Post by Heather on Mar 22, 2014 16:16:40 GMT -5
Name: Brittney Thomas
HF Forum Username:brittles888
1. Where did you first learn about natural diets for ferrets?
From Holistic Ferret Forum! When I got my first ferret a little over a year ago, I didn't know anything about taking care of them and what they can and can't eat. (I was asked if I wanted a ferret from someone who was about to move to Hawaii, so it was very sudden.) I was searching online for what the best kibble for a ferret was, and what type of stuff they can and can't eat. This forum popped up in my search and I have learned so much from it ever since. (And boy am I grateful for its existence.)
2. Please describe the type of diet you would like assistance in switching your ferret(s) to. Be sure to include if you are interested in feeding whole prey (live or frozen-thawed) and if you are wanting to FULLY switch to a natural diet or PARTIALLY. If you are unsure what kind of diet you want to put your ferrets on, please express that and we can help you find the best type of natural diet for your ferret.
I want assistance switching them so soup and then frankenprey to start, and then possibly moving on to whole prey. I'm unsure about live prey, but perhaps. I just want to take it one step at a time for now. I want to fully switch them. I also have dogs, and I want to fully switch the dogs too. So all my animals are being fed a raw natural diet.
3. Why are you interested in switching your ferrets to a natural diet?
Because from what I've read, it is the best food choice, and I want them to be healthy. If they are healthy, hopefully they will live longer and and have fewer vet bills. I want them to live a long healthy life.
4. Do you understand that switching your ferret to a natural diet can be a lengthy, arduous process? Its not an overnight switch. It can be a commitment of several weeks or even months. Your HF Mentor will be more then happy to assist you in switchng your ferret(s) to a natural diet, but you need to be equally as commited. If you aren't willing to tough out a potentially lengthy switching process, or if you have major life changes approaching (baby on the way, moving, starting school, getting married/divorced, etc) then it might be a better idea to wait on switching your ferret's diet until you have more time. Are you willing to make the commitment?
Yes. I'm hoping mine aren't difficult, but we will see. I work seasonally so I'm unemployed in the winter. I will continue to be unemployed until May, so this is the perfect time.
5. How many ferrets do you currently have? What are their names? Ages? Genders? Do they have any health problems? Are they overweight? Underweight? How long have you had each ferret for?
I have 2 ferrets, both rescued.
Lola is a 2 year old female. She is a really small ferret with normal weight as far as I can tell. (I had pet rats too when I first got the ferrets-the rats have since passed-but Lola isn't much bigger than my larger rat was.) She has no health problems that I know of (besides some ear mite issues I am currently trying to nip in the bud with home remedies.)
Zin is a 2 year old male ferret. Zin is maybe just a tad overweight. He's put on a little weight this winter. But not fat by any means. Zin has much more energy than Lola and seems brighter and more aware, but he has seedy poop a lot. My ferrets haven't been to a vet yet (I live in a small town in Alaska with no vet) but I recently was recommended a ferret vet in Whitehorse, Yukon, a two hour drive north of me. Once the weather gets nicer, both ferrets will be going in for an exam, and I'll inquire about his poop. He possibly has IBD. I do have to say, I feed them Orijen cat formula, and Orijen recently changed their formula. When I switched bags Zin's seedy poop got better. It's not as seedy as it was previously. I wrote them and found out they took out the potato that was the starch in the old formula. It made a difference with him. It's still slightly seedy though, sometimes worse than others.
I got Lola last November, so I've had her for a year and two months. I instantly wanted a second ferret, and watched Petfinder until a ferret went into the Juneau animal shelter. Zin ended up in the shelter three months later in February, and I adopted him immediately, so I've had him a little less than a year. I've been watching and waiting for a third to arrive in the shelter.
6. What diet do you currently feed your ferrets? (Please include all treats, supplements, etc) Do they already eat some form of soup?
The ferrets eat Orijen Cat and Kitten Formula. They also sneak a little bit of dog kibble when they are out and about and that is Orijen Adult Formula for dogs. They get ferrettone I'm using up as well as olive oil for a treat. I also have a few bags of Marshalls bandit treats. I bought them when I didn't know better. About once a week or so I will let them each have one. No soup yet, but I got all the ingredients finally today.
7. Have you ever tried to switch your ferrets to a natural diet in the past? If yes, what happened?
No, I have not. I have tried to give them little pieces of meat or fish, and they always turn their nose up at it. Even when put in their mouth they spit it out.
