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Post by loveless on Jan 30, 2011 1:55:42 GMT -5
I see lots of advice on chicken hearts but I'm curious about beef hearts. If any one feeds their ferrets beef heart on occasion and how they take to it. I'm getting ready to do my first major stock up and right now beef heart is a easy find while chicken eluded me for some reason. It feels off to learn my local store is stocked to the gills with beef hearts but no chicken hearts at the moment.
Also where the heck do I get pumpkin? Other than a carving pumpkin for Halloween I've never need pumpkin for anything so I have no idea what/where to look for pumpkin for all the soup recipes. -.-
What are some good meats/cuts to use on occasion. I'd like to have a decent rotation while keeping the normal chicken base. Non aishan market/local butcher suggestions please I don't have access to one.
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vkp23
Going Natural
Posts: 192
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Post by vkp23 on Jan 30, 2011 2:52:42 GMT -5
As for the pumpkin goes, you can use canned pumpkin. Just straight pumpkin puree not the pumpkin pie mix. I don't know much about the others as I'm just starting myself with feeding raw. I read a lot of people using things like chicks, rats, mice, quail, pork, beef, duck, deer, rabbit even a little fish and guinea pig. I have read of worms and crickets sparingly as treats. I THINK any kind of heart if fine. If you do whole prey (Like mice rats chicks etc) they will get some heart in that. But it's this one thing they get from heart they need. (I forget what it's called but starts with a T) But as far has how many ounces you'd have to cut off at a time I haven't a clue.
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Post by justahannah on Jan 30, 2011 3:18:15 GMT -5
Any meat you can find without additives is fair game for feeding. I feed beef and pork heart all the time since I can usually find it cheaper than the chicken hearts, but any heart is fine...they're all great chewy muscle meat with lots of taurine. Chicken hearts are easier because they're already the perfect size for a ferret to munch on, but since heart's such a firm muscle it's not much work to chop up into the right sized chunks. My kids don't seem to have a flavor preference when it comes to heart, they like it all. If you can't find pumpkin, you can substitute another squash...I like to use acorn since they're a reasonable size to work with, I just de-seed and bake them til soft, then scoop out the pulp and freeze the extra.
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Post by sherrylynne on Jan 30, 2011 3:29:50 GMT -5
I'm too lazy for that I buy cans of pure pumpkin in the baking aisle. It will be in with the pie filling, so check the ingredient label. All it should have for ingredients is pumpkin. As for meat, yeah, justahannah is right. It's all fair game You need a base of 3 proteins, so, beef, pork, chicken are good to start. And usually the easiest to find. I also feed lamb, goat, duck, turkey, bison, elk, venison. Some feed fish every so often. And that's before getting into whole prey
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Post by loveless on Jan 30, 2011 13:13:50 GMT -5
Thanks for telling me where in the store to find the pumpkin. I thought i was going nutz looking for it.
I would eventually like to be able to give my fuzzies the occasional live treat or two. I have a weakness for rabbits and gunipigs so those are off the menu but I have some places nearby I can get feeder mice and rats easily and even the occasional chick or duckling.
New question. I read some where that you can entice a ferret to meat by "breading" it with ground up kibble. Is it ok to coat ground meat with kibble?
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vkp23
Going Natural
Posts: 192
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Post by vkp23 on Jan 30, 2011 17:56:15 GMT -5
I would be careful of giving live rats. I raised pet rats and they can get HUGE with big teeth. Rats are more likely to fight harder and cause some serious injury to your ferret. Mice and chicks would be better live prey. Less chance of your ferret getting hurt. Most people don't give rats live they give them pre-killed. Also, if you want to try live chicks the problem with that is you either have to order them from a hatchery or find them at a feed store during the chick season. The hatcheries you can order year long BUT typically there is a minimum order of 25 chicks. Any of the "small order hatcheries" charge HUGE shipping costs. If you buy from a feed store, they only have them like during one month out of the year. Usually March or April. I raise chickens so I know all about this kind of thing when it comes to live poultry. I did try using ground up kibble to bread a chicken leg and see how my ferrets took to it. My little boy ate a little but the girls didn't bother with it. It really would depend on your ferret. If you want to know more about live poultry let me know in this thread or PM me and I'd be happy to help. In the mean time, the feed store I know for sure you can get live chicks from is Tractor supply. You'll have to call around to other mom and pop places where you live and see if they carry them. The two hatcheries I order from is McMurray and Ideal poultry. But MyPetChicken.com is the once that ships one or two chicks at a time. I will tell you this much though, if you decide to keep a few hens and roosters as breeding stock for eggs for you self and ferts and incubate eggs to raise your own feeder chicks, chicken math is a lot like ferret math! Raising chickens (ESPECIALLY if you raise your own meat birds) becomes an obsession! Just like I have 3 ferrets and I feel ferret math creeping up on me and I'm finding myself rationalizing getting another one.
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Post by loveless on Jan 30, 2011 20:45:46 GMT -5
I have a farm supply store nearby so I was thinking chicks through them when there around and feeder mice from the pet supply store.
I did a little breading and it went well. My female is young and will try any thing and my older boy is a pig.
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Post by sherrylynne on Jan 30, 2011 20:49:16 GMT -5
That's excellent you had success with it Read through some of the mentoring threads, or the nutritional section, or just ask to find out where to go next
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