taratee
Cageless and Roamin' Free
Posts: 255
|
Post by taratee on Jan 20, 2011 19:38:35 GMT -5
so i have a question about chicken wings, serving size question i am on the look for a kitchen scale and until i can find one do you have any idea how many a serving would be because if they arent eating a serving a piece i need to bump it up it seems like each of the boys can eat one a piece a day and the girls seem to share one each day the girls are still getting soup
|
|
|
Post by Heather on Jan 21, 2011 0:20:12 GMT -5
I don't weigh my guys food (long time feeding) but it's not much of a science and it will work until you can get a scale. Here is amounts in ozs for you to gauge by holisticferret.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=gen&action=display&thread=4764 You can do a fair bit of guessing but usually what I do is give them what you think is the correct amount and if they eat it all, up the amount your giving. Same as if you find they're either stashing or leaving it then cut back. The girls are going to eat less than the boys. Most boys are about double in size to the girls so they will eat at least a third to double the amount. I have a couple of tiny marshals boys and though they are about the same size as the girls they still eat more. ciao
|
|
taratee
Cageless and Roamin' Free
Posts: 255
|
Post by taratee on Jan 21, 2011 0:31:59 GMT -5
i had a pretty good idea that i was feeding them right because if i offer another bit of something they turn it down, i was thinking about feeding some ground turkey because the turkey neck went over okay, i was wondering what the guidelines are per week. its 3 days bone in 3 days bone out and one day of organs?
|
|
|
Post by Heather on Jan 21, 2011 2:16:07 GMT -5
Three or four days depending on the ferrets. My guys function better on 4 days of bone. I spread my organ meats out all week as I have several brats who don't like to eat their organ meats on their own, so I grind it up in with their meat meals. It also stops from creating those ghastly black, loose, sticky poops which occurs when feeding an organ meal (this isn't wrong, it won't harm your guys, it's just really difficult to clean up ) ciao
|
|
taratee
Cageless and Roamin' Free
Posts: 255
|
Post by taratee on Jan 21, 2011 11:59:29 GMT -5
so i could consolidate bone out days and organs? and add an extra day of bone in?
|
|
|
Post by Heather on Jan 21, 2011 12:06:32 GMT -5
I usually make sure that I would say feed a mix a bone meal in the am and your meat organ mix in the evening. That way the bone will help keep the stools relatively solid and you're still getting your guys to eat their organ meat but it's mixed with up with their meat. It just seems to be easier for them to digest and because the meat helps slow the movement of the organs through the body also allows them better absorption. On those days I also make sure that I've put in some pumpkin to work as a moisture absorber too....make sense ciao
|
|
taratee
Cageless and Roamin' Free
Posts: 255
|
Post by taratee on Jan 21, 2011 12:09:44 GMT -5
oh duh! lol i was thinking something similar to that. i was feeding the boys wings in the morning and soup at night so that was kinda similar to what youre taking about i ment to ask about that but for some reason it slipped my mind? that seems to happen a lot
|
|
|
Post by Heather on Jan 21, 2011 12:16:04 GMT -5
Welcome to my world Wait until you get old like me The only benefit, they expect you to forget ciao
|
|
taratee
Cageless and Roamin' Free
Posts: 255
|
Post by taratee on Jan 24, 2011 16:22:51 GMT -5
sorry i havent posted for a few days i didnt want to post to take up any of your time after hearing about your loss, i like to respect peoples rights to grieve, between that and the work on the new forum which looks great i didnt want to bother you, the girls arent eating as much as i hoped they would and i was wondering if there was a trick to it? maybe them being older? maybe its me comparing them to the boys? i know theyre supposed to eat less then the boys but how much less my girls are about a pound each so eating two or three spoon fulls doesnt seem like enough
|
|
|
Post by Heather on Jan 24, 2011 21:04:36 GMT -5
