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Post by Deleted on Dec 26, 2014 8:51:28 GMT -5
Well they are both now eating the NV raw chicken bites made into a soup with 1/4 tsp of wild alaskan salmon oil(it's made for dogs with Omega 3, hope that is ok) today without needing the spoon! Hopefully Sunday I can make a batch of the raw soup and get them started on that. Keep your fingers crossed
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Post by Deleted on Dec 26, 2014 11:23:22 GMT -5
Fingers crossed for you. Daisy and Mozart are doing very well and so are you. Wild Alaskan Salmon oil is a pure product with just salmon oil. It's a good product.
I'm excited to see how they like their soup. (dance)
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Post by Deleted on Dec 28, 2014 16:13:37 GMT -5
Well the good news is that they ate the raw soup readily off the spoon!! The downside is trying to find chicken hearts! I got a package of gizzards with hearts and it only had 3 hearts. So I ordered some chicken, duck and beef hearts and should get it after Jan 5th. Will need to run to the Asian store tomorrow to see if they have it. But YAY!!
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Post by Deleted on Dec 28, 2014 16:24:55 GMT -5
Oh and they are starting to get a light green mucoid diarrhea. Is that normal?
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Post by Deleted on Dec 28, 2014 18:51:06 GMT -5
Well the good news is that they ate the raw soup readily off the spoon!! The downside is trying to find chicken hearts! I got a package of gizzards with hearts and it only had 3 hearts. [img src="http://i1105.photobucket.com/albums/h352/JW_2012/Emoticons/ .png" src="http://i1105.photobucket.com/albums/h352/JW_2012/Emoticons/ .png"] So I ordered some chicken, duck and beef hearts and should get it after Jan 5th. Will need to run to the Asian store tomorrow to see if they have it. But YAY!! Hooray (dance) That's a very good sign. They just might make this very easy for you. Those packages of Tyson chicken hearts and gizzards are mainly gizzards. You're lucky to get three hearts in yours. Save the gizzards though. Freeze them in smaller portions. They're great for cleaning teeth and building jaw strength. Ferrets usually take to them pretty easily. You can slice them into long thin slices like this: ####### and offer them, one at a time. If they don't care for them, try running them under some warm/hot water and try again.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 28, 2014 18:55:54 GMT -5
Oh and they are starting to get a light green mucoid diarrhea. Is that normal? With all the new food, you can expect some funky poops. You'll have good poop days and scarey poop days, but that will settle down and you will have nice small poops that are less smelly than kibble poops. They are basically detoxing from their kibble. Their poops will be smaller because they are digesting more of the food and the filler in kibble is waste (pun intended) and makes for bigger poops. One day of diarrhea or even two is nothing to worry about. If it continues, then we start to worry about an allergy or intolerance to a protein. That's one of the reasons that we suggest using one protein at a time. That way a problem protein is easily identified.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 29, 2014 11:26:53 GMT -5
Well the good news is the Asian mart by me has plenty of chicken hearts, as well as beef and pork hearts. They also carry frozen whole quail, quail eggs, whole rabbits. Pretty cool. Should not be too bad for me if/when I get them on to frankenprey. Now my question is what if they never eat bone? I can get ground meats with bone in them. would that be ok?
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Post by Deleted on Dec 29, 2014 18:38:12 GMT -5
Well Mozart is more willing to eat from the bowl after a short time with the spoon. Daisy is being more stubborn. Still loose poop today but now it's brown. I was adding 1/4 tsp salmon oil to each meal and now I will cut it to just the evening meal.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 29, 2014 19:15:12 GMT -5
That's great! You're doing so well, I know it can be tough at first, but it gets easier.
Unless a ferret has teeth issues or is very ill, their is no reason they can't get on bone, for some it may take longer, like my Marcie who is an extremely lazy chewer, but it's most definitely doable. Stef's girl Mika is a lazy chewer and needs her bones mashed, but it's not really a big deal, just a mash here and there. I feel confident yours will do well. Grinds are an option but you don't get the teeth cleaning and jaw strength/mental stimulation when they chew bones. We can burn that bridge when we get to it though.
