|
Post by Deleted on Apr 27, 2014 5:35:10 GMT -5
The organs are good and one is pork...very good. Have you thought about trying pork meat again with them? or some beef mince? I would try putting the new proteins in with ones they like and let them sit together for a while...let the flavors mingle a bit. that should help with getting Mika accustomed to other new proteins. Alto's doing good with his proteins! Good boy! With him, continue to hand feed him those bones and don't let him up until he eats a little. He's a little bugger for sure! Try it for his first bites of his meal when he's at his most hungry. I do that with Yogi when he doesn't feel like eating. Kind of like making a little kid eat "just one bite of veges before you get your good stuff". hehehe Yogi will almost always eat one piece before he really starts to refuse. They can be so stubborn!
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Apr 29, 2014 2:06:49 GMT -5
Ya I was thinking of trying pork and beef with them again. With beef, should I get the ground beef? Or there's a cheaper cut of beef that I could try called flank steak I think it is. It's a fattier type of meat. I know Alto will go for the pork if I get some. He didn't mind it at all last time we had it. I'm still trying the bones with him on and off. And he's still refusing them. He's so stubborn! Lol I also have deer heart and kidney I should grind up and give that a try with them too! I forgot about that. Oh I was gonna ask u...so for the extra meal of heart/kidney/liver, one once of each right? I have them in cubes so it's about 1oz cubes. So for that meal I would need one cube of each cuz that would be 3oz. And they eat about 1.5oz per meal.
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Apr 29, 2014 23:48:52 GMT -5
It's 1.5 meals of heart and 1.5 meals of organ/liver. Here's what I do: Meal #1 (1 meal heart): 8 cubes of heart, Meal #2 (.5 heart, .5 liver/organ): 4 cubes heart, 2 cubes liver, 2 cubes organ, Meal #3 (1 meal liver/organ): 4 cubes liver, 4 cubes organ.
So for roughly 3 ounces at a meal, it would be Meal #1: 3 cubes heart, meal #2: 2 cubes liver, 2 cubes organ, Meal #3: 2 cubes heart, 1 cube liver, 1 cube organ.
We round up the cubes so it's an even split, mix it all together...if they eat it all, cool, if they leave some, that's cool too.
Here, flank steak is really expensive. But if it's cheaper for you, use it. I use the fattier ground beef. The fattier the better..and I have them package it in half pounds at the butcher so I can thaw them out one at a time and not have that much left. Or I just buy a little extra for us and tear off a little for them when I open the package.
When you are feeding Alto bone in meats, are you holding onto it and trying to get him to chew? Or is he eating off of the plate and leaving it behind? He is stubborn, but we will get him to switch! lhehehe
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Apr 30, 2014 0:13:17 GMT -5
I did some more reading and got another idea for Alto. Get some of your quail or other bone in meat and a hammer. Pulverize the quail with the bones and everything into a flat pancake-like globby mess. So the bones are pulverized and the marrow and blood is all mixed in with the meat. cut off some long but still narrow pieces of that and try hand feeding it to Alto. What he's not getting so far is that the marrow is really, really yummy to them. He hasn't been able to get that far in order to know that yet.
Let me know how it goes!
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Apr 30, 2014 0:52:12 GMT -5
I did kind of smash the bones but with the knife just slightly so it cut the bones just a bit. But I will try it with my mallet and smash em up good. When I'm feeding him I'm holding onto the meat and the small bones. He doesn't like me holding the meat chunks cuz then he can't just swallow it....he would rather eat from the plate himself but I'm holding onto the pieces. I tried giving him a small quail bone this morning and he kept refusing and refusing, so I scruffed him slightly and draped it in his mouth near the front thinking he would HAVE to chew it....nope lol he spit it right back out haha I even put a drop of salmon oil on it.
Oh I forgot to put the ferrets weight from yesterday Mika has lost weight. She hasn't been eating much lately but that could be cuz it's warmer out. Mika: 874 Alto: 1338
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Apr 30, 2014 0:57:22 GMT -5
Yeah, that little guy is a stinker for sure! I would hold on to the pieces and make him chew at them. Do it with all his food so he doesn't know it's a bone piece coming. alternate meat only and bone in...keep him guessing. I do it with mine when I give them duck feet. Eventually they sit and chew it while I'm holding it....once they figure out that I'm not going to let go.
Mika's probably feeling a bit of the warmth now. Nothing to be concerned with right now. If she's starting to shed you might want to increase the amount of egg they are getting to prevent hair balls.
