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Post by jadeguppy on Aug 29, 2012 11:19:53 GMT -5
I've taken steps since spring to add raw and/or whole prey to my ferrets diets. Unfortunatly, the ferrets that were doing best on this diet had to be rehomed. Although Noodles has crossed the rainbow bridge, he did teach me how raw feeding can improve the health and energy levels of a ferret. iwth so many rescues, I've hesitated to switch fully over. I'm now thinking that atleast my bunch should be fully switched.
Here is what i currently have on hand:
*Natures variety lamb nuggets
*Natures variety duck nuggets
*Wysong Au Jus Venison, water added, bone meal added, blended, and frozen into cubes for a thick soupie
*frozen adult mice
*live mice of various ages
*mealworms
I have found a source for rabbit hearts and kidneys with a possibility of rabbit meat, but it is over an hour drive from here.
Last night I mixed some venison soupie with crushed duck nuggets and this morning all that was left is nuggets chunks.
I have four ferrets in the cage. All poop looks well formed this morning, so no upset tummies at the moment. Any suggestions on how to ensure they are all eatting and eatting enough?
I'm planning to use this thread as a way to keep track of my records and in hopes of getting some advise to help fill in a few of the missign pieces for me.
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Post by Sherry on Aug 29, 2012 13:16:40 GMT -5
For eating, unless you separate all you can do is keep an eye out. It might help if you take one out of the cage with their own portion and see how they do. Then cycle through. If they are eating fine that way, odds are good they are also eating in the cage.
To get them eating the actual grinds, start mixing all of it well with a good bit of water, then just add less and less water to it. To transfer(at least for now), start adding in a small amount of new protein to old and increase the ratio over 4-5 meals.
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Post by goingpostal on Aug 29, 2012 14:42:37 GMT -5
To make sure they are eating I would remove the kibble a couple hours before and then take them out and feed the soupies, see who's eating, who's not. Stuff some soup in the mouths of any that aren't. With my ferrets, they hate venison. None of them will touch it, ground, whole chunks, canned. Even now they won't. So I would watch when you add/change proteins to see who likes what. You might want to pick up a giblet pack if your store has them, get some hearts/livers in the mix.
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Post by jadeguppy on Aug 29, 2012 14:43:53 GMT -5
I'll keep an eye on how they eat the venison. Thanks for the heads up. It seems the mix with pumpkin yesterday was better received.
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Post by jadeguppy on Aug 31, 2012 18:07:01 GMT -5
Okay. I know someone is eatting. How do I figure out if everyone is getting enough? There has been food left over eat 12 hrs, but I'm not sure that it is because everyone was full. p.s. The 16wk old that just came to the rescue took to raw immediatly and snagged a big mouth full of freeze dried before I coudl even add a touch of water and get it broken up better. Someone remind me that I can't keep them all...
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Post by Sherry on Aug 31, 2012 19:49:07 GMT -5
Someone remind me that I can't keep them all...   As for how to tell if everyone is eating enough- if this is a concern, you can try hand feeding a tbsp or so every time you offer it. Otherwise, it's watch, and weigh them. |
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Post by jadeguppy on Sept 3, 2012 12:01:58 GMT -5
They have been days without kibble and things seem to be going well. I'm still wanting to keep the kit... I've been dicing up beef heart and weighing it out. My darn hand is going numb by 6 ounces.  Anyway, I know I read it somewhere, but can't find the post. Is it 2 to3 oz. per day or per serving for a total of 4 to 6 oz per day? |
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Post by Sherry on Sept 3, 2012 13:01:32 GMT -5
Depends on the individual ferret. Anywhere from 2-6oz a day each. My tiny girls eat about 2oz a day, Frodo eats 5-6 oz a day.
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Post by jadeguppy on Sept 3, 2012 13:07:54 GMT -5
Okay. I thought 12 oz for 4 ferrets seemed a bit much in the bowl for a single feeding. I'll pull half of it out and put it in the fridge. On a side note, my dogs are loving the process as they are getting the left overs.
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Post by Sherry on Sept 3, 2012 13:19:31 GMT -5
If they finish everything up, add more. Their appetites will go through the roof at first. The new boys are just starting to slow down now. Prior to this, the trio were eating about 8oz a meal, or about a pound a day ;D They will likely slow to about 9-10 oz a day in a bit.
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Post by jadeguppy on Sept 3, 2012 13:58:46 GMT -5
They don't seem to be doing the huge feasting that some people see. I have my fingers crossed that it is because they were on very high quality kibble and not that they aren't eatting enough even when there is food avalible. I've been overfeeding the past few days, so today I started weighing things. Diced up a bunch of heart and kidney for freezer storage. I also have three types of Natures Variety and one beef freeze dried of another brand. If I can get my hands on a cleaver, the next step is to try some chicken wings. I've decided that they won't get any more venison as they don't seem to like it.
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Post by Sherry on Sept 3, 2012 17:34:52 GMT -5
I generally don't see the appetite increase until about a week or so after they no longer have any kibble. Maybe you won't.
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Post by jadeguppy on Sept 3, 2012 21:15:40 GMT -5
Okay. I haven't reached the week point, so I may still have it coming.
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Post by jadeguppy on Sept 10, 2012 15:53:20 GMT -5
Okay. I chopped a chicken wing into 8 or 10 pieces and fed it to the ferrets. It looks like most of it was eatten, except the end bone. Is this too thick for them?
Little Petunia, who is caged by herself due to her being up for adoption, pulled them out and put most pieces in a corner before munching down. The other four seem less concerned about storing the food.
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Post by Sherry on Sept 10, 2012 17:14:23 GMT -5
It does take a while to build up the jaw strength to tackle larger bones. Some never do, so it's going to depend on the individual ferret.
And Boris was always like that too! He'd take all the meat he wanted, stash it a piece at a time, then sit and eat ;D
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