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Post by mustelidmusk on Aug 16, 2010 19:59:06 GMT -5
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Post by acampbell89 on Aug 17, 2010 10:43:10 GMT -5
Everytime I trim our meat for dinner I make sure to share it with the ferts! So yes, they're getting plently of extra fats! Everybody usually gets a good hunk or two of their own- nobody is getting sick after they gobble it up so I'm assuming that's a good amount?...they probly get our extra fat trimmings 2 or 3 times a week in addition to their raw and kibble. I have 2 food bowls in the cage. I put about a 1/2 of cup of the Wysong in each with whatever raw they are eating that day. After work and night time play time, there is usually small amounts of kibble left so I had a bit more in addition to their raw dinner. I hope that all sounds good!! BONE! Yes! Thank you for reminding me! I've been meaning to ask you about bone and I keep forgetting (there is even a note on my refridgerator What do I do...? Chicken bones from our dinner- or are those bad because they are so fragile? Help!
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Post by mustelidmusk on Aug 17, 2010 20:47:20 GMT -5
I'm glad you're feeding fat....the wysong archetypal ! freeze-dried diet contains 33% fat. ferrets should be eating about 25-30% fat! (I wish I could get away with that.....bring on the fettuccine alfredo!!!! ) Bones MUST be fed either: 1. 100% raw OR 2. boiled/simmered -they must be fully submerged during the entire cooking time If bones are cooked any other way, they become harder and they splinter This is where bones get the reputation of being dangerous. A fully submerged bone can be simmered to the point where you can easily crush it between your fingers. Some ferrets learn to handle larger bones, but many ferts stick with the smaller and softer chicken bones. Here 's a good place to start..... 1. chicken necks: smaller is better to start with. Using a tough-but-crappy chef's knife, slice the neck into disks that are about 1/4 in thick. lay each disk flat and chop it radially like a pizza about 3 times. When you chop radially, do not try to cut the pieces completely through - cut through the bone and allow the flesh and connective tissue to keep the piece together.....like they chewed it up and spit it out on their plate!!!! 2. chicken backs: these have very soft bones. you can use that crappy chef's knife to slice these into strips. 3. chicken wings....start with the "uselesss" pointed tip....chop the tip-segment from the wing. using that crappy kitchen knife, or a pair of poultry shears, cut the tip lengthwise into 2-3 long strips. If you don't want to cook the rest of the wing for yourself, you can can cut the middle segment into 2 strips to separate the 2 bones, and the third segment can be fed as is . I they dont quite know what to do with the third segment, you can loosen some of the meat from the bone to expose the flesh, which can hang from the bone in a manageable strip. and of course, you can always play food games . If you don't want to prepare the good part of the wings for yourself, you can chop all the wings into 3 segments before freezing them. Feed all the tips first, the middle sections after the easy-to-eat-tips are gone, and save the largest bones for last. this will result in minimum waste. I also recommend feeding the bones first - and let your ferts get a little hungry when you first get ready to offer them bone. If you they are not particularly hungry, or if you feed the bone with the regular meat, they'll likely be picky about the bones. Good luck with the bones. some ferrets can be pretty resistant to eating bone. But you kids have been great so far, so you may breeze right through this!!! Have fun!!! -jennifer
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Post by acampbell89 on Aug 18, 2010 9:43:50 GMT -5
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Post by mustelidmusk on Aug 18, 2010 19:24:38 GMT -5
Sounds good....some grocery stores carry the "weird stuff", but a lot don't...you're lucky to have a raw-friendly grocery store!!!! Good luck with the bones...you may want to play in the bathroom when introducing bones (easy clean-up) -jennifer
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Post by acampbell89 on Sept 8, 2010 12:35:28 GMT -5
Bones are not going well!!!! Only 15min break at work...update soon! blehhhhh
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Post by mustelidmusk on Sept 8, 2010 18:03:48 GMT -5
Bones can be very difficult. it usually takes a bit of hunger to persuade ferrets to try bone. Please let me know what you've tried. (bone type, how the bone was prepared,etc.) How did your ferts react? etc.
Thanks! -jennifer
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