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Post by gfountain on Apr 20, 2016 8:42:39 GMT -5
Yep, that's exactly the way to do it. Gradually decrease the amount of other food while increasing amount and thickness of their 'gravy'. You do need to be aware of how much organ they're getting in a week's time. Too much organ once in a while won't hurt them, but you don't want it to happen too often.
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Post by gfountain on Apr 26, 2016 8:09:53 GMT -5
Update?
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Post by gfountain on May 3, 2016 9:04:20 GMT -5
Any updates? If I don't hear from you soon, I'll have to move this thread to the vault.
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Post by Deleted on May 4, 2016 10:48:28 GMT -5
I am so so so so so sorry! I have been trying to get on to update in forever! We had a freak storm a week or so ago and we had lightening hit our street and knock out power! I've had no internet for ages and i've been off from work so i couldn't jump on to use theirs either! It's been a nightmare! The internet people have come out and checked wires and things (some people have no phone lines!) Don't know what's happening in the UK atm. We had all types of seasons in one day! Literally, snow, sun, hail, torrential rain, mini hurricanes and lightening! This is my first day back at work since it's all happened so I am trying to type this as quickly as I can so the boss doesn't see! Please do accept my apologies. I'm not a flaky person and once I give my word, I stick to it! Update on my babies - its good! So we've moved on from gravy now to soup thats got a few lumps in it. Triss still isn't too keen but Ciri is eating the lumps and the soup. Triss still has to be on my lap when she eats the soup otherwise it doesn't happen. I even try to pop her on the floor with the bowl and me next to her but she just knows and walks off. ¬¬ Don't know where she gets her stubborn nature from! I keep dipping chicken, lamb, pork and the heart in it and trying to coax her that way but at least we're on the road to hopefully getting them onto whole food kidney and liver! To be fair, the liver seems to be the favourite, like that will disappear quicker than the kidney. I will update tomorrow once I have tried again tonight I also wanted to ask your opinion on bathing your ferrets. I have had my ferrets since October and I have not bathed them once. They've been in water on their own accord in the shower where they'll play with it but I have not bathed them with soap or anything. I have notice their fur is quite coarse now and even brushing it (which they hate) doesn't seem to work. Do I need to bathe them now? I've read mixed things :/ If I do, what is best for me to use so I don't harm their skin?
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Post by gfountain on May 4, 2016 15:46:29 GMT -5
I totally understand the internet thing. I have none at home right not either. It's been down for at least a week and no one can figure out what's wrong. SMH
I'm not surprised that liver is preferred over the kidney. Mine much prefer ANYTHING over kidney, but if that's all they've got to eat, they eventually eat it. I get death stares, but they do eat it. It's been a couple of weeks now with the organ soup at every meal, right? Let's move away from the soup at every meal for a while. I don't want them to get too much organ. Go back to the menu you posted a while back and just do the organ soup when it's scheduled but every time they have it, keep working toward larger pieces.
Bathing with soap is not necessary unless they get into something that won't come off with just water. Soap actually makes their smell and itchiness worse. It strips the oils from their skin and fur and their systems sort of go into overdrive to replace the natural oils. My brats haven't ever been bathed with soap. Well, except when one of them got into tree sap and I had to use peanut butter to get it out of his fur. Have you noticed their fur after they play in the shower? All 4 of mine get super soft after they play in water. I give them warm water in the bathtub to play in every once in a while and they are luxuriously soft and fluffy for several days afterwards. If you do have to bathe them with soap, be sure to use something very mild that won't strip their oils. A baby shampoo or oatmeal bath might work.
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Post by Deleted on May 9, 2016 11:51:33 GMT -5
So we are back on the normal plan and my ferritos seems to be very happy with their meats and getting back into a routine! We're having a mini heatwave here at the moment so I decided to fill the walk in bath and shower with some lukewarm water with some floaty balls and toys and they had a blast in there. They then proceeded to carpet shark across my rug to dry off! hahaha. I love watching them play in the water. I do always have water play in their play routine. Their fur does seem softer now too! Maybe they were just overdue. We also ventured outside for the 1st proper time on Sunday. I took their carry case into the garden with a blanket with their smell on and let them come out in their own time. It went well. Ciri was more curious than Triss. They still seem nervous but I think im getting there with them on that front Also, quick question, do your ferrets chase insects and bugs? We had a common fly come into the living room when they were out playing and Triss went absolutely nuts! Chased it all around the living room and into the window. Trying to catch it with her hands and mouth and she eventually killed it! (Who needs pest control?) I was on guard and removed the fly as soon as she killed it as i didnt want her eating it! I don't know about Ferrets and insects so i thought i'd ask!
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Post by gfountain on May 9, 2016 13:42:24 GMT -5
I'd LOVE for my ferrets to go on pest control duty, but I have a bunch of lazy butts! Wild ferrets do eat insects and you can feed insects if you want, but I would be leery of letting them eat the ones they catch, simply because of the possibility that they may have been exposed to bug sprays. I know it's a slim possibility because if they'd been exposed to sprays, they would most likely be dead, but still... But I don't have to worry about it, since my brats will watch a cricket hop right through their play area and never twitch a muscle to chase it. I know you've added pork to your menu as well as organs. Can you please post an updated menu for me to check over. Also, it's time to work on some more proteins, so look around and see what is available to you. You want something that they can eat the bones of, so look for duck, quail, guinea pig, frog.. smaller animals.
