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Post by bigsis7 on Aug 16, 2009 17:53:47 GMT -5
That's fantastic! Go Fern!
That should be fine if it's only for 1-2 weeks. As long as they get some bone during the week. Have fun on your trip :]!
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Post by bigsis7 on Sept 4, 2009 16:16:18 GMT -5
Hey! Any updates?
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Post by mindfield on Sept 11, 2009 11:27:35 GMT -5
Hi, I just got back this week. Sorry for not updating its been a crazy week for me since I been away. Fern and Jack have been doing fine, my sister kept them on the raw diet and made sure to do what I asked of her. I made a list of her as to which meat she can give them for which days. I was also in some contact with her while I was away. Fern and Jack both eat bone now and both are eating well and consistent. There was ONE incident where Jack choked on a bone and made my mom nervous...he was trying to throw it up..I guess he didnt chew it properly. But otherwise everything else is fine.
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Post by bigsis7 on Sept 11, 2009 18:51:09 GMT -5
That's fine :]! It's been crazy around here too.
Great!! Sounds like they're doing awesome! Let me know when you want me to send the schedule to Heather, but don't rush if you don't want too :].
With the choking he probably just ate too fast.
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Post by mindfield on Sept 17, 2009 12:33:30 GMT -5
Hi,
I been keeping up with the schedule and sometimes i switch it up. I rarely give them any but is beef still ok? I'v also bought more varieties of treats for them as well.. turkey, chicken, beef liver, and lamb. It took them awhile to get use to the lamb but what I did was dip it in with the food they were eating and they ate it!
EDIT; you can also send the schedule to Heather, I AM SO PROUD OF THEM!
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Post by bigsis7 on Sept 17, 2009 18:53:34 GMT -5
Yep beef is totally fine :]!
I'm so proud of you, Fern, and Jack!!
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Post by mindfield on Sept 23, 2009 10:32:36 GMT -5
Thanks  - just an update that they are doing well and continue to eat raw everyday. I think they are getting use to the schedule. I mix it up to surprise them a little.  |
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Post by bigsis7 on Sept 25, 2009 14:43:09 GMT -5
Great!
I sent Heather the schedule, but waiting to here back :]. I'll let you know!
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Post by bigsis7 on Sept 26, 2009 17:52:46 GMT -5
Alrighty Giuli has a few suggestions for you and once you work these in to the schedule you'll be ready to graduate!
Lots of Raw Meaty Bones, so that looks good. One thing I would like to see is that there is more variety in the parts of the chicken being fed. The cheapest way to feed chicken is to buy a whole chicken fryer and just cut it up into the wings, legs, breast, etc. Chicken wings and turkey necks are very boney, which is good, but ferts need some more meat and fat, things you wont find much of in these parts. Please encourage Mindfield to feed more of the following:
1. Alternate chicken wings, legs, THIGHS, bone-in breast (again the cheapest way to do this is to just buy a whole small chicken and cut it into sections, that way you are feeding all parts of the chicken minus the head and feet. It takes a little bit more work, but you'll not only be saving alot of money per pound of meat, but you'll be exposing the ferts to more variety, which is important. Too much bone can lead to imbalance and make them constipated.
2. Feeding beef at least once a week would be great! It is rich in nutrients such as iron.
3. Feeding gizzards when liver is fed will help the poo not be as tarry
4. The occasional egg would be a good addition to the diet. No more then one raw egg, per ferret per week. Some eggs are enriched with Omega-3 fatty acids. You can find these at almost any grocery store. They are a healthy addition to the diet. I'd recommend adding this to the diet once a week.
5. Last but not least, it wouldn't be a bad idea to feed the ferrets some fish oil several times per week. Chicken isn't a good source of Omega-3 fatty acids, so supplementing with fish oil will help provide the ferts with a little extra fat, and keep their coats nice and shiney.
Let me know if you need any help adding these things to the diet! I know you switch up the schedule every once in a while, so maybe just adding these to the schedule every other week or something?
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Post by mindfield on Sept 28, 2009 14:06:29 GMT -5
Hello,
I just bought some new items that were suggested to me on the list. I will try the egg and fish oil..I am hoping they will eat it. I will give you an update on this.
Right now this is what they are eating:
Monday - chicken legs in the morning
chicken wings in the night
Tuesday - turkey neck in the morning
pork in the night
wednesday - beef in the morning
turkey in the night
thursday - chicken wings in the morning
liver in the night
friday - turkey in the morning
chicken breat in the night
saturday - pork in the morning
chicken thighs at night ( I grind this up because it's hard for Fern to chew it)
Sunday - turkey neck in the morning
beef at night
How is that?
EDIT: Ok so Fern and Jack do not like the egg and fish oil and won't eat it. Do you have any suggestions? Just because it's so liquidy..I will try to mix it with the pork/beef and stuff but they just sniff it
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Post by Heather on Sept 28, 2009 15:50:04 GMT -5
Do you have a soupy that you feed? That's where I put my raw egg into for the ones that won't eat eggs. They also get some in their ground mix (but I realize that not everyone feeds any ground meats). I discovered the easiest way to get them to take fish oils is use a baby dropper, flip the ferret like you would to give them meds, (you know lay the inverted ferret along your arm and stuff back feet under your armpit) hold the scruff and then administer the dropper full of fish oil. After a couple of times they will take this willingly, all mine like to be held though while getting their oils...it's a treat for them. I did discover that it was a little more difficult if they'd never had oils (ferretone) before. I found that my last 2 rescues (who were actually raw fed) but had never had oil, it took them about a week to figure it out...now they only need to see the dropper  Just a couple of ideas...diet looks good ciao |
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Post by bigsis7 on Sept 28, 2009 17:12:17 GMT -5
Looks great! I agree with what Heather said. Mixing it into a soup, treat, or using an eye dropper would be great! Mixing the egg with the meat might work too (without blending).
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Post by mindfield on Sept 30, 2009 23:28:31 GMT -5
I put a little bit of egg inside some of the beef I have given them today. and then last one mixed it with the turkey. They both seemed to have taken it well. I only put a little bit and I still have some left from one egg..so im going to give that to them tomorrow! Also, is it fine if I grind up the bones sometimes? I find that Fern loves having soupy meat. I havent tried the fish oil yet but thanks for the support guys! I am going to try this out tomorrow, they are sleeping now Do you guys ever blend your bones by the way? Sometimes I blend the chicken with the bones and give it to them, is that ok? |
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Post by Heather on Oct 1, 2009 12:52:22 GMT -5
I serve a ground mix of ground bones, meat, offal, squash (I feed a small amount of veggy to aid digestion) and eggs. This makes sure that everyone gets a totally balanced diet from the get go. They also get whole meats and prey on a daily basis to provide the rest of the mix. I've also added ground chicken bone to say ground pork, or beef, I've also done this to the lamb and goat that they get to give the bone amount if I feel they're not getting enough bone. I usually do this when introducing newbie ferts to raw as bone is the hardest thing to get these lazy little sods to eat  . I hope that answers your question....I think that's how I understood it. Good luck guys...your so close to graduation...looking good ciao |
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Post by mindfield on Oct 2, 2009 10:50:50 GMT -5
So I gave both Fern and Jack some eggs. I blended it with the ground chicken with bones and they ate it! Yesterday was liver day so I also put in a few gizzards, I don't think they mind it too much..not as much as the eggs where they avoided it so I am going to increase the amount of that next week.
Also where do you get the fish oil? I didn't find it in the grocery store and wanted to try it out yesterday. I'm also going to change up thier schedule a bit because there are two beef days instead of one.
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