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Post by Heather on Oct 15, 2010 13:35:52 GMT -5
There are a number of methods, though chopping up pinkies seems to be the standard. My guys started with the hunt, and using a full grown mouse. It was by accident. The cat taught them  He brought a mouse that he had caught down in the basement and was playing with it. At that time I only had PV ferrets, and their hunting extincts seem to be awesome. Attila caught the mouse and then Napoleon, Lady "B", Ghenghis, Mayhem, Porthos and Mad Max all jumped in to steal it. They didn't know what it was but they all wanted it because Attila had it. I'm sure that Attila didn't have a clue what it was, but it made the mistake of running past him and he hit it. So, they spent the next 10 min or so stealing it from each other and running around the house screaming at each other. In the process of stealing it from one another they tore the mouse apart and ate the pieces. I didn't have to do anything  . Easiest switch I've ever done My guys hunted after that. You could try buying the size larger than pinky and let him kill it himself...sometimes they kill but don't eat   and you still have to do the chop and dice  . I've heard of tying the corpse to a string and basically doing the same thing that my guys did, play catch it and in the process he gets little bits in his mouth and he eats them. Cutting it open and letting him deal with it. Chopping it up and adding it to his dinner, I've even heard of people throwing them in the blender (I've heard they're really smelly ) Some ideas, give them a thought or a try if you have any questions let me know You and Jack are doing awesome. ciao |
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Post by jacksmomma on Oct 17, 2010 9:50:12 GMT -5
Just a neat, little tid-bit i found in my studies this weekend...
This month's issue of Science (I'm a 4th year PhD student in chemistry and sadly THESE kinds of publications are mostly all i have time for) has a report on L-cystine stones in humans. Because it is so rare (only about 1 in every 15,000 humans with stones) the medical trials and actual cause is relatively unknown. Several medications are available to treat them, but they all have adverse effects. These research groups are now (finally) working on ways to inhibit the actual crystallization using molecular design! It's alot of chemistry that I wont bore anyone with but the take-home message is A.) i should probably play the lottery because Jack is a rare little bugger and B.) even in humans, doctors don't know much about cystine stones.
Jack is now pretty much in-love with chicken gizzards. They require quite a bit of chewing (they're like leather, what purpose does this organ serve?) but he seems to really enjoy them, even when they start to dry out after a couple of hours. ;D
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Post by Heather on Oct 17, 2010 19:45:44 GMT -5
Nutritionally, I'm not sure....but let's just say that if I throw a handful of gibbies into the ferret room all h***will break out. Sleepy little ferrets suddenly become nasty, fighting, snarling little chomp machines and each one of those chewy little meat morsels are well worth fighting for They're stashed, stolen many times before they're eaten entirely. They do provide excellent tooth cleaning if nothing else. ciao |
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Post by jacksmomma on Oct 18, 2010 15:02:51 GMT -5
Haha. Heather I always love the way you describe your babies! Jack is so much fun, I can't imagine how great a whole group would be. He and I are patiently waiting for a ferret in need to find us
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Post by jacksmomma on Oct 19, 2010 8:16:23 GMT -5
I gave Jack a chicken wing cut up into 5 or 5 pieces. He cleaned the meat off and left every piece of bone. I could actually hear him last night eating the meat and spitting the bone back onto the plate. He really isn't eating soup anymore (because he's eating real meat so well) so the only source of calcium he is getting is on days of NV patties. Does he need calcium every day? I finally found a store that sells rabbit, so he is munching on that for breakfast. I'm working on finding a connection with local hunters so i can get him more "game meats." It's not that easy finding the exotic meats in the state capitol of FL, go figure |
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Post by Heather on Oct 19, 2010 15:46:29 GMT -5
Ahhh the joys of finding meat sources. That to me is the most difficult part of feeding raw My guys don't like chicken wings, I don't know why they just don't. They'll strip off the meat but they wont eat the bone. Everybody else's furbrats will eat the whole wing tip but my guys won't touch it. They like the really meaty part at the base and they will eat the knuckles. My guys prefer the chicken necks. You have to leave the bones in there with them though. They're a lazy eater and if they figure you're going to take out the bones and feed them something else with more meat...they won't bother. I often leave the bones a couple of days, gross, disgusting but that way they're eaten. They gave me a hard time about a rabbit that I chopped up and fed them. I gave it to them at night (while they were in their cages) and no one touched it during the night (if it had been mice or gibbies there wouldn't have been even a tail left ), so they got nothing. That night they were happily munching on the rabbit, the next morning there was a skull and some ears left and a tuft of fur but the rest had been eaten. So with the proper insentive they will eat their dinner ciao |
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Post by jacksmomma on Oct 20, 2010 8:05:57 GMT -5
I know i'm too easy on him. If he doesn't like something, I get him something else rather than making him eat it (or go hungry). I gave him a turkey neck and he did eat some of the meat off it (his first time with turkey) but i think it was too big, i will definitely try the chicken necks. I'm actually starting to really look forward to his next vet visit because i KNOW he has gained weight and none of it is fat, and his fur is so soft and full. i thought only the kits had such soft fur.
