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Post by katt on Aug 14, 2013 13:58:37 GMT -5
Aric's mom took him, she has like 5 cats shes rescued and she fell in love with him as soon as we brought him, she found a lump on his face and his jaws a bit messed up so she took him and is taking him to the vet so he has a good forever home (: yayyy! cuase we don't have no-kill shelters in our area just AWS and they euthanize if there there for more than a certain amount of time. I cant believe the amount of food these ferts put away, yall weren't kidding when you said bottomless pits! I upt the eggshell but im still getting soft/runny stools more often than not. Nobodys butts look red or raw though. I keep meaning for a pic (headwall) As for the kitty, we gave him some wet catfood and he got sick with the runs, he's on kitten kibble right now we only have enough meat for the ferrets so he's gonna have to get switched either after I can balance out the ferts, or just get scraps and kibble but my boys are my main concern right now, theyre finally all excepting raw sliver soup and dax is finallllly gaining his weight back so I don't wanna overwhelm myself all over again. Anywho, we both have tomorrow off so I can atleast get some help with uploading pics and vids FOR REAL THIS TIME lol I also wanted to let you know im going to try clicker training, especially dax he's like crazy smart and I bet my prized calf he'll like that better than trying to play with him he DOES NOT PLAY lol he has no interest in people play he likes to be coddled and talked to he's like a furry person , Good, I am glad they both have good forever homes now. For your kitten (name?) be sure to give him a high quality kibble low in grain high in meat ingredients. It is also good to give wet food a few times a week - even moist kibble is better than all dry. The ferrets will eat much more than usual during the beginning of their switch - I assure you this does slow down. They also eat a lot more during the winter and we are entering fall. In other words you have 2 things working to make them eat extra right now. Keep giving them as much as they will eat though! I'm glad Dax is putting his weight back on. Good boy. How did he do with the slivers today?
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Post by Deleted on Aug 16, 2013 16:29:46 GMT -5
The kittys name is Zed we got her some kitten kibble and some wetfood from a friend who had leftovers from her kitten until we can pick some up Friday, its 9lives not the best but certiantly not the worst haha.
Boy your telling me, im SO proud of bubby and novak when I was cutting up chicken for soup today they both waited at my feet for bits and pieces, theyd take it out of my hand and munch it down right there<3 I made a MASSIVE batch of soup with chicken breast, liver, and REAL HEARTS! woo love that butcher he hid some heart for me this week lol. I upped the eggshell to 1/2 tblspoon per bag of soup there poos are still soft and loose. Each bag weighs a bit over 1 pound with pureed chicken, liver, and heart then fingernail size slivers and small thin strips of chicken, bits of heart and bits of liver. I had a ton of heart and liver left over so I froze it for future soup.
I finally got a cell phone too, a fancy iphone to boot so I can sign on here from there and upload all sortsa pics and vids I got some good ones of the boys today going hard on that chicken lol
Dax is a bit testy with the soup he sniffed one bowl walked away went to the next bowl sniffed and literally like huffed about it, and went back to the first bowl and started eating lol he's a pain in the butt when it comes to new things! But he is eating, no new weight gain but no loss either, and all the boys weights haven't changed which suprises me given how much there putting away.
Also Marcellus is AMAZING with clicker training! he's already learned to stand when I say up and click<33
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Post by katt on Aug 17, 2013 3:24:59 GMT -5
Good boys! I am glad they are doing so well. If you could get a picture of the poops that would be helpful. Poops do tend to be softer on soup. I wouldn't up the calcium any more just yet. Their GI tracts are adjusting too so strange poops for a little while is fairly normal. Congrats on the new phone. I love having an iPhone (so convenient) but hate it too (so distracting). haha Keep it up with Dax and the slivers. Sounds like he is starting to realize that his precious kibble isn't coming back. Is he chewing up the finger nail sized pieces okay? If so, up the size of the slivers a bit in the next batch, and add More of them. I'm glad you got some heart too, that is great you have some excess - stock up when you can get it so you have spares for when you can't.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 17, 2013 17:18:28 GMT -5
Dax went to town on a chunk last night!! Had to chew the crap out of it but he did it and he didn't have to there was plenty of soup he just did I guess he realizes he's not getting socks back either lol Ill try for some poo pics and just some cute pics tomorrow (:
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Post by katt on Aug 17, 2013 22:11:57 GMT -5
Yay! Good boy! That is a huge step forward. (dance) Keep it up! Keep the chunks at the current size for a few more meals, and then up them a little bit. Good job Dax!
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Post by katt on Aug 20, 2013 0:55:11 GMT -5
Updates?
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Post by Deleted on Aug 20, 2013 17:31:40 GMT -5
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Post by katt on Aug 21, 2013 12:09:22 GMT -5
Great update, thank you. They are looking good. If Dax is handling the chunks well, try increasing the size a little and add more chunks to the soup. The poops don't look too bad, his are softer than I would like to see though. I'll ask the other mentors to take a look and see what they think. Honestly though as log as he is eating well and acting happy I wouldn't be too concerned. They should form up with time both as he gets used to the raw diet (he is newer to eating all raw than the others, keep that in mind - his GI tract is still adjusting), and as we eventually move him forward towards chunks and bones. What size chunks are hey getting right now?
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Post by Deleted on Aug 22, 2013 11:03:59 GMT -5
there eating fingernail size slivers, half a penny size chunks and i cut up chicken necks yesterday and even dax likes to chew on em (:
should i leave the eggshell at 1/2 teaspoon still?
