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Post by Deleted on Jan 24, 2015 23:27:01 GMT -5
We hit our first major roadblock. Today was liver and kidney day, and their first meal of straight organs. Gidget and Elwood ate a tiny bit. Jake and Dalia won't touch them. I don't blame them, it smells awful. Does anyone have tips/tricks for getting them to eat them?
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Post by raynebc on Jan 25, 2015 0:25:39 GMT -5
You could try topping it with a little oil if there's one they like. I've been mixing meals that are unpopular with my little guys with a little bit of something that they do like, such as ground pork or rehydrated FDR. If this works, try to ease off on the additive food to make sure they get enough organs to meet their needs. If necessary, you can plan this into your menu and give partial organ meals, ensuring they still get a total of 1.5 meals per week of heart, 3/4 meals per week of kidney and 3/4 meals per week of other secreting organs. This makes it tougher to plan, but we gotta do what we gotta do to get them on the right track.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 25, 2015 15:18:01 GMT -5
Jake and Dalia eventually ate some. Question though: does anyone else notice that their ferrets smell like nasty organ smell after eating them?? My god they all smell awful today. It smells like pee and horse manure combined. D:
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Post by Deleted on Jan 25, 2015 16:33:15 GMT -5
Weigh in time!
Jake: 2.91lbs (1/19: 2.88lbs) Dalia: 1.93lbs (1/11: 1.98lbs, 1/15: 1.97lbs, 1/19: 1.94lbs) Elwood: 2.87lbs (1/11: 2.61lbs, 1/15: 2.6lbs, 1/19: 2.79lbs) Gidget: 1.53lbs (1/15: 1.4lbs, 1/19: 1.46lbs)
Body photos to come later this evening.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 27, 2015 11:56:58 GMT -5
Introduced the goat meat last night, they devoured it. I forgot to take the photos, so I'll do that tonight. The only issue I've had so far was the organs, but I'm going to try to blend it up with coconut oil to see if it helps.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 28, 2015 12:58:50 GMT -5
Definitely fell asleep early last night and didn't take the photos. Oops. Tonight!
At what point are the kids considered fully transitioned? They eat everything I put in front of them with no problem, they're just hesitant about liver/kidney. They do eat it though.
I fed heart last night and sprinkled bone meal powder on it, but I apparently didn't put enough since their poop was still runny. Can I put a 1/2 teaspoon? Or is that too much? I feed them 9oz at each meal, so would 1/2 teaspoon to 9oz be okay? I just don't want to put too much.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 28, 2015 13:09:04 GMT -5
If they are all eating bones, and they are following a regular menu, then they are switched. We've just graduated two ferrents who did their switch on their own.
If you want to post a menu, I'll take a look at it. If it needs to be tweaked, I'll help you with that. If it's a proper menu, then I will forward it to Heather for approval. Once she approves it, you will get your status changed to Raw Feeder.
Heather will look for a good variety of proteins. Three is a minimum. 7-9 meals of Bone In meats 3-4 meals of Muscle meat. One must be Heart 1 meal of Liver plus another Organ 1 meal of Liver plus another Organ plus a half meal of Heart
She will also look to see that you understand which protein belongs in what category. Your format should read like this:
Sunday a.m. Muscle Meat (followed by the protein) p.m. Bone In (followed by the protein)
Follow that format for the week.
1/2 tsp of bone meal powder for nine ounces of meat if fine. Every ferret is a little different. You want firm poops, but not too firm. Too much powder will make for hard poos, too little will make for too soft poos.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 28, 2015 18:27:58 GMT -5
Oh awesome! I had no idea. Is it okay to use this week's menu?
Sunday AM: Bone - Quail PM: Bone - Cornish hen
Monday AM: Bone - Chicken wing PM: Muscle - Goat
Tuesday AM: Bone - Frog legs PM: Muscle/Heart - Chicken heart/pork heart
Wednesday AM: Bone - Rabbit PM: Bone - Quail
Thursday AM: Bone - Chicken wing PM: Organ - Chicken heart + beef liver + pork kidney
Friday AM: Bone - Cornish hen PM: Muscle - Beef
Saturday AM: Bone - Quail PM: Organ - Chicken liver + pork kidney
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Post by Deleted on Jan 28, 2015 18:33:14 GMT -5
Your menu looks very good. I'm impressed. I'm going to forward this to Heather. Along with a link to your switching thread. We should hear back from her within a day or two (at most). Then Katt will get notified and your status will be changed.
You've done very well and should be quite proud of yourself. Give yourself and the little ones a big hug and a pat on the back. :banana:
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Post by Heather on Jan 29, 2015 16:15:05 GMT -5
Congratulations :banana: :goodjob: You've graduated and you're ready to walk this path alone, now . You have the educational foundation to help you feed your fuzzes in a more natural and healthy manner. Please remember that your learning never stops, and dietary needs change from ferret to ferret and throughout each their lives. Great mix of proteins and few novel ones as well which is fantastic. Adventure in feeding :boing:. Great job in taking on this adventure on your own, though I'm going to use Poncesmom as your guide and mentor. I would like you to be aware that though you now have the capability and the knowledge to create your little ones diets you are never alone and that your mentor (you need only pm) is always available to you. The list is also a very good resource as you well know and it's available to answer any questions you may have either about diet or care. Good luck, in a few days Sherry will lock down this thread and place it in the archives but be aware that you can always look through it as a reference tool but you just will not be able to post to it. Your guide will be in to congratulate you shortly :wave3: :thankyou: ciao
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Post by Deleted on Jan 29, 2015 18:05:28 GMT -5
Congratulations @elenners.
You should be very proud of yourself and the little ones. Don't ever hesitate to ask any questions, we will all be here for you.
Your status change to Raw Feeder will be posted soon. :banana:
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Post by Deleted on Jan 29, 2015 18:13:07 GMT -5
Yay, we did it!! I'm so proud of the kiddos for trusting me when I'd give them something new and try it with a little persuasion. They were such superstars <3 Thank you @poncesmom, gfountain, RedSky and raynebc for answering my questions along the way. I really appreciate your help, and couldn't have done it without you!!
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Post by gfountain on Jan 29, 2015 18:18:18 GMT -5
Congratulations!
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Post by katt on Jan 30, 2015 3:59:25 GMT -5
Congrats! This thread is now locked.
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