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Post by trippyferret on Feb 27, 2011 23:19:17 GMT -5
CGH is actually the only thing they will eat whole. They did end up eating the pork kidneys so I guess they just didn't want to eat at that time. Ok so I've been feeding pretty much my normal menu. Friday they had chicken thighs and pork chunks, but only ate the pork that night. I try to cut them to about the size of a CGH quarter. There is a lot of meat on those and I really want them getting at the bone. Saturday they had backs and wings. The back was probably roughly the size of half a CGH. I gave them a whole wing. This morning they had pork kidneys and then a whole wing again tonight. And I've been cutting slits in all these things. They haven't been getting anything outside their raw besides salmon oil. They are not allowed to have the girl's soupies. They have to eat their own food. I've also noticed that Gwen has been chewing on toys lately. It's not something she normally does. I think maybe it's because she's not really exercising her jaws when she eats the soups. And she's really weird about when she eats raw: sometimes she wants it, sometimes she doesn't. Even if it is something she's had before and enjoyed. It's as if she forgets it was good. I've seen her do this with chunks in her soup too, some she will eat, and others she will spit out. It's strange.
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Post by trippyferret on Feb 27, 2011 23:22:32 GMT -5
Ok I just checked and someone did eat one segment of the chicken wing. So I am feeling a little bit better!
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Post by trippyferret on Feb 28, 2011 16:04:01 GMT -5
Last night they ate most of the wing. It's a big relief! Maybe they are finally getting the picture. I hope so! They devoured the CGH this morning, and are getting hearts for dinner. I got lucky and bought two packs of gizzards with 23 hearts in them yesterday. I don't know why I get packs like this sometimes, and then other times there won't even be any hearts at all. I found rabbit today! Can't wait to try it on them. Unfortunately that butcher wasn't able to get me any hearts so it looks like I will be ordering online.
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Post by trippyferret on Mar 1, 2011 10:01:43 GMT -5
Wheee! Rabbit for breakfast was a success! I think they are getting it. It's kinda a big rabbit for the weez so I cut them one of the front leg quarters. Tbh, it's freaky cutting up a rabbit. I'm just glad it didn't have a head and ears.... then I'd really have a problem!
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Post by Deleted on Mar 1, 2011 17:57:37 GMT -5
Sorry for the delay in responding - I've been ill :C
It seems to me that the issue *might* stem from the fact that they are ... really well-fed and just not that hungry (and when they do, they pick at whatever catches their interest). If they seem not to eat something, leave it, and don't offer another meal that day, and then see what they do the next day.
It's great that the rabbit was a success, and maybe that'll give you another meat they have no qualms about! And I totally agree with you (and it's extra strange for me, since I *HAVE* a pet rabbit!).
As for Gwen, that's normal. Ferts often will "forget" about a kind of meat, so even when they're fully on raw they'll always have those tendencies (yay fun :\ ).
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Post by trippyferret on Mar 1, 2011 18:37:03 GMT -5
Sorry to hear you've been sick. I was glad my last cold only lasted a few days. What you are saying might be right. Like last night, they had 9 chicken hearts for dinner. And so far today, they've only eaten the front leg off the rabbit and haven't gone to the ribs yet. So maybe they ate too much heart last night and were too full to eat all that rabbit? Seems like when they get chunks or boneless meals, they eat a ton. When it comes to bone, not so much. I know they can eat the bone, seen em do it plenty of times! lol. Maybe I should feed them less of the boneless meals so they are hungry enough for the bone. I'll also give your idea a try, the one to leave the meat until the next day. And what can I do for Gwen, to get her eating chicken and cgh again? She'll eat most of the tiny chunks in her soup, but not whole meats like she was. What if I took away her soups and only offered chicken/cgh? Maybe she would eventually eat it?
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Post by trippyferret on Mar 3, 2011 10:42:18 GMT -5
So everything's going much better now. Because they didn't eat much of the rabbit the other day(only the little front leg) I left it in and they ate almost the entire thing over night. Next day we did CGH no problems, and then they had gizzards for dinner. Today they have had chicken wing with no problems! I really hope tonight they will eat their pork tail. Though I might give a turkey neck instead to see if they can handle that kind of bone.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 4, 2011 1:18:40 GMT -5
I'd definitely back off the boneless meals if that seems to create a problem. I'd offer maybe 3 smaller portioned boneless meals a week (not including what heart you can get) and give bone the rest of the time.
For Gwen, I agree about either drastically reducing the amount of soup she gets or stopping it completely and just offering the raw. At this point, it's just her being a bit stubborn and picky (since she had eaten it before), and possibly giving her too much of a choice in how she gets her meal is compromising her progress, at this point.
