Dawn (and everyone else!),
 
I am sure that others have answered too and hopefully have helped with
your question on making ferret (duck) soup... here is my advice (yes,
baby food in AZ is .75 cents a jar!)
 
I was going to send this just to Dawn but decided that I would share with
everyone how we (SHAWN!) does it.
 
Duck Soup
 
Ingredients to cook
1 whole chicken
4 peppers (red, green, yellow, orange - preferred) cut into slivers
1 small onion (whole)
5 carrots
5 celery sticks
5 tablespoons olive oil
2 -3  quarts water
1 cheese cloth
Spices to season (can be garlic, pepper, onion... whatever...even a
little hot sauce)
 
Get large pot and put the water in it.  Turn the stove top on high.  Then
take the chicken and wrap in cheese cloth (this helps so you don't have
to pick through the soup to get all of the bones and such out).  Add the
other ingredients to the pot.  If you want you can put them in another
cheese cloth but not necessary.
 
Once the soup begins to boil turn it down to medium.  Let cook for 3
hours, adding water as needed.  Pull out the chicken and untie the cheese
cloth to check to see if it is done.  If it is then turn the stove off
and set the chicken aside.
 
Take a strainer and another large pot.  Strain the soup into the strainer
while it is over the new pot.  You should be left with just liquid.  Now,
the veggies and stuff that are in the strainer, you can either eat or
throw out.  (We normally take the chicken and veggies and have dinner)
 
Clean the strainer and the original pot.  Place strainer over pot again
but this time put a thin CLEAN dish towel in it.  The pour the liquid
soup over it.  This may take awhile to strain.  Once that is done, put
the pot on the stove on low - med.  Add water as needed (pot should be
3/4 filled).  Let cook for another hour.
 
Once the soup is done time to make ferret soup:
 
You will need a blender
 
Ferret Ingredients
2 cups ferret kibble
5 inches nutrical
5 inches ferretvite
4-7 tablespoons ferretone
1 cup water
4-5 cups soup
 
Put the kibble into the blender and blend well.  If not all gets chopped
up that is ok.  Next add all ingredients.  Blend well.  Continue to blend
until you have a smooth soup.  Normally about 5-10 minutes on high.  If
you blender isn't big enough, then just cut back (measurements are NOT
perfect).
 
If you are going to use the ferret soup in 3-5 days then put a container
and place in fridge.  You may have to add water to it as it may thicken
up.  You can also freeze it by putting into ice trays or in small ziplock
baggies.
 
The other liquid soup can be stored in the fridge for about 3 weeks.  Or
you can freeze it - the same way you would freeze the ferret soup.
 
The cool thing is that the soup can also be used to make people soup!
LOL.  Plus the fact that you now have a cooked chicken and veggies!
 
You can add other veggies and stuff to the soup too....
 
Don't forget to warm the soup up.  I use to have to stick my finger in
the soup to see if it was too hot or cold but then I found these great
baby spoons that change color when it's too hot.  So now I use that to
help me measure the temperature of the soup.  Think I am getting spoiled!
 
"Ferrets are the Spice of Life"
Joanne Ruffner and Shawn McBride
Ferret Corner Shelter
www.geocities.com/ferretcorneraz
www.geocities.com/neverforeverland
www.supportourshelters.org
[Posted in FML issue 4205]