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Post by Deleted on Sept 30, 2013 14:45:49 GMT -5
It's not like they are big chunks either...it could be the smallest chunk he will do that with. Usually when they are full they do that, but Alto's just starting when he does it.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 30, 2013 17:28:14 GMT -5
He's holding out for mush. LOL Mickey did that too. How is he doing otherwise? Is he doing good with his meds and pooping?
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Post by Deleted on Sept 30, 2013 19:03:05 GMT -5
yup he's doing so good otherwise! He's doin good with his meds. I don't have anymore of the sucrafate so I've been just feeding him a but first then give the pediapred, then more food. I add a bit of ferretone to the pediapred and he doesn't even mind it then. If I don't add it he will shake his head and smack his mouth lol and possibly puke like he did the first time haha. I swear I still smell that vomit when he did that haha And he's pooping fine too.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 30, 2013 20:16:24 GMT -5
Weights for the week:
Alto: 994g Donut: 1045g Mika: 780g
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Post by Deleted on Sept 30, 2013 22:26:37 GMT -5
Hey, Alto's holding weight now! WOOT!
Sounds like everyone is doing good now! Alto's holding out for mush but we don't want to take that away until he's eating those chunks better. For now, lets concentrate on increasing the amount of pork slivers and then we can start on heart and organs. if they didn't really notice the pork slivers, lets increase the size of the slivers a little bit. Don't decrease the amount of mush, but decrease the amount of chicken chunks.
What heart and organ meats do you have available to you?
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Post by Deleted on Sept 30, 2013 22:46:32 GMT -5
Was thinking...it might do Alto good to change up the tastes a little bit. Hopefully that will encourage him to eat more chunks rather than holding out for the mush.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 30, 2013 23:48:55 GMT -5
ok what I was thinking for Alto since I'm going to be feeding him separately throughout the day is mix his food 1:1 ratio of mush and chunks. The other 2 are on 2:1...so 2oz chunks and 1oz mush. what do u think? And Alto notices the pork slivers(he spits them out) so I'll have to make them real thin but increase.
As for heart and organs, right now I'm blending the chicken hearts and chicken livers in with the mush. I tried gizzards once when I first started the switch but they didn't blend so I had to chop them real small. And it took forever. I haven't tried them since then.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 1, 2013 0:06:47 GMT -5
So would you like to move on with Mika and Donut to the next stages since you are feeding them separately anyway? It sounds like you are doing it that way anyhow, and sometimes they will learn from the ones who advance faster. It could be good for Alto if that's what you want to do.
I didn't realize that you had heart and liver in your mush, that's a good start. Do you have a line on any other organ meats for them?
For Alto- 50/50 mush and chunks is just fine for him right now. Are you still making your mush ahead of time and adding chunks? Since he likes the mush, lets try alternating some pork slivers and heart slivers along with the chicken chunks over the next few days. He should already be okay with the heart since it is in his mush already.
For Mika and Donut- Are they eating all of their chunks without problem? If so, let's reduce the mush a little and increase the chunks.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 1, 2013 1:02:58 GMT -5
Yes I'm still making my mush ahead of time then just adding the chunks to it. I've been putting them in ice cube trays. So 1 ice cube is about 1oz. we could try the next stages with Mika and Donut. They are pretty much eating all the chunks. I'll add less mush and see how it goes. Do I have to add more hearts or liver then if I do that? Or is it ok for now? So should I make the heart slivers small like the pork slivers then for Alto?
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Post by Deleted on Oct 1, 2013 1:13:40 GMT -5
You still want to give them enough food so reduce the mush a little and compensate with some added chunks. Add a few small heart or liver slivers for them and see how they do. At this point with Mika and Donut we want to reduce the mush and start introducing larger chunks and adding slivers of heart and other organs. With feeding Alto separately now, it'll be easier to see what they are eating.
And yes, start VERY tiny with Alto...slivers just like the pork. Hopefully we can slip those slivers in and no one will notice! But don't reduce the mush for him. We need to make sure he's eating something. He's doing great by the way....with all his issues this past week, he gained 4 grams. That's great news!
Sometimes reducing mush AND increasing the size of chunks can be overwhelming to them. If they rebel and decide that it's too much change, go back to the same sized chunks but more of them but keep the mush to the reduced amount.
Let me know how it goes!!!!
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Post by Deleted on Oct 1, 2013 2:13:08 GMT -5
Ok sounds good, I'll let ya know!
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Post by Deleted on Oct 1, 2013 23:45:46 GMT -5
just checking in!
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Post by Deleted on Oct 1, 2013 23:56:39 GMT -5
Alright, so everything seems to be doing good so far. Donut and Mika ate most of their food today. only a few chunks left on the plate. I just wish Alto would be interested in eating during the day on his own, but I guess that will just take time.
I was wondering...What kind of dish do u use to feed your ferrets with? I've used regular plates and plastic plates and the chicken is so stuck on there at the end of the day that I've just thrown out the plastic ones and regular plate im scraping and chiseling the stuck pieces off...so now I'm using paper plates with like a light coating on them so nothing gets stuck too much. So I just can throw it out after. Is it alright to use that or is there something easier?
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Post by Deleted on Oct 2, 2013 0:06:28 GMT -5
I've been feeding Alto about 2.5 oz a day...He will NOT eat more than that. Is that ok for him? I was just reading someone said boys need to eat like 3-4oz a day...now I'm questioning myself. If hes the reversed seasoned then they don't eat that much then right? Sorry, just thinking as I'm typing lol
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Post by Deleted on Oct 2, 2013 0:42:37 GMT -5
I use a ceramic pet food bowl. I used to use a glass bowl but it was too small. I wash it once a day before dinner meal...soak it while I'm doing other stuff and give it a good scrub. the only think I would be concerned with paper is if it gets soaked and they eat it too. I bought the 5" square bowl...which I regret...should have gotten the round one because the corners can be terrible to clean...especially if it's soup night. You might want to think about getting two different plates that you can exchange and soak the other one in between. the 5" bowl seems to be wide enough that they don't freak about their whiskers touching the bowl.
Are you having to force feed Alto or just sit and hand feed? Has this changed since he's been on his medication? It seems to me that you said he was doing that before the meds. if so, have you tried feeding him in the dark? My Yogi won't eat in the light. He likes his privacy, it seems. Unfortunately you can't wait until he gets hungry on his own. Hopefully soon he will get used to his food and learn to like it. Poor little guy!
Alto seems to be eating the right amount for him. Each ferret is different and if he is indeed reversed seasoned, he's eating less than he was a few months ago. With my big boy being reversed seasoned I'm having the same issues. Two months (even one month ago actually) I was feeding 5.5-6 ounces of food twice a day for 4 ferrets. The baby ate about one ounce, the little girl and the boys ate about 1.5 ounces each (give or take). Now, they are leaving about an ounce or so of leftovers. The biggest difference is Mickey...he's not eating very much at all. The general rule is 1 to 1.5 ounces at each meal per ferret. Sometimes they are more active and eat more, sometimes the opposite is true. That's one of the main reason we ask for regular weigh ins. You can tell a lot by their weight. Alto hasn't gained or lost weight so he's eating just fine for his needs. I've been keeping a notebook with the weights you've been posting so I can quickly compare and Alto is doing just fine.
Don't worry Natasha! I know it's hard not to...believe me, I understand! I was an absolute wreck during my switch. I obsessed about them and their food constantly. I was worried that I was going to make them sick, or I wasn't going to give them the right mix of food, or I was going to mistake some "sign" that things weren't right. But we will get them switched and you will keep your sanity! Well, you may lose it for a little while, but you will get it back!
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