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Post by amymelissa on Jul 24, 2009 20:02:56 GMT -5
There are several reasons for this. One being if we ever need a sitter for the babies a commerical raw will be the easiest for a sitter to do. I also feel that they will get a much better varity by using a commerical raw. Right now they eat Pork, Beef, Chicken, Turkey, Bison, Salmon and Lamb. What I'm having a hard time finding is Rabbit, Venison and any of the game birds like Quail and Pheasent (MP?).
NV is going to be the easiest and most realible for us to get locally. I have heard, on here I think, that NV is high in bone content so for feeding regularly I was thinking this for a menu. We are also going to introduce prey to the kids as well. I would probably add mice, if they will eat them, to the days they have meat chunks. Also the meats would be changed around because they do eat a pretty good variety now. If anyone needs a reminder on the kids before commenting let me know and I'll do a mini-update.
Monday
NV lamb
Tuesday
beef chucks/giblets
mice
Wednesday
NV Rabbit
Thursday
Chicken chunks/hearts
Mice
Friday
NV lamb
Saturday
Pork chunks/giblets/hearts
mice
Sunday
NV Venison
*edited to add*
changed the menu a bit
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Post by Heather on Jul 24, 2009 23:20:51 GMT -5
Your basic menu looks good  . There's good variety and you're feeding bone. ciao |
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Post by amymelissa on Jul 25, 2009 0:38:35 GMT -5
So only getting the bone on the days that I feed NV is enough bone for them? I had some other people think that on the days that I don't feed NV I would need to do RMB and a day of organ as well. Just want to make sure that I'm covering their needs and they are getting everything that they need.
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Post by sherrylynne on Jul 25, 2009 10:55:39 GMT -5
My only concern is the RMB for the cleaning their teeth. If you're going to be brushing, then it shouldn't too much of a problem.
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Post by amymelissa on Jul 25, 2009 11:47:09 GMT -5
I am so lazy and brushing teeth just doesn't sound like a fun time lol
I've tried to find the exact percent of bone in NV but aren't having much luck!
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Post by Heather on Jul 25, 2009 21:31:38 GMT -5
Offer some chicken wings or something like that on some days just to give the jaw an xtra bit of work and this would also clean their teeth. I've had a couple of ferrets who ate ground raw mixes for the rest of their lives without touching larger boned pieces to clean their teeth. That being said, their teeth were regularly checked and would have been cleaned if necessary. You can get by with only feeding ground commercial, but cleaning may indeed become necessary. To stop the build up of tooth crud, offer some rmb (wings, chicken necks, quail pieces) a couple of times a week to allow for proper jaw excercise and help clean their teeth.
ciao
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Post by amymelissa on Jul 27, 2009 11:43:01 GMT -5
I sent NV a email asking what the percent of bone was and here is the reply Dear Amy, Thank you for emailing! Our raw diets contain not more than 30% organ meat (liver, heart, kidney), not more than 15% bones, and not less than 50% meat. Sincerely, Customer Service Nature's Variety www.naturesvariety.com |
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Post by Heather on Jul 27, 2009 15:55:37 GMT -5
The organ meat is a little high but that's also using the ratio of not greater than  . Try your guys on it. The ratios are just about right. Try and see how it works, I would still add some type of bone for them to chew on. Otherwise, I think you've got it covered. ciao |
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Post by amymelissa on Jul 27, 2009 16:06:07 GMT -5
If the kids wont eat mice then sub the mice for say a wing or something similar?
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Post by amymelissa on Jul 27, 2009 16:09:12 GMT -5
Now that I am thinking about it what about using the Primal grinds instead of NV and add chunk meat with the grinds? This is what the web site says about them. I'm using Buffalo because my kids ADORE it and it is a meat I can get at my local store. The only thing I'm not sure on is how to serve and how much of grind and how much of cubed/ground meat?
Buffalo Grind
Ingredients: Buffalo Heart, Buffalo Liver, Ground Buffalo Bone.
Buffalo Grind Benefits: Fresh buffalo for superior levels of amino and essential fatty acids.
Finely ground, fresh buffalo bones for optimum levels of calcium.
Guaranteed Analysis:
Crude Protein (min) 16%
Crude Fat (min) 8%
Crude Fiber (max) 2%
Moisture (max) 73%
Additional Product Information:
Buffalo 100% Organic Ingredients 0%
Produce 0% Organ Meat 8%
Supplements 0% Bone Content 7%
CA-to-P ratio 1:1
Intended for Supplemental Feeding
{Not a Complete Diet} Ground Meat & Bone
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Post by sherrylynne on Jul 27, 2009 18:58:14 GMT -5
If I remember correctly, it's 80% meat, 10% bone, 10% organ. So, for every 2 parts grind, 8 parts meat.
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Post by amymelissa on Jul 28, 2009 11:36:00 GMT -5
Thanks Sherry... I was starting to confuse myself not to mention making my brain hurt!
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Post by weloveourweasels on Aug 2, 2009 19:52:24 GMT -5
Now that I am thinking about it what about using the Primal grinds instead of NV and add chunk meat with the grinds? This is what the web site says about them. I'm using Buffalo because my kids ADORE it and it is a meat I can get at my local store. The only thing I'm not sure on is how to serve and how much of grind and how much of cubed/ground meat? Buffalo Grind Ingredients: Buffalo Heart, Buffalo Liver, Ground Buffalo Bone. Buffalo Grind Benefits: Fresh buffalo for superior levels of amino and essential fatty acids. Finely ground, fresh buffalo bones for optimum levels of calcium. Guaranteed Analysis: Crude Protein (min) 16% Crude Fat (min) 8% Crude Fiber (max) 2% Moisture (max) 73% Additional Product Information: Buffalo 100% Organic Ingredients 0% Produce 0% Organ Meat 8% Supplements 0% Bone Content 7% CA-to-P ratio 1:1 Intended for Supplemental Feeding {Not a Complete Diet} Ground Meat & Bone I notice this product you are asking about says "Intended for Supplemental Feeding {Not a Complete Diet}" Because of this I asked if a similar product from a different company is OK because it has no fruits or vegetables. Funny the response there on that product was different than the response here on primal even though it is also so supplemental feeding. I'm interested in what people here have to say about the Nature's Logic intended for supplemental feeding I asked this question on Ferret Harmony Forum you do not have to be a member to view topic. ferretharmony.com/viewtopic.php?t=1835 |
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Post by sherrylynne on Aug 2, 2009 22:58:56 GMT -5
I seem to recall that we also mentioned there that it looked good, but finding out the meat/bone/organ ratio would be a good idea.
You didn't tell us you'd already gotten your guys to accept some raw, weloveourweasels! Kudos! How are they doing with it, and which one did you decide to go with?
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Post by Heather on Aug 2, 2009 23:53:47 GMT -5
The line *for supplemental feeding* is nothing more than them claiming that they don't want to be responsible for claiming a balanced diet. All you need to do is find out what the break down percentage is. Bone vs meat vs offal....the guaranteed analysis means very little and you should probably not worry yourself overmuch about it. As long as you feed a variety of meat proteins (more than 3), as long as you feed some whole meats for tooth, jaw and muscle workup, you should be covered. If you find that one company is too high in bone then supplement with another company who's meat content is higher another day. Balance is created over time. It doesn't have to happen the same day, it doesn't even have to happen the same week. As long as you're aware of the discrepancies and what you're going to do to balance them in the long run, you should be fine. Your guys don't have to eat prey, use frankenprey...not everyone here feeds prey. I feed ground (my own mix), commercial ground and whole meats, frankenprey and frozen and live prey.
ciao
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