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Post by Deleted on Dec 19, 2014 8:24:43 GMT -5
No, I don't think/I know I counld't play tug of war with a live mouse...not too sure, just yet, using a frozen one. Some day maybe though! I could try the gizzards! When I gave the whole hearts to Elvyra and Pepper last week, they both tugged and shook the heart when I let go! That was really cool to experience-I feel like that means they liked it Thank you, I'm happy with those weights too! I miss Peppers' little pot belly, but she can move around better AND looks like a little girl now Sometimes I got sad that they DIDN'T want to play with me-only eachother. I tried telling myself it was a good thing since I can't be with them most of the day...so it really warmed my heart that they wanted their momma! Blankets rides are a huge hit in our place! It's hilarous because the boys (Zekrom and Reshiram) will try jumping on the blanket trying to get to our hands and the girls (Zoey, Pepper, and Elvyra) will lay on the blankets like princesses! - Until the boys jump on them by accident and everyone falls off the 'magic carpet'! Haha, they are so fun! I think I will try the Stella and Chewy's. I wanted to get some but couldn't find it in store, but I just got a large gift card for Amazon so I will also get some dryer tubes! (yay!) Zoey is the only one who will eat the Nature's Variety Raw Boost Mini's...maybe trying the 'fishing' method will entice everyone to grab one!
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Post by Deleted on Dec 24, 2014 13:19:41 GMT -5
Nothing really new to report The Babes are doing great! Tom and I will be going to 3 different places for Christmas, so I might not be able to do the weekly weigh in until Friday. Since Friday, the babies have been eating pork slivers and gizzard slivers... aka no soup! YAY! This morning they had a plate of pork and a plate of chicken; little Pepper was the only one at the pork plate I got veal liver last night so I'll be anxious to see how that goes over. Hope all is well with everyone else! Merry Christmas!!
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Post by Deleted on Dec 31, 2014 15:01:12 GMT -5
The veal liver was a hit! I couldn't believe it! So was chicken hearts on their own! I'm so proud of them all! I *finally* took a deep breath and chopped up a CGH. I took both wings and cut them up with scissors and put the plate in their cage......they ate it! All of it! And no stuck pieces requiring an ER vet trip I kissed Zekrom the next day and told him I was proud of us both! So, since I'm off tomorrow.........my goal is to serve either the pork brains or pork kidney. Maybe this weekend they can try quail. Everyone had sliced chicken hearts and some chicken chunks for breakfast. For dinner they will have chicken chunks and veal liver big slices. Weights were good this week again-everyone was the same or down just 1 oz......so we'll see how this weekend goes and get back on schedule!
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Post by Deleted on Jan 5, 2015 15:46:46 GMT -5
I think it's safe to say.........my kids are fully switched! Yesterday I chopped and served quail! I saw everyone munching, except Reshiram, and the plate was cleaned before bedtime. I gave them a plate with gizzard slivers to have overnight and the plate was cleaned this morning! They had quail for breakfast (shortly after 6am) and a little after 1pm my husband called to say "Zekrom looks like he's hungry and their plates are empty; what can I give him?" (which is a huge breakthrough for Tom! All this time he has been saying the raw is gross and I'm crazy and why would I do this, etc. And now he's feeding them! I love it!) So I told him to give them more of the gizzard slivers as a snack. Tonight they will have some chicken thigh (muscle meat meal) and tomorrow for breakfast 1/2 liver 1/2 kidney! I hope they like it!