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on May 3, 2014 1:23:03 GMT -5
Ok I'm going to smash up chicken rib bones if I can find some for Alto and see maybe he's willing to try those instead of quail. I'll do that this weekend. Every time I hold onto a piece of meat he does use his head muscles and back teeth to scissor it in half so at least he's doing that! It's a good start I think. Alto seems to be getting fluffier and his hair is getting softer. Before his hair was course and a bit prickly, so I don't know what changed that lol. I've been mixing Mika's chicken with duck and quail and she just doesn't want it! It's driving me crazy! And I've let it sit together mixed all day in the fridge too...maybe I have to put less chicken in, and more duck or quail.
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on May 3, 2014 23:31:28 GMT -5
Ok I was hand feeding Alto between turkey chunks and bone pieces like u said to do, and guess what?? I heard a crunch!!! A couple times he actually crunched on the bone!!! I had to use a lot of salmon oil to get him to even take it but whatever it worked lol. Once I had the bone piece in my hand I put it near his mouth and kind of pushed it into his mouth on the side and he took it so I had to just keep holding it there and pushing it a bit. Not hard or anything but just enough that it would go into his mouth. So this is a good start!!! I was thinking for their heart meal in the morning I'm gonna add some chicken rib pieces to it and see what happens. He might just lap it up and "accidentally" eat one lol I'm hoping anyway
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on May 4, 2014 3:01:54 GMT -5
YAY ALTO!!!! (dance) Great news! Keep working on that...see if he will take it better after he gets used to the taste and feel of the bones. That's just fantastic! His food is probably the main reason for his coat change. It does take a bit for the effects of a good diet really become noticeable in their fur. It took mine a little bit and a coat change or two later they look like new ferrets. So wonderful to see what your changes to their diet is doing for them.
For Mika, try just one new protein at a time. Small slivers mixed well in with the chicken. You know it can take them some time to start accepting new tastes. Each new protein, do like a mini switch...starting from the small sliver stage. They should progress more rapidly than the original time, but it's still basically the same process.
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on May 5, 2014 0:55:56 GMT -5
He did it again!! I held the bone in his teeth and he crunched on it! It was a duck rib bone. So what I'm gonna do tomorrow when I cut up a duck, I'm going to leave the rib longer do I can get a grip on it to put in his mouth. Cuz right now because it's smashed up it's all soft and I can't get a hold on it to get in in his mouth. So I think when it's longer, and I can hold it, he will be crunching better on it! I cannot believe he actually did it....I really thought he would never ever ever do it lol. I really have been pushing him the last couple days tho so I think that's why And I'll do that with Mika...smaller chunks of meat in with te chicken. Oh and also when I got Alto to crunch on a bone, he swallowed a piece then was heaving like he was going to throw up. So I just kept my hand around him and then he was ok. Nothing came up or anything.
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on May 5, 2014 20:49:28 GMT -5
Sounds like you've got something working! WOOT!!!! Go Alto!!!! Keep going!!! So exciting! (dance)
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on May 10, 2014 0:33:58 GMT -5
So things are going good with Alto he's chewing on the small rib bones of duck. They are harder than chicken or quail but he seems to like them more. He's really working on them when he chews and takes time but it's going good! And Mika actually stole a piece of altos duck meat the other night haha and she supposedly doesn't like duck. Well she loved it before Hawaii and now not so much. So that's good! I swear she stashed a piece of meat somewhere in the ferret room cuz it stinks in there and I can't find anything! I thought it was their litter that stunk so I cleaned everything out and it still smells....ugh Mika lol
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on May 11, 2014 3:42:45 GMT -5
hey, that's great! Everyone seems to be doing really good now! Keep up the good work.
Try increasing the size of the chunks when you think Alto is ready. It'd be nice to have them both on the same sizes of chunks....then you can start increasing them together.
I'm so glad Alto finally started coming around! You have done a great job keeping up with him. Shouldn't be long now!!
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on May 13, 2014 0:09:38 GMT -5
checking in...how's Alto doing with his bones?
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on May 13, 2014 1:25:43 GMT -5
Alto's doing good with his bones. I've noticed he chews the none and crunched on it, but doesn't necessarily eat them. Just crunches them all up lol I cut his chicken and duck into larger pieces and he is having a bit of a hard time eating them, but it's giving him more of a challenge anyway I think. Weights: Alto- 1330 grams Mika- 892 grams
Oh and I swear he's getting his winter coat now...his tail is all filled in really thick and same with the rest of his hair is really fluffy! Pretty sure he's reverse seasoned haha
|
|