How long can raw food stay in the cage?

[shirleyverde]

Hi everyone my name is Shirley and this is my first post here.... i just started my two boys on raw food (actually it's a mix of kibble and ground chicken) i work mon-fri and am gone for a good 8 hours soo my question is how long could a mix like this stay in the cage for before spoilling?
is there anything you can recommend to feed them when i'm gone for this many hours?
thanks!
Shirley

[jojodancer]

I leave ziwipeak in their food bowls all day long. Sine it's dried, it can stay in the cage, basically indefinitely. It has the consistency of jerky.

Others leave the freeze dried AFS, Wysong, or Stella and Chewy's in their cages.

[lnsybean44]

Hmm I know someone will come along with the actual hours but the ferrets will know when it isnt good any more. I generally change their food out twice a day. When they get their newest meal I remove the old food. If I remember correctly, ground meat doesnt stay good for as long as whole pieces.

[vkoslin]

Hey Shirley!
Ok so, Luci posted this on November 17th in this thread:
holisticferret.proboards.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=newbquest&thread=4136&page=1

Wet Kibble: 4-8 hours
Ground meat: 12 hours
Freeze-dried Diet (served wet) 12 hours
Commercial Raw frozen diet 12 hours
Meat chunks: 16 hours
Bone-in meat: 24 hours
Whole prey (meat exposed): 24 hours
Whole prey (no meat exposed) 36 hours
Freeze-dried diet (served dry) Over 1 week (the primary concern is palatability rather than bacterial issues)


*Note, a lot of ferrets are picky, I have learned. If you feed them chicken, thats gone bad by a day, they won't eat it. They typically know what's best for themselves, and won't eat food thats bad. On that note, I've been following Luci's guidelines, more or less, and have had no problems.

I will say sometimes they hide a chicken bone and I don't find it until I hear them eating a bone on a non-bone day. So obviously it's been out for more than 24 hours. I do tend to take those away from them, but they have never gotten ill from any sort of raw food, ever



Hope it helps!

[sherrylynne]

I feed twice a day, and leave whatever they've not eaten til the next mealtime. It sits for about 12 hours. Whole prey, they'll eat 24 hours later.
Since their favourite treats are hand fed slivers of meat, that's what I use! The previous meal's meat

[shirleyverde]

thanks everyone for your info! i think i'm just a but nervous with the raw food because of all the human stuff they teach you while your growing up lol... i will serve them a fresh batch for dinner and they can have it in there until the morning.

[sherrylynne]

Don't forget how fast a ferret's digestive system is. 3-4 hours from the time they eat it, til it comes out the other end! Things like salmonella take about 7-8 hours to brew in the gut. By the time it can cause any problems, it's already been in the litter box for a few hours.

[zoologist]

meat chunks last 16 hours? sweet! i feel a lot better about leaving those out now

[sherrylynne]

Shirleyverde, why don't you apply for a mentor? That way, you'll have one on one for all of these questions, as well as a LOT of experience with switching ferrets?

[shirleyverde]

yea i did sign up i'm waitting to hear back but luckily we are on our way with this... they are both already eating chicken wings (the smaller tips) and ground chicken, pork, liver, and gizzard still mixed with a little kibble.
i didn't want to wait until being contacted incase it took a while so i started earlier! vicki gave me some great advice and the boys are moving forward.
i still have a million questions do you know when they will start a new mentor group?

[sherrylynne]

We've got people graduating all the time! It just depends on how many, and when. Keep them going, and keep asking questions, though.