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Post by Deleted on Jan 7, 2015 15:45:25 GMT -5
The liver and kidney was a hit! I can't believe it!! I did add a little eggshell powder and a drizzle of salmon oil (with a little warm water too) but I was so happy to see them eat without hesitation! YAY! Everyone seems to be eating a lot more too? I love it! I'm so happy they are FINALLY eating closer to the norm (girls 2-3oz and boys close to 4oz). I'm trying to keep to the scheduled menu I have on the fridge (the one I did up a coulple weeks ago) but I didn't chop enough Bone-In meals. (I should have chopped up all 6 quail, but I only chopped up 2 and bagged the other 4 'bodies'). I'll have to chop more on Saturday so I just have a couple days to get through. Can I sprinkle some eggshell powder on the chicken thigh (muscle meat) meals and count that as a bone-in? Or will 1 week without the 7-9 bone-in meals be okay? So far, this has been their menu/consumption: Sunday am-chicken thigh (MM) Sunday pm-quail (bone-in) Monday am-quail (bone-in) afternoon snack-gizzard slivers Monday pm-CGH (bone-in) Tuesday am- 1/2veal liver/ 1/2pork kidney (organ) Tuesday pm-CGH (bone-in) Wednesday am-chicken Thigh (MM) Wednesday pm chicken thigh (MM) ------------------------- I plan on: Thursday am-chicken hearts (MM) Thursday pm-CGH (bone-in) Friday am-gizzard slivers (MM) Friday pm-either gizzard slivers, chicken thigh, or CGH (depends what's left) So, with what they have had and my 'plan'- Bone-In= 5 (maybe 6) MM= 5 (maybe 6) Organ=just 1 (I could give 1/2 kidney 1/2 heart tomorrow...I'm out of liver-Note to self, get liver asap) Eh, this is hard when it's not written down...
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Post by Deleted on Jan 12, 2015 14:25:08 GMT -5
My oh my have I become lazy Since I have not had to blend any meat for a couple weeks, I noticed I have become pretty lax....and I need to change that! It probably doesn't help that I'm fighting some sort of cold for the past few days (mild here and there sore throat with a sinus headache) BUT-the babies are doing great! Saturday I was feeling pretty blah, so while I layed on the futon (bed style) the babies were out running around and napped as they pleased I had an extra special treat though- Zekrom came out from, somewhere and I asked him to snuggle with me. I scooped him up and put him under the blanket which was under a large comforter (it was -1 when we woke up at 7am! I think the high ended up around 13 degrees=brr!) So, Zekrom moved around my left side and then I did not see the blanket move. I lifted the comforter and he was curled in a ball on top of the blanket (fleece) and under the comforter....but right next to my hip! And that sweet lover slept there for almost 2 hours! I was in heaven and I swear, that made my headache and sore throat disappear! The bad news though.....I had trouble getting everyone to eat their 1/2 heart 1/2 organ meal? I'm not sure what the problem was. They ate the 1/2 kidney 1/2 veal liver without hesitation. This time it was chicken liver...which I would think would be more mild than the veal liver. They loved the heart meal-they actually licked the plate clean! So, I was kinda bummed. Maybe I'll blend the organ meal with an egg this week? They tried a chicken back for the first time yesterday. I smashed the heck out of it with my clever and chopped up some pieces. It had a lot of fat and some skin and meat. They were all kinda hesitant and only after about 45 minutes Zekrom made the first move and started munching. Zoey had a little and then Pepper too. I'm sure Reshie and Elvyra got in there at some point. Someone had a white poop...I'm hoping that whoever did, just ate too much fat-does that happen? I'm trying to get used to 'non kibble poop' but I still get nervous when there's a 'weird' one. I was also thinking this morning, maybe these chicken backs are not antibiotic/hormone free... and that's why they hesitated and someone had a funky poop? The backs (I had 4 total) were in the freezer in ziplock bags-no labels. I might try another one and see if they like it the second time around. If not, I'll give the other 2 to my parents (they have 2 dogs who love when I have meaty treats) This week they will try turkey! I have a package of turkey wings in the freezer so I hope they like them! I need to do weights tonight...or maybe tomorrow. *must get back on track*
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Post by Deleted on Jan 12, 2015 14:29:43 GMT -5
Oh, incase anyone does still read this thread Has anyone heard if the implants are available yet? Zekrom, after the prolapse scare (and knock on wood-he has not had a prolapse or urine issue since that one day!) he did have a lupron injection (12/01/14). I would like to get him an implant vs getting another round of lupron, but if the implant won't be available until February or later, I think I should get him another lupron. It won't hurt him having more lupron, right? But if anyone knows, please let me know when the implant availablity date is
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Post by Deleted on Jan 14, 2015 11:28:56 GMT -5
