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Post by Deleted on Jun 7, 2016 6:14:00 GMT -5
It actually starts in 2 weeks! First paycheck is going to rent and haretoday. Would you mind if I create a menu after ordering more types of protein? I get paid the last week of June and I'll know what I can put towards their food.
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Post by Celene on Jun 8, 2016 22:55:06 GMT -5
No worries!! Let me know once the order has been placed.
In the meantime, have you replaced some of the chicken meals with boneless meats and bonemeal powder?
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Post by Deleted on Jun 9, 2016 8:58:30 GMT -5
Yes! I picked up both pork and beef for boneless and boneless+bonemeal. Booker is now actually eating the beef!
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Post by Celene on Jun 14, 2016 11:44:23 GMT -5
That's awesome!
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Post by Deleted on Jun 27, 2016 16:18:29 GMT -5
I've been *so* frustrated. That job didn't work out, but they didn't bother telling me until the morning it started! And it wasn't even my fault, it was because not one of the five people I talked to mentioned that the hours aren't flexible. I gave all of them my class schedule, not one voiced any concerns. But apparently the supervisor had a huge problem with it, and won't even consider hiring me if I drop the one *50 minute* class that interfered. I've spent the last week working odd jobs just trying to pay rent. :/ And my mother seems to think it's unreasonable to drop out of school and just work, so I'm looking at not getting any job that has enough hours or pay to cover rent. I have to ask my parents for money and food.
Right now I have them on the recommended schedule with chicken wings for bone in, beef and pork alternating for boneless, and 50/50 heart/ liver soupie.
I might have 2 potential jobs, but I'm waiting to hear back from both of them. One isn't until the end of July and the other is an offer I just responded to today.
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Post by Celene on Jul 1, 2016 12:59:41 GMT -5
I'm so sorry to hear it didn't work out!! Hopefully one of the other potential jobs goes better. Have you been feeding any muscle meats with bonemeal as a bone-in meal so there isn't too much chicken? PS - I totally dropped out of school to work because I was wayyy too broke
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Post by Celene on Jul 20, 2016 15:52:24 GMT -5
How is everything going?
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Post by Deleted on Jul 28, 2016 15:53:45 GMT -5
Sorry I haven't responded in a while. My Internet isn't very good here and my family has been having problems with my sister using all the data. :/
The other potential jobs never worked out. One didn't call me back, one didn't have flexible hours (can't work and be in class at one time), and a third potential that came up apparently never even existed. I'm so sick of the temp agency at this point. Luckily, my replacement at my old job is resigning, and my boss wanted me back and even offered to pay mileage for the 2 hour commute each way. It just needs to hold me over until financial aid comes through in the last week of August.
I've been feeding more pork and beef with bone meal to replace half of the chicken wings. I think Booker is the only one not handling it well, he's lost a lot of weight towards his back end. He also had extremely watery poops, so they're all getting probiotic and slippery elm. He seems to have better poops, at least solid now. He's also losing fur from his tail, but only the underside. I think it's from itching, not any worse illness. (I had to bring them to my parents house for a week while I watched their animals and I think he got bit by something) I gave them all oatmeal baths and put them in a thoroughly cleaned cage about a week ago, so I'll see if his fur grows back in soon. Gave him a few rounds of Oxyfresh Pet Gel too. How long does it take for fur to grow back in? How often can I do oatmeal baths for him? I could just do his tail/back legs. Is that a good idea?
I wish I could drop out, but my mother is totally against that and won't let up. Plus I can't get a job anyway, it seems.
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Post by Celene on Aug 2, 2016 11:22:00 GMT -5
First of all, slippery elm should only be administered infrequently to treat a sudden/acute issue, as it coats the intestines/stomach (which is why it is soothing), but can block the absorption of nutrients.
If Booker is losing weight and fur at the base of his tail, I would DEFINITELY take him to the vet ASAP as these sound like signs of adrenal.
