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Post by Deleted on Oct 12, 2011 18:12:55 GMT -5
Well marshalls is the reason that my little rob died. It is because of all of the inbreeding in the ferrets and they just keep on doing it. brothers breeding with sisters and mothers. they don't even care! if i would not go to jail, i would take all of the ferrets( and tiny kits becasue i know there are some every day or month or whatever) and leave. get them fixed and adopt them all out. treat the sick ones. give them a happy life. i hate it so much! when i am a lot OLDER like maybe 30-35 years old ( maybe younger, it depends) i am going to breed ferrets. but not like marshalls. i would breed a jill ONCE in her life, and a hob maybe twice( dirty boys!) and get them fixed. i don't think it is right to breed them and breed them and breed them until they are to sickly and having poor genetically horrible kits that only get a year and a half to live. i hate it!
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Post by Deleted on Oct 12, 2011 18:23:08 GMT -5
I hear you Stiv, I hear you... I completely agree... I checked Meeko's Paperwork, and it's got that Canadian Flag, so I guess it's that Real Canadian Ferret...
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Post by Deleted on Oct 12, 2011 18:25:23 GMT -5
well, at least she did not have to suffer through marshall farm process! only one of my ferrets is not marshal and FFF is just as bad as marshal! if not worse!
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Post by Heather on Oct 12, 2011 22:53:59 GMT -5
I'm afraid that any ferret farm falls under the same category. Marshals, Triple F, RC....it's all the same thing and they're all treated the same way. I've had enough ferrets from all these manufacturers to know Each one carries it's own health issues. Unfortunately, I don't know of any trustworthy Canadian breeders but if you're close to the border perhaps you can get a breeder's ferret from the US. It takes next to nothing to clear customs....a rabies and proper papers and you're good to go. I know I was hoping to get across to go to a ferret show (not to buy a ferret but to have a look see) but didn't get my paperwork in order (hate having to do that whole passport thing ) It would be relatively simple to touch bases with a breeder at a show, talk with them, find out what it takes to cover their adoption process (most have websites that have their pre-requisites spelled out) order a wee one for their next breeding seaons, or get a retired breeder and possibly do a pick up at another show or the following year. Some do ship which is also a possibility. It's not cheap and there are no guarantees but it does go a long way to state that you're not going to support the ferret farms. Just a thought ciao
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Post by Deleted on Oct 14, 2011 18:30:54 GMT -5
How is she doing? havn't heard from you in a while!! is she doing ok?
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Post by Deleted on Oct 16, 2011 10:30:46 GMT -5
Heather, that will definitely be my plan if I chose a breeder. Price doesn't bother me.... I just spent a total of 2k on Meeko in the last few weeks... what's another k for a baby ferret again?... Meeko is still doing good. Sorry for the pause in posting... since we last talked, Meeko's now allowed to play as normal, her stitches are coming out on Tuesday and after that she can finally go back to sleeping in the regular cage... she is as of today on her regular food, but she's not eating VERY much.... but she poops, so I guess she eats some behind my back... lol Yesterday she was slightly dehydrated so I've been forcing down 3 mls of water a few times yesterday and again today.... Other than that, all is well, Meeko is as bad as ever... a regular baby ferret Thanks for all the thoughts, we are hoping she will be this good for a while still to come Sandra, Lyla & Meeko
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Post by Sherry on Oct 16, 2011 12:02:32 GMT -5
I don't know if this is something you want to do with her, but a raw soupie would not only help keep her hydrated, but give her a few more reserves on which to rely.
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Post by Heather on Oct 16, 2011 18:55:14 GMT -5
I second what Sherry says, don't force her or stress her but offer it. That soupy saved my sickies more times than I care to count by just keeping them hydrated. ciao
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Post by Deleted on Oct 16, 2011 19:20:01 GMT -5
at least she is still doing well!
