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Post by pazupazu1 on May 12, 2019 6:53:47 GMT -5
My partner and I recently signed a lease for an apartment starting in July, we are allowed up to 4 ferrets. So what do I do? Immediately get two more to add to my pair. This is mainly because I wanted them to be settled in and hopefully transitioned to raw before I move out.
Pazu and Howl, my 10 and 9 month old boys are completely on raw and they love it. My two new 6 month olds, Appa and Momo just arrived yesterday, they were being fed Marshall’s diet.
I made a soup out of ground duck and water (since Pazu and Howl like this more than chicken, I figured maybe they would as well) Appa, the large male did lick some off a spoon immediately, and ate some Marshall’s pieces that were dipped in the soup, but that’s about it. Momo, the female, wanted none of it. Appa was interested in the older boys bowl of duck neck, but didn’t take a bite. It looked like he wanted to. I left the soup in their cage with some Marshall’s pieces broken on top. Momo has been enjoying her new space, and is contently sleeping the morning away.
Looking back at my thread for the older boys, they took right to chicken soup so I may blend some chicken tenderloins for the new two. Going to be doing the dollop method. I also used those raw instinct bites, so I may go out and get some. I also wrote that using Darwin’s / Hare Today commercial raw grinds worked well to get them started.
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Post by pazupazu1 on May 13, 2019 11:45:21 GMT -5
It is day 3 of fuzzies being home. Small progress so far. I made a warm soup of chicken tenderloin and water. Momo wanted nothing to do with it, but Appa immediately jumped in to slurp it up. He ate a few teaspoons then he was done with it, since then he has wanted none of it. I fed them some kibble so they weren’t starving. I went and got the Instinct raw bites but they don’t want those either. I’ve been doing the scruff and stuff method, since they are very polite and will not bite. I don’t scruff them though, I just hold and put my finger with the food gently into their mouth. They lick their faces and swallow, but will shake around and some will fly out. I did buy a small bag of their usual kibble so they don’t get too hungry during the transition. I have to work the next 6 days in a row all day so I’ll leave meat soup in with them during the day, come home for lunch and help them eat some, then offer kibble overnight. What’s nice about doing this with two other meat eating boys around is I don’t have to waste the meat the new ones don’t eat. Pazu and Howl are happy to eat what they leave behind
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Post by pazupazu1 on May 14, 2019 6:32:56 GMT -5
Good news. After much nose dolloping and “scruff n stuff” Momo, who was once hesitant, actually willingly licked chicken soup from my finger. Appa did as well. At bedtime, I put down some kibble (Appa gobbled it down) and mixed some with the tiny bit of chicken soup leftover. Momo actually picked around the kibble, to lick the soup. This morning the soup / kibble mixture was gone. I have to be at work today, so the new pair has the ferret nation to themselves and my older boys get free roam of the room like usual. I don’t feel comfortable keeping them all together just yet, Momo is deaf and likes to have uninterrupted naps (I also need to monitor what they are eating) I’m leaving in chicken heart + water soup. No chunks. I don’t think they will eat it, but when I come back at lunch time I will swap it for more chicken soup and just give the older boys the heart stuff. So far poos are still brown but not super solid, which I was expecting. Nothing out of the ordinary, though.
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Post by pazupazu1 on May 15, 2019 12:41:30 GMT -5
Yay more progress! Yesterday, I said I didn't think they would eat the chicken heart soup. Well, they did! In the four hours I was at work in the morning, it was gone when I got home for lunch. Not sure which of the two ate it though!
I gave them more chicken soup but this time, mixed with some mushed up raw bites (that contain a small amount of bone and liver) and it was all gone in the morning.
Today, I gave more chicken soup with even more raw bites mixed in for breakfast. It was all gone again within 4 hours. To hold them over until I get home tonight, I decided to try a new meat! I made a soup from 4oz of ground turkey and water. It wasn't much of a soup like the other ones, more like a mince. I did top with some kibble as it's a new meat they haven't had before. Well, Momo DOVE in. She picked around the kibble, and just ate the soup. I decided to take some of the kibble out, and put it in a separate bowl. Appa did not seem interested, but that could be because he may have eaten all the chicken soup from before and wasn't hungry. It's a lot of turkey, so when I get home and it's all gone, I will assume he ate some. Momo is only a little teeny tiny girl so I don't think she can eat 4oz of meat.
For dinner, I am going to try more heart soup, as it is heart day for the older boys.
Tomorrow, I will be adding slivers to the soups. Maybe stop blending and stick to ground meat for more of a mince texture and work my way up. This is so much easier than I thought it was going to be!
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Post by pazupazu1 on May 16, 2019 13:03:13 GMT -5
Last night Appa dove into the chicken heart and ground beef mixture. He seemed to be very hungry. Unfortunately, Momo did not want any, and the soup looked mostly untouched in the morning.
This morning, I removed the leftover soup and gave it to my dog and replaced it with ground turkey that I minced myself. I added water, and they both loved it. They were a bit skeptical as some pieces were left bigger than others. I guess for now I will alternate between chicken and turkey until they become more confident.
Momo also ate a lot of mushed up raw bites today.
Tonight, I will introduce slivers. Most likely will be more turkey soup but with some turkey chunks or maybe chicken gizzards cut up real small.
Hoping the switch will be completed by June! It's going a lot faster than I anticipated but I don't mind!
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Post by pazupazu1 on May 18, 2019 7:08:33 GMT -5
This morning Momo threw up! a lot.
