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Post by Celene on Jul 29, 2015 22:45:25 GMT -5
Lol! I never know which one of you is typing - maybe you should start signing your posts I wouldn't worry about them eating the soup after it's gone "off". Unless it's really hot and humid (in which case I'd be more worried for the ferrets) the soup will be safe to eat longer than that - we just keep the estimates conservative so people don't leave it out a really long time. In truth, it tends to dry up before it actually goes bad, and they definitely CAN smell when meat is off (if humans can do it, ferrets with a much better sense of smell certainly can!) One trick/thing you can try is to put the soup cube into their dish frozen. They will eat it from the outside in as it thaws and it will stay better longer that way. Ferrets are very smart and won't starve themselves. I would highly recommend before Raven goes away that you leave them with nothing but soup for 8-9 hours and see if they eat. It's almost certain that they will, however you also don't want to run the slight risk of one of them starving themselves and going that long without eating. (Actually, when I was switching my girls to chunks my 5-year-old went almost 12 hours without eating before she gave in, and was perfectly fine. Now she will fight over the same food that she previously refused!) Also make sure if you are leaving them alone that long that there is enough food for everyone to have as their only meal. I would say put out 2 oz per ferret to start - you will probably end up throwing some away, but it's a much better alternative to them going hungry
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Post by Deleted on Jul 30, 2015 7:57:41 GMT -5
Ok then that should be fine. And Rumi drank more last night before she went to bed. Unknown about the others though. - Devan
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Post by Deleted on Jul 30, 2015 18:05:37 GMT -5
Upon returning home from work I found their food bowl licked clean.it is unknown who ate it all. Giving them more both Rumi and Mia ate alot but Noa only wanted a few licks and Emil refused completely.
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Post by Celene on Jul 30, 2015 18:36:57 GMT -5
Hehe, maybe Noa and Emil refused because they were already full from eating all the soup earlier Has the kibble been removed during the day at this point? If so you'll want to give them more soup so there is enough for everyone!
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Post by Deleted on Jul 30, 2015 20:49:56 GMT -5
I certainly hope they ate cause that would be over 24hrs and it mentality exausts me...Mia & Noa don't drink from the bowl directly themselves however (from what I noticed anyways) You have to guide Mia and Noa just doesn't...I wonder what we are doing wrong. - Devan
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Post by Celene on Jul 30, 2015 21:52:53 GMT -5
I'm sure they would if they were hungry! One thing about ferrets is that they are super clever, get spoiled easily, and are master manipulators. When I first got my girls eating slivers or chunks, I had to put a bunch of egg yolk on top to entice them. If the food didn't have yolk on it, they'd simply sit there, sniff the food, look at me, flop down, look at the food, look at me, and then just walk away and basically refuse to eat meat until it was sitting in egg soup. I knew that they needed to eat the meat on it's own without egg, but was so scared of them starving that I'd keep giving in after 30 minutes or an hour and put egg on it. Then they'd sit down in front of the bowl and dig in! So one day I made the decision to be tough, hold my ground, and not give in. They basically pouted, refused to eat, and even threw a tantrum at one point (Nova flipped the dish!). Every time one would go back to sniff the food I'd stand there with my arms crossed and stare at them so they knew I knew they wanted egg but didn't care. Nova gave in and started eating it after 3 hours, Mocha after 4.5. They could have eaten meat on their own weeks sooner, but knew they could get something better if they played their cards right. As soon as they realized that what I put down was what there was to eat and if they didn't eat it they'd go hungry, they started eating everything I gave them. Moral of the story? Don't underestimate ferrets. It's clear at this point that they know the soup is food, and if they think they can hold out for something better (kibble, attention, etc.) then they will. One thing to keep in mind is that on kibble ferrets will graze throughout the day as it is lower in protein and doesn't sustain them as long. On a raw diet, my ferrets only eat twice a day (so roughly every 12 hours). Sometimes they will wander by their food dish and have a little nibble, but they only sit down and have a meal twice a day (and not usually at the same time). Hope that helps! PS - your guys are doing great. I heard a story today about someone who took 6 weeks to get their ferrets to eat soup!