These babies just amaze me everyday! I have to defrost/thaw/chop/portion/and probably shop for some food for these eating machines soon! I wanted to try to make freezer space, so last night I pulled a container "pork for soup-no heart or liver" so I thought, perfect muscle meal. This morning I grabbed the container to realize these pieces of pork were huge! Probably 3-4 inches long and the same wide-I know if I were to eat it, I'd have to cut them smaller! But, I wanted to see what would happen....baby Zoey got right in there! It took her just under 5 minutes, but she chewed and chewed and ate a whole piece! Then I saw Zekrom do the same! I actually had a few extra minutes this morning, so I swapped that plate of pork for bite size chicken thigh I told them I didn't want them to work so hard for their food-I'm such a sucker, I know Everyone had their weigh in last night-on empty tummies, Zekrom was the only one who gained=2lbs 12oz! I have seen him at the plate more than anyone else, but I was surprised! (happy surprise though!) Zoey, Elvyra, and Pepper all had the exact same weight from over 2 weeks ago (I know, bad ferrent) but Reshiram actually lost weight. He only lost 2oz weighing in at 3lbs even. I'll keep my eye on him though. He's acting fine, but he usually waits until everyone eats before he gets in there. When he does finally get to the plate, and they are out of the cage, he does more stashing rather than eating. Hmm... We got a larger storage container for their rice dig box. I can't wait until I finally order some tubes (dryer vent hose actually) and connect a tube to the rice box! Zoey FINALLY went into the rice by herself! AND last night I got her to be crazy and she started digging in the rice! We got rice, maybe, 6 months ago and Zoey did not want any part of it! I'm not sure if it was too cold for her or if it was a texture thing? But we could not get her to play in it. After last night, I would be surprised if she doesn't jump in at least once everyday!
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Post by Deleted on Jan 16, 2015 15:28:50 GMT -5
The rice dig box is the first point of play now! Haha, they are so funny! They are also so super crazy in there that I think there will always be a grain of rice somewhere! Ha, but that's okay Quail was for dinner last night. Pepper and Zekrom were the first ones to the plate. Zoey and Elvyra sniffed it and walked away? I was very surprised, but I also offered more hearts when I got home from work so maybe they were full? Reshiram took a mouthful of quail and took it into the little tent! Haha, he cracks me up! He entered the tent 3 times, I think he ate the mouthfull each time, and then the 4th round took off to go in his *secret* stash spot. Had a mild nervous moment last night. Zekrom was crunching away (quail) and then made a little cough and sneeze. Then his body was moving like he was going to throw up-but couldn't. He went to the plate again and then bolted to the other side of the room. I followed him and got down on the ground. He saw me and ran under the couch (tear). I thought great, he has a bone stuck again. (At the beginning of December I rushed him to the Emergency Vet because he couldn't close his mouth only to find out there was a bone stuck around his top molar). A few momments went by and he came to me and I picked him up. He licked near my face, licked my nose, and then bit my nose (not hard like he used to!) and then licked my cheek! I took that as "it's okay mom. I was scared for a minute but I'm okay-thanks for checking. Now I must play!" (god love his little soul!) Sure enough, 2 minutes later he was playing with everyone else in the tubes, then to the rice, race down the hall, back to the rice.......I felt better then too
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Post by Deleted on Jan 16, 2015 15:58:40 GMT -5
I'm sorry that I haven't checked in with you. I'm fighting a bug and my husband is sick, so I've fallen a bit behind on everything.
Their weights are good. Don't worry about an ounce or two, up or down, but do keep an eye out on Reshiram, just in case. If he continues to drop weight, then we'll start worry. The others are maintaining their weights and that's fine. They all come to a point where their weight stays steady until a spring weight loss or winter weight gain. That's why it's important to keep a weight journal. It can give you a good idea where they usually are and alert you to weight losses that could signal health issues.
I'm glad Zekrom is okay. I remember his December scare. It was sweet that he knew you were worried. I wish they wouldn't run away like that, but they do. They feel vulnerable and their instincts kick in to hide.
I don't know anything about implants, I'm sorry. @cindyrads is in PA, maybe she will know. You might have to give some local vets a call and see what they say.
I'm not sure why they decided to turn their noses up at the organ meal. Maybe they weren't hungry or maybe they were hoping for veal liver. Sometimes, they are just picky little divas'
Undigested fats will cause seedy looking poops. One strange white poop isn't anything to worry about though. Keep an eye out and then worry if it continues.
