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Post by Deleted on Jul 19, 2013 20:25:48 GMT -5
nightly update...this morning all the grind was gone and half the wing tip pieces. I saw buddy eat one, toro eat two, not sure who munched on the rest. no one was hungry this morning. I served 4oz grind and 2 oz chicken chunks (no bone). when they went away for the day the food went with them. it did not need refilled at lunch. by dinner all the grind was gone and half of the chunks. tonight served duck eggs. they each ate 1/2. no shell. dinner is 4oz grind soup. 2oz chicken chunks, 2oz chicken wing tips. so far no takers. will let you know in the morning how much they eat. oops I forget, penny stole a chicken wing tip and took it under the couch....I assume she ate it at least I hope so :-)
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Post by Deleted on Jul 20, 2013 14:07:49 GMT -5
Sorry it's been taking me so long to get back to you. I just picked up my second ferret a few days ago and have been spending most of my extra time with her to bond. I think the pic you sent me on FB yesterday was after you posted this, correct? Meaning that they did end up digging in? How did the wing tips go this time? And yum on the duck egg!!
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Post by Deleted on Jul 20, 2013 21:55:11 GMT -5
no the picture was the first time they saw wings. they picked them out. everyone has eaten some, 3-4 per meal.
tonight's update. poos still good, someone had an orange one? seedy, but didn't separate anyone cause it was only one. activity is up today. I think cause it's humid out today air is running more so it's cooler in the house. breakfast they shared 8oz grind. everyone had at least 1wing piece. they didn't really snack this afternoon. dinner Pedro ( the problem) ate 4 wing tips. buddy ate 5, Toro only ate 2, not sure how many penny ate. I will weigh tomorrow. I had a really busy day today, took my daughter school clothes shopping today and volunteer at our local ferret rescue so we just got home after being gone 12 hours. enjoy the new baby :-) I feel ferret math coming with a baby, oh well hubby says no. I'll update weights tomorrow. hope every thing is well with your new guy.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 20, 2013 23:08:53 GMT -5
Glad to hear they're all taking to it! Was the orange poo seedy at all or was it mucusy and smooth? Whenever you think they're ready you can start increasing the wing piece sizes as well as chicken chunks. My new baby is doing great her name is Theia, she's 4 months old and a little ball of energy. I'm slowly starting to see her "fuzzy tummy with teeth" side show lol she's eating freeze dried raw mixed with some commercial ground raw now which I'm pretty happy about too bad hubby said no new babies are so much fun haha
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Post by Deleted on Jul 21, 2013 19:37:52 GMT -5
weekly update:
Buddy, 2lb 12oz, no change, stools normal, more activity than normal.
Toro, 3 lb 4 oz, lost 2 oz, stools normal, more activity than normal.
Pedro, 2lb 4oz, gained 2oz, stools normal, average activity. he is still wanting hand feeding, however I have not given in. I just direct him to the bowl. (2 more oz gain and he will be back to beginning weight!)
Penny, 2lb 2oz, no change, stools normal, more activity than normal.
sun-wed breakfast, soup grind with chicken chunks small size 8-12 oz a day. wed dinner grind with wing tips, about 1/4 inch in length. thurs breakfast grind with chicken chunks thurs dinner grind with wing tips friday-sunday grind with wing tips Monday, Wednesday, Friday, duck eggs
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Post by Deleted on Jul 21, 2013 19:43:21 GMT -5
I think I'm going to hang out with the grind and wing tip this week. I'm so scared to move to fast again. don't want pedro to stop eating on his own :-) glad you are enjoying your new baby. all four of ours we got in the last few months, no way we need to expand right now. the poop was seedy. have not had anymore so I'm not going to worry about it.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 21, 2013 20:07:11 GMT -5
Ah, seedy poop is generally just a sign of undigested fats, as long as they don't persist then it's no big deal as I'm sure you've realized I'm glad to see everyone is still doing well! Let me know when you're ready to continue moving forward and in the mean time keep up the great updates
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Post by Deleted on Jul 21, 2013 20:39:37 GMT -5
actually last time I made grind I also made 6-8oz containers of organs. 1part kidney, 1part liver, 1part heart with egg shell power. what are your thoughts on seeing if they would it organs by themselves? just thinking ahead for menu days? when is a good time to introduce that?
