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Post by msav on Jan 29, 2014 10:11:37 GMT -5
I must admit I did not intend to switch my ferrets to raw. I did not think I would have the patience and or time to do this.
Bleu and Tazz has made the switch so easy I feel obligated to my other ferrets to make an attempt. Here is The plan and the current status of the switch in progress.
Bleu and Tazz are eating only Raw. The have not touched the kibble in the cage for 3 days. This morning I removed the kibble completely. I started hanging 2 chunks of meat on the cage doors for them overnight and before I leave in the morning for work. I feed them when I get up in the morning and when I get home in the afternoon.
Mogwai has went from absolute refusal of meat (He eats freeze dried chicken) to sniffing it to now picking up the meat and chewing in it for a few seconds then stashing it. At least he is interested in it so that is progress.
Mogwai,Koufos, Cassia, And Hammie are eating soup in the morning and in the afternoon. I am slowly altering the soup recipe to contain chicken juice and raw chicken puree. They like their soup thin and watery so it is hard to keep the consistency and add enough meat. They also like it warm so I have been warming it in a cup in a hot water bath so I am not cooking the chicken. My current recipe for soup is below. The plan is to reduce the amount of kibble and carnivore care and add more chicken. I am currently using this as this it what they are used to having in their soup. They will not eat soup made with chicken baby food or the feline f/d stuff.
Please feel free to suggest any alterations
2T of Oxbow Carnivore care
2T of Archetype I Crumbs and Epigen 90 Crumbs (Powdered)
2T olive oil, flaxseed oil, salmon oil mix
1t coconut oil
1 t of eggshell (powdered)
2 oz of chicken breast (puree)
.5 oz chicken liver (puree)
.5 oz chicken heart (puree)
chicken juice (If Available)
Enough hot water to make the soup to preferred consistency. (cream soup consistency)
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Post by goingpostal on Jan 29, 2014 10:52:05 GMT -5
That's a lot of oil imo, I would cut some of that out. Maybe rather than reducing the amount of kibble/carnivore care I would work on getting them to accept it in a thicker form first.
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Post by msav on Jan 29, 2014 11:28:36 GMT -5
I guess I should clarify that recipe is for 6 Ferrets and usually there is left over
I can start cutting the oil back. total oil is 2 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon. Did not seem that much to me.
removing the oil would allow make it thinner and then I could thicken it with more of the meat
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Post by Deleted on Jan 29, 2014 12:19:03 GMT -5
Too much oil will make for super soft poops. You've made great progress with Blue and Tazz, I bet the others will follow their lead. Who knows, your funny little Bleu may end up being the group leader and the smartest of the smart!  |
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Post by msav on Jan 29, 2014 12:23:35 GMT -5
none of them have had soft poops.(all are nice and solid) so does that mean that they are not getting too much oil?
and I would say Tazz and Bleu have made great progress. I have done nothing but offer the meat to them
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Post by Heather on Jan 29, 2014 15:32:41 GMT -5
Personally, I'd be removing the flax and the coconut (unless you've got an IBD fuzz)oil and using only fish and EVOO. There is no point in using veg. oils unless there is a proven benefit. There has been a suggestion that coconut oil may provide an anti inflammatory benefit thus providing better nutrition to IBD ferrets. The flax provides little to no benefit and may actually make your ferrets itchier (like they need to itch more  ). I'm not in a position other than that to recommend anything else to the mixture as I know very little about kibbles other than mixing with raw can possibly create some stomach issues. Others have switched using this method so it obviously works for some ciao |
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Post by msav on Jan 29, 2014 15:53:32 GMT -5
The coconut oil and the flaxseed was for my adrenal IBD ferret Hammie. His IBD has been doing well with the coconut oil. His poop has been less seedy with the coconut oil. I did not think there would be an issue with giving it to them all. I can just give it to Hammie if you think is could be causing an issue with the others. What would be a sign iI would look for if it was effecting the others?
soon the kibble will be a non issue. since It will be the first thing I will be removing.
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Post by Heather on Jan 29, 2014 16:16:23 GMT -5
It shouldn't be a problem....but as the coconut oil thing is still in it's infancy I don't know if it should just be used during an IBD crisis or not. If it works for everyone, it certainly can't hurt. My concern would be if it's given to everyone regularly would it still work in a crisis. I've never had much use for flax oil as it's not been proven to show any real benefits to carnivores...but if you like it and you don't seem to see any added itchiness, why not
ciao
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Post by msav on Jan 29, 2014 22:03:49 GMT -5
I will hold it back on the flaxseed oil and watch for any changes as I thought I read some info about it being beneficial to adrenal ferrets, That is why I added it to the oil mix.
I made the soup thicker tonight, They refused to eat it unless I sat there and fed it to them on my finger. I then thinned it with water and they ate it on their own. I think that is going to be my biggest hurdle They are lasy and do not want to have to eat thick soup.
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Post by Sherry on Jan 31, 2014 23:16:28 GMT -5
Keep working with them. Going from finger to spoon to dish can certainly take a while.
As for oils I give 1/2 tsp a couple times a week per ferret.
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Post by goingpostal on Feb 1, 2014 18:05:23 GMT -5
Do they still have kibble the rest of the time then? Are you taking it out a couple hours before soup? With mine once they like the soup, are eagerly waiting for it, it got thickened, they might turn up their noses at first but I'd just grab them, stick a fingerful in their mouth and send them on their way. Repeat 2-3 times every time you offer and if they still don't eat it go ahead and water it down. But try it thicker at first and make sure they eat some. It might take a few days or weeks but they will start eating it on their own when offered, even thick and then you can really get to work introducing chunks!
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Post by msav on Feb 2, 2014 0:41:33 GMT -5
I will try to take the kibble out a couple hours beforehand.
That is kinda what I do, They are lazy, They will start lick it off my finger, Then start to eat the soup on their own, about 5 licks and then run off. If I thin it down they will finish it off.
today I threw some turkey back chunks into the feeding carriers for Mogwai, When I walk back in the room I hear crunch crunch. I look and Mogwai it at my feet staring at me. I say then who is that in the carrier eating the turkey back. WOW it is Cassia.
I don't know what is going on, she has not even taken to the raw soup, and she is crunching on a turkey back?
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Post by msav on Feb 2, 2014 18:22:20 GMT -5
3 down and 3 to go.
Mogwai is now on full raw. no kibble for 3 days.
On a side note Tazz and Bleu have been full raw for a little over a week now. I have notice they don't eat as much as they used to. every time I look to see who is eating the meat I see Mogwai eating it. Today while Tazz was running around I gave him a couple of pieces of sirloin and a chunk of beef heart. That was all he wanted.
I am hanging meat on pear hooks in the cage and making it available full time, but I am having a hard time estimating how much to put in.
Bleu is almost as big as Tazz now. Bleu is 940g and Tazz is 1000g. They must be eating as they are still gaining weight.
Every now and then I find a chunk of chewed up bone that is old and crusty, I think they have a few hidey holes that I am not aware of. So I think they are eating their well aged stashed meat. (gross)
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Post by goingpostal on Feb 3, 2014 16:44:53 GMT -5
It takes awhile to get a feel how much they will eat, depending on your work schedule what I would do is smaller meals more often, so less goes to waste and you can check on them, if they are out, feed more, if they are stashing they have too much. At first it's normal for them to eat a ton and then taper off but generally a female will eat 2-3oz, a male a bit more daily. But some days don't be surprised if they barely touch an ounce and others they will devour half a pound. If Cassia is willing to eat chunks already then she is skipping steps, just making it easier on you!
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Post by katt on Jun 3, 2014 1:37:32 GMT -5
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