once its been moved to the archive. Please begin posting your diet-related questions in the "whole prey" "raw" or "general feeding questions and discussion" area. We encourage EVERYONE that is archived to continue posting. Feeding a natural diet is a learning PROCESS, there is much to learn after making the switch. There is always lots to learn, and lots to share with the newbies on the site. If you feel comfortable offering the newbies advice, then by all means go ahead. The more help we can get, the better. If you'd rather lurk and not post, thats cool too, its just always nice to have our graduates stick around.

We (your mentor and I) will run a detailed "check up" with you (via PM or email) at the 3 month, 6 month, 9 month, and 1 year anniversary since "going natural" just to make sure all is going well and that you arent having any issues.

[luci]

6 Months Since the Switch- EVALUATION #1:

1. Its been six months since you and your ferrets graduated from the Holistic Ferret Mentor Program. Are you still feeding a kibble-free, natural diet? If yes, why? If no, why?
Absolutely! The girls are very happy with their diet and are doing incredibly well on it.

2. Have you filled out the "Natural Diet Survey"? (If not, please do by going to the following link: holisticferret.proboards80.com/in....play&thread=241)
yes

3. Please post a "sample weekly feeding schedule". Basically, give us an idea of what you feed your ferret(s) each week. This way we can review it (again) and let you know if you need to make any changes to ensure proper nutrition. Post your schedule in the following format:

I'll list two weeks worth straight from my feeding journal.

MONDAY: Lamb, Rabbit and Dark Turkey
TUESDAY: Pork, Chicken Back and Gizzards
WEDNESDAY: Bone-in Chicken Breast, Beef, Dehydrated Lamb Lung
THURSDAY: Dark Turkey and Pork
FRIDAY: Lamb and Bone-in Chicken Breast
SATURDAY: Beef, Dark Turkey, Chicken Back and Gizzards
SUNDAY: Pork, Quail, Liver Soup (Turkey liver, turkey baby food, egg, pinch egg shell, squash, fish oil capsule, tiny splash olive oil)

MONDAY: Rabbit and Turkey
TUESDAY: Pork and Duck
WEDNESDAY: Rabbit, Dark Turkey, Chicken Back
THURSDAY: Pork and Rabbit
FRIDAY: Dark Turkey, Chicken Back and Duck
SATURDAY: Pork and Quail
SUNDAY: Quail, Rabbit, Liver Soup (Chicken baby food, turkey liver, squash, sprinkle dehydrated lamb lung)


4. Do you have any questions or concearns regarding your ferret(s) diet?
I worry that I'm not getting enough fat in their diet.

5. Do you have any new "diet goals" for your ferrets that you would like us to help you with, such as: adding whole prey to the diet, diversifying the types of meat fed, or incorporating freeze-dried or commercial raw foods? If so, please specify.
I may wish to add some frozen whole prey somewhere down the road.

6. How was your experience with the Holistic Ferret Mentor Program? What did you like about the program? What didn't you like? What can we do to make our program better?
I think the Mentor program was great! It was wonderful to have a support system in place and it saved me from having to do tedious research every time I had a question.

7. After switching to a natural diet I'm sure you noticed numerable changes immediately. After six months of feeding naturally, what would you say is the most notable improvement in your ferret's health?
They have both gained weight, their fur is shiny and soft, NO ferret smell, poops smaller and less offensive, teeth and gums are perfect and their energy level is great! They also seem to be calmer and happier overall.

8. Since its been six months since you graduated from the HF Mentor Program, you are now eligable to become a Holistic Ferret Mentor. Do you have any interest in becoming a mentor? There is NO obligation. If interested, please read the following info to see if you are capable of making such a commitment to being a mentor:
Did something get cut off here?

If there is a need for more mentors, yes I could definitely help out.

[Forum Administrator]

Wow! Look at all that variety, that is great. From the looks of what you are feeding, I think they are probably getting enough fat. If you are still worried though, you can always add fish oil to their diet, or add more chunks of fatty pork and beef.

If you are interested in mentoring others just pm me and we'll get you started.

On a side note, I can't believe its been 6 months since you switched. That is crazy!