You're doing very well so far. I'll check in again and I'm sorry to have let some of your posts go by. It's that time of year and everyone seems to be feeling lousy. :wave2:
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Post by Deleted on Jan 16, 2015 20:41:58 GMT -5
I have no idea about the implants, sorry. I guess just call around to different vet offices they should know.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 20, 2015 14:38:09 GMT -5
Thanks @cindyrads , I'll give the vets a call this week now that work isn't so crazy; thanks for commenting! Thanks @poncesmom for answering all the questions (some I forgot I asked!) It does seem like everyone is getting sick around here. I hope you're feeling better soon!!! This is probably a total 'newbie' question...but are all turkey wings huge? I pulled the package from the freezer (I got it probably a month or so ago) and let it try to thaw for a couple hours. I pulled one wing out and it was huge! Now, I have been working/chopping with CGH and Quail which are pretty small, but I was shocked how big this wing was! The bone, also, was huge-the thickness of.....like a permanent marker. I could chop the tip to first joint with my cleaver, but the middle section I could not. (I did not even try the top part). Did I get wings from a rare huge turkey, or are they all like this? Now I'm having trouble finding more bone-in meats. The babies are great with the quail and CGH... they have not had plain 'ol chicken wings yet (The ones I have seen are the 'wing dings') so I could try them with those. I do have 2 chicken backs in the freezer, but everyone or someone (I forget now) had funky poop after that. OH! I do still have 2 ducks necks in the freezer...but I'm a little scared to try that again. Maybe it'll be okay if I just smash it to a pulp with the cleaver? Zekrom has become a new ferret since switching to raw! His coat and body is absolutely incredible! His activity and 'dooks' have gone through the roof! And the kisses-..... he is just all about giving kisses! Last night I scooped him up before I went to bed and told him how much I loved him and he licked my lips non-stop for a good full minute! I actually had to pull away because he was making my lips dry! Haha, such a little sweetie pie! And I cannot forget baby Zoey! That sweet lover kisses my feet any chance she can get! She usually kisses my hand or arm when I first pick her up too! Her coat and body also looks fabulous! Her head bobbing and frequent flat ferreting is a thing of the past!(which was how she was diagnosed with adrenal disease-I took her in to get a bg test done because I was worried she had insulinoma only to find out her adrenal gland was enlarged. She will get another implants, hopefully, by July). She is so beautiful! Pepper has lost her pot belly, which makes me sad because she was such a cute chunky girl! However, she hops around and even walks much better! (She used to waddle...it was cute) The hair on her tail is getting funky-thin at the tip and underside. It is not bald...but not thick and soft like everyone else. I'm hoping she just has her seasons backwards! Her nose is getting a couple dark spots? Do solid pink noses change color sometimes? Her nipping has got so, so much better-a couple nips here and there but not the usual continuous chomping and leaving marks! She is also my best eater! When I put a plate down, so gets right in there and starts chomping away! Elvyra-ha, so is something for sure! She has been LOVING the rice bin! When I let them out of the cage, she is the first one out and her first stop is the rice bin! I ask her if she is crazy and she starts dooking and rolling around in the rice! Haha! And her coat is stunning! She is the darkest of the 'sable babies' (Pepper and Zekrom are sable-I think that's what they are, the 3 of them have a mask) and her fur is so shiny and soft! Her nipping is almost completely gone! Actually, I cannot remember the last time she nipped?!! She gives kisses her and there too-depends how 'busy' she is stashing things and if you interrupt her Reshiram-my big sweet polar bear cub! I can't wait to see if he put those 2oz back on! He is so solid! It's funny when I pick him up, or even trimming his nails-everything about him is just so much bigger than everyone else! He smells like corn chips! He used to have grape tail when they were having just soupies at night (kibble during the day) but now when I kiss his face (and huff him!) he has a corn chip smell! We have a sweet routine in the morning-the alarm goes off and I shuffle towards the clock being careful NOT to step on Reshie (it started about a month ago where he just HAS to be under your feet!). Then off to the bathroom we go. He usually burrows under a towel until I ask him if he's "Ready for breakfast?" when he pops his head out and we head for the kitchen! Again I'm shuffling, and I climb over the baby gate (marshall's play pen extended to block the kitchen) and grab the container out of the fridge. I get the warm water running, drizzle over the breafast, put half on a plate (leave the other half in the tupperware bowl) and turn around to see Reshie on his back staring at me! The first time I saw this, I almost dropped their breakfast because I was laughing so hard! My poor, famished polar bear-whithering away as I take the 1-2 minutes to get his breafast ready Some mornings-all 5 are doing it! I really need to grab my camera before I turn around (Once I take 2 steps they all get up!-gosh, they're soooooooo cute!) because looking through the gate, they look like little sad prisoners....haha, Love dem babies! Sorry for the novel-I can talk about the babies as long as someone will listen! To sum everything up-everyone's doing great and I hope to find/figure out a couple more Bone-In items to add to their diet.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 20, 2015 17:35:58 GMT -5
I loved hearing about everyone. They are all so full of personality.
