|
Post by Heather on Jul 16, 2013 22:35:54 GMT -5
HF Forum Username:ChantelleWest14
1. Where did you first learn about natural diets for ferrets? Through research research and more research!
2. Please describe the type of diet you would like assistance in switching your ferret(s) to? I want to feed my ferret fully raw and I want to be able to give whole prey such as chicks mice etc
3. Why are you interested in switching your ferrets to a natural diet? Because it is better for their well being and health and it is as you say natural!
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?
If it ensures better health and happiness I am fully committed.
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? 1, His name is Milo. He is 7 weeks old, No health issues and i have had him for one week 6. What diet do you currently feed your ferrets? (Please include all treats, supplements, etc) He is fed raw mince and chicken as this is the only meat he has taken too (breeder) and he has the odd bit of cooked chicken for training purposes 7. Have you ever tried to switch your ferrets to a natural diet in the past? If yes, what happened? Yes, as he was already provided with raw mince at the breeders house that is the only meat he is eating except for chicken, every other meat i have provided such as rabbit, lamb and turkey he has ignored.
8. What additional information about yourself or your ferrets would you like to share? I am a new ferret owner so haven't got as much experience as many people so would very much like the help to provide Milo with a better longer life. I understand that he needs raw but the ratios trouble me.
9. How often during the week do you have access to a computer? Everyday
10. Please post a picture of each of your ferrets (if possible).
Hi and welcome to the mentoring program (wave). In a little while your mentor (Carpetsharks37) 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. Also note there may have been some changes in the application and how you should post so please review these before proceeding. If you have any questions feel free to either ask your mentor or any of the admins. 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
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Jul 18, 2013 9:49:55 GMT -5
Hey Chantelle, Welcome to the mentoring program! My name is Steph and I will be your mentor for the duration of your switch A bit about me... I am a 23 year old university student, just graduated with Bachelor of Science in Psychology and will be starting my Master's of Counselling this fall. I hope to become a registered psychologist (counsellor) and specialize in animal assisted therapy I am also a part-time preschool teacher, elementary-jr. High tutor and am just finishing up my training as a balloon artist for a company that makes fancy balloon animals at parties and restaurants. I currently have 3 ferrets of my own, two 2.5 year old girls named Olivia (champagne) and Sophie (sable) and a 1 year old boy named Mikey (dark sable mitt). I also have a Siamese cross names Marbles and a purple Betta fish named Splish (his counterpart is my boyfriend's blue Betta Splash). I have successfully switched 5 of my own ferrets over to raw food from kibble over the course of my ferret ownership and have experience with Frankenprey (regular raw), commercial raw (the hamburger patties) and freeze-dried raw. I look forward to mentoring you and Milo! Let's get started!
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Jul 18, 2013 9:54:25 GMT -5
Two questions before we can begin...
1) the raw chicken mince that Milo is on... Does it have a brand name? Or did the breeder give it to you? Do you know if it contains bone and organs?
And
2) do you have all of the required equipment to begin? This includes: -Scale for measuring food weight and Milo's weight -Raw soup ingredients (chicken meat, chicken hearts, chicken liver, crushed dried egg shell)
Also if I could get Milo's current weight, a picture of him from a bird's eye view (over top of him) so I can see his body shape, as well as the following info: -How much he eats per day (how many meals, how much per meal) -His current activity level -What his stools currently look like
This just helps me get a picture of his before health so that I can monitor him more closely during the switch.
Thanks!
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Jul 19, 2013 15:38:02 GMT -5
Hello steph, Sorry i have taken so long to reply, not had much of a chance to get on the laptop! 1) the raw chicken mince that Milo is on... Does it have a brand name? Or did the breeder give it to you? Do you know if it contains bone and organs? its raw plain chicken as in the breast or off cuts off of a carcass, he eats the cartilage that I cut out but no bone as of yet. also, the beef mince is human grade so no bone, usually just sainsbury's own beef mince, the fatty sort. And 2) do you have all of the required equipment to begin? This includes: -Scale for measuring food weight and Milo's weight -Raw soup ingredients (chicken meat, chicken hearts, chicken liver, crushed dried egg shell) Yes I need to get more chicken meat in the morning though, as he ate the last lot Also if I could get Milo's current weight, a picture of him from a bird's eye view (over top of him) so I can see his body shape, as well as the following info: -How much he eats per day (how many meals, how much per meal) -His current activity level -What his stools currently look like he eats 3/4 meals of raw beef mince or chicken and approx 1/2oz per meal as he ignores it if I give him too much at once and his stools are currently black/brown and a little soft as I gave him some raw heart yesterday and my mum or I have him out approx 3 hours per day at the moment, as it's 28 celsius at the moment he's been sleeping alot lol Weight- 600grams This just helps me get a picture of his before health so that I can monitor him more closely during the switch. Thanks! Read more: holisticferret60.proboards.com/thread/12583#ixzz2ZWbsfWBW
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Jul 20, 2013 4:14:52 GMT -5
