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Post by zombieferrets on Feb 21, 2011 17:56:09 GMT -5
Haven't gotten to the store yet for the cooked soup but I tried giving Farris some soup again last night and she ate it without gagging. I had to scruff her but she ate a bit like that. This morning I tried just chicken again and she ate a bit of it on her own and then didn't eat anything else. She has lost a tiny bit more weight but I don't want her starving. I wonder if she's eating it when she's in the cage, though. Energy wise it's hard to tell because she's always just sleeping all the time. Hm. I'll likely be going out today and I'll try to pick up the cooked soup ingredients if I can. Oy, also, Kat & Audrey are coming back to my place (see bottom of banner). My Mom had adopted them but she has some pain issues and after a couple weeks of trying it she doesn't have the energy to care for them. They're adorable little sweethearts but they're pretty dominant and never got along with my other 5. I'm going to try and find them a good home so I guess I should just keep them on kibble? Both of them refused to try the soup back in the day and besides Ferretone and hairball malt Kat won't try any treats.
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Post by katt on Feb 22, 2011 15:01:03 GMT -5
I was totally in the process of replying to this last night when I fell asleep. lol Good! I have been talking to Sherry to get another opinion and she thought the same thing I did - Farris is just throwing a tantrum. ;D Rotten ferrets! You might have to continue scruffing her to eat for a little while and take it slower with her. Keep scruffing her until she will just eat it out of your hands on your own, then from the bowl etc just like we talked about before. Start with the boiled chicken soupies, and then as she starts to eat that, begin to gradually replace he boiled chicken with raw chicken, and then slowly remove the other ingredients until she is eating pureed raw, then gradually add chunks etc until she is caught up with the others. Again, this is a temper tantrum, and weight loss when switching to raw is normal. You will know when she starts to look too skinny, but I have yet to hear of a ferret starving themselves during a diet switch. she is trying to play pathetic to convince mommy to give in and give her her precious kibble back. DON'T DO IT!!!! ;D Be strong, and persistent. She WILL get there, it might just take a little longer, and a little more TLC to convince her that you are not trying to poison her. Yes, if they are just going to b e rehomed to a kibble feeding home anyways, I would not bother trying to switch them to raw. If you can find a home willing to feed raw GREAT! But that is very very hard to do. Put up an add in the Adoptions part of the forum, someone from HFF might be able to take them! If they are not already, I would recommend making sure that they are on a high quality kibble and ensuring that their new home will continue to feed them the high quality kibble and not some crap.
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Post by zombieferrets on Feb 22, 2011 19:45:28 GMT -5
I picked up the ingredients yesterday but won't have time to make the soup until tomorrow. Farris isn't gagging anymore at the raw but she is still being a brat, even when it's just straight chicken. She tries very hard to drink the milk from my cereal and if I have a banana she basically attacks me for it. it's so weird that she's the one being a brat about it since she was the only one who loved it and ate it all the time! Gr, such a bum! The good news is that a co-worker of my Mom's is coming over tonight with her boyfriend and their ferret to meet Kat & Audrey! they had another ferret but she passed away about a month ago. I'm pretty sure they feed a good quality kibble but I'd be asking about it and going to their house to make sure everything's good.
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Post by zombieferrets on Feb 22, 2011 19:52:59 GMT -5
Okay, just did the scruff with Farris and after slowly letting go she ate for a bit before running away. guess I'll just keep doing that until she gets the point. thanks Katt!
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Post by katt on Feb 22, 2011 20:24:41 GMT -5
No problem! Just stick with her, she will get there. Is she Mommy's special girl by chance? It seems like the "special" or "heart" ferrets tend to need more attention when making the switch to raw.
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Post by zombieferrets on Feb 23, 2011 20:10:07 GMT -5
I wouldn't say she's Mommy's special girl. she's very lethargic so she's one of the rare ones who will actually snuggle with me and I do think she's quite bonded to me so...yeah, I guess maybe she is, haha. I just got her to eat a bit more and she gagged again after a bit. -sigh- so weird that she's being the dramatic one! Ah well, I'll keept at it. It's crazy snowing here so I can't go anywhere so I'll hopefully be doing the soup tonight. thank God I got all the ingredients the other day!!
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Post by zombieferrets on Feb 24, 2011 2:28:00 GMT -5
I made the soup! I decided not to add kibble and Farris scarfed it down anyway. I did 2 chicken breasts, 2 heaping tablespoons of canned pumpkin, and 2 cans of chicken baby food. tomorrow night or morning I'll try mixing it with some regular raw and see if she'll take that.
