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Post by pastelsummer on Jan 14, 2011 22:46:04 GMT -5
ok here is my aproximate menu for henry help me tweak it if it needs it all portions are 3-4 oz
2 days chicken wings 2 days pork meat 1 day heart 1 day liver 1 day beef how does that sound to you? right now the heart and liver are chicken but i am going to be adding beef heart and livers also just have to find a good supply of them. Also can they have beef tongue?
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Post by bluemoose on Jan 14, 2011 23:37:38 GMT -5
Yes they can have tongue but it just counts as muscle meat. Same for heart. Prey model needs to be 80% meat, 10% bone, 5% liver, and 5% other organ. You seem to be missing your other organ. Kidney is usually the easiest to find.
Personally I'm not sure I would do a day of nothing but liver. It's very rich and getting that much at once with nothing else might upset his stomach. You also might want to combine some of your elements a little more so there aren't long stretches of time without bone.
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Post by sherrylynne on Jan 14, 2011 23:38:09 GMT -5
He needs at least twice as much bone as you are presently feeding. He's getting 4 meals of bone in a week, and needs 8-9. Some actually need more. Calcium needs are really high for a ferret.
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Post by Heather on Jan 14, 2011 23:45:22 GMT -5
I agree with sherrylynne....you need more bone. You will definitely start having stool issues in a very short time if you don't up the bone content. I would also consider making sure that you have a bone day with your organ meats. Have you thought of adding maybe some lamb to your mix of proteins. It's another meat that is readily available at most groceries. The major issue that I can see at the moment is the lack of bone. ciao
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Post by pastelsummer on Jan 14, 2011 23:57:08 GMT -5
ok could i combine the heart and liver day? those are both portioned out in 2 oz packages right now with the rest in 3-4 oz packages. as for the other organ meats what else besides kidney would work? I have not portioned out his beef yet should i do 2 days of beef one with bone in? I will look in the meat section at the grocer for some more protien types
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Post by pastelsummer on Jan 14, 2011 23:58:37 GMT -5
he doesnt like fish to much i have tried it and he will eat it but not alot it's like he eats just enough to take the edge off his hunger
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Post by bluemoose on Jan 15, 2011 0:00:04 GMT -5
Testicle, spleen, lung, pancreas, ect.
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Post by Heather on Jan 15, 2011 0:01:24 GMT -5
My guys actually eat liver, kidney and heart along with bone in their mix. I had too many who didn't like eating their organ meats so I created a ground mix of bone, meat, liver, heart, kidney and eggs. This mix doesn't have any fur so I add pumpkin. Total balance ciao
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Post by pastelsummer on Jan 15, 2011 0:10:25 GMT -5
if i could just get him to eat the six week old rats!!! i froze some and he doesnt like them i am going to try smaller pieces but still it is driving me insane here I am tempted to run it throu a chopper and hide it in hamburger or something
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Post by pastelsummer on Jan 15, 2011 0:12:48 GMT -5
oh is it normal for him to eat all the meat off the bone and then later munch on the bone at intervals? he never eats it all at once kinda nibbles on the bone after he eats all the meat
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Post by pastelsummer on Jan 15, 2011 0:19:01 GMT -5
ok i am low on funds so i can get another organ meat when i go get his liver tomorrow so how does this look 1 day chicken wing heart/liver 1 day pork/beef 1 day chicken wing/liver/fish 1 day pork/beef/ 1 day chicken wing/organ/heart 1 day pork/beef/
and then not sure obn last day i am hoping to put a rat or mouse in that day but he hasnt started eating them yet,
ok tweak this one now
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Post by bluemoose on Jan 15, 2011 0:27:28 GMT -5
oh is it normal for him to eat all the meat off the bone and then later munch on the bone at intervals? he never eats it all at once kinda nibbles on the bone after he eats all the meat Yes, many ferrets are lazy when it comes to bone. When you feed whole prey they have a harder time eating around the bone but when you feed large bone like chicken wing, they'll often eat the meat first.
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Post by josiesmom on Jan 19, 2011 21:52:06 GMT -5
try chicken backs, the bones are softer than the wings and more edible. Also add chicken necks to your menu. Chicken necks, turkey necks, chicken backs are cheap. Backs also tend to offer nice blobs of fat and the ever popular "pope's nose". Cut the back down the center, then between the ribs and through the spine to open up the marrow channel in the spine. A great meal for one ferret would be a chunk of chicken neck, a chunk of back and a slice of turkey heart or a whole chicken heart. The neck offers glucosamine and cartlage as well as an all day chew with edible bone. Back offers marrow, fat. Bone, mineralss. Heart offers taurine, meat, blood.
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Post by sherrylynne on Jan 19, 2011 21:55:02 GMT -5
If you can get neck/backs, that would work really well in there. What you want to work toward is 8-9 meals a week of bone in meats.
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