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Post by Heather on Dec 22, 2012 2:13:40 GMT -5
**Updated, pc and weight added*** Name: Libby HF Forum Username: libs 1. Where did you first learn about natural diets for ferrets? Reading ferrets for dummies I think. 2. Please describe the type of diet you would like assistance in switching your ferret(s) to. Be sure to include if you are interested in feeding whole prey (live or frozen-thawed) and if you are wanting to FULLY switch to a natural diet or PARTIALLY. If you are unsure what kind of diet you want to put your ferrets on, please express that and we can help you find the best type of natural diet for your ferret. I'd like to switch them to raw. I don't think I could handle prey, live or dead
3. Why are you interested in switching your ferrets to a natural diet? Because I love them and want them to grow old with me.
4. Do you understand that switching your ferret to a natural diet can be a lengthy, arduous process? Its not an overnight switch. It can be a commitment of several weeks or even months. Your HF Mentor will be more then happy to assist you in switchng your ferret(s) to a natural diet, but you need to be equally as commited. If you aren't willing to tough out a potentially lengthy switching process, or if you have major life changes approaching (baby on the way, moving, starting school, getting married/divorced, etc) then it might be a better idea to wait on switching your ferret's diet until you have more time. Are you willing to make the commitment?
Well my baby making days are behind me, I've been in a happy and stable marriage for the past 17 years. We own our home and although it is just a double wide mobile home it is at least stable and no landlords to worry with so yes I think I am at a point that I can handle the commitment yay!
5. How many ferrets do you currently have? What are their names? Ages? Genders? Do they have any health problems? Are they overweight? Underweight? How long have you had each ferret for? I have 3 ATM Fuzzelz approx 7 month old male healthy ... I've had him the longest and its been 5 months already . Actually that means he is older so he is nearly a year they said they thought his birthday was in feb so he is actually 10 m.o
Widget must be 9 months because she is about a month younger than Fuzz and I've had her for four months she is healthy
Nibblers age is more guess work, they estimated his age at about 4 months when I got him 2 months ago so he is 6 m.o and he seems thin to me
6. What diet do you currently feed your ferrets? (Please include all treats, supplements, etc) They all came to me on Marshals and .i transitioned them onto Zupreem premium adding in Wellness Core kitten and/or Natural Gold depending on availability but the Zupreem has been a constant. Couple times a week they get ferretone and every other day they each get about a pea sized bit of Ferralax Every other day they each get half of an nbone
7. Have you ever tried to switch your ferrets to a natural diet in the past? If yes, what happened? Tried tonight it went better than expected. I made them a thick soup Widget and Nibbler each went in to taste more eating maybe a teaspoon, Nibbler more than Widget. Fuzzelz was not impressed
8. What additional information about yourself or your ferrets would you like to share? Our hone is small but they have most of the day spent out of the cage but confined to a room. They also spend time in the playpen attached to their cage. They are on a fairly set schedule that works with mine. I'm not doing vaccines and I limit who has contact with them. We are a bit hermity anyway
9. How often during the week do you have access to a computer? Constantly either my iPad or pc
10. Please post a picture of each of your ferrets (if possible). top left is Fuzzelz, 2 lbs 14oz ..right is Nibbler 2lbs. 12 oz.and bottom is Widget 1lbs 14 oz.
Hi and welcome to the mentoring program . In a little while your mentor (Hurricane Katt) will introduce herself and you can get started on a new adventure in natural ferret care and diets. Please remember to post regularly (daily or as per arranged with your mentor) so that your mentor can assist you move along safely in this adventure. If you experience computer difficulties or are going to be away, please notify your mentor and most of all relax and have fun . Your mentor is here to help you on this journey. ciao
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Post by katt on Dec 22, 2012 2:21:45 GMT -5
Name: Katt HF Screen Name: hurricanekatt
Location: Anchorage, Alaska Skpye name: hurricane.katt – I am on Skpye a lot so feel free to pop in and chat, or ask questions you want a quick answer to.
I became a mentor because... I really like helping people (hence the whole wanting to be a doctor thing ) and animals. I am a strong supporter of a natural diet and probably bore most people that I meet to death ranting about raw diet and why it is the best way to go…this way I can rant to someone who actually cares!
