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Post by Deleted on Jan 9, 2015 20:24:10 GMT -5
I just put some more in their food bowl in the cage. Dalia woke up (smelled it maybe?) and went and is eating out of it. Elwood is out playing since he was up so I'll see if he does the same when be goes back in.
Dalia just chewed and ate a decent sized chunk of chicken.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 10, 2015 7:53:16 GMT -5
Dalia is readily eating the soup if I place it in front of her. She is eating the meat pieces that are in it. How should I proceed with her?
Elwood still needs me to feed him so I'll continue what I'm doing until he's ready.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 10, 2015 13:25:46 GMT -5
I've been leaving soup in their bowl and changing it every 6 to 8 hours since I read that's how long it's good for. Dalia eats when she feels like it and goes straight to it. I'd been feeding it to Elwood but while I was asleep he ate out of the bowl as well.
I am going to continue this for now, but should I try giving them slivers of meat? I just don't want to rush it on them.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 10, 2015 13:32:54 GMT -5
With Dalia, I would start reducing the amount of soup and increasing the amount of meat slivers. How big are the pieces that she is eating?
It sounds like Elwood will eat if you are not around. That's a good sign of progress. Most ferrets love the hand feeding and will hold out for it. If Elwood is eating at night, when you are not around to feed him, then he has accepted the soup. He's just playing you a bit, to get some pampering.
Tonight, try leaving two bowls out. One with just slivers and one with soup with slivers. See how that goes.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 10, 2015 13:57:42 GMT -5
The pieces she's eaten have varied in size, but I found that my blender didn't break through the thigh skin too well so that's why they're mixed in there. I'd say a couple were about 1/2".
That doesn't surprise me about Elwood, he does like to be babied (he always asks to be picked up and carried!). It's funny though because when I introduced the soup, he was more interested than Dalia was - but it seems Dalia is more into it so far. I'm going to keep monitoring his intake though. I have been weighing each cube and they're all about an ounce, give or take a tenth.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 10, 2015 17:10:34 GMT -5
I had to give Elwood kibble. He hadn't eaten on his own since I've been up and wouldn't eat whenever I tried to feed it to him. I was worried that he was starving, and as soon as I put the bowl of kibble in front of him, he went ham.
I'm going to make another batch in a few hours, and serve one with slivers for Dalia and one without slivers for him.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 10, 2015 18:07:29 GMT -5
Okay, so it's not unusual for them to be hesitant about the slivers. You'll just have to move them along at a little different pace.
You don't want Elwood to go hungry, but you also don't want him to hold out for the kibble. Once on raw, they don't need to eat every few hours like they do with kibble. So, the next time he refuses the soup, wait a little longer and try the soup again.
The next few bowls of soup, try sitting with him on your lap and let him eat from the spoon. Make one or two tiny pieces and try to sneak them in. Tiny pieces about the size of your fingernail crescent.
The skin is good for them, even if it's not blender friendly. Fat equals energy for ferrets. You might try to simply cut it into very small pieces and then add it into the blender.
If Dalia finishes all of her soup, put some more in the bowl next time. A ferret will leave food in the bowl or try to stash some, once they are full. If they finish everything, then they can probably eat a little more.
Give them both a hug, they're real sweethearts. :thumbsup:
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Post by Deleted on Jan 10, 2015 18:42:31 GMT -5
What I was doing was leaving soup in the cage when they're in there (they sleep in there, but come out when they wake up; I'll put them back in when they fall asleep while out) like I would with kibble. Should I just take the bowl out completely and only provide the soup to them at designated times? Like morning and evening? I know that's what you're supposed to do when they're transitioned but wasn't sure if that's how we'd do soup too.
Would it be okay to offer an ounce to Dalia 2x a day and 2oz to Elwood 2x a day? And see if they will eat more from there?
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Post by Deleted on Jan 10, 2015 23:12:22 GMT -5
I've had a terrible night, Coco passed and I am a mess. Elwood just woke up and went straight to where the kibble bowl would've been (I've removed it). I took him out to feed him. He ate 1/4 ounce at the most. Spit out anything chunky. I am just going to feed him every half hour or something til he has a full ounce. I don't know what else to do.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 11, 2015 10:32:18 GMT -5
Dalia: 1.98lbs Elwood: 2.61lbs
Dalia has been a rockstar with eating. She is eating meat pieces... like 2" long strips. Elwood still needs to be spoonfed and keeps trying to get to the kibble. When spoonfeeding him, they are tiny pieces of skin. He tries to run off with them to drop them, but I've been not letting him go, and he'll eat them.
Elwood obviously needs more time, but it seems like Dalia is ready to move to the next step. Should I try cutting out soup entirely for her? And just chop up pieces of meat to serve to her?
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Post by Deleted on Jan 11, 2015 14:12:50 GMT -5
I put a chicken wing out with some of the meat cut and sliced, they were both picking and pulling at it. Dalia went to sleep but Elwood is still messing with it.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 11, 2015 14:23:04 GMT -5
Okay, he is eating EVERYTHING, I hear him chomping on the bone. I'm so proud of him!!!! But does this mean that I can skip soup altogether with him? I had to sneak a pic:
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Post by Deleted on Jan 11, 2015 18:58:44 GMT -5
Okay, they're both eating the wing so I don't know if we should continue with soup. Since I know they will eat meat without soup, should I try introducing other things? I will list what I physically have in my freezer right now if it helps. For bone in meats, I have: - Chicken wings - Turkey necks For muscle meat: - Pork heart - Chicken thigh - Chicken gizzards For organ meat: - Pork kidney - Chicken liver I want to introduce the items to them, but want to also make sure that they're nutritionally balanced. I leave for work at 7am so I can't introduce anything to them in the mornings M-F. Would it be okay to give them the soup in the mornings and introduce new things in the evenings? Like one day liver, next day neck, next day heart, etc.? And how much would I provide to not interfere with the ingredients in the soup? My mom just surprised me with a kit "for Domino" which is making this all the more confusing because now I have to handle 3 switches at once, and I'm soooo lost.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 13, 2015 6:52:25 GMT -5
Is it okay to do soup in the morning and introduce different things for dinner and still be nutritionally balanced? And what amounts are safe? I'm afraid with the liver with the vitamin A issues.
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Post by RedSky on Jan 13, 2015 7:34:19 GMT -5
I'll try to help out until someone who knows more can help. Yes you can feed one meal as a balanced soup and then the evening meal as introducing other foods. The key here is to keep the evening meals balanced, so remember your meals of each thing eg 1 1/2 meals heart will be 3/4 of a meal of heart and work it out that way. It might be easier to have a look at the meal plan template and just half everything and feed soup every morning including weekends rather than trying to work out meals for 2 extra mornings although if you are confident with maths it can be done.
I personally think soup is a good idea, if they are poorly they are more likely to eat and remain hydrated on something they don't have to put effort into eating. But you can skip it if you like.
So you have a new ferret? Have I missed his/her pictures?
It must be so hard for you at the moment, and for Domino. I hope he likes his present. Does Domino not get along with Elwood and Dalia? I know you probably have your hands full, but just a thought. The switching process at the beginning is very hands on as you know, and requires you to spend a lot of time holding and fussing your fuzzies if they are being awkwards about eating a new food. Do you think now that Elwood and Dalia are eating their soup without too much trouble that Domino would appreciate the extra attention and affection and could be switched now? Just an idea, obviously I know your upset and busy with everything, but just thought I'd suggest it.
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