You can increase the eggshell powder amount to 3/4 tsp per 8 oz meat, watch their poops, if they get too firm decrease it. I had to add oils to mines soup when first starting too, and had to do 3/4 tsp eggshell powder to even it out. Try and add less and less with each meal, you may need it to encourage Daisy a little more but Mozart sounds like he's doing good. What consistency is the soup at? Make it thicker with the next batch and see how they do.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 29, 2014 19:22:54 GMT -5
The soup is actually kind of thick, like pudding. I am adding a cup of water to it and it sticks to the spoon. I may have to consider buying a freezer due to space issues. I am only doing a few days at a time right now to see how it goes. I just made enough until Wednesday and then I will have to make enough through the weekend. I did sign up for the mentor program, so hopefully I will know what to do next since it seems to be going smoothly. I have to keep an eye on the chicken hearts, my cat is getting into the habit of stealing them.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 29, 2014 19:42:07 GMT -5
Well the good news is the Asian mart by me has plenty of chicken hearts, as well as beef and pork hearts. They also carry frozen whole quail, quail eggs, whole rabbits. Pretty cool. Should not be too bad for me if/when I get them on to frankenprey. Now my question is what if they never eat bone? I can get ground meats with bone in them. would that be ok? That's terrific. Having a good market nearby will make things so much easier. They will eat bone, it's just a new thing and once again, you coax, persuade and are patient. You start out small and smash the bones and then work up to bigger pieces. Bones are the Non Weight bearing bones of an animal the size of a chicken or smaller. So, don't worry, we won't be asking them to do anything that they can't do. @julesalot correctly pointed out the benefits of bones. They clean teeth, bones provide nutrients that the muscle meats and organs don't provide. Chewing on bone also offers stimulation. Think of the stages of Frankenprey as the same as feeding a small child. As they grow up and past the baby food stage, they begin chewing and eating more grown up food. We get nervous the first few times that we give a toddler a grape or a hot dog. It's the same with ferrets, we get a little nervous the first few times they eat bone. We do have ferrents who feed commercial grinds and I recently started a thread on that, to help those who are interested in commercial grinds. The Frankenprey menu doesn't fit into everyone's lifestyle and commercial grinds are another option. Here is the link: holisticferret60.proboards.com/thread/17099/commercial-grinds
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Post by Deleted on Dec 29, 2014 19:48:25 GMT -5
Ooh that's good, for dinner or breakfast you can cut up 4-5 tiny, finger nail crescent sized slivers of meat and mix them into their soup, if they chew and eat them then add more and increase the size, if they refuse them, run some warm water over it, dip it in some oils and offer it to them, if it's still a no go hold them in your lap, scruff them, when they yawn throw the piece in there (or rub it on their gums and when they open their mouth stick it in). If they spit it out, pop it right back in. See how that goes, and let us know.
Signing up for the program is great, my two mentors (poncesmom being one of them, she's awesome of course) have helped me so much in my switch, there is a waiting list, probably will be a couple weeks, but in the meantime we can all help you, they're doing great so far.
Your Cat knows what's good (giggle) .. you can start him on frankenprey whenever if you want, my dog I am starting on it soon, just have to buy some more bone in meats, he will be sharing a menu with the ferrets. I've been lazy about it, but need to asap as his teeth are in bad shape, the bones should clean that right up, and save me a $280 cleaning, LOL.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 31, 2014 7:38:28 GMT -5
Well they are now eating the soup without the need of a spoon!! I am giving them about 10-10.5 oz of soup twice daily and I am finding the bowl empty by the time the next meal is due. I am considering on starting to add slivers of chicken this weekend and see how that goes. I am currently waiting on a scale so I can track their weight better as well. Need to go out and get more chicken thighs. I have been getting skinless, is that ok? I can pick up regular today while I am out. Have a great New Years' and remember to stay safe. I shall be home enjoying lobster and taking care of a sick child. My husband gets to go out and party like he's single(within reason ).
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Post by Deleted on Dec 31, 2014 13:31:38 GMT -5
Well they are now eating the soup without the need of a spoon!! I am giving them about 10-10.5 oz of soup twice daily and I am finding the bowl empty by the time the next meal is due. I am considering on starting to add slivers of chicken this weekend and see how that goes. I am currently waiting on a scale so I can track their weight better as well. Need to go out and get more chicken thighs. I have been getting skinless, is that ok? I can pick up regular today while I am out. Have a great New Years' and remember to stay safe. I shall be home enjoying lobster and taking care of a sick child. My husband gets to go out and party like he's single(within reason ). Hooray! If the bowl is empty, add some more. They will slow down on their eating, but now they are making up for the lost nutrients from kibble. Save your money and get the thighs with skin. Fat equals energy for ferrets and they love the skin. I love that you're having Lobster. Paul and I believe that we started that tradition. Our first New Years was around 1979 and we went out and bought lobster. Every year after that, we bought lobster and each year, there would be more people telling us that they had bought lobster for New Years Eve and the lobster store would be busier and busier. Who knows, but we like thinking we started it. (giggle) Happy New Year's Eve to you also. Keep a close eye on your husband, he sounds like he has alot of fun.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 31, 2014 13:48:15 GMT -5
Well I did try a few pieces of chicken breast cut into slivers for them and they are resisting right now. Will just try soup today and try meat cuts in the morning meals for now until they are actually eating it. Mozart did try a few chews before spitting it out, so there is hope. I am actually looking into switching the cats and dogs onto The Honest Kitchen brand of food since it seems better for them. Looks like I am really going to be looking at a freezer on Sunday. My husband deserves to have some fun tonight. He has been working 12 hours days these past few days. I'll let him cut loose tonight and we'll see how he feels when he gets home tomorrow. Poor kid is sick and going to the doctor today and then off to the in laws because she can't stand the idea of me killing a lobster. My in laws are fine with that, I will not complain! A quiet night with no one and nothing to do is a dream for me! Even if it is one night. I made sure all my chores were done already so all I have to worry about is evening meals and meds for the zoo. Never told you all the critters we have. We have 2 dogs, 2 cats, 2 rats, a guinea pig, a parakeet, an African dwarf frog and two amano shrimp. All rescues who have fallen into my lap. Yes I have busy days indeed
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