8. What additional information about yourself or your ferrets would you like to share?
The only thing I can think of is that I live somewhere that does not have access to a lot of stuff, and only has a very tiny very basic grocery store, so I'm really going to have to plan ahead with this diet, and I need to make sure I have the proper supplements on hand in case I ever run out of heart or other organs and have to wait for more or anything like that. I can ask the grocery to special order heart but it will take a few weeks to arrive. (Like it just did. But I have quite a bit right now.)
9. How often during the week do you have access to a computer?
Daily
10. Please post a picture of each of your ferrets (if possible).
I will attempt to attach the pics I took below.
11. Have you met the requirements for this program? Do you have your scale, a place to access meats, hearts, livers, etc?
I have a kitchen scale, but it's pretty dinky and only goes up to 1 pound. I ordered a new digital 12 pound scale that goes in grams and ounces two days ago from Amazon prime, it's en route. It should arrive in the next two days. I have all the meats I need right now, including several extra packages of the hard to find ones in the freezer. I just need to get started and realize how much I will need on a regular basis so I can make sure my grocery store orders it special for me in time. Once I get this down and realize what I need, I want to pre-prepare all the meals and freeze them so I can know exactly where I stand and know when I need to ask for more to be ordered. If push came to shove, I could drive two hours to Whitehorse, Yukon and look in their stores, or call to stores in Juneau and see if any of them carrying heart could put some on a small plane for me. I have been saving egg shells for weeks now and have quite a bit saved up.
Well I don't know what's going on, but it won't let me add any pictures. I tried to up load them from my computer to the thread, and it looked like it worked but nothing popped up. Then I tried inserting one from my dropbox and it also looked like it worked but nothing popped up. I might have to come back and edit the post to add the photos later. I took a photo of their bodies like was asked earlier today.
Hi and welcome to the mentoring program (wave) . In a little while your mentor (Hurricanekatt) will introduce herself and you can get started on a new adventure in natural ferret care and diets. Please remember to post regularly (daily or as per arranged with your mentor) so that your mentor can assist you move along safely in this adventure. If you experience computer difficulties or are going to be away, please notify your mentor and most of all relax and have fun . Your mentor is here to help you on this journey.
ciao
HF Forum Username:brittles888
1. Where did you first learn about natural diets for ferrets?
From Holistic Ferret Forum! When I got my first ferret a little over a year ago, I didn't know anything about taking care of them and what they can and can't eat. (I was asked if I wanted a ferret from someone who was about to move to Hawaii, so it was very sudden.) I was searching online for what the best kibble for a ferret was, and what type of stuff they can and can't eat. This forum popped up in my search and I have learned so much from it ever since. (And boy am I grateful for its existence.)
2. Please describe the type of diet you would like assistance in switching your ferret(s) to. Be sure to include if you are interested in feeding whole prey (live or frozen-thawed) and if you are wanting to FULLY switch to a natural diet or PARTIALLY. If you are unsure what kind of diet you want to put your ferrets on, please express that and we can help you find the best type of natural diet for your ferret.
I want assistance switching them so soup and then frankenprey to start, and then possibly moving on to whole prey. I'm unsure about live prey, but perhaps. I just want to take it one step at a time for now. I want to fully switch them. I also have dogs, and I want to fully switch the dogs too. So all my animals are being fed a raw natural diet.
3. Why are you interested in switching your ferrets to a natural diet?
Because from what I've read, it is the best food choice, and I want them to be healthy. If they are healthy, hopefully they will live longer and and have fewer vet bills. I want them to live a long healthy life.
4. Do you understand that switching your ferret to a natural diet can be a lengthy, arduous process? Its not an overnight switch. It can be a commitment of several weeks or even months. Your HF Mentor will be more then happy to assist you in switchng your ferret(s) to a natural diet, but you need to be equally as commited. If you aren't willing to tough out a potentially lengthy switching process, or if you have major life changes approaching (baby on the way, moving, starting school, getting married/divorced, etc) then it might be a better idea to wait on switching your ferret's diet until you have more time. Are you willing to make the commitment?
Yes. I'm hoping mine aren't difficult, but we will see. I work seasonally so I'm unemployed in the winter. I will continue to be unemployed until May, so this is the perfect time.
5. How many ferrets do you currently have? What are their names? Ages? Genders? Do they have any health problems? Are they overweight? Underweight? How long have you had each ferret for?
