Rgferretbuzz's Switching Thread/HurricaneKatt

[Heather]

Name: Melanie
HF Forum Username: rgferretbuzz

1. Where did you first learn about natural diets for ferrets?
My vet told me about it

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 want to fully switch my ferrets to raw and a whole prey diet

3. Why are you interested in switching your ferrets to a natural diet?
I want my ferrets to live a longer, and healthier life

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?
of caurse!

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 two ferrets at the moment, their names are Rascal and Gizmo. No, they don't have any health problems what so ever. I think they are a good weight, they are both a little over 3 pounds. Gizmo weighs 3.2 pounds and rascal weighs 3.1 pounds. I've had both of them for a little over a year.

6. What diet do you currently feed your ferrets? (Please include all treats, supplements, etc)
I am currently feeding my ferrets wysong ferret food. I don't give my ferrets treats any more besides ferratone.

7. Have you ever tried to switch your ferrets to a natural diet in the past? If yes, what happened?
Yes, they wouldn't eat it.

8. What additional information about yourself or your ferrets would you like to share?
Gizmo is sorta lazy and isn't as hyper as rascal. he just likes to sniff around and get into things. Rascal is hyper and loves to play with almost anything. At the same time, rascal is a big snuggler

9. How often during the week do you have access to a computer?
every day
Hi and welcome to the mentoring program (wave) . In a little while your mentor (Hurricanekatt) 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 (giggle). Your mentor is here to help you on this journey.
ciao

[katt]

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. He has recently had a second blockage surgery, and this week he will be getting his second Des implant for juvenile adrenal. He's been a handful, that's for sure!

Kneai: male, Silver/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, frankenprey, 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 roents, 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: In Training! 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! I focus on full switches to raw – no more kibble!

[katt]

Let's start off with a detailed description of your current feeding schedule. What are you feeding to each ferret, when, do you give meals or free feed, etc. Then I'll have an idea of where we need to start!

[Deleted]

Hi! I'm currently feeding my ferrets wysong dry ferret food. They are on a schedule, of meals every 6 hours or so. My ferrets get ferretone for nail clipping and ear cleaning. I feed them raw eggs and chicken occasionally, attempting to switch them over, but it never works 

[katt]

The switch to raw is a very gradual thing. It takes time, work, and patience. Ferrets imprint on their food between 4-6 months of age, so changing their diet - even to a new kibble sometimes - can be quite the process. It is very doable though. That's why I am here. To help safely guide you through the process of the switch and also to help teach you how to create a properly balanced and varied diet your your fuzzbutts.

How do you offer the raw chicken, and how do they take to it?

Have you ever tried feeding them the Wysong in soup form? If not let's start there. Let the dry food soak in some warm water for a little bit and then blend it with a little more warm water so you have a nice soup. Shoot for a pudding consistency, or a bit thinner if they don't like that. Start by finger feeding them a little bit and see how they take it. Try to get them eating it on their own and let me know how it goes.

[Deleted]

I've tried giving them pieces of chicken in little chunks before, gizmo would take it out of my hand. Then he would back into a corner and drop it on the ground, after that he would just ignore it. Rascal just sniffed it and looked at me like I was trying to feed him poison
I Tried mixing the wysong with warm water, and they love it! I just put some in their food dish, and at this moment they are licking it all up! If anything, it looks like they like it better then their regular dry food

[katt]

Haha sounds like typical reactions to a new food to me! That is great that they love the soup. Most ferrets do, but there are some weirdos out there. It is really good for them to always recognize soup as food in case you ever have a sick ferret.

Okay so onto the next step! You will need all of the ingredients to make this soup:

Soup for switch:
8oz chicken(or other meat)
One half chicken liver(or 1oz other liver)
2 chicken hearts(or 1oz other heart)
1/2 tsp eggshell powder

Make a batch. You can freeze it into ice cubes to keep it good. Start by mixing a very small amount of this soup into their Wysong soup. The idea is to sneak it up on them. Start with a little. If they eat that, then increase it. Over the next few days we will increase the amount of raw soup and decrease the amount of wysong until they are eating pure raw soup! Give it a try, starting with a little bit, and let me know how they do.

[Deleted]

Yay! I will start tomorrow Just one quick question, how do I make it into soup? Do I put it in a blender?

[katt]

Yep, in a blender with some water. Pre-softening the kibble for a few minutes will really make it easier on your blender (and makes a better consistency soup).

[Deleted]

My ferrets did fine with it. Gizmo didn't really seem to notice the difference, but rascal would only have a few licks off my fingers. Should I add more chicken to the soup tomorrow? or just keep it the same?

[katt]

You used the soup recipe I posted mixed into some kibble soup, or the soup you were previously using?

[katt]

For now keep the ratio the same but hand feed Rascal until he starts to eat it on his own. You can start with scruff n stuff and finger feeding, then move your finger closer to the spoon until he will accept spoon feeding. Then you can move the spoon closer to the bowl until he'll eat out of the bowl without being spoon fed.

[Deleted]

Yes, thats what I meant. I didn't know if I should keep the ratio the same, but now I know! One more thing, I'm going to be out of town for the 4th of july (with the ferrets). So I might not be able to post any thing in the next few days, is that alright?

[katt]

That will be fine. Thank you for the heads up!

For now keep the ratio the same as long as they are eating it - Rascal especially. If you are worried that he isn't eating enough, you can leave a little kibble-only soup in the cage for a few hours in the afternoon, and overnight. ****ONLY do this until he will eat the raw+kibble soup. You want to wean him off of the kibble-only as soon as possible, don't let him use that crutch any longer than he needs to.**** I would keep a bowl of the mixed soup in there too so they will hopefully eat that instead. Hand feed some raw+kibble soup 2-3 times a day. Try to get them to eat as much as you can during each feeding so they will be nice and full and less tempted to munch at any kibble soup that may be in their cage. As soon as you see that they are both eating it without trouble, then from that point that will be the only food they get, no more kibble only soup at that point.

If they are gobbling the current ratio of raw:kibble soup with ease, you can try increasing the amount of raw in the soup by a small amount as long as you follow the same guidelines. Just keep in mind at all times that it is very important they are both eating before you progress to the next step, and that if ay any point you aren't sure that they will eat enough on their own that you hand feed to make sure they are getting enough food. When you get access to the internet again, update me on how they have been doing and we will progress from there.

If any of this is unclear, please let me know! Never ever hesitate to ask questions, especially if something doesn't make sense.

[Deleted]

Hi, I'm back! Rascal isn't really getting much better. When ever I try to have him lick it off my fingers he ignores me. I tried putting some on his nose so he would lick it off, but he just left it their on his nose. Gizmo loves it, but is still eating a bit of kibble. One more thing, how long should I leave the soup in for them to eat it?