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Post by Sherry on Mar 23, 2011 20:55:48 GMT -5
Ribs, neck, and possibly wing tips. I've not had a goose in many years, so honestly am not too sure! Although, they can certainly chew and tear meat OFF the bone Actually, try him on just the zupreem for about 3 days, and check his stool. If it's good, then add in one meat for 3 days. Etc. That way, you start from scratch, give his tummy a bit of a rest, and will have a better idea sooner.
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Post by acodlin on Mar 25, 2011 11:46:17 GMT -5
Question, Do you know how much taurine exactly I should be adding to the soupies? I bought it from here www.knowwhatyoufeed.com/shop_online.htmland it says Serving size: 1 leveled 1.7cc scoop (1700mg) that's per 4lbs of food for a cat. I don't want to give too little or too much. I ordered egg shell powder from them too so that'll be here soon, I do add an egg shell in when I make soupies but powder will be better, sometimes they eat around the shell pieces lol. Also how much powdered egg shell should I give?
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Post by Sherry on Mar 25, 2011 22:47:50 GMT -5
To start with, it would be tremendously difficult to give to much since the body simply excretes what it doesn't use immediately. So no worries there With Boris, I'm giving him about 1/5 of a 500 mg capsule a day. So- for the 12 of yours, I'd say about 1000- 1200 mg a day. Don't forget- a ferret has a much faster metabolism than a cat Almost forgot the eggshell ;D It's 1/2 tsp per 8 oz of meat. And yes, the powder is better utilized by the ferret's body than the entire shell.
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Post by acodlin on Mar 29, 2011 13:33:48 GMT -5
Sam and naobi have eaten straight kibble for the past few days, started them back on chicken and its hard to tell, even with just the zupreem their stools are funky, but not as bad as before.. Going to keep slowly introducing food to them again.
The rest of my bunch? Brats! All of them.. I made a batch of soupies with ground turkey instead of ground pork and they flat out refused to eat it. 7lbs of food wasted, they eat turkey chunks in their soupie! Sometimes I don't understand them lol. I've found that they wont eat the ground rabbit in their soupies either, if its plain then they will but if I mix it.. no way, they would rather starve. *sigh*
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Post by Sherry on Mar 29, 2011 16:11:24 GMT -5
The only way I've ever been able to introduce new meats in ground is very slowly- and yes, they ARE brats, the lot of them ;D How long was he on antibiotics? And how long has he been off of them for? I'm wondering if he doesn't maybe have an imbalance in the gut bacteria? Sorry- right now it's a guessing game to find the culprit. You can always try to get him to eat some plain, full fat yogurt for a week, about a tsp a day. Warning- I had to syringe feed this to mine!
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Post by acodlin on Mar 31, 2011 20:25:18 GMT -5
Oh he's been off amox for quite some time, I think it was back in january that we were giving him that. Havent noticed any super yukky poo's the past two days so I think cutting out everything but the zupreem has helped his belly a little bit. I FINALLY got my egg shell powder today so maybe that'll help to firm things up also.
Still having a hard time getting Dean to eat meat off the bone or eat bone. He'll go to town on any chunks I put in the bowl but he's ignoring the feeding den. I even slathered the meat with soupies but he still doesnt seem to get it, I peeled meat off the bone and left it barely hanging on. I put the soupie bowl in with the den meat and none of that is working. Any suggestions? lol
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Post by Sherry on Mar 31, 2011 20:58:30 GMT -5
With Dean, just keep putting him in the den over, and over, and over again ;D Some take longer to "get it" than others! What does he love best of all- whether tone, or freeze dried, or even kibble? Give him that in the feeding den. Then gradually switch it up to whatever you want him to eat. for the bone, try mashing it up with something like a hammer, or the back of a very large cleaver/knife. That way, the marrow escapes into the meat, and he'll hopefully get the taste for it. Since his stools are settling down, try him with only one meat at a time, and leave him on it for at least a week. If he does well with the first one, introduce a second after a week, an so on.
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Post by acodlin on Apr 13, 2011 19:08:39 GMT -5
Not much to update, STILL trying to get dean to eat out of the den. I've started caging everyone at night and so I hang the meat in there and he just ignores it. I've tried just about everything but he's not buying into it so I'm hoping that persistance will pay off eventually. I've had to seperate out dexter from the group =/ I put berry in with him for company but Hannable has decided to be an absolute bully. Poor dexters neck was raw and covered in scabs, I know that usually the whole dominance thing just has to run its course but he cried anytime I touched his neck and he was living under the cage in an attempt to hide from Hannable. Dexter is doing pretty good, he actually devoured a whole chicken wing in one night (first time he's ever eaten that much!) usually there is still bone left and scraps of skin, but he ate it all! I havent made much progress, school has been h*ll.. comming down to my last 3 weeks so as soon as that's over I can focus better. Seems like since things are winding down my teachers want to pile 10xs more on our plate lol!
