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Post by Deleted on Jul 26, 2013 15:02:08 GMT -5
so the last couple days have not been to successful. eating has been down for everyone. I'm not sure if it is due to since they are eating chunks they eat less, the weather, or cause there is no food in the cage. they were finishing the wings so I started adding more to their meals. maybe too much to soon. last night I had to force everyone to eat even though dinner was 30 minutes late. this morning Toro was the only one who ate so I gave in. added more grind to the wings and put a bowl back in their cage. also Pedro while still eating the same at meals had lost entry and looks smaller line last time so im thinking I will not be able to just have 2 meal times? what are your thoughts?
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Post by Deleted on Jul 26, 2013 15:46:21 GMT -5
If you'd rather, you could go back to feeding more often but keeping the time the food is available to the same amount you currently do. There's a chance that the wings are filling them up, I know between my two right now it takes a few days for them to finish a full wing (I divide it up and feed a portion a day) they eat far less wing than they do ground meat/bone/organ.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 26, 2013 18:07:05 GMT -5
ok. that's good to know. I was trying to feed same amount of wing tips mixed with grind as the grind alone. so I will just keep food available all the time for now. I would rather waste then have someone not eat enough. guys I should get to work on that feeding den.
on tonight's menu is the duck egg I forgot to serve last night. I'm going to try just wing pieces to see if everyone will eat them without the grind mixed in. I will give grind and wing tips for overnight in the cage.
defrosting organs for breakfast tomorrow. also I notice with the wings they are chewing the bones but a lot of pieces are left in the den. Is this normal? I'm thinking might be because I cut them so small. they are about 1/4 inch?
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Post by Deleted on Jul 26, 2013 18:22:03 GMT -5
Ive always noticed a few slivers left over after a bone in meal, as long as they're eating the majority it should be fine. I'd still keep the eggshells in the grind until you're sure they're all consistently eating the wings. I think your plan for tomorrow is a good idea, and if you can I'd keep an eye on them eating for a bit, make sure each of them is completely eating the bone rather than possibly spitting it out.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 26, 2013 19:50:56 GMT -5
my suspicions were confirmed tonight. I thought Pedro looked slimmer and was not as active ( this is what happened before). I weighted him he has lost 2oz. so now I don't know what to keep in the cage. if I keep food it will be same as before I will not really knowwho eats what. if I don't pedro doesn't get enough? I was thinking about freeze dried raw? I have some stella and chewy. I also have natures variety frozen raw duck and chicken but the bag says to only leave out for 30 minutes. if I leave meat it gets really smelly in Sarah's room.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 26, 2013 20:15:16 GMT -5
Freeze dried raw is a very good idea, maybe remove it a couple hours before you feed them though so they don't fill up right before meal time. How much does he usually eat while you're watching him?
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Post by Deleted on Jul 26, 2013 21:37:05 GMT -5
well tonight I weighed 2 oz grind. warmed with one tabkespoon water. feed him on the counter where I spoon feed him for 2 months before he would eat on his own. he ate it all. made a second 2-oz and he ate about half. up until this week he was the only one who consistently ate at meal times. he has mostly continued that but has not had the food in the cage. at least I caught it early and can stop the weight loss and low activity. I have never try freeze dried with them. maybe I should try tomorrow before I put it in their cage to make sure they will eat it. ugg I wish he was younger like my other ones
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Post by Deleted on Jul 26, 2013 22:17:09 GMT -5
Not all ferrets take to fdr, so I agree to monitor it and see how they take to it before giving it freely just so you don't end up wasting it. There's no problem leaving food in the cage but if the smell is a problem then yes, fdr would be a good alternative between meals. It is strange that he has a smaller appetite now...
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Post by Deleted on Jul 26, 2013 23:43:22 GMT -5
so I have duck duck goose. it looks shredded. do I just but it in the bowl or re-hydrate it? If I add water how long it's it good for?
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Post by Deleted on Jul 26, 2013 23:46:00 GMT -5
Because it's only supplemental to the diet you can feed it dry, but they might take to it better wet. I'm not sure what the water to fdr ratio is for Stella and chewy's, the bag should say somewhere though. And I'd say it will last maybe 4-6 hours once hydrated.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 27, 2013 17:29:24 GMT -5
dinner last night was grind and wing tips. 8oz total, both were gone by morning. breakfast today organ grind with egg shells 8 oz. buddy didn't get any cause everyone else piged out before he got there so he had grind and wing tips. found gizzards on clearance today. cut some up for dinner so well see if they eat them with mixing with grind. also on the list duck eggs, again didn't give last night cause I was watching to see if everyone would eat wing bones which they did
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Post by Deleted on Jul 27, 2013 17:50:41 GMT -5
That all sounds great! I'm glad to hear they're taking to organs easily. I'm not sure if I already mentioned this, but when you make your next organ soup you're going to need to add more heart. Once a week each ferret should be getting a full meal of heart, and a half a meal each of liver and the secondary organ. More heart is even okay if you want to give them some chicken hearts as a snack/treat. So, if you're making a soup that has both heart and organs in it, I would feed two meals of it a week. Just wanted to add that in case I forgot to earlier.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 27, 2013 18:24:04 GMT -5
I think next time I will do organs and heart separate. when I'm ready to make my menu I will do two meals heart one week and two meals organs the next. I just made these up before I was accepted into mentoring program. that way in two weeks they will have 1 1/2 meal heart and 1 1/2 meal organs. I have four more 8 oz containers of current mix to use, however they are still eating all 3 I'm the soup grind mix add well.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 28, 2013 11:16:56 GMT -5
weekly update:Buddy, 2lb 12oz, no change, stools normal, more activity than normal.
Toro, 3 lb 2 oz, lost 2 oz, stools normal, more activity than normal. he has lost 2oz each week since 6/30, however I'm not concerned. when I First switched to raw he went from 2 lb 6oz to 3lb 12oz in the Friday 6 weeks.
Pedro, 2lb 4oz, no change, stools normal, when I pulled the food from the cage he lost activity. I weighted him on Friday lost 2oz, since giving food back in the cage gained it back. activity is now back to normal.
Penny, 2lb 0oz, no change, stools normal, more activity than normal.
all days this week 1/2 grind 1/2 wing tips.
sat night duck eggs, sunday breakfast duck eggs. sat night tried gizzards, they were not impressed. mixed it with grind not impressed. so I just add 5 gizzard pieces to the grind with wing tips for breakfast.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 28, 2013 11:23:17 GMT -5
I'm at a lost for what to do next. I'm going to work on chicken gizzards this week. after that should I add another protein or should I work on getting them to eat the pieces with out the grind mixed in? would like to add pork at some time. what cut is best so I can start looking for a sale. also picked up a Cornish game hen this weekend. guess I'm trying to think ahead of what my menu will look like to see what I need to add next.
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