I have 2 ferrets, both rescued.
Lola is a 2 year old female. She is a really small ferret with normal weight as far as I can tell. (I had pet rats too when I first got the ferrets-the rats have since passed-but Lola isn't much bigger than my larger rat was.) She has no health problems that I know of (besides some ear mite issues I am currently trying to nip in the bud with home remedies.)
Zin is a 2 year old male ferret. Zin is maybe just a tad overweight. He's put on a little weight this winter. But not fat by any means. Zin has much more energy than Lola and seems brighter and more aware, but he has seedy poop a lot. My ferrets haven't been to a vet yet (I live in a small town in Alaska with no vet) but I recently was recommended a ferret vet in Whitehorse, Yukon, a two hour drive north of me. Once the weather gets nicer, both ferrets will be going in for an exam, and I'll inquire about his poop. He possibly has IBD. I do have to say, I feed them Orijen cat formula, and Orijen recently changed their formula. When I switched bags Zin's seedy poop got better. It's not as seedy as it was previously. I wrote them and found out they took out the potato that was the starch in the old formula. It made a difference with him. It's still slightly seedy though, sometimes worse than others.
I got Lola last November, so I've had her for a year and two months. I instantly wanted a second ferret, and watched Petfinder until a ferret went into the Juneau animal shelter. Zin ended up in the shelter three months later in February, and I adopted him immediately, so I've had him a little less than a year. I've been watching and waiting for a third to arrive in the shelter.
6. What diet do you currently feed your ferrets? (Please include all treats, supplements, etc) Do they already eat some form of soup?
The ferrets eat Orijen Cat and Kitten Formula. They also sneak a little bit of dog kibble when they are out and about and that is Orijen Adult Formula for dogs. They get ferrettone I'm using up as well as olive oil for a treat. I also have a few bags of Marshalls bandit treats. I bought them when I didn't know better. About once a week or so I will let them each have one. No soup yet, but I got all the ingredients finally today.
7. Have you ever tried to switch your ferrets to a natural diet in the past? If yes, what happened?
No, I have not. I have tried to give them little pieces of meat or fish, and they always turn their nose up at it. Even when put in their mouth they spit it out.
8. What additional information about yourself or your ferrets would you like to share?
The only thing I can think of is that I live somewhere that does not have access to a lot of stuff, and only has a very tiny very basic grocery store, so I'm really going to have to plan ahead with this diet, and I need to make sure I have the proper supplements on hand in case I ever run out of heart or other organs and have to wait for more or anything like that. I can ask the grocery to special order heart but it will take a few weeks to arrive. (Like it just did. But I have quite a bit right now.)
9. How often during the week do you have access to a computer?
Daily
10. Please post a picture of each of your ferrets (if possible).
I will attempt to attach the pics I took below.
11. Have you met the requirements for this program? Do you have your scale, a place to access meats, hearts, livers, etc?
I have a kitchen scale, but it's pretty dinky and only goes up to 1 pound. I ordered a new digital 12 pound scale that goes in grams and ounces two days ago from Amazon prime, it's en route. It should arrive in the next two days. I have all the meats I need right now, including several extra packages of the hard to find ones in the freezer. I just need to get started and realize how much I will need on a regular basis so I can make sure my grocery store orders it special for me in time. Once I get this down and realize what I need, I want to pre-prepare all the meals and freeze them so I can know exactly where I stand and know when I need to ask for more to be ordered. If push came to shove, I could drive two hours to Whitehorse, Yukon and look in their stores, or call to stores in Juneau and see if any of them carrying heart could put some on a small plane for me. I have been saving egg shells for weeks now and have quite a bit saved up.
Well I don't know what's going on, but it won't let me add any pictures. I tried to up load them from my computer to the thread, and it looked like it worked but nothing popped up. Then I tried inserting one from my dropbox and it also looked like it worked but nothing popped up. I might have to come back and edit the post to add the photos later. I took a photo of their bodies like was asked earlier today.
Hi and welcome to the mentoring program (wave) . In a little while your mentor (Hurricanekatt) will introduce herself and you can get started on a new adventure in natural ferret care and diets. Please remember to post regularly (daily or as per arranged with your mentor) so that your mentor can assist you move along safely in this adventure. If you experience computer difficulties or are going to be away, please notify your mentor and most of all relax and have fun . Your mentor is here to help you on this journey.
ciao