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Post by bitbyter on Aug 9, 2014 9:48:27 GMT -5
Ok, lets try another round of tough love with Koufos. Do a half feeding the night before, then skip the next mornings meal and make sure he plays hard that day. Then that evening do a meal with no soup (hand feed the meat to him if you have to, entice him with it). If he eats a bit then that is good and next meal should also have no soup. We need him off the soup crutch.
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Post by msav on Aug 10, 2014 20:45:07 GMT -5
Ok, lets try another round of tough love with Koufos. Do a half feeding the night before, then skip the next mornings meal and make sure he plays hard that day. Then that evening do a meal with no soup (hand feed the meat to him if you have to, entice him with it). If he eats a bit then that is good and next meal should also have no soup. We need him off the soup crutch. ok we gave them both 1oz of the 90% chicken leg meat 10% soup mix last night. They both ate it all. This morning we gave them just chicken leg meat. They would not eat it, each of them ate maybe 1 piece. We even tried to put some coconut oil on it and all they did was lick it off. Tonight we tried the chicken leg meat once again. Koufos ate maybe 1 piece, Cassia ate about .4 oz. We tried scruff and stuff and he would spit it out or sling it then try and run off. We tried putting a bit of olive oil on it, he just licked the oil off. We relented and just put enough soup to lightly coat the meat, he the ate a few pieces of chicken and licked the rest of the chicken meat clean of the soup. so total eaten for tonight Koufos 1.2 oz Cassia .9 oz
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Post by bitbyter on Aug 10, 2014 21:29:14 GMT -5
Keep doing that...you need to get them progress. You KNOW Cassia will eat without the soup so you should just stop giving it to her. It's hardball time. How big are the chicken pieces? Can you take a picture?
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Post by msav on Aug 10, 2014 22:59:01 GMT -5
For cassia should I only give her the soup when it is liver and heart day. She still will not eat those without being slivered and covered in soup. she does however eat gizzards. She gives me such a guilt trip when I am making food for Koufos a she just sits there staring at me. I will attach a pic of the chicken meat in a few. Right now I have been varying the size so I can try him on different sizes of meat to get him to eat.
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Post by bitbyter on Aug 13, 2014 19:28:59 GMT -5
Ok, yeah. Hand feed him that if you have to. That is easily small enough that he barely has to chew. You actually might want to try a few larger pieces TO get him chewing. What I'd do is start following the frankenprey menu for organ content and use an organ soup on organ days if you have to instead of giving everything each day. Sprinkle the meat with bone meal or eggshell 1/4 to 1/2 tsp per 8 oz of meat.
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Post by msav on Aug 13, 2014 20:30:17 GMT -5
ok that sounds like a plan.
So it is ok to let Cassia eat the hanging meat for the other guys and only feed her heart with soup on heart days and liver with soup on liver days. She is eating the bone in meals as well.
and just feed hand feed Koufos the same thing I am feeding the other guys or should I stick with a single protein until he gets with the program.
Now what to do with all those frozen soup cubes. LOL
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Post by bitbyter on Aug 13, 2014 21:36:16 GMT -5
Yes, let Cassia lead you from this point. For Koufos I'd go with different proteins (whatever you are feeding the rest). You might find something he likes more than chicken. Once they are fully switched you can still used the soup occasionally to keep them familiar with it.
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Post by msav on Aug 17, 2014 10:48:49 GMT -5
Weight in
Koufos 2 lb 11.5 oz (- 4.5 oz)
Cassia 1 lb 7.5 oz (- 1.5 )
On Saturday I offered chicken leg meat to Koufos and he took it. I then gave him a plate with just chicken leg meat and he ate on his own. I did the same for Saturday evening. I noticed that koufos has been losing weight the past week so I decided to give him a reward of lightly coating the rest of the meat he left behind with soup on Saturday evening. So he ate a little bit more. There are 2 weights for Saturday evening. Sunday I fed the rest of that meat that still had a really light coating of soup. I will continue to offer the leg meat first. Is it ok when he does not eat enough of the just meat that I give him some with soup afterwards, or do you think that he will start to hold out for the soup?
