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Post by Deleted on Nov 3, 2014 22:41:31 GMT -5
Yay, they've gained some weight (dance) 2 1/2 ounces twice per day for both of them together. They don't seem to eat a lot. Lol Alright I will give them each 3oz per day and see how it goes! And separate meals, got it. Which protein do you recommend next? And if I try a new one, would I mix a bit of it in with the old protein to start? Thanks so much! As for Chanel's poop... it's been like that for a while now. When he ate just kibble before and now too, eating the raw. I'm just worried about the seediness of it. You don't think he could have some disease I hope?
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Post by Deleted on Nov 4, 2014 1:50:50 GMT -5
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Post by gfountain on Nov 4, 2014 10:43:03 GMT -5
So together they're eating 5 ounces per day. Are you leaving their soup with them all day now? Are they still eating kibble as well? Once they're completely off of kibble, your goal will be to feed them enough that there will be one or two bites left over when you serve the next meal. That way you'll know that they had plenty to eat and there will be minimal waste.
They won't eat as much volume of raw as they did kibble. They have to eat far less raw to get the same amount of nutrition that they got from their piles of kibble. Which is also why there's less poop.
"And if I try a new one, would I mix a bit of it in with the old protein to start?" You're getting the hang of this! :thumbsup: That's exactly what you'll do. Make another soup and mix them, gradually increasing the amount of the new protein. What you use next is up to you; the easiest to get is probably turkey or pork.
I don't think Chanel has a disease. Obviously, if you're REALLY worried about him, take him to the vet. But if he were mine, I would give him another week or so on the raw and see if it gets better.
Coco is very likely missing the crunch of kibble. Check his teeth to make sure there's nothing wrong there, and offer him a wingtip. They're easy to eat and have a nice crunch, so maybe he'll like it. Wingtips are delicacies at my house.. I wish chickens had more of them, lol!
Also, let's start increasing the size and quantity of the slivers. Each meal make the slivers a little larger and add more of them to the soup while decreasing the amount of soup. What consistency is your soup now?
Re-reading this post, it seems very jumbled up. I apologize for that.. I'm trying to reply in between classes and I only have a few minutes at a time. I'll do better next time!
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Post by Deleted on Nov 4, 2014 14:24:47 GMT -5
Hey no worries! You're taking your time to help me out as a mentor. Anything you say is greatly appreciated This morning I measured out their total food amount: 3 oz each so that's 8 cubes, so 2 cubes for each ferret twice a day Lol, a bit confusing but I got it. For Chanel I make his soup a bit thicker with sliver/chunks in it mixed with a sprinkle of ground (Powder) kibble. He immediately starts eating it from the bowl. For Coco, I put his soup in a separate plate. I added more water and more ground kibble and he eats that better than before. They both ate a good 1/2 amount of each soup. Yes, I leave the leftovers in their cage so they can go and finish it off when they feel hungry again. Chanel tends to eat it all before it gets bad. I'm gonna try adding pork! and I'll continue watching Chanel's poop. Both of them actually. I'll look for wingtips...but honestly I'm worried Coco won't even lick it since he's so stubborn.
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Post by gfountain on Nov 4, 2014 14:46:11 GMT -5
So they're not having kibble any more throughout the day?
Instead of making a pork soup, why don't you first try just adding some slivered pork to their chicken soup. Maybe the added texture and different taste will be enough to get Coco to eat it. And maybe not. You may end up having to make soup, but then again we might be able to skip that step... no way to know until you try it.
With Chanel, start decreasing the amount of kibble powder you sprinkle on, but keep adding it to Coco's. We'll just have to move a little more slowly with him. You might need to sprinkle some of that ground kibble on Coco's wing to get him started.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 4, 2014 15:15:48 GMT -5
Nope, I don't feed them whole dry kibble anymore because I read that brand (Zupreem) is not good at all. Plus Chanel loves to dig it out of the bowl and it gets all over the floor! I'm gonna go buy some pork and wings now.
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Post by gfountain on Nov 4, 2014 15:23:10 GMT -5
So they're kibble-free?!?! For how long? And how did I not know this?! Kibble-free is a huge step in the right direction! And yes, Zupreem Grain-Free uses peas, which have been linked to bladder stones.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 4, 2014 20:17:46 GMT -5
Oh my gosh sorry I didn't tell you! I am still using the powdered kibble so to me it isn't free yet haha
It's been a few days now! I feed them raw soup morning and night. They finished off this morning's batch and now I'm thawing tonight's meal (dance)
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Post by Deleted on Nov 4, 2014 21:27:16 GMT -5
Um I couldn't find wing tips (just one as part of package of whole chicken parts) where do you find yours? It looks like a normal wing with a red tip, correct?