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Post by Sherry on Apr 13, 2011 22:22:16 GMT -5
Oh, poor Dexter Have you tried some desitin cream? Just rub in on his neck/shoulders. They don't like the taste of it, and it might make her leave him alone. Obviously, let him heal up first. If it doesn't, you'll have to wait til he's big enough to look out for himself. For dean, try playing tug INSIDE the cage. Leave the others out, and just tug on the meat with him in there. Or if you can get him interested in trying to take it from you through the bars. Hopefully, once he actually gets a chunk, he'll start eating it.
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Post by acodlin on Apr 28, 2011 10:20:02 GMT -5
Still been a no go for dean. I can dangle that piece of meat in front of his face all I want and he just looks at me like I'm the strangest person in the world. I may just have to come back to him. I've been trying the same tactics I've been using on dean with Leiloo and having some mild success, she'll eat meat off the bone if she doesnt have to work hard to get it off, if theres ferretone on it and if I keep putting her in front of it. Hopefully she'll start eating it on her own..
I got Dexter to eat some ground beef the other day but it gave him a mild case of diarrhea. I added pumpkin and a dash of ground egg shell to it before I let him eat it but he still had about 3 pretty loose stools afterwards, no vomitting and he acted fine.. so I'm not sure if he's allergic or sensitive to it or not. I havent had a chance to try again since everythings crazy with the last week before finals and everything that happened with Vaeda. Should I give it another go? I've still got some frozen beef ribs I could let him try. ;'
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Post by Sherry on Apr 29, 2011 23:04:12 GMT -5
With Dean, yes- we'll deal with his stubborn little highness later ;D Ha Dex ever had the ground beef before? Beef is much richer, and they'll have much darker, somewhat stools from it, simply because it's more blood rich. The stool will usually smell stronger as well. Maybe try mixing it with something else, see how he does.
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Post by acodlin on May 5, 2011 13:57:09 GMT -5
Do gizzards count as a meat that can be in their diet? The reason I ask is tim is always slipping dexter a gizzard >,< lol little guy loves them to death, Tim keeps cutting off a quarter sized piece almost everyday and letting him have it.
There is a possibility that we might incorperate some whole prey into dexters diet, he does so well that Tim said he wouldnt have a problem feeding it to him. I personally am not ready to handle dead baby animals =/ maybe I'll feel different later but I do think he would eat baby chicks/mice maybe even a bunny if it were offered. I think he'll start with mice just because it's smaller and less likely to linger around for me to clean up.
Leiloo has been doing a little better, I don't have to work as hard to get her to eat meat off the bone but she still wont eat the actual bone. I still have to put soupie and ferretone all over it to get her started but she'll go up to it on her own without any help from me. I've been trying to work with Naobi too, she's all about the turkey leg meat (it has to be practically stripped from the bone before she'll chew it the rest of the way off herself) but she doesnt want much else to do with pork or beef.. *sigh*
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Post by Sherry on May 6, 2011 23:40:29 GMT -5
Do gizzards count as a meat that can be in their diet? Definitely! Gizzards are a favourite here There is a possibility that we might incorperate some whole prey into dexters diet Good idea. Depending on how much whole prey you do, you may want to vary ages and proteins. And although they are crazy about day old chicks, keep in mind they shouldn't be fed more than once a week or so. Minimal calcium, but a good part of a balanced whole prey diet. Same goes for any other immature animal. Leiloo has been doing a little better, I don't have to work as hard to get her to eat meat off the bone but she still wont eat the actual bone. Can you try her with nothing but the wing tips and the middle section of the wing(cut between the bones for two separate pieces) for a couple of days? It will get her used to eating smaller bones. Cornish hen is good for that also. You could likely start reducing the amount of soup/tone you are putting on it for her as well. It will take a while, though ;D Just a dab less each time you feed her. I've been trying to work with Naobi too, she's all about the turkey leg meat (it has to be practically stripped from the bone before she'll chew it the rest of the way off herself If you want her to start eating other meats(which she NEEDS to do), slice up the turkey drumstick meat, and chop some bits of either pork or beef into the turkey, and mix them up well. Although some ferrets never do take to beef.
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Post by acodlin on May 7, 2011 23:04:45 GMT -5
What all whole prey do you feed? Just rabbits chicks and mice? I dont know where I can get the chicks but I know I can get the mice, and hare today sells whole rabbits.. Our local farm store sells baby chicks but they are a few days old.. and still alive >,<
I'm going to try wing tips tomarrow morning and see how leiloo does.
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Post by Sherry on May 7, 2011 23:24:41 GMT -5
Rats, chicks, mice, and rabbits normally. Haven't been able to get chicks for a while. If you are at all into live feeding(don't remember if you've ventured there or not), they can make a pretty quick kill with chicks as well. Or you could do a cervical dislocation. The downside is it can take practice. And good luck with leiloo and the wing tips Let me know how she does!
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