Ferrets never need baths unless they have specifically gotten into something (or, say, managed to roll in poop). Frequent bathing strips oils from their fur and can make the problem worse. Oatmeal baths aren't as bad as using soap, however they are unnecessary and not generally helpful.
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Post by katt on Sept 20, 2016 20:06:14 GMT -5
@booker - as per the Mentoring Program Rules:
Your mentor really needs more frequent updates please. As your mentor she is here to help, and wants to help you and your fuzz, but unfortunately she can't be of any assistance if she doesn't have any information or updates to go off of. :/ How are things going? Please post an update.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 1, 2016 17:47:53 GMT -5
I'm sorry, I've had a lot of problems with trying to find a job and not being evicted and such. I ended up finding a job, but it's a 2 hour commute each way, which eats up so much of my time. But I can start posting updates again! I'm making enough to pay off the debt on my cards, afford rent, and have a decent amount left over. I started to notice that Booker was biting his tail where the fur was missing, so I kept up the Oxyfresh on his tail. His fur started filling back in and his weight came back! It's now back even thicker than ever and I haven't noticed any more biting or fur loss. Not really any other updates on that. I cut back on slippery elm a lot and never bathed him. They're all doing good, I can get an update on weights and pictures if you want. Diet is mainly the same (chicken wings, pork, beef, heart/liver soupies), with occasional new meals thrown in. Booker isn't too happy about that. CGH was not well received last night even though it's close to chicken. Two weeks ago I was looking for rescues in my area (I do that occasionally, rescuing is a dream of mine) and actually found some kits on craigslist nearby. The picture was disconcerting because he looked painfully bloated. This girl had gotten an entire litter from a fur farm that was keeping them outside and feeding them dog food. Her passion was foxes and she had just noticed the ferrets while rescuing a fox and decided to take them without knowing much about them. They were 2 months old (allegedly, I think they're possibly younger based on still being able to honk...) and malnourished when I went to see them. They had no energy, clung to anyone holding them and were on high alert. When a ferret is still when being held and makes no move for curiosity sniffing, it just seems wrong... She was keeping them in a barn and feeding some bad smelling packaged meat that wasn't dried, freeze-dried, refrigerated, or frozen as far as I could tell. I chose one and brought her home, and cut some pork into small chunks. She honked, snatched it immediately, ran to a corner and hissed while eating it if I moved at all. She was *starving* and ate as much as my other four combined. Within 2 days, she was exploring and playful, jumping and ready to get out of the cage to play when I would get home, and so much softer. She stopped bolting to hide at every noise, wandered further from me to explore, couldn't be held still. Much better. I kept talking with the girl and she mentioned shipping the last 2 kits to someone who wouldn't come pick them up. Based on the trauma signs I saw in the one I had, I felt it was an extremely bad idea. Bloated kits scared out of their wits, already traumatized, now being shipped?? I told her I would take them, drove to pick them up the next day and brought them home. I opened up the kennel and set my kit in front of it so they could re-acclimate and after a day and a half of sleeping in shifts they were all little bundles of energy. So now I have Aya [f], Dexter [m], and Axel [m].
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Post by Celene on Oct 2, 2016 18:44:17 GMT -5
Hi!
Before we can proceed, for each ferret please update
Name: Age: Gender: Weight: Health Issues:
Also please post your current menu that you are feeding.
It is really REALLY important that to continue with your switch, you find at least one-two new bone-in proteins to add to chicken (including one which is non-poultry such as rabbit). CGH can be fun as a treat, however, it does not count as a separate protein as they are basically just chickens that are slaughtered at a young age. It is dangerous for a ferret to be on an unbalanced diet long-term.
I'm glad you have a job and that everything is stabilizing! I will also require at least 2 updates per week for the remainder of this switch.
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Post by Celene on Oct 7, 2016 18:11:32 GMT -5
Hi @booker ,
If you want to continue this switch, it is essential that I know you are dedicated and that I receive regular communication from you. As stated above, a minimum of two updates per week is required.
