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Post by jojodancer on Jun 25, 2008 12:29:53 GMT -5
I have two questions, which came to me when someone mentioned they left the NV medallions out all day.
I had never felt comfortable leaving the frozen or reconstituted meals out all day, which is why there is kibble available 24 hours. But apparently I shouldn't worry since others are doing it.
(1) How long can I leave thawed frozen commercial food out for the ferrets?
(2) How long can I leave reconstituted raw food out for the ferrets?
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Post by Forum Administrator on Jun 25, 2008 12:33:23 GMT -5
Well I don't feed COMMERICAL ground foods, but I do feed Delilah her soupy (raw chicken pureed in a blender with raw liver, raw heart, raw beef, raw pork, eggshell, and some fish oil).
I just leave a big bowl for her out. I replace it every 12 hours (depending on how warm the apartment gets). I've never had a problem with it going bad. In fact, your suggestion of giving frozen "wet kibble" and letting it thaw in a bowl could be a GREAT way to feed commerical/ground raw. I do this with De's raw soup if I know I will be out all day and I wont be able to replace the soup after 12 hours.
I know mustelidmusk (Jennifer) feeds commerical raw. Lets see what she has to say....
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Post by tss on Jun 25, 2008 13:30:56 GMT -5
I don't feed commercial food either, I'd be a little leary of keeping it out for 24 hours but from morning until night should be fine.
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Post by mustelidmusk on Jun 26, 2008 0:15:06 GMT -5
Hi,
I don't really understand why homemade soup would be safer than comercial raw diet from a bacteria perspective. I also don't why ground meat from the grocery store would be any safer either.
Here are my reasons....commercial raw frequently smells fresher than thawed meats from the grocery store. My nose tells me that. I've never seen that dark juice from old meat n the bottom of my thawed pet food. It's not uncommon to find discolored juices in grocery store meats - ground or otherwise. In addition, some raw diets have a minute amount of grapefruit seed extract. Grapefruit seed extract is a natural antibacterial substance, which may retard bacterial growth. I find my ground thawed commercial foods stay fresher long than larger whole pieces of chicken in my fridge - and they are NOT adding nitrates because you do see the color change over time.
Here's another thing to think about...the raw patties and medallions a shaped such that the pieces are mall and will freeze EXTREMELY FAST (probably flash frozen) in large commercial freezers, which are much colder than our little fridges. Homemade soup will take longer to freeze, and therefor, it may actually allow for more baterial proliferation than commercial diet.
I use Nature's Variety, so I know more about it. The NV package recommends thawing in the fridge, serving cold, and removing after 1/2 hour. This is a butt-covering mitigation strategy on their part. I know people who leave the NV out for 12 hours. they serve it very cold (partially frozen)
So, there are several things to consider: 1. How long have your ferrets been eating raw? New ferrets are more susceptible to bacteria since their immune and digestive systems are not yet adapted to the bacterial load with raw diet. 2. How hot is the environment? 3. what is the temperature of the food when you leave it out? 4. How long has the food been thawed in the fridge? 5. Has the food been re-frozen and re-thawed? 6. What % of their diet is the raw frozen food? 7. What is you comfort level withthe risk?
Here are some suggestions: 1. serve Raw diet morning and evening under supervision. Offer freeze-dried raw diet , such as wysong archetypal I in between feedings (this is what I do) 2. serve a small amount of fully thawed food for immediate consumption and leave partially frozen raw out for when you're gone. 3. serve a small amount of fully thawed food for immediate consumption and leave raw meaty bones out for when you're gone.
-jennifer
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Post by mustelidmusk on Jun 26, 2008 0:24:53 GMT -5
Another thought.... Everyone I know that feeds raw and leaves it out says that their ferrets won't eat the food once it gets old. When I 've taken care of friends raw-fed ferrets, the ferrets never touched the older food that was starting to dry out. (Now a black-footed ferret my take 3-4 ays to finish off a cached prairie dog - YUM!!!) -jennifer
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