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Post by Deleted on May 13, 2016 6:34:02 GMT -5
Ok so this is the new updated meal plan! Sun AM: (O) Liver + Kidney Sun PM: (B) Chicken Wing Mon AM: (B) Chicken Wing Mon PM: (B) Chicken Thigh (they've been gnawing on the bone) Tues AM: (H) Lamb Heart Tues PM: (B) Chicken Wing Wed AM: (M) Lamb leg chunks Wed PM: (B) Chicken Neck Thur AM: (H/O) Lamb heart and liver Thur PM: (B) Chicken wing Fri AM: (B) Chicken Neck Fri PM: (B) Chicken wing Sat AM: (M) Pork Sat PM: (B) Chicken Neck I do still need to find smaller bone in meats to try but it's quite hard atm! Staffordshire seems to be limited :/ Thing is with my babies, they don't like the outside! Every time i take them out, they freak out and run to the back door again but if the nature comes inside, then game on! haha. I am getting them use to the outside with their carry case and having them with a blanket of a familiar smell. This worked well on Sunday when it was Sunny, we were outside of about an hour and they could come out and go back in if they felt nervous.
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Post by gfountain on May 13, 2016 14:41:35 GMT -5
You say they've been gnawing on the thigh bone. Are they not eating whole bones yet? And how are they doing with the organs and heart? Your menu is still WAY too chicken heavy and they have to have at least one other protein for bone-in meals, so keep looking for another source of meat. If you can't find anything locally, have you considered ordering online?
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Post by Deleted on May 17, 2016 6:27:40 GMT -5
It's hard to say with the bones. When I give them a wing, I can hear them crunching the bone but there always seems to be a lot left over and I don't know how to encourage them to eat the bone a bit more. Their poo is still loose too. I have found this site: www.wildmeat.co.uk/Would that be any good for them?
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Post by gfountain on May 17, 2016 9:06:25 GMT -5
If they're not eating all of their bones, take a hammer to them (the bones, not the ferrets) and give them a good solid whack before you serve them. They NEED to eat the bones or they'll be deficient in calcium and several micro-nutrients as well as having yucky poops. Once they've learned to eat the broken bones completely, you should be able to work up to whole bones again.
I glanced at the website. It appears that they are just selling whole meats. That is fine as long as they don't add anything to the meat... no preservatives, no seasoning, just natural meat.
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Post by Deleted on May 18, 2016 7:46:48 GMT -5
Wouldn't that make the bones dangerous if they were broken into shards? :S Don't want them choking :/
I'm off for a week soon (and we have internet back yay) so I'll order some different proteins for them from that site. You can order them with feathers on still...don't know how i feel about that haha. How many different things should I order? I was thinking Quail for one, what else would be good?
Also, completely off note, do you have any ideas on how to ferret proof under a chair? I have so much worn carpet around this big circle chair that rotates in the living rooms as they are obsessed with getting under it! I've tried stuffing blankets and disciplining them and it just doesn't register!
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Post by gfountain on May 18, 2016 9:17:58 GMT -5
As long as the bones are not cooked, they won't splinter. Don't smash them too thoroughly, just so they're broken in a couple of places. You can actually use kitchen shears if you'd rather. I didn't look at the site too closely. If they sell with feathers on, does that mean they are whole birds, innards and all? That would be whole prey, which is fine to feed, but it means we'll have to make adjustments to the menu. They need a MINIMUM of 3 proteins and preferably 3 different bone-in proteins, but the more variety you can get the better off they'll be. Any small birds are good. I'll have to look at the website again to see what else is available. As far as the chair, do you want to keep them from getting INSIDE the chair or just out from under it? Keeping ferrets out from under something is nearly impossible unless you build a fence around it and even that is not foolproof! To keep them from getting inside, can you nail/staple a piece of cardboard/panelling to the bottom of the chair? Or if it has a factory liner on the bottom, maybe you could just take that off so they don't have anyplace to hide. We had to remove the liners from under our sofas and chairs because they managed to make an access hole under the loveseat and they would go in there to sleep. Once we removed the liners, there's just empty space and they don't like to spend time there. 1 for mom, 0 for ferrets... this time!
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Post by gfountain on May 18, 2016 9:53:19 GMT -5
Just looked at the website... almost everything there is good for the ferrets. Any of the smaller animals will be good for bone in. Lamb is commonly known as a 'hypoallergenic' meat that even IBD ferrets can usually tolerate. Goat is another that I believe has been called hypoallergenic. Whether it is or not, both are good to feed but their bones will be too dense for the ferrets to eat easily. Wild boar is listed; I would be wary of that since boar since carries a risk of trichinella which cannot be killed by freezing, only by cooking. Since it's for human consumption I would assume it's not 'truly' wild, but I think I would stay away from it anyway. For bone-in, stick to the poultry and small game; rabbit is fine, squirrel scares me because of disease (here in Tennessee at least), any of the birds the size of a chicken or smaller should be fine. Larger birds' bones (turkey for example) are pretty hard to chew.
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Post by Deleted on May 21, 2016 3:28:46 GMT -5
Ahh ok, i didn't know that about bones! If i did order off that site, I wouldn't order them with feathers and heads and innards. I couldn't deal with that with being an animal lover myself haha.
Oh yes! We have a loveseat, that was the word I was after and they are obsessed with trying to get under it. So much so, I have a dip in my carpet where they have been scratching. Once they get under, they just like to dig and roam around then pop out but the digging is super annoying! No amount of dicispline seems to be working with them. At the moment, I have so many blankets rolled up and stashed under there haha.
They already have lamb, they go crazy for it so I think it may be one of their favourites. So if I order quail and maybe rabbit, would that be enough?
Another question, why do ferrets speedbump? Triss has started doing it recently and I've not noticed her do it before. It's not everytime she's out and about. Just now and again, like I say she's done it three times int the past week. Is this normal? Ciri doesn't at all. Mind you, she's just a ball of energy! I swear she never gets tired. She's constantly bouncing off everything! ahaha.
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