For this reason, you have one week (until October 14, 2016) to respond with the information requested above, and an assurance of your commitment. If you do not respond by October 14th, this thread will be closed and vaulted.
Thank you.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 8, 2016 3:09:11 GMT -5
Sounds good, I'll do my best to keep updating.
Koi: 4 years & 2-3 months, female, 830g, no known health issues but has one swollen nipple Pocky: 4 years & 2-3 months, female, 800g, no known health issues Ciel: 3 years & 5 months, male, 1185g, no known health issues Booker: 3 years & 8 months, male, 1090g, no known health issues Axel: 3 months, male, 680g, no issues noticed Aya: 3 months, female, 620g, no issues noticed Dexter: 3 months, male, 835g, no issues noticed
I follow the recommended menu set-up with 1-2 chicken wing meals, 2 organ meals (heart/liver 50/50)(will be adding meat in the next batch to entice the kits, probably ground bison or lamb), and the remaining meals alternating between beef and pork loin (muscle) and added bone meal for bone meals (hopefully that makes sense, it sounds weird, haha). Bone meal has been mostly based on poop consistency, I can try to reply every night and let you know what they ate to make sure the bone proportions are acceptable.
I've kinda phased chicken wings out a fair amount because of the kits. Even when I crush the bone in the wing tip, they don't seem to be able to chew it. Not sure if it's jaw strength or something with their teeth... But they are experts at picking every bit of meat off the bone, it's licked clean.
I understand that adult ferrets don't usually enjoy the company of kits, so I have two play groups now. Pocky is the only one who can be around the kits without either drawing blood or shaking the kits to scare them...poop, pee, spraying, the works. It definitely won't be a quick acceptance. The last introduction ended with Axel peeing, spraying, and pooping, all on Booker's face and my hands. That was fun to clean up. I don't think they understand the spraying and gland scents, and that's a big part of it, since all the adults are descented...
Is it normal to have a kit (possibly the runt) have one of their ears stay closed? Axel had one that wouldn't open for the first 2 weeks I had him, but it opened after that and hasn't gone back to the closed resting-state. Not sure if this is normal or due to malnutrition, kinda worried about the possibility of internal organs being affected similarly if it's malnutrition...
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Post by Celene on Oct 8, 2016 16:06:55 GMT -5
Have these new kits been vetted? This is crucial for a number of reasons, including your worries above, and also the fact that kits kept in those sorts of conditions may have a number of complications or issues. Even something as simple as ear mites is common for ferrets kept outdoors and needs to be checked for/treated.
Do you have a photo of Axel's ear? I will ask some of our other mentors who have experience with rescuing and kits. Until they are eating bone, continue adding bonemeal as you have been doing - kits especially need calcium to grow strong. Can you try chopping up wing tips (bone and all) until you have a coarse "grind" which contains bone and meat evenly mixed? Btw, the correct amount of bonemeal is 1/2 tsp per 8 oz of muscle meat. It is important that they are getting approximately the correct ratio (it can be hard if the meat you are measuring is bone-in, and some powder might not stick to the meat, etc.) but it should be close to avoid further malnutrition issues.
Kits (even ones with issues) will have no trouble at all eating bone from 4 weeks onwards. If yours aren't eating bone there is possibly a medical issue which is preventing them from doing it. Can you get photos of the teeth? As stated above, these kits need to be checked out by a knowledgeable vet.
Finally, I need a more detailed break down of their current menu. Please provide it in the previous format we were using, i.e.
Monday AM: Monday PM:
Tuesday AM: Tuesday PM:
etc.
Edited to add: Please do not let your kits interact with the rest of the business at the very least until after they have seen a vet. Generally we recommend a quarantine period and vetting before introductions to prevent the spreading of diseases or illnesses. Further, the kits have been through a lot and are probably terrified and still getting used to their environment so don't need the added stress.
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