Hey Chantelle, No worries if you could aim to post on the thread once a day, that would be awesome I usually check in a couple times a day, but will always check at the end of the day at the very least. Perfect, thanks for all the info! Since he isn't eating bone currently his poop will be pretty soft, and heart causes the extra softness and darkness too for sure. What I will have you do tomorrow once you have more chicken meat is to make a batch of raw soup, and we will get milo straight onto that, since it will be balanced and better for him than just plain chicken meat. Raw soup recipe: -8 oz chicken meat -2-3 chicken hearts or about 1oz -1 chicken liver -1/2 tsp crushed egg shell The egg shell is easiest to work with if you dry it out on the counter and then crush it with a mortar and pestle or in a clean coffee grinder. Then you throw that all together in a food processor or blender and mix up and add water until you get a soup consistency. Since he is already eating chicken mince, you don't have to make the soup super watery. You can make it about the same thickness of his current mince. I'm not sure if he's eating small pieces of chicken in his mince or if it's a purée but you can add small pieces of chicken into the soup if he is already eating them. Let me know how thick you end up making the soup and whether or not you add small pieces and what size he is currently eating of them. Once you mix that up, you can go ahead and see if he will eat it. He will most likely eat it right off a plate (some will eat out of bowls, but others hate getting their whiskers wet). If he is hesitant at first, just offer a little bit on your finger, and rub some on his gums to get him to taste it if need be. I don't imagine you will have any issue though. From now on start feeding him the soup for every meal. You can freeze extra soup in ice cube trays and then put the cubes into baggies in the freezer. Let him eat as much soup as he wants, and he will eat a ton to start! Also the soup doesn't stay fresh for a super long time so you will want to change it out 2-3 times a day. Let me know how that goes! And as soon as he is eating the soup, we will work on getting some chunks of meat in there too Otherwise he looks and sounds super healthy, and is a very handsome boy
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Jul 20, 2013 4:20:47 GMT -5
Oh and just wanted to add, since this is your first ferret I do believe, if he seems uncomfortable with the heat, my guys get pretty slow around 28 C too, here are some good ways to cool him down. -freeze water bottles (make sure they aren't full to the top or they tend to explode) and wrap in a cloth, or if you have an extra ramp cover for a ferret nation type cage these work great too. The material just provides protection from them touching the cold directly. Throw these in the cage, they cool the air down and they love to snuggle up with them. -leave out a shallow dish of water to splash in and cool down. Either in the cage or during play time. They love it when you put their toys that float in there too -large square floor tiles are great in the cage for laying on and cooling off. You can pop them in the freezer for extra cooling effect. -fans do work but only if you put a wet towel or something with cold moisture in front of it. Ferrets don't sweat like humans so regular fan air doesn't so anything for them. And finally... You can also give Milo frozen soup ice cubes once he is eating the soup. Makes for a cool treat and is fun enrichment for them to eat
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Jul 20, 2013 15:34:51 GMT -5
He had tried the soup before now and has eaten it, I have also been adding dried egg shell to his mince and chicken. His soup has been super watery though,so I shall make my new batch thicker. Also, he has had ice blocks and an attachable fan (he has been very spoilt) lol and has also had pool with ice cubes in it, he found the ice cubes very entertaining lol and thankyou
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Jul 20, 2013 21:03:14 GMT -5
Oh good that's awesome that you have been adding the egg shell. Definitely give the thicker soup a go and let me know how he does with it Glad he is keeping cool!
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Jul 21, 2013 15:51:47 GMT -5
Heya he ate the lumpy soup absolutely fine, he loved the heart chunks lol even tried stashing a few bits lol
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Jul 21, 2013 18:29:36 GMT -5
Okay that is awesome! How big were the heart chunks in the soup? The next step is to slowly increase the size of the chunks of heart and chicken meat in the soup. At this point in time he should be eating a lot, so you will probably be making a new batch of soup every couple of days. Each time you make a new batch make the chunks a little bit bigger Each day just post what size of chunks he is eating in the thicker soup, and how much soup he ate that day We will have him up to eating bigger chunks of meat with a soup gravy on top in no time!
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Jul 23, 2013 9:25:49 GMT -5
Updates please
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Jul 24, 2013 14:08:42 GMT -5
Sorry internet has been playing up big time! I have made normal soup really watery but left some of the chicken allowance out and just diced the chicken up, so next time shall I do the same with the heart and liver? Thanks!
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Jul 24, 2013 14:50:04 GMT -5
No worries If they are eating the chicken dices no problem with the watery soup, definitely keep doing that. How big are the pieces right now? I will post a size chart for verification. Definitely give the heart and liver chunks a go. I think you mentioned they have had heart pieces before so no issue there. The liver pieces can be a bit trickier. Let me know how that goes! Have you offered any sort of oil yet? Extra Virginia olive oil and salmon oil are the common ones. We don't reccommend ferret one because of the cancer causing preservatives in it. If you can find one that Milo likes now, it will very much come in handy to get him to try new meats and bone!
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Jul 24, 2013 14:52:15 GMT -5
Meat sizes:
Slivers- he size of your fingernail cresent. A bit larger than ground, but still very small
Bit sized- tiny diced bits of meat approx. 1/8" cubes
Small chunk- a bit larger, approx 1/4" cubes
Med. chunk- 1/2" cubes
Large chunks- 1" cubes
****Which one would you say you are currently cutting the chicken into?
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Jul 24, 2013 15:31:16 GMT -5
Okay then thankyou, yes he has had heart before and absolutely loved it! haha the sizes would probably be the 1/4" chunks and when I first got him at 6 weeks he wouldn't eat anything but beef mince so I put xtra virgin olive oil onto some chicken and chicken is now his favourite meat! lol he isn't eating anything really today for some reason, He's had some watery soup but isn't touching the chunks today, think he might be too hot, although he has his fan on and cold water in there.
|
|