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Post by Sherry on Jul 22, 2016 10:13:30 GMT -5
Hi nannah! I am stepping in with a couple of suggestions to move you along faster. I read you don't like to push them too hard, but in many ways ferrets are like toddlers. If you give them their choice they will eat nothing but junk food. So you at times have to be firm and tell them that they ARE going to eat healthy whether they like it or not So on that note what I want you to do is make the soup about the consistency of a very wet ground meat. So that when you scoop some up with a spoon it will slide off with a very wet plop if you get what I mean. Remove the kibble entirely. They will only get it twice a day at the most for 30 minutes at a time. In a week you will ditch it entirely. A few hours after their last kibble meal sit comfortably on a chair with the ferret and dish on your lap. Using a spoon feed them, but don't let them get down right away when they refuse. Keep holding them and keep the spoon basically under their noses. Ferrets often have a compulsive lick and that is what you will be using. Yes they will squirm, and likely make noises etc. It is just like that toddler throwing a mini tantrum to get his candy back. After at least 5 minutes of pushing them let them go. No they will NOT hate you, and yes they WILL forgive you That video you mentioned about the "scruff and stuff" was my Boris and he was my heart ferret. Even after all of that he would run to me if he felt unsure about anything Do this type of feeding with both of them a few times a day until they are eating at least a good ounce or two in a sitting. If you do this it should only take 3-4 days before they are eating it well and at that point you will work on them eating from the dish on their own again.
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nannah
Junior Member
Raw and Whole Prey Feeder
Posts: 232
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Post by nannah on Jul 23, 2016 19:36:32 GMT -5
aaaa thank you! and for being so thorough. I will definitely do this. and . . . try not to think that they're hating me, haha. it's hard to stop being a pushover with these cute little faces.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 24, 2016 8:14:06 GMT -5
They will probably hate what is going on, but they would hate you. Eventually they will stop sulking and get over what has happened, so don't worry if you need to get more 'stubborn' with Misio and Kinga. I think the hardest part about transitioning is really the part where you nay have to 'push' them, then have to go through thr ferret look "why are you doing this to me". Its pretty hard not to give in or go soft with the look, but once you get past that, the rest will come a little easier. ^^
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nannah
Junior Member
Raw and Whole Prey Feeder
Posts: 232
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Post by nannah on Jul 24, 2016 17:33:13 GMT -5
hi! today was/is probably the most stressful day of the year for me (:S :S :S ), so the new soup hasn't been made yet.
but it's a much better day for the ferrets! Misio ate about a Tbsp of the soup and Kinga ate the remaining ounce. so so far, this first am meal has been A+! they hadn't had kibble at all, though, so I'm betting they were pretty hungry.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 25, 2016 19:35:16 GMT -5
Stressful days suck ! I hope today is a better day for you. ^^ Great job with Miso and Kinga, they are eating fantastic. Give them a huge cuddle for me~
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nannah
Junior Member
Raw and Whole Prey Feeder
Posts: 232
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Post by nannah on Jul 27, 2016 22:35:04 GMT -5
ugh, don't they? things are still tough, but hopefully nothing will be as bad as that day.
I'm encountering an annoyance trying to spoon feed them - they do pretty good for the first few bites, and then they take a bite and run with it. they won't chew it, they'll just hold it in their mouth till they can jump down and "hide it" aka drop it on the floor and never touch it again. naughty babies. the only way they'll continue is if I actually force their bit of meat out of their mouths.
but they ARE realizing the kibble is NOT going to be there forever! so that's the upside. no matter how they beg or whatever, I'm not giving in, so that's good. it definitely makes them more eager for the raw, even if spoon-feeding is going a little rough.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 28, 2016 19:50:43 GMT -5
Yep, that is totally normal for ferrets hahahhahaha. My guys still do it even when I hand feed them small pieces during "Prep / Play" time. The smaller the piece, the less likely they will stash it. Even when being fed in a cage or in a room, they still manage to find a way to stash it. If you can, it may be a good idea to keep a note on where they stash inside the cage and out. Helps to clean stuff up later and also for seeing if they come back and eat it later on. You can let them do it, check back on the pieces later, you could also make a feeding den. Some ferrets will use them, while others may not. I never had luck with them myself. They're good for ferret who prefer privacy when they eat. Naturally it's totally normal for ferrets to take food and put it back in their den for later on. This helps avoid others from taking their food. They maaaay also stash in their litter, that too is completely normal. (strangely enough.) Naturally they will stash their dinners near where they poop to keep predators away. In a way, it's kind of like masking the smell of meat with the smell of poop, how unappealing rofl! You're actually doing quite well. Sometimes we need to just pull through these parts. I've encountered them myself, especially during bone in meat stages. With larger pieces you can hold onto them with one hand, and hold the ferret with another- while the ferret wriggles they will eventually get the idea that they cannot get anywhere so they will be "forced" to simply eat on the spot or lose the piece. This is trickier with smaller pieces of meat. If they drop the meat on the floor, you can rinse it off with some warm water- the warm-not hot- water is another trick that can help entice them. Try it if you would like. I'm ecstatic hearing that they are finally getting the thought about the kibble. Fantastic work, especially for being strong against the cute stubborn ferret faces!!! :goodjob:
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nannah
Junior Member
Raw and Whole Prey Feeder
Posts: 232
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Post by nannah on Jul 29, 2016 16:54:29 GMT -5
silly babies!! Yeah, I looked at the feeding dens thread before we started!! I did make one for them, but they'd rather play in it and hide their food elsewhere. oh my gosh, well they haven't put any pieces of food in their litter boxes yet, but I wouldn't put it past them. and WOW today they did AWFUL. I haven't fed them kibble at all (which is normal right now), but they didn't want to eat at all. turning their noses up after one bite. silly babies. I'll try again later. smh
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nannah
Junior Member
Raw and Whole Prey Feeder
Posts: 232
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Post by nannah on Jul 30, 2016 0:35:15 GMT -5
I .... think I may have done a huuuuuuge Nono.