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Post by katt on Feb 24, 2011 4:56:33 GMT -5
I made the soup! I decided not to add kibble and Farris scarfed it down anyway. I did 2 chicken breasts, 2 heaping tablespoons of canned pumpkin, and 2 cans of chicken baby food. tomorrow night or morning I'll try mixing it with some regular raw and see if she'll take that. Yay! I am glad she took to it without any kibble in it! That is a good sign. For mixing it with regular raw try this. Keep the same recipe, but make say, half of one chicken breast raw. If she eats that, then try only half cooked (so one and a half raw), then two raw. Go as fast as she will let you push her. Let me know how it goes. And of course you can always continue offering her chunks and such along the way,. but don't get too discouraged if say she will eat pureed raw in 2 days but still no chunks. She will get there. We just have to trick her into thinking it was her idea.
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Post by katt on Feb 26, 2011 13:41:34 GMT -5
*bump bump* any updates?
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Post by zombieferrets on Feb 27, 2011 0:20:49 GMT -5
Hey! I've learned that Coco will eat the soup as long as I put some kibble on/near it. sometimes she won't even eat the kibble she'll just start licking up the soup, but only if I put kibble by it first. Weirdo. Farris will eat the chicken soup but only if it's just chicken. She's still being weird about it I guess and hopefully will get over it. Everyone else is happy to eat and doing great! I'll be weighing them again either tonight or tomorrow.
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Post by katt on Mar 1, 2011 4:06:59 GMT -5
Hey! I've learned that Coco will eat the soup as long as I put some kibble on/near it. sometimes she won't even eat the kibble she'll just start licking up the soup, but only if I put kibble by it first. Weirdo. Farris will eat the chicken soup but only if it's just chicken. She's still being weird about it I guess and hopefully will get over it. Everyone else is happy to eat and doing great! I'll be weighing them again either tonight or tomorrow. Hey I am SO sorry for disappearing. I have been dealing with some rather stressful situations. Anyways, I am back! So, please give me an update. How are Coco and Farris doing? If Farris is eating the boiled soup, then go ahead and start replacing the boiled chicken with raw, and decreasing the amounts of the other ingredients. How are the other guys doing? I am sorry again for disappearing. I just couldn't think. Terrible excuse I know. BUT Back on track now.
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Post by zombieferrets on Mar 1, 2011 23:17:05 GMT -5
No worries, Katt! I totally, totally understand. I just started working full time so I've been pretty busy myself.
Coco's still reluctant and will only eat with the kibble thing but the important thing is that she'll still eat. As for Farris...I'm trying to figure out what's up. I never see her eat but she's the same as always except she's losing weight, which, again, she really needed to so it's a good thing. Her stool is small and gooey but otherwise she's exactly the same. I don't get it! Is it possible that she's eating the raw at night when I'm not there? If she wasn't wouldn't it be showing?
Also Mushus is getting skinnier, which isn't optimal. He's lost half a pound (from 2.75 to 2.25lbs since Feb. 18) and he was already looking a bit slim before that. He's my big boned boy who's adrenal and got a suprelorin implant just over a month ago. Percy's also looking really thin. Myra and Mitch both put on winter coats and Mitch is still a big boy and Myra looks the same. I'll have to weight them all later.
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Post by Sherry on Mar 2, 2011 10:14:58 GMT -5
Hey, Karen Are you keeping an eye on how much each fuzzum is eating on their own? It may come down to spoon feeding each once a week so you at least have an idea on that. Although it IS shedding/weight loss season, so it could well be that instead. This time of year makes it hard to tell during a switch if they aren't eating enough, or if it's just seasonal loss. Farris is going to need to be hand fed for a while. She is(as you are already fully aware!), going to be your problem child. She will either need to be hand fed at least a tablespoon 3-4 times a day(for a total of 3-4 tbsp), or you'll have to separate her and give her back the kibbles at night. As much as I hate to say it I had one like that. Suki. After thinking she was doing so well on the raw, it turned out all she was doing was licking the soup/chunks, not eating. So...she got nothing but raw all day, and at night she was put into a cage by herself with about 1/4 c of kibbles. That keeps them from going into starvation mode and making themselves ill. They don't eat, become nauseated from not eating, and then don't want to eat.
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Post by zombieferrets on Mar 2, 2011 23:54:08 GMT -5
Hey Sherry! I see everyone eat on their own except Farris. I'll try doing the feedings with Farris. Unfortunately I'm working full time so I'd have to get up early to feed her, feed her at 5:00PM when I come home, and then feed her just before bed, I guess. -sigh- not my favorite when I'm wiped from working and having to get up super early but you gotta do what you gotta do, right? I'll give that a shot. Thank you, Sherry!!!
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Post by katt on Mar 3, 2011 0:10:43 GMT -5
Thanks for the help/input Sherry!
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