About My Ferrets: Koda – male, Real Canadian, I got him when he was about 8 weeks old when I bought him in December 2009, Sable. I gave him raw the second he came home and he immediately ripped into it and started hissing to keep me away from his tasty prize! Neither of us has ever looked back. He is a real trouble maker and is pretty well known around the forums as such. He is my first ferret and he has forced me to learn and learn FAST! He has managed to eat several foreign objects, and is constantly finding new trouble to get into (his nose has a rubber detector in it). He had to have an emergency blockage surgery, which (we believe) ended up being the catalyst that resulted in his IBD. He loves digging the carpet up, or more recently chewing it, has a very serious oral fixation (if his mouth can stretch wide enough for his teeth to touch it – he will chew it), he will rearrange the room to reach things, has learned how to levitate, and is an all around little monster. He is also very strongly bonded to my boyfriend and I, and can be a huge love bug. When the endless energy is finally burned off, he will curl up in our laps, give us kisses, and fall asleep. As you can tell, I have this problem where I can’t stop talking about him or taking pictures of him… He has IBD which we struggled to get control of (and finally succeeded!) with diet. At about 18 months of age he started showing signs of juvenile adrenal disease. We began with monthly Lupron shots and eventually put him on Deslorelin.
Kneai: male, Silber/Black Roan Mitt. I brought Kenai home towards the end of November 2010 when he was about 7-8 weeks old. He is also eating 100% raw diet, whole prey, franken prey, meaty bones you name it! He was a tiny little bag of bones when I brought him home, but he eats like a pig and grows like a weed! He is now huge and rolly-polly! definitely a little porker - he can barely make it out of his rice box because he is so bottom heavy. lmao He finally started shedding some fur and a little winter weight and is slimming up, but he is still a clumsy critter. haha He loves, LOVES toys and is a loveable, goofy little guy and has been helping to keep Koda company and burn off each others energy! He's definitely a little spaz - I thought Koda was until I got Kenai! He's a bit of a simpleton. He has trouble finding the potty box a lot, and he doesn’t learn very fast. He also is much less physically adept at things – he has trouble climbing and getting into/onto/out of things. He is sloooowly figuring out how to control his floppy body, but he definitely has some developmental delays. But, we love him just the same.
About My Natural Feeding Experience: I've been feeding raw since December 2009 when I brought Koda home. Thanks to this forum, I was ready for a fuzzball to come home with my freezer stocked with meats! I gave him a raw chicken wing his first night home and that was the end of that! He is fed frankenprey, f/t rodents, and live prey. Unfortunately, his diet is somewhat restricted because of his IBD, but we've finally got a bit of variety back in. I have been reading and learning since before I brought Koda home and learned a lot from the people here on the forum. I am always on the forum, and various websites trying to learn more about ferrets in general, and especially raw diet. My boys are healthy, energetic, have super soft fur, and smell so good that people regularly comment, asking me what perfume or spray I sprayed them (esp Koda) with! I love telling them: Thanks to a raw diet - he just smells that good naturally! When Kenai first came home he had been eating Marshall's kibble and his poops were HUGE and smelled...awful doesn't even come close to describing it! Now he smells much better and his scraggly coat has been replaced by a luxurious pile of fur.
Type of Mentor: Full switches only! I feed frankenprey, raw meats, bone-in meats, ground meats, frozen/thawed rodents, live prey, and recently added (for treats and supplemental) freeze dried raw and commercially ground raw. I have never fed kibble so I can’t help with picking a good kibble…
My Specialty: Trouble makers! Especially only ferrets, and kits. I focus on full switches to raw – no more kibble!
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Post by katt on Dec 22, 2012 2:22:28 GMT -5
Welcome to your switch! Let's get started with a full run down of your current diet and feeding routine. When do you feed, how often, do you free feed or offer meals, exactly what is he eating right now (part kibbble, part raw soupies, chicken and pork, etc etc)? The more details you can give me the better.
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Post by katt on Dec 24, 2012 1:45:32 GMT -5
Bump
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Post by Deleted on Dec 24, 2012 2:21:19 GMT -5
Hello! Sorry I hadn't seen this and didn't know I had a mentor. Thank you for taking me and my crew on!
As far as my feeding schedule goes we are messed up at the moment because of my grandmothers hospitalization. So my current feeding schedule isn't really scheduled at all. Before I leave in the mornings they get soupies then 4 hours later I run home and give them some more, and again 4 hours after that then about an hour or 2 after that they go to bed and even though they don't seem to be eating kibble I have been leaving it in the cage.