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Post by katt on Aug 22, 2013 11:24:05 GMT -5
there eating fingernail size slivers, half a penny size chunks and i cut up chicken necks yesterday and even dax likes to chew on em (: should i leave the eggshell at 1/2 teaspoon still? That is good. Careful not to get too ahead of yourself again though. Increase the size of the chunks to about double the size they are not. Also add MORE of them to the soup. If Dax does well with that for 2-3 meals, then double the size again. We'll see how he does with that and go from there. Let's increase the calcium just a tad. Adding the chunks decreases the Ca they are eating through the soup - it changes the ratio. I'd bump it up to just barely over 1/2 tsp. Maybe try 1/2 + 1/8 tsp and if they do okay with that you can try 3/4. I just don't want them getting constipated either, it is a fine balance.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 23, 2013 9:45:09 GMT -5
Ill be super careful I'm proud of them there doing really good but today I threw some chicken necks in there for them to chew on while I made soup and of all ferrets Dax snatched it up and ran off, Novak went after him and they scuffled really bad over it Dax squealed and bit Novak so Novak bit him back then they tussled a bit Dax got the leg and I snatched up Novak and set him on the opposite side of the cage with his own neck. Scared me I've never seen Dax aggressive nor eat a chicken neck I'm gonna invest in some feeding dens I have 2 in there but they fight over em some more bigger bowls too So I need some advice there living quarters now is the big walk in closet an the floor is sticky tiles but they slip slide when they walk and I don't think they enjoy it much haha what are some natural outdoorsy things I can make a floor with? Can they have hay? I was thinking of buying those grass pads they use for dogs too that way when they drag there food around it doesn't get litter on it lol and they don't slide everywhere
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Post by katt on Aug 24, 2013 17:01:53 GMT -5
Ill be super careful I'm proud of them there doing really good but today I threw some chicken necks in there for them to chew on while I made soup and of all ferrets Dax snatched it up and ran off, Novak went after him and they scuffled really bad over it Dax squealed and bit Novak so Novak bit him back then they tussled a bit Dax got the leg and I snatched up Novak and set him on the opposite side of the cage with his own neck. Scared me I've never seen Dax aggressive nor eat a chicken neck I'm gonna invest in some feeding dens I have 2 in there but they fight over em some more bigger bowls too So I need some advice there living quarters now is the big walk in closet an the floor is sticky tiles but they slip slide when they walk and I don't think they enjoy it much haha what are some natural outdoorsy things I can make a floor with? Can they have hay? I was thinking of buying those grass pads they use for dogs too that way when they drag there food around it doesn't get litter on it lol and they don't slide everywhere That is GOOD. Ferrets always get into food fights, especially when they are eating food worth fighting for (raw). Nothing you do will prevent it. You do not need more feeding dens. lol Trust me, the piece that HE has will always be better than the 17 other free pieces that are equally tasty. If another ferret has it, it must be better and thus it must be battled for. That Dax is fighting for a piece of meat is a GREAT sign - it indicates that he is finally recognizing raw meat as something very valuable. haha He is making great progress. I still don't want to push him too fast, but I think he has breached the barrier and you should see much faster progress now. Have you increased the size and number of chunks in the soup yet? If not, do so and let me know how he does. If he eats them without hesitation for 2 meals, then increase them again. At any point if he seems unsure, stay at that size of chunk for a few days or more until he seems to be comfortable with it. Also, go ahead and up the calcium a little like I said. As for their living quarters, I would not put down astro-turf. Sounds like a good way to collect dirt and germs. It is also poky on their little feet. You can try instead to put down some blankets. You could also try a large berber rug. Be very careful with that though as Dax may be inclined to chew the edges. If you do that, try duct taping the edges down (so it won't slide, they can't get under it, and they can't chew the edges). Just watch bc in my experience they may dig up the duct tape, which can then be eaten. Covering the floor in piles of fleece is good though (is Dax still eating fleece? ). It will give them something to walk on, sleep in, and burrow through.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 25, 2013 16:29:50 GMT -5
I bought them a bed ill try towels, I had one in there for a few days since its been nippy here in the am an he didn't chew it, if he has the chance he will down to 2 blankets I can keep out after I buy a new bed set ill give them mine
Just sucks with all the litter everywhere and butt wiping they do, drives me nuts! Haha
I made a massive soup today with half chunks and slivers and have purée I left some heart chunky and puréed a bit and same for the liver, I'm glad that's normal it happens often lol I upped the eggshell and ill let you know how poops are going, right now there really watery idk why
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Post by katt on Aug 25, 2013 19:06:29 GMT -5
The litter is going to get everywhere no matter what. Same for butt wiping. haha How big are the chunks? How is Dax taking to them?
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Post by Deleted on Aug 26, 2013 13:36:22 GMT -5
About the size of a pointer fingernail and he's a ferret bully lol he's my smallest ferret I guess it's a given hes got a big attitude (: he's doing just fine with chunks better than I've ever seen him on soup I haven't had any chewing issues either (knock on wood)
Shouldn't there coats be coming in? There shedding an its getting nippy! Ill send some pics from my comp at home tomorrow I can't figure out how to do it from the phone lol
Also they all had crazy diarrhea yesterday! Like literally couldn't make it to there box and Dax pood on Aric lol idk wth happened they've been eating normal, I checked to see if the food was bad, nope so idk it's better today they're somewhat solid again but that was so weird all 4 with that at the same time??
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