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Post by Heather on Oct 20, 2010 11:16:47 GMT -5
My guys aren't overly fond of turkey necks, as you noted they seem to find them too large. I do offer them, though. I chop them up into smaller more manageable pieces.
That's great that you're seeing the first visible signs of raw feeding. The fresh smelling soft coats are just one of the many advantages. Yes, the different muscle tone gives them a heavier, more solid feel than the kibble pudge that one is used to feeling with the kibble fed little ones.
ciao
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Post by jacksmomma on Oct 25, 2010 11:46:44 GMT -5
I don't have a whole lot to update on Jack's eating because he's eating everything i give him. I got him a playmate over the weekend and I think he's really happy. he doesn't stop dooking once play-time starts. The little one took to raw almost immediately ( I got him on friday night and didn't feed him until saturday afternoon to make sure there was no kibble/raw tummy upset). Now he's eating way more than jack (last night he ate 4! NV rabbit patties ). And i think he will probably teach jack that mice are food once i get him started.
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Post by Heather on Oct 25, 2010 12:51:20 GMT -5
Congratulations on your newest and Jack's new playmate. You will have to post pics. I'm guessing that this little one is a baby? Great that he's already eating raw. Name?
I'm thinking we should graduate you?? Can you get together a menu of what you're feeding Jack and ?? for the week. We can take a look at it and see where you're at. You can if you choose continue to work this thread until you move up to prey if you wish, but we should take a look and see what proteins are being eaten and the break down of bone content and such. The menu is easy all you have to do is:
Monday chicken with bone am --- beef meat only pm
or something like that. It just gives me an idea as to where Jack is with his munchings
ciao
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Post by jacksmomma on Oct 25, 2010 13:15:11 GMT -5
Yes, he's a baby. his birthday was august 8th. He is almost completely white except his tail and a tiny strip down his spine, both of which have alot of dark gray guard hairs. I've named him Brady. He visited the doctor's on saturday and weighed in at 1.4 lbs (which is pretty big for his age, no?) so i think he will grow to be a big boy  I will start Jack's "menu" now. Sunday PM: NV rabbit Patties (muscle, organ and bone) Monday AM : Turkey thigh with skin, no bone Monday PM: Primal pheasant patties, (muscle, organ and bones) and one chicken wing Tuesday AM: Rabbit bone-in, a few pieces of beef heart Tuesday PM: Rabbit bone-in (it was a really big piece of rabbit), chicken liver Wednesday AM: NV rabbit patties Wednesday PM: chicken giblets Thursday AM: Primal Pheasant Thursday PM: Turkey thigh ( meaty bone and just meat/skin) Friday AM: NV Rabbit Friday PM: turkey neck Saturday AM: Primal Pheasant Saturday noon: Primal beef and salmon patties Saturday PM: chicken breast and sirloin Sunday AM: Chicken Giblets Sunday PM: Primal Quail |
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Post by Heather on Oct 25, 2010 13:30:23 GMT -5
He sounds adorable. Unfortunately, his weight I can't help you with. I would post it as a question, and maybe some of the breeders can help you by comparing their furbabies weights at that time. I only have "used" ferrets. Napoleon was my only baby and he's now 5 going on 6, so that was a long time ago. I know that they put on huge weight gains during this time and often by the end of the year far exceed the weight that they will keep as adults. You might consider posting your question about photos. I only use photo bucket and just copy the pic into my messages. As far a computers go, I'm a complete idiot ciao |
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Post by jacksmomma on Oct 26, 2010 7:28:59 GMT -5
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Post by Heather on Oct 26, 2010 12:43:57 GMT -5
I couldn't get in the link wouldn't work for me  ciao |
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Post by jacksmomma on Oct 26, 2010 14:20:34 GMT -5
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