Don't worry, your gesture is appreciated but when you run a hospice you grieve on the run. It sounds terrible I'm sure but each little one is mourned equally but I have to continue to work and function, there are other little ones who depend on me I miss Calypso, very much. Your little girls will eat considerably less than your boys. Try this post holisticferret.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=gen&action=display&thread=4764 It should help you to give just abouts in the amount dpt. A tsp or two does seem to be a bit on the short side. Are they acting full? Have you noticed some weight loss? I've found that if I'm feeding that if I feed them and then feed them again within half an hour or so that they are often more receptive to eating more. It's just a thought. Keep me posted ciao
|
|
taratee
Cageless and Roamin' Free
Posts: 255
|
Post by taratee on Jan 24, 2011 21:26:19 GMT -5
Calypso was a very pretty girl who had a very special story I'm sure you miss her, heck I miss her and I never really knew her.... the boys act normal everybody is trimming down some so its not really like theyre losing alot of weight. when I feed the girls I usually sit in the floor and feed them over three or four hours lulu wont hardly eat without me feeding her she will eat tiny tiny tiny chunks but I have to hold her for it. shes the only one eating the soup anymore tia much much prefers the wings becuase it provides her an opportunity to kick the boys butts and shes very independent she never wants me to hold her for any amount of time so i usually chop a wing in half and give it to her, she can finish the wing tip in no time. also as I am typing my special boy (crane) is eating turkey neck! YAY. and in a question unrelated to diet if i wanted to let them play in the water like in a tub what would be the best way to do that without harming their oils the best i can, im not going to shampoo them but crane is DYING to swim in some water and i cant deny him that freedom anymore
|
|
|
Post by Heather on Jan 24, 2011 22:58:11 GMT -5
Just put some warm water (it will be almost hot to the touch, unlike getting water ready for babies) about 2 or 3 inches if even that amount and let them play. Have you tried giving her something more that chicken wings....how about a thigh or leg. Give it with the skin and fat (I always score them heavily). It provides more meat and fat and would offer her more to actually eat. Everyone, gets a ferret that they feel isn't going to switch....Lulu is yours The key to getting her to eat....you being more stubborn than she is . Yuri was my thorn in my side. He took 6 months...he would eat .... sort of from a spoon. Never in a manner that I was comfortable allowing him to be just on his own. I left him his soupy he would hide it but not eat it....he would even dump it. I kept at it, he now eats ground raw and some commercial grinds. He doesn't eat whole meats, not yet but I can hope ciao
|
|
taratee
Cageless and Roamin' Free
Posts: 255
|
Post by taratee on Jan 24, 2011 23:08:17 GMT -5
if she wants to go toe to toe with me ill do it, ive got nothing but time, but i want to make sure shes getting the right amount of food to be healthy i just ordered a cheap scale from amazon that will be here in two weeks then ill stop worrying about her but until then ill continue to be a neurotic mess XD tia is killing the chicken wing but i think im going to chop it up for her a bit more then the boys because she is older and much smaller, the boys had an okay time im going to do this probably once every few months with them because crane is so obsessed with water, and he wasnt totally comfortable with it but once they realized they could put their feet down they were just sitting there all pathetic lol ithought crane would like it more cause he loves the waterbowl, he will get to the waterbowl and sit on the outside and lay his upperbody in it and just lay there all special
|
|
|
Post by Heather on Jan 24, 2011 23:25:52 GMT -5
I've never had much success with the tub. My guys like to hunt in the tub but swimming They enjoy using the swimming pool in the ferret run and they love playing in the swimming pool (xlarge litter box) in the living room but I think it's because they can come and go. In the tub they're confined, it's not near as much fun because it's not their idea. ciao
|
|
taratee
Cageless and Roamin' Free
Posts: 255
|
Post by taratee on Jan 30, 2011 13:52:06 GMT -5
i was wondering what the difference is in ground meats and whole muscle meats i was thinking maybe getting some ground turkey,,, what are the pros and cons between this and something like a chicken thigh cut up also wondering about the taurine in beef or pork heart because buying a pack of hearts and gizzards usually gives me one maybe two hearts and if i could buy a beef heart id feel better about the amount of taurine theyd be getting
|
|