Thurs Aug 7th (90% Chicken Leg Meat with 10% soup)
______ AM / PM Koufos .9 / .9 Cassia 1 / 1.5
Fri Aug 8th (90% Chicken Leg Meat with 10% soup)
______ AM / PM Koufos 2.6 / 2.6 Cassia 1.2 / 1.3
Sat Aug 9th (90% Chicken Leg Meat with 10% soup)
______ AM / PM Koufos 1.6 / .5 Cassia 1.1 / .5
Sun Aug 10th (90% Chicken Leg Meat with 10% soup)
______ AM / PM Koufos .1 / 1.2 Cassia .1 / .9
Mon Aug 11th (90% Chicken Leg Meat with 10% soup)
______ AM / PM Koufos 2.5 / 1 Cassia 1.3 / .7
Tues Aug 12th (90% Chicken Leg Meat with 10% soup)
______ AM / PM Koufos 1.7 / 1 Cassia 1 / .7
Wed Aug 13th (90% Chicken Leg Meat with 10% soup) From this point on only documenting Cassia on heart/liver days as she is eating meat in the cage.
______ AM / PM Koufos .5 / .1
Thurs Aug 14th (AM = 90% Chicken Leg Meat with 10% soup PM = 90% liver and heart 10% soup)
______ AM / PM Koufos .3 / 1.4 Cassia - / 1.3
Fri Aug 15th (90% liver and heart 10% soup)
______ AM / PM Koufos 2.2 / 2.2 Cassia .8 / .2
Sat Aug 16th (AM = Raw chicken leg chunks only PM = Raw chicken leg chunks lightly coated w/soup)
______ AM / PM Koufos .5 / 1.3 Raw meat .5 more with soup Total 1.8 Cassia - / .3 Raw meat .2 more with soup Total .5
Sun Aug 17th (AM = Raw chicken leg chunks lightly coated w/soup)
______ AM / PM Koufos 1.5 / Cassia .8 /
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Post by bitbyter on Aug 17, 2014 11:06:49 GMT -5
If you can get him to eat without the soup, then only offer him that. He's got to move forward. He will self regulate once he accepts that solids are all he will be getting he will eat more (he will be hungry). I would start trying to mix some other proteins in with what you are feeding Koufos to see if maybe it is the chicken itself he has issues with.
I am not to concerned about the weight lost as of yet as he is still a good weight. Could you please post some pics of him again (above, side and hanging) so that I can take a look at him?
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Post by msav on Aug 17, 2014 20:37:59 GMT -5
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Post by bitbyter on Aug 19, 2014 20:11:10 GMT -5
Any progress?
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Post by msav on Aug 19, 2014 23:36:10 GMT -5
Koufos is pretty consistently eating .5 oz of just chicken leg meat each meal.
I tried to give him duck the other day and he did not seem too keen on it. I will try some game hen leg meat tomorrow morning and see if he eats it. I will be offering new proteins to sample but I have been giving him the chicken leg meat if he does not seem interested. If he takes an interest in the new meat should I switch to that meat for a little bit.
Thursday's 2 meals are one of the liver and heart meals for the week so Koufos and Cassia will be getting that (will try it straight then coat in soup if they don't eat it)
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Post by bitbyter on Aug 21, 2014 6:15:10 GMT -5
Sounds like a plan. Yes if he takes a new meat, switch to it for a few days. Once he is constantly eating solid meat we can work on introducing smashed up bone in meat.
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Post by msav on Aug 21, 2014 10:11:37 GMT -5
I decided to push the liver and heart one day. I have to much thawed chicken and quail that has to be eaten first.
yesterday morning he ate 1.5 oz of chicken meat. Then back to .6 oz in the evening.
This morning when I was preparing Koufos his chicken, he would come up to my legs and nudge me, he did this about 4 times, and right about the time I had his meat cut up and ready he was gone. I start looking for him and he is in one of the other ferrets hidey chewing on a chicken leg bone. I don't think he is eating bone yet. but he is definitely eating the chicken meat off the bone.
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Post by bitbyter on Aug 24, 2014 16:10:59 GMT -5
:banana: :boing: Whooohoooo!! I knew he'd get there!! Start offering him bone in meats and see how he does. I'd also start backing off on the hand / table feeding. See if he will be a little more independent. If you baby him to much he might fall back on previous behaviours.
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