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Normal?
Dec 25, 2018 17:18:09 GMT -5
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Post by sherik on Dec 25, 2018 17:18:09 GMT -5
So I’ve been raw feeding exclusively for 5 years. And maybe I just didn’t pay attention to their poop as much before because they have always seemed normal, play, eat. But I had three with severe illness one of which passed from. So now I’m just more observant to their poop. They had quail last night, which they have had a million times before. But their poop all seems more soft and unformed. Like all of them. It doesn’t smell bad. And for all of them to be sick at the same time just doesn’t even make sense. Maybe because it has less bone, I also remove the breast bone from the quail as I have a couple that swallow pieces too big sometimes. So is it normal to have softer poops eating quail?
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Dec 26, 2018 6:59:45 GMT -5
Post by abbeytheferret6 on Dec 26, 2018 6:59:45 GMT -5
So is it normal to have softer poops eating quail? Read more: holisticferret60.proboards.com/thread/24959/normal#ixzz5amurks3oMy boy does have problems with quail--- he can't handle chicken though---don't know if it is a feathered thing?(I rather not give him turkey either---I have been giving lamb in it's place). He has diarrhea on chicken. However my Annabelle is ok. The breast is pretty meaty---maybe they are getting a lot of breast. Does yours contain the organs? Mine have a habit of stashing the legs(lazy bone eaters ). I do serve the breast bone but i pull a lot of meat of the breast and put in plate. I too worry about bones in quail and pull out needle like bones or cut things off in a blunt fashion. Sometimes I just decide not to worry about stools unless smelly or diarrhea--don't know if that is wrong approach. Maybe somebody will have a better answer.
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Normal?
Dec 26, 2018 11:56:54 GMT -5
Post by Heather on Dec 26, 2018 11:56:54 GMT -5
Sounds to me like not enough bone in.....My guys get the whole quail, sometimes with feather, sometimes not. Quail bone is something a ferret can handle easily. ciao
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Normal?
Dec 26, 2018 12:24:27 GMT -5
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Post by sherik on Dec 26, 2018 12:24:27 GMT -5
I didn’t used to remove the breast bone. But one more than one occasion I’ve had bishop or Clyde swallow the pieces way to big. And on the way out it actually cause bloody poop. I leave in on for Carmen and Charlie because those girls can handle anything. Can I sprinkle a little bone meal or egg shells on the breast part to replace what I remove? I’ll be honest, I will continue to remove it because I just don’t want to take the risk. I’ve tried cutting the quail up into bigger pieces to force them to have to chew it better.
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Dec 26, 2018 12:45:33 GMT -5
Post by Heather on Dec 26, 2018 12:45:33 GMT -5
Why not just cut it up with kitchen shears or take a cleaver to it? There is not part of the quail that should prove difficult for a ferret. Bone meal or egg shell powder is a possible replacement but if your ferret cannot handle the bone in quail, what other bone is it eating?
ciao
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Normal?
Dec 26, 2018 13:30:48 GMT -5
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Post by sherik on Dec 26, 2018 13:30:48 GMT -5
We mostly do whole grounds. Sometimes they get chicken wings, duck wings, and quail to help keep the teeth clean. It just seems the little bones in the quail they swallow too big. With the chicken wings and duck they actually have to work at them. I forgot, sometimes they get rabbit. They like the ribs and the way I cut it up they have to work at it too.
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Normal?
Dec 26, 2018 18:06:03 GMT -5
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Post by sherik on Dec 26, 2018 18:06:03 GMT -5
Also, been wondering. My last chicken order from buddies. Seems like there is a lot of fat in it. Very greasy feeling. Does higher fat content food also cause a looser poop? I honestly never really paid so mich attention to their poops before. If they are eating, playing, and acting like themselves I never really worried. They had chicken today. 10 of my 13 ferrets and all seem to have a more wet less formed poop.
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Dec 27, 2018 12:29:36 GMT -5
Post by Heather on Dec 27, 2018 12:29:36 GMT -5
If they're consuming more fat and skin than they're used to, this will indeed cause looser stools ciao
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Jan 17, 2019 22:43:45 GMT -5
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Post by sherik on Jan 17, 2019 22:43:45 GMT -5
Thank you so much. I’ve been freaking out that they all are sick or something. But none of the poops smells bad. Sometimes I question if I’m doing things right. I mainly feed grinds. Which are whole ground chicken, turkey, or rabbit. With 10%organ and 10% hearts. That make up about 66% of their diet. I feed three meals a day. It makes me feel better splitting it up, instead of them gulping down a huge meal. Especially after losing Emmett to bloat. And at night they either get quail, beef, chicken wings, sometimes fish, sometimes rabbit. Plus there is a meal in there that is 50/50 heart and organs. I’m just getting pretty tired of all the inconsistent poops. I was actually considering switching everyone back to kibble. I’ve been stressed for months. Is there actually a “normal” for raw fed ferret poop. Or is the normal that it is inconsistent? The poop chart really sucks unless you strictly feed frankenprey. I would think that if you fed balanced grinds, because the bone content wouldn’t be as high as say a chicken wing, you would get a poop that’s kinda in between boneless and bone in. Soft, semi formed, more wet with higher fat content.
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Jan 18, 2019 12:50:51 GMT -5
Post by abbeytheferret6 on Jan 18, 2019 12:50:51 GMT -5
Read more: holisticferret60.proboards.com/thread/24959/normal#ixzz5cyy2m3b9A very good question as it is crazy here too. I feed part frankenprey and whole prey. If I give mine a chick, and they eat the belly,the part with the absorbed egg, poops will be runny like egg. Then when they eat the other parts it is different. It may have fur in it. When I cut up guinea pig, which has a lot of blood---my ferrets stools are dark. They like lapping the bloody juices. If they eat a particular meaty part, it will be soft. But if you think a particular protein is causing a problem just hold off on that for a couple weeks and see if that fixes it. Changing to kibble will give consistent looking poohs, but in the end you may get a ferret with insulinoma.
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Post by sherik on Jan 18, 2019 20:38:36 GMT -5
I would think a particular protein is causing problems if it was just one or even two ferrets. But I have 11 eating the exact same diet. That’s why I think it has to be too much fat in the mixes or not enough bone. But I don’t think it’s lack of bone. I’m not going to switch to kibble, but it would be easier. I don’t think any would eat it anyway, they wouldn’t know what it is. I am going to be switching where I get my raw food. Even the lady who supplies it says it’s very inconsistent, sometimes too much fat in the poultry mixes. I am going to start feeding them red dog blue kat. When I used to feed that I never had a problem with them having inconsistent poops from batch to batch. They were all on antibiotics about two months ago, so I don’t know if that has anything to do with it. Regardless I ordered some probiotics from adored beast to try as well. They are all chubby and have healthy coats and play well. So I really don’t think anyone is sick.
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Post by sherik on Feb 2, 2019 18:58:48 GMT -5
So I figured out the issue with their food. I finally got a hold of the company that makes it. For the chicken they use chicken backs as a primary source for the meat, with 20% liver. So I I did some math. First of all chicken backs with skin is very high in fat. And chicken backs is 44% bone. So that knocks the actual meat content in the mix down to 36%. So the mix is 36/44/20 which puts too little meat and wayyyyyy too much organ. It’s almost a 1:1 meat to organ ratio, like 55% meat 45% organ. That has to be the reason my ferrets have been having such soft stools on this food. Although you’d think with so much bone it wouldn’t be the case. Either way, this food is very unbalanced. I got my order of red dog blue kat today, which is what I used to feed with no issues.
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