so when I made the soup the first time around I didn't use chicken. now I know, the recipe said chicken pretty clearly. :S but since I'd seen in other places meat chunks could be substituted for other types of meats I stupidly thought hey, well we got pork here thawed out! let's use that!
fast forward: babies are ok with pork soupie, and when I now made this new chicken soupie they're like....... excuse me?? wtf is this??
because literally I could not get more than one or two bites in their mouthed today. and with the progress they've been making... that's strange. Kings was actually worse than Misio!
so now that I've royally messed up, what can I do too mend the situation?
I'm sorry!!
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Post by Deleted on Jul 30, 2016 21:24:36 GMT -5
Sorry for not checking in last night, I wasn't feeling too well. Chicken isn't a requirement for the soup. It is best if the soup was a single protein type, so that means heart, liver and muscle etc are all the same type of protein. The main reason for that is to help us to pin point if a ferret has a reaction or intolerance faster so that we can easily remove or replace it rather than having to go through different proteins to find the issue. There have been others who have had ferrets who are chicken intolerant, and sub for another protein type. The reason why we use chicken on th recipe is because its readily available and an ok protein to start with for newbies. It's actually fantastic that they are eating pork. It's a whole new ball game for them, so getting used to the new tastes, smells and such can be either really easy, or really hard. But considering they took to it (more than chicken!), that is great. The more that you introduce the two types of food, the more they will adjust. You could probably take turns with the two proteins, one meal of pork, one meal of chicken. They may simply favour the pork more than the chicken. You will see difference in tastes when they try new types. My boy Beavis hates duck (He literally sulks, it's super adorable.), but loves turkey, whereas my other two LOVE duck, and are not really into turkey. I have a little task for you to have a go at. Create a weekly menu following the basic frankenprey template. You can use any protein types, whether you can get them locally or not, it doesn't matter. Just be creative. Don't stress about doing it right or getting anything wrong. This will help me, to help you learn to build a "balanced" menu, so I will go through it with you and make suggestions. Take as much time as you would like.
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nannah
Junior Member
Raw and Whole Prey Feeder
Posts: 232
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Post by nannah on Jul 31, 2016 16:56:38 GMT -5
oh it's totally ok! I actually had a birthday party yesterday, haha. so I didn't really check this very often. Misio ate 2 spoonfuls of chicken soup, but Kinga still turned her little nose up at it. ((I also got birthday hats for my ferrets I should post pictures)) so when I create this menu, is it with different types of (new, more ground meat-textured) soup? I haven't yet experimented with slivers yet.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 1, 2016 18:07:17 GMT -5
Was it your birthday? (Happy birthday.) Apologies for not checking in last night. I was working on an assignment and fell asleep after a long day of classes. Im quute impressed with misio, great work. Kinga is also doing fantastic! With the menu, its basically just a made up one. Use muscle meat, organs and bone in meat, any proteins are grwat but try to aim for more than three types. This menu will help you to understand the basics of building a balanced menu so it doesnt even have to be a menu that you intend to follow. You're more than welcome to include wholeprey if you would like. Check out the holisticferretforum.com for the balancing wholeprey with frankenprey document.
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nannah
Junior Member
Raw and Whole Prey Feeder
Posts: 232
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Post by nannah on Aug 2, 2016 14:54:25 GMT -5
haha yeah! thanks and no problem. that sounds exhausting. gotcha! I'm not at home but I'll try my hand at that menu when I get back. I'm at the vet. misio displayed symptoms of pain this morning (grinding teeth, loose stool, that wrinkle in his head, etc. ) so I took him to the vet and he's being blood tested right now. of course the vet warned me against raw and said this could be causing his pain, he could get salmonella, etc. my mom is now freaking out and saying I shouldn't do it and is literally making things really difficult. :/ what can you tell me that can maybe reassure her? at least about the salmonella? it's making her angry and making her panic. :/ I'm going to research on my own but I know it'd help to hear from my Mentor as well. . ..
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nannah
Junior Member
Raw and Whole Prey Feeder
Posts: 232
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Post by nannah on Aug 2, 2016 15:04:24 GMT -5
never mind! I found your blog post about it and will bookmark and read it to her. hopefully this will help!
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nannah
Junior Member
Raw and Whole Prey Feeder
Posts: 232
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Post by nannah on Aug 4, 2016 12:48:45 GMT -5
ok! here's my mock frankenprey menu. in the future I'd like to include whole prey, but as it's really tough to get ahold of in my area right now, I didn't include that yet . . . I also tried to keep this as accurate regarding what I can get in my area (which limits a lot . . .:/ ).
also, I apologize for writing so much on this thread. I tend to . .. do that a lot. I also sent some "homework" with my mom - mostly printouts from your blog. she's "supposed" to be reading about how raw diets for ferrets are so much better for them as she visits my brother.
Monday am: chicken wings Monday pm: cornish hen
Tuesday am: chicken wings Tuesday pm: pork muscle meat
Wednesday am: turkey necks Wednesday pm: beef heart
Thursday am: pork button bones Thursday pm: chicken wings
Friday am: turkey necks Friday pm: 1/2 beef heart + 1/4 beef liver + 1/4 chicken gizzards
Saturday am: cornish hen Saturday pm: beef chunks
Sunday am: chicken wings Sunday pm: 1/2 beef liver + 1/2 chicken gizzards
how did I do?
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