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Post by amymelissa on Jan 2, 2009 16:05:47 GMT -5
I introduced them in the bathroom, which is not an area they are in. They all have had baths but never put on the floor to run around. We combined the two cages so Taz was with the boys all night and they snuggled!!! No hissing or fighting. As usual the boys had their wings for bedtime and when I walked by the cage I saw this  Taz stole it from Damien. Maybe that whole sibling thing. If the boys have it she wants it.... I don't know but she did ate it. Also the boys had been munching on it so I'm sure they cracked the bone and maybe the marrow inticed Taz? Taz went back several times during the night to munch on it  |
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Post by tsslilsis on Jan 2, 2009 17:44:26 GMT -5
WHOOHOOO!!!!!!!!!! When in Rome do as the Romians do!!!!!!!!!! That is so awesome!!!!! Ravi and Lillian are the same way.. If one of them has something, the other has to have it.. It doesn't matter if there are ten of the same thing laying there. I guess him cracking the bone open was just what she needed.
If she keeps it up and will eat plain organ and she has roughly 4 days of raw meaty bones (chicken, turkey, rabbit, etc,), 2 days of boneless and a meal of organ per week she will be ready to graduate..
-~Ketlin
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Post by amymelissa on Jan 2, 2009 20:57:30 GMT -5
We gave them ground beef and livers for dinner and she did eat the livers but wouldn't touch the beef. I figure in time she will. Michael didn't know I wasn't giving them bone so he brought down a leg. Taz pounced on it and then her and Damien got in a hissing match.
I had Michael take it out because the boys don't need the bone. We'll seperate Taz later and let her have the leg.
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Post by amymelissa on Jan 2, 2009 21:06:09 GMT -5
New menu. The ground meat doesn't have any bone in it.
Friday ~
am - soup (no bone)
pm - ground beef/livers
Saturday
am - soup (no bone)
pm - 2 wings
Sunday ~
am - soup (no bone)
pm - ground turkey
Monday ~
am - soup (no bone)
pm - 2 legs
Tuesday ~
am - soup (no bone)
pm - beef stew meat/livers
Wednesday ~
am - soup (no bone)
pm - 2 thighs
Thursday
am - soup (no bone)
pm - pork chunks
Friday ~
am - soup (no bone)
pm - 2 wings
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Post by amymelissa on Jan 3, 2009 1:44:09 GMT -5
Taz is eating chicken neck bones. So far she's not eating any other bone but bone is bone, right?
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Post by amymelissa on Jan 5, 2009 7:29:56 GMT -5
Taz is now eating chicken necks, beef (both stew meat and ground), chicken livers and hearts by herself. The soup has pork in it as well and she eats the soup. So to recap.
Taz is eating beef, chicken, turkey and pork. She is eating chicken necks, wings and will eat the meat off a leg but so far not the bone.
They boys eat everything we give them and beg for more the piggies!
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Post by tsslilsis on Jan 5, 2009 12:51:28 GMT -5
Whole chicken necks? That is wonderful. I will get Giuli to review. I think it is time to graduate. -~Ketlin |
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Post by amymelissa on Jan 5, 2009 18:51:45 GMT -5
We put the whole neck in and they go to town, all three of them. Taz will nibble on the wings but I think it's just a matter of time before she's eating it all with no problem. After the boys have nawed down the wing a bit she'll go and eat some of it.
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Post by amymelissa on Jan 6, 2009 3:33:57 GMT -5
We gave kids chicken hearts/livers and pork chunks tonight and they all ate them. Taz was a piglet and LOVES the hearts!
I need someone to give me dosage as to how much hearts, liver and giblets per organ day serving we should be giving them. I'm not sure how much to give them. Also should it be just organ or meat chunks with it? Are giblets considered organ? The package says chicken giblets and that's all. It doesn't say livers, heart, etc. just chicken giblets.