It was after she ate a freshly made soup of chicken heart, veal liver, and beef gullet. These are all very new for her, she hasn't had any of these meats before, but she liked it after some coaxing via the finger to gums method. She ate a few teaspoons, as did Appa, but he did not have the same reaction. After a little bit she started getting frantic, she threw up the soup in multiple places in my room the ordeal only lasted maybe 5 minutes until she simmered down and I was able to get her into the cage for the day, she was then acting normal.
Pazu has thrown up on occasion when he eats his chicken necks too fast. I've never had one to throw up after a soupie. Why? Is it because she might have eaten too fast? Did I offer too much new stuff too quickly? I didn't push her at all, I also didn't have any soap on my hand when I fed it to her as I just woke up to make the soup.
I left the soup and plenty of water in the cage for them, I had to zoom to work (I've been late the past couple days making their breakfasts) should I have someone at home remove the soup? Any help would be great! I'm a bit spooked.
edit: worth mentioning they had kibble in their cage overnight, hopefully that didn't mess with her digestion. I believe it had at least been a few hours since she ate the kibble when I offered soup.
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Post by pazupazu1 on May 25, 2019 14:21:29 GMT -5
It's been a few days...Momo threw up again after eating (I can't remember what it was, but I think it had some crushed duck neck bones) and Appa threw up yesterday after eating the same mixture with the duck neck.
Is it because of the bones? their digestive system recognizes it as a foreign object and tries to remove it? I don't think its a sensitivity. Appa has had that mixture just fine before but it did not contain the neck.
Other than that, it's going well so far. They've been eating heart and organs.
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Post by pazupazu1 on May 25, 2019 15:17:18 GMT -5
Update: Momo threw up AGAIN today after having chicken heart and beef gullet soup. Is it a beef sensitivity? Idk if people even read my posts here but figured I’d ask.
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Post by Charlie on May 25, 2019 16:37:07 GMT -5
Have you still been putting kibble on the raw meat mixture? If they have been eating lots of their soups and mince that you have been feeding them then maybe you don't need the kibble any longer? I'm not sure myself. Charlie has thrown up before but I think his was from getting fur stuck in his throat. He threw up rabbit and he never has problems with rabbit. But he was fine.
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Post by pazupazu1 on May 25, 2019 18:15:07 GMT -5
Have you still been putting kibble on the raw meat mixture? If they have been eating lots of their soups and mince that you have been feeding them then maybe you don't need the kibble any longer? I'm not sure myself. Charlie has thrown up before but I think his was from getting fur stuck in his throat. He threw up rabbit and he never has problems with rabbit. But he was fine. I stopped feeding the kibble last week! I decided to test it one last time but after feeding Momo a bit of beef liver off a spoon she vomited again (very small amount, just a quick heave or two). She hasn’t vomited with any meals that did NOT contain beef, only ones that do. I use beef for liver, kidney and gullet. I do have some venison liver maybe I can try instead? I have it dethawing now. Appa ate the beef gullet and chicken heart mixture just fine. There was no bone in it. I think beef must not agree with Momo and bones are being rejected by their systems. Idk what to do...
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Post by pazupazu1 on May 25, 2019 21:32:18 GMT -5
Good news! I swapped the beef out with venison and we have had no vomit episodes! Pazu and Howl loved trying it, Momo and Appa were reluctant but eventually Momo ate quite a bit, and she's been perfectly fine.
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Post by abbeytheferret6 on May 26, 2019 8:47:23 GMT -5
Good news! I swapped the beef out with venison and we have had no vomit episodes! Read more: holisticferret60.proboards.com/thread/25229/more-ferrets-again#ixzz5p2OYyPUgThat is great--wished mine would eat venison. It is scary when they throw up. About the beef---I popped some beef in my waardy's mouth(long time back). She gagged and carried on so I was afraid to do it again---it did not even go down her throat:))) Then my boy threw up rabbit organs, after I finger fed him some. But he will not even eat any rabbit meat, so all parts of rabbit is out for him. First of mine to reject rabbit.
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Post by Heather on May 26, 2019 15:37:22 GMT -5
Beef is not an uncommon sensitivity. It's a hard to digest meat with a lot of animals. You may want to try again in a few months after they become more accustomed to raw. Duck bones, which was mentioned further up, can be hard to digest as they're heavier/denser...again try again as their systems become more accustomed to raw. It does sometimes take time ciao
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Post by Charlie on May 27, 2019 5:13:41 GMT -5
Glad the venison worked! I don't think Charlie likes chicken at all because he won't touch it so I swapped that out for adult mice. He loves that!
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Post by pazupazu1 on May 27, 2019 11:23:42 GMT -5
Since the last vomit episode, Momo has been doing fairly well, until today. She vomited after having a fresh soup of turkey and venison liver (which she was fine with before) she vomited after eating quite a bit of it. She may have eaten too fast? The first time I introduced the venison I gave her small bits at a time, this time I didn’t. Also, it was a bit of a colder soup this time, that may have contributed? Good news though, she has been loving duck neck now. She eats chunks about the size of my thumb. She started doing this out of nowhere, took it right from the older boys. she has so much fun dragging the pieces around and eating them! No vomiting. It’s probably one of her favorites. Happy with how it’s going so far aside from the vomiting. Appa just eats whenever he wants, he does great with all the meats. I haven’t seen him eat big pieces of duck neck yet but he appears to want to. Edit: this is her worst vomit episode yet. It’s been going on for 20 minutes now...
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