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Post by trippyferret on Mar 4, 2011 11:22:49 GMT -5
We did it! It worked! I didn't let Gwen have soupies this morning. She kept looking at me with this pitiful look. Then when she realized she wasn't getting soups, she kept walking in and out of the feeding den, hoping something would be in there she could eat. Finally, after about 15 minutes, she caved and started munching on whole chicken thigh! I am wondering if she will eat the pork chunks for dinner tonight if I don't offer soups again. Maybe she will be hungry enough to try something new! I can only hope. The big kids are having no problems at all now. I am so relieved. They ate half the pork tail last night and were doing fine on chicken thigh this morning. So it has been 4 or 5 days now that they have been eating whatever bone-in food I give them. Hurray!
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Post by Deleted on Mar 4, 2011 20:23:35 GMT -5
That's so great! Gwen's just reached that stage where she needs to be fully switched, but she won't do it on her own, so you taking away the soup is the incentive she needed.
I'll be keeping my fingers crossed that Bomber and Evie keep doing well. How is Salem doing?
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Post by trippyferret on Mar 5, 2011 18:32:04 GMT -5
Just got home from work and saw that no one has touched the chicken back from this morning. Think I'm going to keep that in overnight, see if they will end up eating it. I feel bad, I don't know if Gwen ate any of the pork chunks last night. At least, she hadn't before I went to bed. Then I didn't give her soupies again this morning or afternoon, thinking she would probably go for the chicken back. I don't wanna give in and let her have soups, and I think there may be a chance she eats some of the back if I leave it over night, but I hate to see her hungry. Salem's been having problems of her own. Lately she's been only taking soup from a spoon for some reason. I don't know why, it's been the last two batches of soup I made and I didn't change anything in the recipe, but she's been mainly having me spoon feed her. I've been putting less chunks in her soup because she seems put off by the soup enough already. Frustrated again. Gah!
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Post by Deleted on Mar 6, 2011 1:17:51 GMT -5
The only thing to do to try to get Salem eating again on her own is - when you feed her on the spoon - slowly work back down to the bowl. Meaning that as she's eating you're slowly lowering the spoon to the bowl until it's *in* and she's lapping up from the bowl on her own. It usually isn't immediate, but it does tend to work.
I'd leave the back in with them, as well. They WILL eat it when they're hungry enough, believe me (especially when they've eaten it - in chunk form - before). Hang in there, and out-stubborn your babies, the [cute] little brats!
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Post by trippyferret on Mar 6, 2011 23:25:18 GMT -5
I can get her to eat out of the bowl by doing that, but she runs away from the bowl to chew pieces, then I have to try again with a spoon to make her keep eating. Fuzzies didn't end up eating much of their chicken back, maybe 1/4 of it at the most. Maybe it was one of those fasting days, I don't know. But this morning I gave liver puree(to make sure Gwen ate some, she only takes it pureed). They did fine on that, and were later devouring chicken wing tonight. Even Gwen.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 7, 2011 3:03:38 GMT -5
Well, that's great. Possibly they're just letting you know that chicken backs aren't a favorite meal, at this point!
About Salem - the running away *is* normal, albeit a bit frustrating when you're trying to get a fert back on track. But Sherry checked in on the thread with an excellent point, and one I know you're aware of, but bears repeating - since Salem *is* a senior that prolonged eating problems could be a sign of an illness, so just keep an eye out.
And continuing on the Salem-related notes: did she have any of the puree? Also, have you thought about making a batch of soup without chunks, just to see how her appetite does without them?
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Post by trippyferret on Mar 7, 2011 18:18:13 GMT -5
For now, I've actually taken the chunks out of her soups because that was just making it even harder to get her to eat. I really hope it's not an early sign of illness, but I've been paying pretty good attention to her already because I do worry that illness could pop up at any time, given her age. I was thinking I may take her in once I get my income tax and have her BG tested and have the vet feel around. She's a bit more wobbly than my other ferrets, but it could just be her age. After losing my baby Daemeon, I worry about her crashing all of a sudden one day like he did. So I'm going to get her BG tested, just in case. If it's just her being a picky girl, then what should I do? Her running off with almost every bite is getting old real fast. I'm still getting her to eat her normal amount, but it takes me around 20 minutes just to get her to do so. She did not have any of the puree, that was just the big kids(Gwen's almost a big kid now lol). She has had it before though and will eat it if I put a few drops of salmon oil. Gwen is doing great. They're having chicken hearts tonight and I hope that she will take to them. If she doesn't eat it I'll try cutting it up into little pieces and putting some salmon oil or baby food on it. That should probably get her going, I think.
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