Halbingefrau's Switching Thread/Sherrylynne

[halblingefrau]

Oh I do that all the time. It only ever works with wings (I skewer them through the part with the 2 bones). I can't go through bones with a thigh so I just pierce the thickest part possible. He jerks the CRAP out of it until he rips the meat and makes off with his prize.

Turd.

[sherrylynne]

So HE'S the one I knew one of my students had a ferret who does that regularly, but for the life of me, couldn't remember which one (sorry- I think I've got 5 of you at the moment!)
What a brat he is

[halblingefrau]

Total brat Sherry. He was the MOST RESISTANT to trying raw meat in the first place. Thought it was poison. Took me nearly a week of scruffing and stuffing until he tasted it and he hasn't looked back since. Packing on the pounds (well ounces) too, the little pig. I think he's north of 4lbs now. He's a BIG guy so he's not obese, just chubs from winter weight. Still....

Oh, and I heard a crunching tonight and thought someone had gotten into kibble.... Juno was eating the thigh bone from the hen. I'm a proud mama.

[sherrylynne]

You go Juno!!!! Isn't it amazing just how proud of them we all are when they make these major jumps into becoming what they should have been in the first place ?!

[halblingefrau]

Menu for the week:

Mon: chicken wing
Tues: gizzards / liver and heart slurry
Wed: 1/4 cornish hen
Thurs: Commercial raw (rabbit) / chicken wing
Fri: leftover wing / Commercial raw (duck)
Sat: chicken wing
Sun: 1/4 cornish game hen

[sherrylynne]

I'd cut out one of the wings, and replace it with straight heart if you can get it, for the extra taurine. Some form of muscle meat should take the place of two or three more.
What you want is around 8-9 bone in meals per week. Right now(including commercial raw) you have twelve. Six of your bone in are wing. What you need to do is replace 4 of them with straight meat. It can be any kind(better if one is heart). That much bone might wind up constipating them. Although some ferrets do well on it, not all can handle it. Generally it's better to give a bit less at first, then up the amount if you need to. It's easier to add bone than to treat the possible constipation.

[halblingefrau]

I only have freeze dried heart. They won't eat it unless it is blended and mixed in with something. I wasn't counting the commercial raw as bone-in. I can add some straight up meat instead of two wings.

[sherrylynne]

Ok then. There is nothing that proves one way or the other that they need supplemental taurine, but most assume it's likely, since they and cats are both obligate carnivores, and kitties don't produce their own. It's possible they are getting enough through the bit mixed in with the gizzards, and what they are getting through the commercial raw.
If you are interested, and can't get heart, you can pick up some taurine capsules usually from a grocery store in the section that sells supplements, or at a health food store.
As for the commercial, it's meat/bone/organ, so yes, it's a bone meal. So just giving them some cheaper cuts of meat only is a good idea.
You see what I mean by "tweaking" ?

[halblingefrau]

Sorry, busy busy week. Anyway They've had a lot of bone-in meals this week so far because I've been broke and didn't have any $$ to go to the store. However, I found some frozen chicken breast that I thawed and gave them. I'm also giving them the heart/liver slurry tonight.

What about plain, unspiced, unsmoked salmon? We have some old salmon frozen in the freezer that I was thinking of trying with them.

[sherrylynne]

If they'll take it, certainly! I'd not give it more than weekly, simply because of the potential of toxins in the larger fish, but once in a while? Definitely Athena goes crazy for salmon

[halblingefrau]

How to tell you're a raw feeding dork: you squeal with delight over packs of giblets in the grocery store!

I just got back from our local hippie Bashas (it's a chain store but they tend to carry ethnic and organic things) and I STOCKED UP. I got 3 packs of turkey necks for about 3 bucks (easily 2 weeks worth of food, these things were HUGE), 2 packs of turkey giblets (4 liver meals, 2 hearts, 4 gizzards), a big pack of turkey backs, a pack of chopped up pork stew meat, and a small pack of lamb steak. All told, I probably spent $8 on a ton of meats. Gave the pork stew meat today. Only seen Ash eating it so far. If the other two don't eat I'm going to soup-ify it with some chicken and lard. I'm sure they'll eat it then.

[halblingefrau]

I noticed a lot of my meats are bone-in meats (except the pork). Do you have a trick for getting cheap muscle meats? Bone in is usually cheapest where I live.

[sherrylynne]

I generally get mine on "last day" sales They have to sell it cheap, or the meat has to go to the dumpster! Ferrets don't care if it's last day before expiry. Frankly, neither do I

[halblingefrau]

I haven't seen a last-day sale in awhile but i'll keep my eyes open. I'm just so super thrilled about today's haul. I've NEVER seen packs of turkey giblets and only once seen turkey necks. Going to splurge and get them a goose after they go on sale after X-mas. They have smallish ones (~5 lbs) that I am going to cut up.

[sherrylynne]

That's excellent! For the first time in a while, I'm buying a turkey for just the two of us for Xmas. Normally, I just get a breast, because it's WAY too much. Never even thought of it last year We are eating the breast/drumsticks, the ferrets are getting the rest of it