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Post by Deleted on Jul 22, 2015 18:48:22 GMT -5
Everyone has reverted but Noa. Mia is struggling but Rumi just shook her head.
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Post by Celene on Jul 22, 2015 21:24:47 GMT -5
Hmm. Try taking away their kibble for a couple hours. Not long enough to harm them, just long enough to make them hungry and then try offering soup again.
This might sound a little odd, but you also might want to try serving the soup at different temperatures. A lot of ferrets like it just a little warmed up, although I had one mentee whose ferrets never liked soup until one day she was running late and didn't have time to fully thaw it. The soup was slushy and icy when she put it in the cage and all the ferrets suddenly ran straight for it and gobbled it up!
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Post by Deleted on Jul 23, 2015 14:27:18 GMT -5
Hmm ok we will give that a try. Update a little later tonight!
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Post by Deleted on Jul 23, 2015 17:13:55 GMT -5
We tried egg yolk mixed in, main because Rumi was hacking before and Mia drank alot. Emil started to take interest and kept sniffing it instead of scrunching his face and running. Rumi wiggled the entire time and Noa just wanted to nap.
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Post by Celene on Jul 23, 2015 17:53:20 GMT -5
Rumi wiggled, but he still eat it? I'm glad Emil didn't run for once
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Post by Deleted on Jul 23, 2015 20:02:31 GMT -5
Tried again just now. Dipped on finger, Mia licked than drank on her own, Noa denied any of it, Rumi wiggled, Emil was sleeping upside and I put some on my finger and rubbed it on his gums. Instead of fighting he liked it. I lead him to the bowl and what was left that Mia didn't drink he drank.
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Post by Celene on Jul 23, 2015 20:15:39 GMT -5
Hehehe... Sometimes you just have to trick them! I know you said your guys reverted... Any chance that happened after the kibble was introduced to the soup? Maybe they prefer plain raw. Ferrets are silly, fickle things and seem to always do their best to be tricky. A lot of switching to raw is about trying a bunch of different things and then sticking with what works
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Post by Deleted on Jul 24, 2015 19:39:58 GMT -5
Yes it did happen after the kibble soup. Noa hates the yolk added so poured a separate bowl for her and she drank some Mia drank some with the yolk. Emil and Rumi just wanted to run around so we will try later.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 26, 2015 14:47:35 GMT -5
Mia and Noa took some finger licks but didn't want to drink it. Rumi and Emil didn't want anything to do with the soup.
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Post by Celene on Jul 26, 2015 17:31:45 GMT -5
I'm just going to summarize what we've already tried:
- Soup thinned to almost water/broth then slowly thickened
- Soup with egg or salmon oil on top and/or mixed in (can be tried in conjunction with thinning soup above)
- Kibble soup, slowly adding in raw
- Spoon feeding soup (for some reason works better than finger with some ferrets)
- Repeatedly dabbing soup on gums
- Repeatedly dabbing soup on nose
- Attempting/encouraging to try every 15-20 minutes
It sounds like Mia and Noa are on board (based on the fact that they have both eaten out of the bowl already) and would eat the soup if they were hungry and kibble was removed. I don't know why Rumi is being so difficult since she is young enough that she should just be eating everything in sight.
What I want you to do is try the regular soupie with some of the techniques listed about again. In particular, spoon feeding with a healthy dose of salmon oil on top should encourage some interested! You can also thin it right down and spoon feed soup-broth-water with salmon oil on top.
If you try this again with absolutely no results, then the next two steps are as follows:
1. When you notice them going for kibble (i.e. when you know they're hungry) pull the kibble out and try raw instead.
2. Take the kibble right out and leave soup as the only option. Any of the younger ones can easily go 6-8 hours without eating an be fine (probably a lot longer, but there's no reason to push it). Make sure Noa eats every 3-4 hours. During this time leave a bowl of raw soup where the kibble is normally kept, and every so often bring them over to the bowl (with salmon oil on top for yummy aroma) and/or try spoon feeding.
Ferrets aren't dumb. If they've tried it at all before they know it's edible, and if they're hungry they will eat it!
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Post by Deleted on Jul 28, 2015 21:58:36 GMT -5
Mia and Emil were lead the the soup and both are quite a bit. Rumi didn't want to eat but had to poop instead. Noa took a few licks then left.
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Post by Celene on Jul 29, 2015 9:14:51 GMT -5
How many times do you offer the raw soup each day?
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Post by Deleted on Jul 29, 2015 16:38:15 GMT -5
Seven to ten time a day. I also have a question. Raven is going on vacation for nine days and I have a new job. I work eight and a half hours, can we leave the mean in cage that long for the time I'm at work?
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Post by Celene on Jul 29, 2015 17:03:26 GMT -5
It's not ideal, but they will be fine if it's only for nine days. However, don't be surprised if you come home to find they have protested (moved litter boxes, dumped food, pooped in corners, etc.) Another option would be to ferret-proof an entire room and give them the run of it while you're at work. When does Raven leave? It would be fantastic if we could have all the ferrets 100% on soup by then so you could just leave it in the cage during the day. At this point, I think it's safe to say that your ferrets have realized that they don't NEED to eat the soup, because they can always have kibble after they refuse. So it's time to step it up to phase 2 with a little tough love! Take the kibble away entirely, and leave a bowl of soup where the kibble normally is. They will pout at first, give you sad eyes, and generally try and guilt you into kibble... But DO NOT give in or it will teach them that this tactic gets them kibble back in the future. Once they realize you mean business they will go ahead and eat the soup.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 29, 2015 22:16:43 GMT -5
I see Raven acted as if she was me and misspelled meat with mean. Will they recognize the meat as bad if its out longer then 8? Cause I won't be home till about tech 9 hours (I work 8hrs and 30mins and about a 30 min drive back) I am very concerned they will try eating it after the 8 hr mark. As for today's mark raven said she noticed they ate soup last night (we didn't leave kibble out last night) but for the day none are at all today but we got Rumi eating from finger to bowl for about 2mins. Should we be worried they won't eat at all? I dont like the thought of them starving themselves...
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