Turkey wings are big. They're really too big for mine to handle. I don't see them very often, so I tend so save turkey for a muscle meat meal. I look for ground turkey that is high in fat.
I tend to use the same Bone In meats. Variety is hard to find around here, so I rely on quail, cornish game hen and chicken wings. You could look for rabbit as a bone in meat. You can also purchase frozen mice, guinea pig and look for game birds like duck and pheasant.
You sound like you've made a full switch on your own. Would you like to post a menu? If you post your menu, I will forward it to Heather for approval and we can change your status to Raw Feeder. If you're not ready, that's fine and I will keep following along and checking in. (dance)
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Post by Deleted on Jan 21, 2015 15:47:40 GMT -5
Wow, a full switch on my own! It's hard to believe! (getting a little choked up over here!) I really appreciate all your time reading my stories, worries, questions, babbling I really do! Just knowing you and everyone else are there helping me along-words cannot describe how grateful I am (and Zoey, Zekrom, Pepper, Reshie, and Elvyra thank you all too!) This is the menu for this week. I know I need more variety (different proteins) but this is what they had/are having on my limited planning for the week... Sunday AM: Gizzard slivers (MM) Sunday PM: Gizzard slivers (MM) Monday AM: 1/2 Liver 1/2 Kidney (Organ) Monday PM: Quail (Bone-In) Tuesday AM:Quail (Bone-In) Tuesday PM: Quail (Bone-In) Wednesday AM: Heart (Heart) Wednesday PM: Cornish Game Hen (Bone-In) Thursday AM:Cornish Game Hen (Bone-In) Thursday PM: Duck Neck (Bone-In) Friday AM: 1/2 Heart + 1/2 Liver 1/2 pork brain[first try of this-fingers crossed] (Heart+Organ) Friday PM: Cornish Game Hen (Bone-In) Saturday AM: Chicken Thigh (MM) Saturday PM: Cornish Game Hen(Bone-In) I am definitely going to write up their weekly menu's because, as you can see, I am going with what is thawed and when I had time to chop (mainly the quail and CGH). I don't like them having 3 of the same meals in a row...but at least the poops are good! Muscle Meats (MM)=3 Bone-In = 8 Heart = 1 and 1/2 Organ = 1 and 1/2 Please tweak away and I would love any suggestions!
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Post by Deleted on Jan 21, 2015 17:36:05 GMT -5
That's a good menu with a nice variety.
Allow me to make two suggestions: the first would be to add a Red Meat meal. Red meat is high in Iron and Vitamin B. You could do ground beef with an egg, or look for fatty cuts of chuck steak. Lamb is also a red meat and considered a hypo allergenic meat. Few ferrets have trouble with lamb. It's often pricey though.
Second would be instead of a chicken thigh on Saturday, consider a pork meal. You could use a fatty cut of pork. Fat equals energy for ferrets. You could also use ground pork. That gives you another protein and one that is not a poultry protein.
Friday AM: 1/2 Heart + 1/2 Liver 1/2 pork brain[first try of this-fingers crossed] (Heart+Organ
Let's tweak this a little: It should read Liver plus another Organ plus a half meal of Heart. On this day, you're looking at 1/4 meal of Liver and 1/4 meal of the Other Organ and a half meal of Heart
The percentages work out to: Ten percent of their weekly consumption being Heart Five percent is Liver Fiver percent is other organ
Does that make sense?
Heather will be looking for what proteins you use for the Heart/liver/and other organ.
Your format is good. She wants to know that you know that you know, that Quail counts as Bone In, that gizzards and Heart are a Muscle meat and that you have your organs in order.
Would you like to make those adjustments and then I can forward it for you. Very nice Job. Give yourself a pat on the back. :thumbsup:
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