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Post by Deleted on Sept 18, 2014 13:43:01 GMT -5
I'm still concerned at the amount Kaiju is eating. She's 10 weeks tomorrow and is eating about 4oz a day Max. Sometimes less. I'm wondering if I should go back to basics and do chunky soups and build up until she gets into some sort of eating routine?? Also when it comes to bone meat, she doesn't eat it all the bone so I'm worried she's not getting enough. Her poops seem fairly normal, maybe on the soft side and darkish brown. They are also smaller then when i first brought her home. I dont know if this is becuase shes no longer on kibble? She just seems unable to focus on her food and never really seems hungry. If i give her something she'll be really enthusiastic at first but mainly just licks it, then she just seems to loose interest and just stash it. She had half an egg yesterday and licked it up straight away but this (apart from her first ever chicken wing which she devoured) is the only time I've seen her 100% focused on eating... Her night time meal is the one that seems to get eaten (not all of it though) but I can't leave it in there until its all gone or I'll go over the 12 hours. Help!
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Post by RedSky on Sept 18, 2014 14:36:48 GMT -5
It might be an idea to make a soupie up and see if she eats more. It might just be that she is lazy, hence licking up the egg. If she does eat the soupie then go back through all the steps but take a little longer with it, could just be her jaw aching from all the chewing that she isn't really used to.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 18, 2014 14:54:06 GMT -5
I didn't think of that, I guess her jaw could ache from chewing off bits of muscle meat too not just the bone meats. Taste doesnt seem to be an issue as shes tried to eat everything so far, just in small amounts. I guess we have to work on strengthening her jaw so she can eat easier. I'll def do that with the soupies thankyou!  |
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Post by Heather on Sept 18, 2014 23:29:46 GMT -5
10 weeks....how big is she? Is she loosing weight? She needs her calcium so you're going to either supplement her bone intake or add some powdered egg shell or bonemeal powder. I used to give the babies one meal of ground meats (bone, meat and organs meats) to make sure they inhaled one meal. The bone meals take longer to eat, silly easily distracted babies often don't stick around long enough but do go back to chew when nothing is going on and their tummies start to growl.
If she was raised on soften kibble up until the time you got her, she won't have the jaw strength to crunch big bone, if she's a Marshals some of them actually never seem to develop much jaw strength. That being said take a hammer or a good knife and smash the bones up a bit for her and let her have a go at that
ciao
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Post by Deleted on Sept 19, 2014 5:53:50 GMT -5
I tried to weigh her yesterday but due to the wriggling I'm not sure how accurate it is! It said 506g I'm really not sure if that's ok or underweight. I tried to look it up but couldn't find any info. She's quite small but she was the biggest of the litter and her mum and dad are small. She's not a Marshals, she came from a breeder. I think she was eating kibble the same way as her mum so it wouldn't have been softened. I think its more that shes too distracted rather than struggling with jaw strength. Will feeding a few soupies a week improve her appetite? I'll try smashing the bones up and see how she gets on. And maybe feed her smaller meals but more often? I will take a picture of her in my hands so you can see her size. I think she's pretty normal but I could be wrong as this is my first ever ferret!
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Post by Deleted on Sept 19, 2014 9:28:39 GMT -5
I managed to weigh her properly by keeping her occupied with a bit of egg yolk. She's 536g. Will post a pic when I have someone to help me. |
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Post by racheld on Sept 19, 2014 9:53:59 GMT -5
4oz seems pretty good for a ferret who's only about half a kg...I wouldn't be concerned, personally, but smashing up bones for her will help her get used to chewing them, for sure.
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Post by Heather on Sept 19, 2014 15:46:08 GMT -5
She's a good weight for 10 weeks, my wee girlies were about 503 g at that age. Feeding soupy won't increase her appetite but she may eat more, but from her weight she sounds like she's good. My wee ones were small but well balanced, so it does sound like she's of good weight and is probably eating enough for her. I'd just use the soupy once in a while and smash up some of her bones for her so that she can get at all the good marrow and stuff inside.
ciao
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Post by Deleted on Sept 19, 2014 17:21:18 GMT -5
Thankyou! That's really reassuring I'll do that to the bones for sure! Hopefully the day will come when I won't be such a worrier  |
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