This evening Sherry had mentioned that the female-widget would eat around 2-3 oz and each of the 2 males would eat up to 5 oz. so now I can weight out about 13 oz. a feeding for all three unless I misunderstood. (Not sure if those are daily measurements or per feeding measurement)
I've been worried that I won't feed them enough.
I used the soup recipe Sherry had on the forums with the 6oz of meat 2 hearts 1 liver and 1/4 tsp of eggshells
Nibbler is eating small shavings of chicken along with his soup
***edit: I just checked that thread and she suggested those weights of feeding per day ...glad I checked or I'd have been putting nearly a lb. in there every time and worrying they were starving lol
Word of warning, I am a worrier, constantly worried Ill mess them up or something. I'm also driving my poor husband crazy with this. When I first mentioned it he thought I was off my rocker.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 24, 2012 13:50:36 GMT -5
Ok I just got back from new store in town called foodmax I got: 2.4lbs chicken necks 3lbs chicken legs 1.5 lbs chicken hearts 1.7 lbs ground pork Still have about 1.5 lbs of frozen chicken livers In a baggy I have 1/2 tbs of powdered eggshells Also 29 oz. canned pumpkin
So, what sort of soup recipe would you suggest?
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Post by Deleted on Dec 24, 2012 17:55:06 GMT -5
I'm sure you are likely busy with holiday stuff so Im just going to update what I did today.
I made 2 batches of soup each batch with: 2 oz. chicken livers 2 oz. chicken hearts 8 oz. leg meat 1 tsp canned pumpkin 1/2 tsp powdered egg shells And less water than the last batch
This batch is a darker red than the last batch and I think it's the hearts and livers. Last batch I added only 2 hearts and 1 liver without wieghing them. Now I see that it took nearly 4 hearts and I think 3 livers to make 2 oz. each.
They weren't having it, not even when I put ferretone on it BUT, I let it sit in there for a few then I sat down and spoon fed them. No force of any kind was needed they just needed it on a spoon I guess lol
After a couple spoons each they were content to eat from the dish. I put about 5 oz in there at the moment. We got a late start today and I haven't given them any kibble. Because they aren't happy with chunks today I will likely put a little bit of kibble in the cage when they go to bed until morning. I'm just afraid of them being without food over night.
So, that's where we are at for now and I put each of the 2 batches in a ziplock bag figuring that one batch will feed all three for 1 day. Please let me know if I am mistaking on that or any of the above.
Thank you again and Happy Holidays.
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Post by katt on Dec 25, 2012 5:21:35 GMT -5
I'm sure you are likely busy with holiday stuff so Im just going to update what I did today. I made 2 batches of soup each batch with: 2 oz. chicken livers 2 oz. chicken hearts 8 oz. leg meat 1 tsp canned pumpkin 1/2 tsp powdered egg shells And less water than the last batch This batch is a darker red than the last batch and I think it's the hearts and livers. Last batch I added only 2 hearts and 1 liver without wieghing them. Now I see that it took nearly 4 hearts and I think 3 livers to make 2 oz. each. They weren't having it, not even when I put ferretone on it BUT, I let it sit in there for a few then I sat down and spoon fed them. No force of any kind was needed they just needed it on a spoon I guess lol After a couple spoons each they were content to eat from the dish. I put about 5 oz in there at the moment. We got a late start today and I haven't given them any kibble. Because they aren't happy with chunks today I will likely put a little bit of kibble in the cage when they go to bed until morning. I'm just afraid of them being without food over night. So, that's where we are at for now and I put each of the 2 batches in a ziplock bag figuring that one batch will feed all three for 1 day. Please let me know if I am mistaking on that or any of the above. Thank you again and Happy Holidays. Ugh, sorry! I read your reply this morning, but I wanted to make a thorough reply. Every time I had some time to look at the forum I didn't have long enough to write a good reply here. It's a pain to post from my phone so I generally try to wait for my computer for longer responses. Your soup sounds good, they are probably less fond of it because of the higher heart and liver content which have a stronger taste. Keep spoon feeding them until they will eat it on their own. Once they will eat the soup willingly on their own, we will work on gradually thickening it by reducing the water. Then we will gradually add in tiny slivers of meat and slowly increase the amount and size of the slivers and decrease the amount of soup. Feel free to offer them little slivers of meat along the way too (like when you make soup, keep a few slivers on the side for hand feeding). It never hurts to try to coax them forward a step or two, but don't be concerned by any means if they refuse it or don't know what to do with the chunks just yet. Let me know how they do with the soup in the morning. Try to take the kibble away a few hours before offering soup if you can, and coax them to eat as independently as possible. (i.e. minimize spoon feeding by slowly lowering the spoon to the bowl and then removing it until they eat out of the bowl). At this stage though hand feeding is a bit necessary. For now leaving kibble in the cage is okay - I know you have a lot on your plate with your grandmother. However, do try to remove the kibble a few hour ahead of a fresh batch of soup if you can. You could also leave the bowl of soup available during the day, it should be good for 4-6 hours. Once they are eating the soup more independently, we will have you keep soup in the cage all day instead of kibble. They are eating the soup, so they are off to a good start!