And I got some boneless pork chops.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 4, 2014 23:01:44 GMT -5
Sorry for this gross pic Gina but I just wanted to show you Chanel's poop a few hours ago: I have no idea where all the seeds come from...
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Post by gfountain on Nov 5, 2014 9:20:58 GMT -5
If they finish ALL of a meal, give them a little more to have in their cage for the day. You want them to have food available all the time in case they get hungry. Soup will stay good for 6-8 hours, but if you're worried about it souring before you get home, just give them a frozen cube. They'll eat it as it thaws and it will last longer. The wingtip is the smallest section of the wing. I just buy a package of wings & when I fix them for us, I cut that smallest section off and save for the ferts. It doesn't have a whole lot of meat on it and we usually just throw them away anyway. It's actually getting hard to find whole wings here. All the stores have started stocking wingettes, which are just the two largest sections of the wing... aggravating. But any small bone will work. I can't see your image again. I'm on my school computer and it's pretty heavily censored to keep kids off of inappropriate sites. I've decided that it must be blocking your image hosting site. I'll check it when I get home this afternoon.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 5, 2014 13:18:15 GMT -5
Oh good idea! I will give them an icecube. Didn't even think of that Is it a really bad idea to just feed them twice a day without any extra food left out? I didn't leave them any soup last night. I figure they can't eat that well in the wild...but then again, they're domesticated so I'm probably overthinking it. Sorry you can't find any whole wings anymore~ I'll try and look again. If I find any I can ship them to you (giggle) Anywho, I've got good news I think! This morning I gave them each two cubes in separate bowls again. This time I didn't add any water to it, and I didn't add any kibble to Chanel's bowl. He started eating it on his own. Coco can eat from his bowl now on his own. I still have to add powder kibble though. I added pork slivers to both bowls..success! They both chowed down fairly well. They both ate a little over 1/2 ounce each. There's still some leftover. I felt great watching them eat the chunkier soup! I feel like we're steadily moving in the right direction by the way, do your ferts sometimes make little hiccup noises when they swallow? (not when eating food, just in general)
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Post by gfountain on Nov 5, 2014 17:24:30 GMT -5
That poop is very seedy. The seeds are fats and proteins that haven't been processed correctly. How long exactly has this been going on?
You guys are moving right along! It's so exciting when you actually see progress being made! They really do need to have food available all the time if it's possible. They process food fairly quickly (3-4 hours) so if they can't eat throughout the day, they'll be terribly hungry. My kids will fast themselves sometimes, but I don't want to MAKE them fast. I check the dish as soon as I get home and if it's empty, they get a pre-dinner snack to tide them over. That means sometimes they don't eat all of their dinner when I serve it, but it's almost always gone by breakfast time.
I haven't noticed any noises when they swallow, but hiccups do happen occasionally. It's pretty funny when it happens but I feel so bad for them. Slinkee doesn't really seem to mind when he gets them. He just keeps playing and sort of hopping whenever he hiccups, but Minnie doesn't like them at all. She runs to me and asks me to PLEASE make it stop!
Any luck with finding a bone-in meat for Coco?
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Post by Deleted on Nov 5, 2014 23:24:26 GMT -5
Chanel's poop has been watery and seedy like that for a few weeks, maybe more.. I can't remember. He was eating Marshall's kibble when I got him, then I switched him to Zupreem and I think it might have to do with that, but this past week it's only been raw. Poor guy, he just hasn't had any good moments with food. His jaw is unable to open as wide as a normal ferret's and so I think the kibble got stuck in his teeth more easily. I'm hoping raw will help him out somehow. Chanel sounds like Slinkee with hiccups He just doesn't seem to care. Poor Minnie that's sweet that she runs to you when she feels helpless. I will continue my search for bone-in maybe later on this week. I just had to hand-feed him his dinner (no added kibble) but he isn't taking to the slivers as well as Chanel. So I'm still worried he won't take to the bone yet.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 6, 2014 12:53:32 GMT -5
I had to hand-feed them both this morning. I think they like the warmth of my hand compared to the cold bowl. They both ate 1 oz each. Still a 1/2 oz leftover. Coco still needs kibble mixed in. (headwall)
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