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Post by bigsis7 on Dec 1, 2008 10:04:49 GMT -5
OK, so my mom was moving storage around and she either killed the mouse or it was dead already. It looked like when my mom moved the box (it has a space under it where the mouse could've been) she ran over it and broke it's spine (ouch). So when my mom told me I immediately thought "Ferret Lunch!! ). How long do I have to freeze it to get rid of any parasites it may have? I've heard 24 hours-3 months on different websites, so I need your guys's help....
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Post by Forum Administrator on Dec 1, 2008 17:10:08 GMT -5
Ideally 3-4 months to kill any internal parasites. I would be hesitant though to feed a mouse that you didnt see killed in front of you. For example, the mouse could have ingested poison and then died. Also, you dont know how long the mouse was dead for, it could have started to decompose internally.
The only wild animals I'll feed my ferrets are the prey my cat brings home, freshly killed (as in still warm to the touch). I have a chipmunk in my freezer now and it will be ready to eat in about 2 more months.
Hope this helps.
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Post by bigsis7 on Dec 1, 2008 17:44:53 GMT -5
Hmmm... That is true. It looked like my mom had broken his spine. He was still a little warm when I touched him, but I don't know if my mom killed him or not. Thanks Giuli!
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Post by tss on Dec 1, 2008 18:10:03 GMT -5
If it were old, it would have been stiff (riggermortice), if it were fresh it would be limber. I freeze my wild meats for 3-4 weeks (Even the beaver we found) and I've never had a problem.
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Post by bigsis7 on Dec 1, 2008 21:05:40 GMT -5
Hmmmm it wasn't extremely stiff but it wasn't exactly limber. It didn't stink at all either. We don't have any poison in our house and this little guy has been running around in the walls for a while unless we have more mice in the house (more lunch!! lol). Ok I think I'll freeze it about 1-2 months and we'll see if my mind's been changed...I may be to squeamish to feed it after two months. I may end up freezing it for 6 months .
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Post by bigsis7 on Dec 2, 2008 21:28:25 GMT -5
Ok, well my parents said that something has been smelling in the storage room for the past month and it smelled like a dead mouse. My dad thinks it was mummified or something like that. So I will not be feeding the little dude to the ferrets, but I hope to order off rodent pro soon!
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Post by bigsis7 on Dec 3, 2008 20:10:23 GMT -5
Looks like we have a family of mice in the house. Ugh...good for the ferrets, but for the rest of us....My dad set traps in the storage room and he got a female last night. She died happy though cause she got all the peanut butter off one of the traps and half off the other. I was comparing her size to the "mummified" mouse and the mummy mouse looks like it was still a baby. My dad also reported that there are mice in the attic. Oh dear....So I'm freezing this mouse for a while to kill the parasites and then it will become lunch! I'm also hoping to get some live mice tomorrow.
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Post by Kerit on Dec 4, 2008 16:48:34 GMT -5
What about ruffed grouse? Apparently the poor thing made it in through an open garage door, got lost, and killed itself probably against a window. And since I'm in northern Wisconsin, it was immediately frozen I don't trust it enough to make it a meal for the kids, but I think we'll keep some feathers and the skull.
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