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Post by tsslilsis on Jan 6, 2009 13:08:20 GMT -5
There is no limit on hearts.. They are an organ but do not count as organ in raw feeding. The rule of Thumb is "If it doesn't secrete feed it as meat". Hearts are good for Taurine though. If they are packaged as giblets then they will be hearts, livers and gizzards. Organ should make up 10% of the entire diet.. Since the giblets aren't just organ you can feed as much as they will eat really.. You can use it as an organ day even though it won't be completely organ. I would take pictures of the hearts and gizzards I have to help you idenify what is what but I don't know where my camera card is. On top are hearts and on the bottom are gizzards www.flickr.com/photos/degan/3150158766/Gizzards www.grasslandbeef.com/catalog/chicken-gizzard%20medium.JPGHeart on the left, liver on the right (The fat on your chicken is going to be white though.. The fat on that heart is yellow because it is a free range chicken). www.flickr.com/photos/wildernesssgal/3021663422/-~Ketlin |
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Post by Forum Administrator on Jan 6, 2009 14:07:18 GMT -5
Whole chicken necks? That is wonderful. I will get Giuli to review. I think it is time to graduate. -~Ketlin I will review your schedule today and we'll see if you are ready to graduate. |
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Post by Forum Administrator on Jan 6, 2009 16:58:52 GMT -5
Okay, I have a few questions and comments about the schedule. 1. What is in the "soup" you are feeding? Comments: 1.) I'd like to see you alternating feeding chicken wings, legs, thighs, necks, backs, and bone-in breasts. Chicken wings are pretty boney, they are a good source of bone, but you want to add some more variety. You can also try cornish game hen, or turkey tails/necks. Some ferrets like Ox-tails as well. These are the main "Raw Meaty Bones" that ferrets are able to eat. Turkey legs, etc are too dense and thick for a ferret to eat. You can also try bone-in meat from rabbit, quail, pheasent, duck, pigeon, etc. (Basically any animal the size of a chicken or smaller  ) 2. Instead of ground turkey, or ground beef, I'd like to see you feeding WHOLE CHUNKS of beef or turkey. Grinding meat reduces several key nutrients, including taurine, which is essential for healthy eyes and heart. Also, ground meat doesn't wipe down teeth like chunks of meat do. When ferrets tear through meat chunks, it gently wipes plauqe from their teeth. 3. Just a tip, buy whatever cuts of beef, pork, turkey etc are on sale. That way, you get a good deal on cuts on meat, while varying the cuts you feed. Its important to feed various cuts of meat because different cuts vary in protein, fat, and nutrient content. By mixing up the cuts of meat you feed, you can insure more variety in your ferret's diet, which reduces the chances of nutrient excess or deficiency, which is VERY important. 4. When designing your schedule be sure you are feeding ATLEAST 4 days a week of EDIBLE raw meaty bones (like chicken wings, turkey necks, etc). 2 days a week of boneless raw meat (like beef chunks), and 1 day a week of organs (1 chicken liver per ferret, per week, as many hearts and gizzards as they will eat). You may also feed raw egg (with shell) not exceeding 1 per ferret per week if you like. Try revising your schedule using the tips I gave above. This will help you provide a more balanced, healthy natural diet for your ferrets. Congratulations on getting this far! You are almost there, we just need to tweak this schedule a bit. |
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Post by amymelissa on Jan 6, 2009 19:37:29 GMT -5
Michael is working on a menu. I know he plans on feeding them a CGH tonight. When we give them chicken legs they eat the bone of the leg. We put them in at night and in the morning there are a few bones left that aren't even an 1" long. They really work those bones. Should they not be eating the chicken leg bones?
Until today (payday) we had to use what we already had in the freezer. With 7 kids we always have meat in the freezer but we didn't go buying just for the ferrets, until today.
We picked up 3 packages of chicken hearts because it's the first time we were able to find them. We can always find the livers and giblets though. We looked for other organ meats but amazingly pickin's are thin. We might need to go into SLC and try stores there.
Taz really doesn't care for beef at all. On the days we give them beef she eats very little and seems to me to be holding out for the chicken. She likes pork though.
The boys don't like white meat other than the wings. When we've given them breast before they would eat all the skin and as much of the bone as they could get to but would leave most of the meat.
Our food processor is on it's last leg and since Taz is eating bone now we stopped putting bone in the soup, at least until we can get a new one. The soup is a mix of different meats from that week. We always have beef, chicken, turkey and pork in the soup and we add eggshell but that's all we put in it.
For the soup it's usually 2 breast meat, 1thigh meat, 2 legs meat, 6 oz pork, 6 oz beef, 6 oz turkey and eggshell powder. The meat is the consistency of a pate, not really a soup.
Last night we gave them 7 hearts and pork chunks and they ate all the hearts then ate the pork. That's why I asked about how many hearts they could have and how much is to much cause these boys can eat!!!
I'll post the menu later.
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Post by Forum Administrator on Jan 6, 2009 21:33:03 GMT -5
Sounds great. The soupie is a good mix. I would slowly wean them off the soup, using it as a "gravy" to put on their whole raw foods. Can't wait to see the schedule. Oh, and if your ferrets dont care for certain meats, that's a-okay. My guys HATE turkey, so I just feed pork instead of turkey . And yes, they can have chicken leg and thigh bones, but no TURKEY leg or thigh bones. |
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Post by amymelissa on Jan 7, 2009 2:41:03 GMT -5
Still working on the menu. But we can add lamb to what they will eat. Taz LOVES lamb!!!
For dinner we gave them 1lb of lamb and 1lb of giblets. We have to have food in the cage at night or Damien starts chewing on the hammock and blankets. I'm willing to bet that most, if not all, of that meat will be gone come morning. The boys will have eaten most of it.
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