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Post by Deleted on Oct 16, 2011 23:04:24 GMT -5
When she got to switch from the liquid food to the canned a/d she refused to eat the a/d, so I tried making her a Duck Soup with it, and she wanted nothing to do with anything that was "mushy"... Is a raw soup much different than a duck soup? The thing she eats the most right now is Nature's Variety Freeze Dried Chicken formula and some pure bites freeze dried fish and chicken... I thought about re-hydrating the freeze dried, but... I have tried giving her raw pieces of chicken when she was younger but she did not like it at all.... so I don't know if she'd like the freeze dried as much if i added water to that too.... I am open to anything though! What are your thoughts? She is still doing good I think. Today she gave me a little scare though... She played an hour and a half this morning, then this afternoon we took her to see friends and she was exploring their backyard in her harness for another hour and a half or so.... so she got loads of play this morning... then I went away and came back, ate supper, then wanted to take her out to play, but she was in an ALMOST dead sleep (her eyes were very weakly opening and closing again in an instant)... she must have been quite tired... it took me about 10 full seconds to completely wake her up... it freaked me out! But right now she's still playing, it's been about another hour and a half... lol! Silly baby scaring her mom like that! Sandra, Lyla and Meeko
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Post by Deleted on Oct 16, 2011 23:24:09 GMT -5
I definitely recommend rehydrating the freeze dried! Especially if she is dehydrated. That stuff sucks the liquid right out of them, so unless she is drinking lots of fresh water, rehydrating it is definitely going to be a positive thing for her If she doesn't like "mush", start out with just adding a little bit of water to the freeze dried and slowly increase the water amount. They sometimes need to be weaned into these things.
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Post by Sherry on Oct 16, 2011 23:34:14 GMT -5
Please be very careful with the nature variety freeze dried. It can have whole pumpkin seeds in it. Which is a major blockage for a ferret. They can't pass them. As long as you break it up very carefully, it might be ok. Why not try moistening it very slowly for her. That way you get her accustomed to it slowly over time? Just a few sprinkles of water at first, just before she gets it, then every couple of days, you could add a bit more a bit earlier prior to feeding. Basically "trick" her into it ;D
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Post by Deleted on Oct 17, 2011 9:59:32 GMT -5
Ok! I shall start as of tonight to put a wee bit of water in her freeze dried and start increasing slowly! Only.... I don't know if the "add water right before feeding, then add it a bit earlier every day" would work with her, because it's hard to know WHEN she wants to eat. She'll eat at random times.... Making her hungry then feeding doesn't really work with her... I never know how to predict when she wants to eat. With Lyla it's easy.... it's all the time (lol). But Meeko is just not on a fixed schedule... For example... since she gets to eat on her own (about 3 days), she hasn't gotten up at night to eat... but last night she almost emptied the bowl at night... Sometimes she eats while play, other times it's after a nap.... or in between naps.... it's not regular like Lyla... Should I add warm or cold water at first? Will one make her want to eat it a bit more? I hope this works... If I notice she's not eating the moistened freeze dried, do you suggest I treat her like a normal ferret and just leave it there longer with no other food until she eats it? Or do I give her a bit of dried, then hope she'll eat the one with a bit of water in it? She already doesn't eat very much, and in her condition, I'd hate to either starve her or make her unhappy with her food.... Let's cross our fingers that this will work! Thanks Sandra, Lyla & Meeko
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Post by Sherry on Oct 17, 2011 10:11:08 GMT -5
I'd certainly not leave her without food, not with her diagnosis. And you don't want to make her stressed with it either. If she takes it, great, if not...it's up to her. And sorry- I'm so used to scheduled feeding times now, I forgot some are free fed What you could do is try moistening some, and putting it beside her regular a few times a day. That way, she'll start to associate it with food, hopefully soon. Once she DOES eat the rehydrated freeze dried, it's clear sailing You could also, if it doesn't stress her too much, offer her some of the fully rehydrated from your finger while on your lap. For some reason that signals "safe food" for some ferrets. If she simply refuses to lick at it, don't worry too much about it. While getting her on a soupy of some type would help tremendously with dehydration issues caused by the dry, her stressing and fighting it isn't going to help her at all.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 17, 2011 13:56:54 GMT -5
Ok, that sounds like something that may work better with her. She wouldn't eat the canned food on her own, so she's been used to finger feeding in the past week... Hoping she will enjoy this! If not... well.... I won't let her get too dehydrated... I'll try to put water in the freeze dried, but if that doesn't work, is there a less stressfull way than to syringe force? or is that the best way really? I thought about getting her wet and getting her to "dry herself off" on her own.... but with the stitches, I can't put her in water... lol Thanks! Sandra, Lyla & Meeko
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