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Post by halblingefrau on Dec 2, 2010 19:50:48 GMT -5
I'm sending them with chicken wings and with some of the commercial raw patties since they already know/love those. Just for a bit of variety.
I will check back in with you next week once I get home.
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Post by sherrylynne on Dec 3, 2010 17:33:29 GMT -5
Sounds good! Have fun
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Post by halblingefrau on Dec 9, 2010 20:56:20 GMT -5
We're back. The fuzzies look even better than I remember. Absence makes the heart grow fonder? Or another week on a raw diet? Probably both!
Anyway I'm exhausted. They had chicken wings this last week. Tonight they had gizzards. I put a cornish hen and a bag of turkey giblets into the fridge to thaw.
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Post by sherrylynne on Dec 9, 2010 21:59:55 GMT -5
Good to see you! Did you enjoy yourself? And yes, I think it could be both as well Alright! Once you get settled back in, I'd like you to start introducing more meats Your guys are definitely ready to graduate, but I really would like to see more proteins in their diet first.
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Post by halblingefrau on Dec 9, 2010 22:10:52 GMT -5
Ok. Well I have some frozen ground lamb that I can try to re-introduce (i tried it early on and they weren't wild about it). They do love frozen commercial rabbit and frozen commercial duck.
A rundown of what they will readily eat: Chicken Turkey Cornish Hen Chicken livers
What they reluctantly (or not so excitedly) eat: Cube steak (beef) Turkey liver/heart
What they won't eat: pork lamb
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Post by sherrylynne on Dec 9, 2010 22:41:20 GMT -5
I don't know if you can get this or not, but mine accept chicken hearts more readily than turkey hearts. But they adore turkey wings As for the pork, what type of cuts have you tried? And some simply will not take lamb at all on it's own. I get mine to eat commercial lamb by mixing it with commercial turkey. One part lamb to two parts turkey. Any more than that ratio, and they refuse it, the little beggars Is the commercial raw a regular part of their diet now? Using what you are at the moment, can you make up a detailed menu plan for me? That way, we can tweak what we need to. Sort of: Monday: chicken wings/turkey heart Tuesday: commercial raw rabbit/beef chunks Wed: chicken liver/cornish hen
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Post by halblingefrau on Dec 10, 2010 10:01:35 GMT -5
The lamb I have is actually ground lamb from the supermarket. Commercial raw is NOT a regular part of the diet, I just have some leftover pucks laying around in my freezer so I am fitting them in. I will probably use commercial raw to get them more "exotic" meats like rabbit and venison, but it will not be the bulk of their diet (I don't like the added veggies even though it's only 5%). A detailed menu plan, ok I mostly go by what is thawed or what I have in my freezer if nothing is thawed. I buy meat on sale so it rotates. I don't have a "Monday through Friday" meal plan. Here are the usual meals. I get one organ meal in a week and I usually fit hearts in somewhere. They are really on a largely chicken diet right now which I want to change and get a little more variety in. Day 1: Whole chicken wing (It usually takes my kids all day to eat one) Day 2: Chopped muscle meats (any type but usually chicken) / chicken gizzards Day 3: 1/4 cornish hen Day 4: chicken liver slurry (dehydrated turkey hearts buzzed in food processor then mixed with livers) / whole chicken wing Day 5: leftover chicken wing / chopped muscle meats (gizzards/breast meat/etc) Day 6: Ground day - whatever ground meats I have on hand which are usually ground turkey and ground beef (although I have some ground lamb which I am thawing); this they get in the morning. Afternoon is chef's choice lol (usually whatever I have a lot of or need to clear from the freezer). Day 7: "Try something new" day - Day 7 is always on a weekend and it's when I try something new with them. It was oxtails once (they weren't huge fans), cube steak chunks (eaten but not with the same gusto as chicken), turkey neck (ADORED), pinkie mice au jus (the jus being ferretone and chicken liver slurry)
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Post by sherrylynne on Dec 10, 2010 11:01:09 GMT -5
Ok, looking at that, they are getting 6 bone in meals a week right now, sometimes 7. 5-6 muscle meals, and a decent amount of liver. Not counting the pinkie mice, since they have no real value nutritionally(think of them as popcorn ) And 4 proteins. Over the long haul, they'll need more calcium in their diets. So, more bone in. I don't know that I'd make ground beef a regular part of the diet, since that one tends to lose a lot of it's nutrition when ground up. Can you give the turkey necks at least weekly? And if you will be using the commercial for introduction of more "exotic" meats, maybe one meal per week of that? That will also help with the bone and taurine from the heart, as well as the alternate organ meats. The 5% veg. matter isn't a problem since it really does help to have some undigestibles in their diets to help replace things like fur from whole prey.
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Post by halblingefrau on Dec 10, 2010 14:28:03 GMT -5
I can most definitely give them commercial raw once or twice a week. Adding more bone in isn't a problem since they actually prefer it to meat chunks. The hard part is getting in meat other than chicken/Cornish hen/turkey. They were really not into the mice but I'd really like to make mouse a weekly meal.
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Post by sherrylynne on Dec 10, 2010 19:48:47 GMT -5
In that case, if you are up to it, here's how I got my stubborn brats eating mice Since they already eat pinkies with the slurry, you just have to get them eating them plain. Try giving them the pinkies, with just a smear of the slurry. Not a lot, just a bit on each. If they take that willingly, then try them plain. If that's a given, move up one step to large pinkies if you can get them(if not, use fuzzies). Here's where it can get messy You might need to either cut them up and mix in with their meat, or even cut them open and put some oil inside. They start licking the oil, get a taste of the mouse, and 9 times out of ten, away they go! You just keep upping the size of the mouse over time, until they'll eat the adults with no enticement.
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Post by halblingefrau on Dec 10, 2010 20:40:27 GMT -5
Well, only Asher at the pinkie and only after i snipped it in half. The others didn't seem to go for it. Should I try to blend them in with a soup (ick)?
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Post by halblingefrau on Dec 11, 2010 12:00:45 GMT -5
Hahaha last night we had a full on screaming match over the turkey gizzard. Asher was pissed when I took it from him (to cut up into pieces so everyone had a chance). He ran off with the liver. Guess they're big fans of turkey too. Cornish game hen quarter (bone in) for breakfast in a little bit.
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Post by sherrylynne on Dec 11, 2010 16:09:01 GMT -5
I love the food fights! Certainly a lot different than what happens with kibbles It's great that they are so excited about their meals For the pinkies, maybe chop them in 3-4 bits(do it while frozen- it's easier!), and mix with a bit more soupies for a couple times, then in half. After that, start with just a spread of soup on them. You can also pop a bit in their mouths so they get the taste better.
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Post by halblingefrau on Dec 11, 2010 17:03:04 GMT -5
Another food fight this morning over cornish hen. They got a leg/thigh quarter. At least everyone got to gorge before Asher stole. I will probably give them some lard tonight for fun (I bought a teeny tiny mouse food dish just for lard) but the quarter hen should last till morning.
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Post by sherrylynne on Dec 11, 2010 18:03:55 GMT -5
You can also anchor the food on the side of the cage with shower hooks to make it harder for him to steal/stash all the food
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