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Post by Deleted on Jul 21, 2013 20:55:18 GMT -5
I think a good idea to start introducing plain organs would be to defrost a little bit, put it in a dish and sit near the ferrets while they play. Each time they run past you pick one up, dab your finger in the dish and put it on their nose, then put them down and let them continue playing. They'll hopefully lick it off their noses which gives them a tiny taste and since you're putting them down after, it won't be a stressful introduction so they will eventually get used to it in a very gradual way. If you don't like this idea let me know and I'll think of a few others
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Post by Deleted on Jul 22, 2013 20:31:15 GMT -5
daily update: n bowl was empty this morning, so far they have finished 3 1/2 bowls for breakfast and lunch. I have them more for dinner so there is 1 1/2 tonight. so far they have not munched, but they have been finishing the grind and the wings. I have been making 50/50. Buddy really went to town last night and was chomping away... so cute. next couple days I'm going to be busy, will try Wednesday or Thursday to serve only organs and see how it goes. I don't think it will be a problem cause they are already eating them. if I served organs as a grind in a balanced menu would it be 1 1/2 meals or 3 meals a week? it has heart, kidney, and liver? btw, how's the baby?
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Post by Deleted on Jul 23, 2013 21:13:15 GMT -5
there was two bowls gone today. I have been reading, thinking about not giving them left overs in the cage. like feed 7am and 7 pm. give them an hour then take it away? when we first started with soup everyone ate this way and I knew who was eating what. it's it safe to let them go without food during the other times? what are your thoughts. I just want to make sure everyone is eating as I add new items?
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Post by Deleted on Jul 23, 2013 21:28:01 GMT -5
As long as you don't have any ferrets with health concerns it is fine. They're eating every 12 hours which is what most members here do mainly with people switching we tell them to feed as much as possible both for the fact that in the first few weeks they eat extra to stock up on missing nutrients and so students can get an understanding of how much their specifically ferret eats a day. Since you've been feeding soup for a couple of months I would say you're safe to break it down into feeding times as long as you're comfortable knowing how much they generally eat per sitting. As they realize that they can't eat whenever they want they will figure out to eat their fill at each meal. I will have one of the mentors check over my recommendation first though just to make sure they agree that it will be safe.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 24, 2013 22:19:28 GMT -5
daily update. last night I saw everyone eat before they went to bed so I didn't put any food in their cage. this morning everyone but buddy was eager to eat. I served organs. beef heart, beef kidney, turkey livers in a grind. total was 8 oz. I also add egg shells. I only had 1 tablespoon left. again no food in the cage today. tonight pedro was the only one who was eager to eat, however in the two hours they were out everyone munched on grind and wings. Buddy, Pedro, and penny chose wings over grind, Toro eats the grind soup and a piece or two of wings. I didn't give any food in the cage tonight.
also if I serve organs all together, how many meals per week would I need? or is it better to serve heart on a different meal then liver and kidney?
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Post by Deleted on Jul 25, 2013 1:19:15 GMT -5
Well you need one full meal of liver and organs together, and then a meal and a half to two of heart. If I remember correctly (on my phone and it isn't letting me see precious messages as I type) you have your soup mix at equal ratios of organs and hearts, yes? I would feed about 1.5 meals of organ soup and add a few chicken hearts to make another half serving for a muscle meat meal. Just chop it into small pieces like we have been, they should take to it fine.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 25, 2013 15:59:46 GMT -5
ok, that sounds like more work for me then it needs to be. I will use what I have until it is gone and just do chunks for organs and hearts on separate days. Last night everyone muched but no one really chowed down at all. I was disappointed this morning, same thing, Toro and Pedro ate, the others just nibbled. I guess its just to hot even though we have air. Tonight I will be serving duck egg with the grind and chicken wings. Still have not been putting food in the cage.
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