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Post by Deleted on Dec 25, 2012 18:21:11 GMT -5
2 bowls of thick soup sofar each was about 3 oz.
I hope your Christmas is going wonderfully
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Post by katt on Dec 26, 2012 0:21:47 GMT -5
Good fuzz! For the next batch tat you mix up, add even less water. Let me know how they do. Hope you guys had a good Christmas!
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Post by Deleted on Dec 26, 2012 22:15:50 GMT -5
Ok so today the soup was just a little thicker and they ate a good bit of it but then it sat too long.
This evening I just sat some ground pork in there just to see what they would do, with a little ferretone on it Nibbler nibbled away at it, even stashing a tiny bit of it away, Fuzzelz and widget tasted it and keep going back for a taste here and there but they aren't really impressed with it so far.
There has been no kibble down for them but I'll still put a tiny bit in the cage tonight.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 26, 2012 22:18:12 GMT -5
Oh and p.s.
No spoon feeding at all today, although I do feel guilty for not doing it lol.
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Post by katt on Dec 27, 2012 0:30:59 GMT -5
Great news! Keep it up fuzzers! If they will eat the ground, try feeding them that instead of the soupies. Ground meat will stay better longer too, so you can leave it out a bit longer. Just make sure that they are all eating it of course. If they are being stubborn, you can try mixing some soup into the ground meat and seeing if they react better to that.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 27, 2012 23:44:53 GMT -5
So today we had a bit of back sliding mostly because I needed slightly runnier soup because if our new girl.
The guy that took the ferret I had posted about ended up not wanting her because of the biting so now we are up to 4 in our little clan of ferts. We a still calling her Flower but that might change.
Anyway because hers was a little thinner everyone wanted to eat hers so I thinned all of it. Tomorrow I'll try to get her to take the more pudding like consistency. It was a lot for her to take in today though. New home, new ferts, new food and having her nails clipped.
What day of the week would you want weights posted? I haven't gotten a starting weight on her but will get that tomorrow.
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Post by katt on Dec 28, 2012 22:07:40 GMT -5
So today we had a bit of back sliding mostly because I needed slightly runnier soup because if our new girl. The guy that took the ferret I had posted about ended up not wanting her because of the biting so now we are up to 4 in our little clan of ferts. We a still calling her Flower but that might change. Anyway because hers was a little thinner everyone wanted to eat hers so I thinned all of it. Tomorrow I'll try to get her to take the more pudding like consistency. It was a lot for her to take in today though. New home, new ferts, new food and having her nails clipped. What day of the week would you want weights posted? I haven't gotten a starting weight on her but will get that tomorrow. Yaay! I saw your post, congrats! She us a baby btw, so she should eat almost anything you put in front of her. If anything she will make your job easier by setting an example for the others. She will pick on quick. Try to hand feed her some if you can too - you might find it helps with the biting a little by teaching her that hands bring good things and should be given kisses (to lick off soupies) an not nibbles. If she is biting your finger during hand feeding, put some ferretone or treat or soupies on her belly so she can lick it off. That will help her learn that ferretone (and soupies, etc) is for licking, not for biting. Whatever day is most convenient for you is ok to post weights. As long as you are checking in weekly, the day of the week doesn't really matter much to me. I might Need some before pictures of little "Flower" though. You know, just to get an idea of her cuteness..I mean *ahem* body shape and all....
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