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Post by Deleted on Jan 10, 2013 4:17:55 GMT -5
Just gave him some heart slivers, not mixed in with anything. He carried a bigger bit off, gave it a bit of a chew, but didn't swallow it.
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Post by katt on Jan 10, 2013 5:07:37 GMT -5
Silly boy! You are supposed to EAT it, not Stash it! ;D
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Post by Deleted on Jan 10, 2013 19:22:30 GMT -5
Last night I gave him a chicken neck. Cut it up for him in smaller mouth size pieces, and he gave them a good chomping. Heard the bones crack! I wasn't sure if he'd actually eat them, but this morning I can't see any in his cage. Also the heart slivers are gone. I'll do a search under his blankets though.
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Post by katt on Jan 11, 2013 14:09:47 GMT -5
Oh good boy! Let me know if you find the neck hiding somewhere. If he ate it that is great! He is eating the heart slivers now, what about organs? Will he eat those without being in soup form?
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Post by Deleted on Jan 12, 2013 0:43:34 GMT -5
I'll keep trying him on the heart slivers for a little while, because that's what I have defrosted. Is that okay, or will it make him sick to have too much heart in a week? I'm only giving tiny serves, but daily. Though, last night he did eat some bigger chunks I tried him on. He's not eating them with enthusiasm though haha.
So, meal for today is... leftover heart pieces from last night, some chicken and roo mince, and maybe some more necks.
I'm shopping online for some food for him right now, got him some lamb chops and some cheap and fatty pork mince (human quality, so no organs in it, but then we can share while he tries it out). Looking for the pumpkin.
Poos on chicken and pork and roo and lamb heart all seem fine. It seems to be when there's beef in his food that he has runnier, darker, poos.
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Post by katt on Jan 15, 2013 2:45:54 GMT -5
I think I fell asleep responding to this and then thought I had. I haven't been sleeping well. Ugh. Beef is a rich meat. It does tend to make poops darker, and in some ferrets it is a little too rich. Koda is allergic to beef, if I feed it he has awful dark, runny poops for days. It could be that Nibbler is sensitive to beef, or it could just be that it is a little on the rich side for his system. For now I would suggest trying to keep beef minimal so as not to cause too much upset. He may being processing it better as his system adjusts to the raw diet more and more, or it may be something that is always rich on his stomach. As long as it stops when you stop feeding it though (as in one meal of beef doesn't lead to bad poop for over 24 hours), I would say it should be okay to feed in moderation. Especially if you have a good enough variety to offer of other meats.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 15, 2013 7:48:30 GMT -5
Poops are normal now, with no beef. He's on the chicken and roo now. Yesterday I bought him some turkey mince since it was on special. He wasn't so keen on it but had a few bites in the night. He's also been greatly enjoying chewing on the bits of meat he's stashed away, which though I'm not happy he stashed them under couches, I am happy that he's sitting down and gnawing at harder meat! So I just stay aware of where he likes to stash things and go and unstash them in the evening. ;D Still hates EVO. I bought him a pumpkin and baked it for him last night (I had some too, yum.). Mashed it up. Is that good enough, or does it have to be pureed? It's really mushy. I gave him a little and at first he thought it was gross but after two times of me offering it (within a few minutes) he was gobbling it up from my fingers and was super thrilled when I offered him some seconds. I'm not quite sure when I'm supposed to be giving him pumpkin though. Oh yes and the other thing was, he HAPPILY chomped into a massive slice of lamb's heart! Basically I cut the lamb's heart into five pieces, and froze them seperately. I decided to give him one piece and see what he did with it, and I was super pleased that he picked it up straight away and started chewing bits off it. He ate the whole slice, which was a few cms thick and the whole diametre of the heart, in 5 minutes. So proud! Eating big bits of meat like that! Tried him on the sardines today and he gave them some licks but when I left he'd not eaten any.
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Post by katt on Jan 25, 2013 22:56:54 GMT -5
Wow, I am SO sorry. Somehow I totally missed your post. I feel awful... As for the pumpkin. I would blend it after cooking it to make sure that it is thoroughly broken down. If he hates EVO, have you tried fish oil? My boys love it. I find I can mix EVO and fish oil and they will take it a lot better (mine don't care for EVO either). I add a little coconut oil too and they really like it. As far as when to give the pumpkin, it is good to have on hand for blockage scares, hairballs, and loose poops. I like to feed it with organs and hearts as those tend to result in softer stools due to the high blood content. It helps firm things up a bit. I wouldn't give more than 1/2 tsp a day (less is better, maybe 1/2 - 1/4 tsp 2-3 days a week) unless you have a blockage scare in which case you should alternate pushing pumpkin and Vaseline every few hours. Hopefully you don't have to deal with that though! I'm glad he is eating heart chunks, that is great! Have you tried any organ chunks yet? If not, try that next. Organs do taste stronger though, so he may not take to it quite as quickly. I apologize again for missing this. I have been checking the mentoring board and didn't see that you had posted at all. I am really, Really sorry!
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Post by Deleted on Jan 25, 2013 23:09:43 GMT -5
Broken down... how much so? He loves the pumpkin! (though now I'm not sure if it's any good for him since it might not be blended enough).
