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Post by raynebc on Jul 26, 2014 20:00:19 GMT -5
SherryI use the corn free Zupreem, which doesn't have any peas in it. Oddly though, Evo is a very highly regarded kibble even though it does have pea ingredients in it. For the wet/dry/raw bacteria issue, is it just a matter of hydration or something? I got some Orijen at the fancy pet store near where I live and they gave me some samples of Primal which I understand to be frozen, ground up prey with some amounts of fruit/veggies in it. I'm going to thaw one out in the fridge and see if I can get them to eat it. If they take to it I can figure out how far down the raw path I want to go. I think the pre-ground raw would be a better fit for me than frozen whole prey, at least as part of their diet. To get them to try the Primal, should I remove their dry kibble for a couple hours, get them to play for a bit and then try the scruff and stuff method? My girl ferret has been a lot more open about trying new oils this way than my boy ferret, but if he doesn't ingest more raw meat than the bit I put in his mouth, do I still have to wait a couple hours before giving him back his kibble? Or should I wait until they are willing to eat kibble puree so they have food I can leave with them after a raw feeding? I can't leave raw food out for them when I go to work because I'll be gone for 9 hours or so, since they need food available at all times. I thought I read on the forum where people feed raw and still leave kibble available, is this OK after they have gotten used to raw food or would I have to leave them kibble puree instead of dry kibble?
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Post by Sherry on Jul 27, 2014 9:43:51 GMT -5
Most here strictly feed raw or raw/whole prey. That can be left out much longer than many realize. Up to 48 hours depending. Soups can easily be left out for 6-8 hours. If it's bad they won't eat it anyway. And raw fed don't need that constant access. For transition yes remove the kibble a couple hours ahead of time, and give it back when they go back into the cage. That should give enough between.
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Post by raynebc on Jul 27, 2014 21:52:02 GMT -5
I went ahead and added Orijen kitten to my mix, so now they've got 4 different kibbles.
I read that wet kibble (ie. ground and mixed with water) can be provided with raw food without the risk presented by dry kibble and raw food. If that's so, what about providing dry kibble and wet kibble at the same time? They did this at the pet store, so I'm under the assumption that is safe and wouldn't provide any digestive hazards? I can't get them to eat baby food yet, so hopefully I can at least get them started on kibble soup and coax them to eat other foods by mixing it in.
Is freeze dried raw OK to provide with dry kibble? Sometimes I leave some freeze dried liver in their food dish as a treat, and the packaging says this is OK to do, but I don't know if all freeze dried raw can be provided this way (as long as it's kept dry). Skimming through some switching threads, it seemed like some mentors suggested introducing FDR before regular raw foods. Of course, just freeze dried organ or flesh isn't a balanced diet, but I could get something like Wysong Archetypal if I can safely work on transitioning my ferrets by mixing it with their kibble.
Since kibble feedings need to be kept separate from raw, can freeze dried raw be provided even while they have just had regular raw food (allowing food to be available at all times), or does the freeze dried have to be re-hydrated or something?
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Post by Sherry on Jul 28, 2014 9:02:12 GMT -5
The pet stores also let them play with rubber toys, keep them in small aquariums, put them next to prey animals, and know essentially nothing about their care The issue is wet and dry period for some. Not every ferret will have an issue with it but we have noticed enough over the years to strongly recommend not feeding together. Freeze dried dry mixed with kibble will cause no issues but being fed dry is really no different than feeding a high end kibble.
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Post by Thérèse on Jul 29, 2014 7:27:04 GMT -5
... Freeze dried dry mixed with kibble will cause no issues but being fed dry is really no different than feeding a high end kibble. From a dehydration perspective yes! but wouldn't it still be better because it wouldn't have the carbs that kibble has? Just asking, as we don't have fdr here in Aus anyway and I prefer just getting things fresh ( meats bones organs) anyway, so even if they did intro it here I wouldn't be getting it
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Post by Sherry on Jul 29, 2014 8:36:02 GMT -5
Epigen 90 ferret doesn't have them either. Orijen doesn't have many.
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Post by raynebc on Jul 30, 2014 1:39:10 GMT -5
I removed my ferrets' food for a couple hours and then presented them with kibble soup, but it wasn't much of a success. My little girl was her cooperative self and actually was willing to eat at least a little bit. The boy really didn't care for it at all. After it was obvious they weren't going to touch it any more, I took the rest of it away and rewarded the girl with some salmon oil. I also rubbed some oil on the little boy's lips but he was fed up with me at that point. I might just have try it again in a few days with a smaller batch of soup.
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Post by racheld on Jul 30, 2014 2:00:25 GMT -5
That's good news about your girl though! Maybe once she gets the hang of it and is eating soup regularly (which might not take too long since she ate some today) your boy will follow her lead. Have you thought about starting a switching thread for your ferrets? That way you have a log of your progress for if/when you get a mentor (and we can follow your progress too, which is fun!)
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Post by raynebc on Jul 30, 2014 12:37:11 GMT -5
I figure a non raw soup is the first step, and after I get that far I might open a thread or seek out a mentor.
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Post by Sherry on Jul 31, 2014 8:52:07 GMT -5
Raynebc, read through some switching threads for idea on getting them to accept new things
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Post by Deleted on Aug 2, 2014 0:53:42 GMT -5
I have a question about what i can use for my boy thats not chicken based. He is eating out of house right now with the freeze dried rabbit formula from wysong....its about $30 a week ,but he is doing so much better on it i don't want to ruin it. Im trying to find something to supplement him thats not chicken , so I have some money left. Im having a hard time where i live finding what i need for a raw diet thats not bird based. Are there any commercial raw diets i can find at the pet store? I want to get up home and go rabbit hunting....but my work schedule is not having it
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Post by Heather on Aug 2, 2014 1:11:33 GMT -5
Why not any poultry? Allergies? ciao
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Post by Deleted on Aug 2, 2014 1:43:20 GMT -5
Yeah. He swells up randomly and also has diarrhea on chicken....ive slowly been getting him cleared up from it and from a severe rectal prolapse from the diarrhea. It just started in the last six months and i even tried the freeze dried raw chicken thinking it was the kibble but it didn't help any.....he barely ate....now i cant get him to stop eating. He is zapping my reserves. Lol
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Post by Heather on Aug 2, 2014 1:52:55 GMT -5
Have you tried turkey, quail, duck, goose? ciao
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Post by Sherry on Aug 2, 2014 23:46:49 GMT -5
Have you tried using short term pred to help? Also, many find using organic meats makes a huge difference as more often than not it is something the animals are being given triggering the allergy and not the protein itself.
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