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Post by tayrawrrr on May 15, 2011 12:40:05 GMT -5
I'm definitely going to order the test, then. Thanks for the info!
Memphis ate a TON of soupies earlier ;D I let them tire themselves out for a bit (which involved MoJo consistently harassing Memphis...until Memphis had enough, tossed him halfway across the futon into the crack that goes to the floor, then ran over and used his paws to shove him DOWN the crack and onto the floor LOL the futon is not even a foot off the ground, so it wasn't bad!) before feeding them. I think MoJo eating with him really made it click. He has no problem taking it off my fingers, but the second he saw MoJo eating out of the bowl, he went for it.
Then, after I'd put them in the top part of the FN to nap together, I put in chicken for MoJo. Since MoJo was already fast asleep (Memphis likes to wander the cage before he settles down), I was suprised to hear someone eating, and looked over to see Memphis eating the chunks I had cut for him! ;D Yaaaay!!
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Post by Sherry on May 15, 2011 14:21:46 GMT -5
Oh, that is fantastic Looks like this may not take as long as either of us thought Alright, a little competition is certainly smoothing the way! Try him on Mojo's diet plan, see how he does. But definitely keep an eye out, and make sure he's eating enough. Else you may have to offer soups by hand. You may just have a fuzz who has switched himself
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Post by tayrawrrr on May 15, 2011 21:35:58 GMT -5
He was definitely hesitant about ripping away from the actual chicken breast, but going for the chunks he seemed okay! Should I take away kibble completely then? Or should I still keep it in at night until he's eating raw more reliabley?
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Post by Sherry on May 15, 2011 23:49:47 GMT -5
It depends entirely on just how MUCH he's eating of the raw. You can try leaving it out for a couple of days, and see how he does. It might just give him the incentive to eat more. Or- you could wind up hand feeding to make sure he's getting enough. He likely won't be able to eat bone just yet. He'll have to build up his jaw strength first.
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Post by tayrawrrr on May 16, 2011 10:44:49 GMT -5
I'll keep an eye on him, and see how much he's eating. Now that school is over ( ), I'll have more time to work with him throughout the day to get him switched. I did notice when he was eating the chunks that he needed to build jaw strength. He chews a bit different than MoJo, he has to try more
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Post by Sherry on May 16, 2011 12:03:34 GMT -5
And don't forget- he still needs to learn HOW to chew as well. But he'll likely get it down pat pretty quickly
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Post by tayrawrrr on May 16, 2011 20:59:09 GMT -5
He ate some ground turkey today, with a bit of olive oil added. Had to feed him it from my finger at first; once he realized he liked it, he ate it out of the bowl Oh, I did add some crushed eggshell in there, as well!
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Post by Sherry on May 17, 2011 13:48:20 GMT -5
I can't believe how quickly he's taken to all of this! Remarkable Just keep working him up with the size, and various proteins, and you'll soon have two raw fed ferrets
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Post by tayrawrrr on May 17, 2011 15:50:00 GMT -5
Yeah, he's very trusting of me. Eat out of a bowl first? No way! Mom's fingers? Another story the second he tries it off my finger and realizes it's the same thing in the bowl, he'll eat out of the bowl. To give his teeth time to adjust, how gradually should I increase the thickness/move to bone-in? I don't want to push him too hard.
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Post by Sherry on May 17, 2011 21:10:31 GMT -5
AS fast as he's willing to go? ;D Start by slipping some meat bits into his mush, and steadily increase the bits, decrease the mush til it's all meat bits. Then, increase the size of the bits steadily by mixing in some a bit larger than the existing ones, and so on. In the interim, keep offering him chunks as well. Some actually do prefer those. No reason he can't eat chunks right now, if he will. It's on those that he will steadily build up jaw strength to tackle bone. You can also offer him wing tips on a regular basis. These are also good "practice" bones. Since he's been actually trying to tear chunks, we don't want to discourage him from that, so let him go to town on those before offering him the mush/smaller pieces.
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Post by tayrawrrr on May 22, 2011 13:59:27 GMT -5
Sounds good! He's pretty resistant to chunks right now, but I can already see the slight changes in his coat and energy levels from the soupies. I keep making it gradually thicker for him, as well. Will keep you updated!
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Post by Sherry on May 22, 2011 14:38:43 GMT -5
Sounds good! It should be interesting to see how he does when it reaches a ground consistency
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Post by tayrawrrr on May 23, 2011 13:47:59 GMT -5
Caught him chomping down on a chicken wing with MoJo last night ;D ;D
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Post by Sherry on May 23, 2011 14:05:53 GMT -5
Oh, little bugger ;D Ok! Try him completely on Mojo's diet. Not a problem if he decides to skip a meal. He'll just he a bit hungrier to try what you put in next If, however, he still doesn't eat, then you need to go back a step. He's at the stage right now were it's "will he, won't he" with the food, so you'll have to go by feel.
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Post by tayrawrrr on May 23, 2011 14:15:22 GMT -5
Sounds good, I'll keep you updated ;D
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