Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Fox Food Recipe: Recovery Diet

Nutrient Requirements of Mink and Foxes,: Second Revised Edition, 1982 (<i>Nutrient Requirements of Domestic Animals:</i> A Series)There are many excellent home made diets out there for dogs and cats, but they suffer from one main problem when it comes to feeding your pet fox--they were designed for dogs and cats. I was unable to find any home made diets specifically made to meet a pet fox's needs, so I did a great deal of research and created my own.
This diet was carefully formulated for Gizmo, based on recommendations from Nutrient Requirements of Mink and Foxes: Second Revised Edition. Food nutritional values were taken from USDA National Nutrient Database. This diet has been a staple for Gizmo for the past two years, and he is in perfect health and at his ideal weight.

This diet is intended for foxes who have packed on a few pounds and need to slim down, or for animals that are unable to maintain a high level of activity (i.e. injured, not allowed to be taken on walks, etc.) It is as nutritionally complete, and offers roughly the same amount of “bulk”, as the Maintenance Diet, so the fox doesn’t think he’s not getting enough. Portions given are for a medium-to-large male fox (12-to-15 lbs). Smaller foxes will need to have their portions adjusted accordingly, and intact females will have different dietary needs depending on the time of year.

So, without further ado...

Recovery Diet for Red Foxes

1 lb ground turkey, raw
2 lbs ground chicken, raw
2 cups rolled oats, cooked
3 chopped hardboiled eggs
3 powdered eggshells
150g boneless pink salmon, cooked.
450g green beans, cooked. (If you use canned, choose "no salt added")
200g minced clams, cooked.
1 tsp Wheat Germ Oil
1 tsp Anise Seed (Optional, but Gizmo loves it)

Mix it all together evenly. Makes 16 portions. As this diet contains raw meat, it should be kept frozen, and thawed out only as needed.

A large male fox will generally eat 2 portions a day (Sometimes 3 if he’s been very active that day or it’s cold, or only 1 if he’s been laying around and it’s hot out). Only offer 1 portion at a time, or they have a tendency to eat half then hide the rest for later.

If the fox seems to be intentionally eating “around” the oats, blenderize the salmon or green beans until liquid and add to the oatmeal before cooking. This will flavor the oatmeal and make it much more appealing.

3 comments:

  1. Hmmm. Do you know if this diet would be acceptable for an adult gray fox?

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    Replies
    1. I can't say for sure as I don't know of anyone who has fed it to a grey. However, I have heard good results from people feeding it to reds, corsacs, and fennecs, so in all likelihood it would be suitable for a grey fox as well.

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  2. What nutrients are in the salmon and is there a substitute that could be used? I am severely allergic to fish in any form and can't even be in the same room with it. Thank you.

    ReplyDelete

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