I want to try fish oil but I can't figure out which to buy in the health food section at the supermarket. There's ones that seem to just be a big jar of oil of varying types. Including 'odorless', which seems to be the most common type. I assume that sort isn't good for ferrets. Then there are ones in capsules... All capsules are able to be broken open are they? Half of them don't even say what sort of fish it is.
Vaseline... will have to add that to the shopping list! (and try to get him to like it before I have a scare situation).
No, no organ chunks yet but I have some available. Which are the best organs to give? I have some liver. Is kidney any good?
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Post by katt on Jan 27, 2013 5:13:44 GMT -5
I haven't dealt with cooked pumpkin as I buy it. I would blend it until it is a thick puree consistency. You shouldn't need to add any water, though you can if you want. It shouldn't be bad for him unblended per say, but I would worry about the larger fibers (not ripped up by the blender) that might be in the pumpkin. I'm sure it is fine, but better safe than sorry. I am glad he likes the pumpkin so much, it makes it a lot easier if they need it for a blockage or something. I would hate to have a ferret who didn't like pumpkin and end up with a blockage scare... Fish oil is good, but salmon oil is better if you can find it. A lot of pet stores carry salmon oil for pets. Fish oil in a capsule is fine. I use a steak knife to poke a good hole in the capsule and squeeze it out for the boys to lick. Unfortunately, that means it gets on my hands - and it stinks! I have been doing Mikey's Mix and I love it - the boys do too. I mix fish or salmon oil, olive oil, and coconut oil. (Mikey uses roughly equal ratios I believe, I have been using *almost* equal amounts but I use slightly more fish oil than olive, and slightly more olive than coconut). This gets my boys to accept EVO since they don't like it, and it is supposed to help prevent ulcers (which my boys have both had issues with). Coconut oil is jam packed full of antioxidants (ferrets need every cancer fighting boost they can get IMO) and really good fatty oils and omegas. And the fish or salmon oil of course has all of the good Omega-#s and other oils. I have found the combo has worked to make their coats nice and sleek, and they love it. AND the best part is - it cuts down on the smell of the fish oil! I have made it using salmon oil from a bottle, and fish oil from capsules. You just have to poke and squeeze the oil out, but then you do it once to make a batch of oil rather than every time you want to give him some. Medicine dropper bottles are good to store it in and dispense from. Something like this - www.amazon.com/Plastic-Dropping-Bottles-30ml-pack/dp/B0026K1YCK/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1359281118&sr=8-2&keywords=dropper+bottleOrgans - feed any and all that you can! Organs as far as ferrets' dietary needs are concerned, are classified as any major hormone producing tissues. This includes kidney, brain, uterus, pancreas, spleen, stomach wall (I had one mentee who found this in a meat-store, but don't feed stomach contents), etc - these are usually found in whole prey, I have never seen them available to buy lol). Organs should be 10% of the overall diet, and half of that should be liver. Ideally the other half should be a mix of organs, but it can be difficult to find a consistent variety for some people. So overall his diet should be 5% liver, 5% other organs (kidney would be a great option here). Heart should be about 10% too. If you are feeding 2 meals a day, this equates to about 1.5 meals. So in a given week he should get 1.5 meals heart, and 1.5 meals organ (half liver, half other organ meats). I find that an easy way to do this is to designate 3 meals a week to the goodies: 1 meal organ, 1 meal half/half organ and heart, and one meal heart. It doesn't have to be done that way of course as long as the balance is there, but I find that to be a good way to look at it and keep in mind when thinking of menus. Let me know how he does with the organs!
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Post by katt on Jan 27, 2013 5:18:18 GMT -5
Oh I forgot to add -for the Vaseline I find that Kenai will only eat it if I mix something else in with it. I use ferretvite or even pumpkin. You could mix it into some meat soupies (be prepared for a mess lol) or baby food even too. I haven't tried oil, but I am sure that would work great. As far as getting him to like it, just be careful to not overdo it as it does coat their intestines (one part of why it helps with blockages - nice slippery surface combined with incoming gelatinous mass lol) which can interfere with nutrient absorption. As soon as you find a way to give it that you know he will accept it, I would leave it at that. It is definitely helpful if they like it though. I have had several blockage scares with Koda (and two actual blockages that resulted in emergency surgeries - he has a BAD oral fixation ) and it is fantastic knowing that he loves Vaseline and will lap it up like a special treat. Makes it easier on me and less stressful for him (he thinks it's great getting gooey Vaseline treat haha).
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Post by katt on Jan 29, 2013 4:25:32 GMT -5
Just checking in for the night. Have you tried and organs yet?
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Post by katt on Jan 31, 2013 0:57:43 GMT -5
Just checking in. How is he doing?
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Post by Deleted on Jan 31, 2013 1:01:05 GMT -5
Sorry, missed the thread last time you posted!
I've been feeding him whole minced chicken (which has organs in it), some liver and some heart, the past few days, plus a few chicken necks he enjoyed chewing on briefly. I'm not sure how to find other organs.
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Post by katt on Jan 31, 2013 4:39:56 GMT -5
Do you know what organs are included in the mince? I'm not sure where you could look in Australia... I would suggest making a thread in the general diet board and asking. We have a lot of people from Aus on the board, so maybe they can offer suggestions. Here I am able to get a lot of the more "exotic" meats from Ethnic markets: Asian market, Halal Market, etc.
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