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Post by Deleted on Jul 30, 2015 22:35:13 GMT -5
I hope so Mia is my world...litteraly. I think it's safe to say Rumi converted she drinks ALOT on her own in the cage. Mia finally took a drink after it being watered down a little more so much her belly is full... Too bad it was more water then meat...We made Emil drink a bit and he dooked and went into play mode after Noa didn't eat out of the bowl however... - Devan
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Post by Celene on Jul 30, 2015 23:23:20 GMT -5
I think they are fine then. Have you weighed them recently? It's very helpful to weigh your ferrets twice a week or so during the switch to a) make sure they aren't losing too much weight, and b) give you peace of mind.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 31, 2015 17:39:44 GMT -5
So I did Weights ...Other then Rumi I'm quite concerned...Their Weights are... Noa .868kg Emil 1.00kg Mia .828kg Rumi .928kg Their last Weights were... Mia - .836kg Emil - 1.026kg Noa - .910kg Rumi - .776kg Noa has dropped a bit the others only a little...but I still have not seen Emil eat...and its very concerning...Is it possible Emil is allergic to chicken? Cause I know the kibble isn't real chicken so...
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Post by Celene on Jul 31, 2015 17:57:26 GMT -5
I wouldn't be concerned about their weights at all - my chunkiest girl is 0.734kg and she's a nice healthy weight, and yours are all above that. Usually at the beginning of a switch they were lose a little weight, then once they get hooked on soup they will gain a bunch of weight since it's really easy to eat. After they move onto chunks and bones they will slim back down because it takes longer to eat so they don't pig out so much.
Have you removed the kibble completely yet, and if so, how long has it been?
Some ferrets do have chicken sensitivities, although it usually doesn't prevent them from eating the food. The main sign of a food sensitivity is that they will have super runny poop / diarrhea. (Although runny poop at the beginning of a switch can also be caused by the change in food or not enough eggshell powder in the soup.) If you like, you can try offering some puree turkey or pork and see if he likes that better. My bet would be though that he's either still eating just the kibble (if he has access to it) or he's simply eating when you're not watching.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 31, 2015 18:27:45 GMT -5
About 3 days...they have all had runny poop though and I hope it's nothing serious...
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Post by Deleted on Jul 31, 2015 21:20:53 GMT -5
I'm actually really scared one of them will starve to death...I still have not seen Emil or Noa eat by choice...I've seen Rumi and Mia both eat twice but neither of them....Starting to doubt if I'm a good parent to my ferrets....Any ideas? - Devan
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Post by Celene on Jul 31, 2015 21:20:55 GMT -5
Not at all! If you look around the forum you'll see that "switching poops" are very common. I could show you some pictures of the poops that my girls had when they transitioned, except they're really gross so you probably don't want to see them If the poops stay runny you can increase the eggshell powder to 1 tsp. If their poops start getting hard, then you'll need to back off a little. An "ideal" raw poop should be a little wetter/softer than kibble poop since kibble is hard and try to start with. If kibble has been removed for 3 days I guarantee you Emil has been eating or he'd be one sick ferret by now! I almost never see my Mocha eat, but one time I woke up in the middle of the night for water and heard some chomping so went to check and guess what? Apparently it was dinner time for her! One other thing you'll probably notice is that they will be drinking a lot less water. This is because raw (compared to kibble) already had a ton of moisture in it. In fact, most ferrets are actually under-hydrated on kibble.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 31, 2015 21:44:08 GMT -5
Oh crap then tell me if this is OK...I made one huge batch of soup and used 1 tablespoon and 1/3 tablespoon of bone meal...should I take it away!? I didn't know that was for hardening stools I thought it was to replace an intake of a mineral or something! Mia and Rumi already drank some should I take them to the vet!?
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Post by Deleted on Jul 31, 2015 22:03:20 GMT -5
Whew maybe I don't Mia pooped and it was still covered in liquid but solid in the middle the sand we keep underneath the pellets covered it but I think I saw just yellowish liquid no blood or anything (I'm still going to dispose of the batch since I feel that batch might be a potential hazard.) - Devan
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