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Post by Heather on Oct 9, 2013 22:24:07 GMT -5
Name:Brittany HF Forum Username: thelifeofmyferrets
1. Where did you first learn about natural diets for ferrets? tumblr ferret community
2. Please describe the type of diet you would like assistance in switching your ferret(s) to. Be sure to include if you are interested in feeding whole prey (live or frozen-thawed) and if you are wanting to FULLY switch to a natural diet or PARTIALLY. If you are unsure what kind of diet you want to put your ferrets on, please express that and we can help you find the best type of natural diet for your ferret.
frankenprey and if I can't do it then a good kibble, probably wysong
3. Why are you interested in switching your ferrets to a natural diet?
Evo has had numerous recalls and that was my final turning point for switching
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?
yes
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?
Charlie, male, 3 years Matilda, female, 2 years Lucy, female, 2 years Gus- Gus, male, 1 year
No health problems, and normal weight
6. What diet do you currently feed your ferrets? (Please include all treats, supplements, etc)
ground up chicken,livers,heart with eggshell powder and treats salmon oil, raw egg, or sometimes an n-bone
7. Have you ever tried to switch your ferrets to a natural diet in the past? If yes, what happened?
currently trying the raw diet
8. What additional information about yourself or your ferrets would you like to share? I have a chronic illness but I am willing to help my ferrets. I am also vegetarian for health. 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 (Yurei Avalon), 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. If you experience computer difficulties or are going to be away, please notify your mentor and most of all relax and have fun (dance). Your mentor is here to help you on this journey. ciao
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Post by Deleted on Oct 10, 2013 6:23:31 GMT -5
Hi Brittany, my name is Bethany and I'll be helping you switch your ferrets to raw with any luck! If you have any questions or have a problem and need an answer quickly you can email me at darkmoonnh@gmail.com or pm me.
I'll post my into below so you can skip it or read it as you choose. For right now I'd like to know what you have on hand available for meat for them and how they are doing with the ground raw and things you have started them on so far. How many times a day do you feed them currently?
You should never try and starve them into eating a new food, always go gradually if they refuse it. Some ferrets will starve themselves to death out of stubbornness. (I have one of those!)
Name: Bethany HF Screen Name: Yurei Avalon
Location: NH, USA
About Me: I’m 26; I currently work as a production administrator for a small, family owned company. I'm also a licensed real estate agent in two states. I’ve worked as a cook for a number of years and in retail as well. I have to say out of all of it, I feel that I actually enjoy working retail under the right environment. Someday I hope to run my own business as well as a nonprofit ferret rescue and education program. I currently live with my boyfriend Matt in a condo, which we hope to upgrade to a larger house in a few years. Once we build an appropriate house we intend to make the most excellent ferret habitat possible and look into getting privately bred ferrets, living as natural a life as possible.
My favorite color is..... Silver My favorite food is.... Chocolate, followed by spicy things My favorite holiday is.... Halloween My favorite hobby is... Reading I like to listen to... Pretty much anything but rap and country. I collect... Ferrets! Model kits, Mounts/pets in WoW and MtG cards Something about me you might be surprised to know... When I was a sophomore in high school I won my town’s fall chili cook-off contest with the recipe my high school culinary program gave to me. It got me $100, a story in the local newspaper and to this day, that chili recipe makes everyone who tries it a believer. (Turkey Cilantro for those enquiring minds.) I became a mentor because... I switched my own ferrets using information and tips I found on this site and from other places on the internet. I know from painful experience what a poor or inappropriate diet can do to a pet and I don’t want anyone to have to see their animal suffer like I watched mine suffer growing up. I’ve also made mistakes in pet care in the past, and I feel that the best way to atone for them is to learn everything I can to make myself the best pet parent I can be so that it never happens again. And if I can help other people do the same, so much the better!
About My Ferrets: I currently have 9 ferrets with no desire to have more for now as I feel I am at the limit at which I can handle caring for them all appropriately. I have 6 hobs and 3 jills, all of which are Marshall Farm ferrets and are all young. Most of my ferrets were eating kibble for several months and then were switched to raw. The three newest went straight to raw the day they came home from the store. My ferrets are very spoiled- they have 4 triple unit ferret nation cages and a couple of hundred feet of tunnel connecting them to each other as well as a ferret playroom.
1. Murder – Male, sable. One of our oldest two ferrets, he is our alpha and a bit over a year old now. 2. Mayhem – Female, sable. One of our oldest two ferrets, she is still stuck on the soupy stage and is a bit over a year old now. 3. Artemis – Male, albino. My only “rescue”, purchased off of CL. He’s believed to be about a year old now. 4. Chell – Female, silver panda. A sweet, deaf wardy girl who is about 8 months old now. 5. Glad0s – Female, silver. An 8 month old, tiny jill who can out eat the hobs and is a tunneling expert. 6. Zar’thun – Male, dark sable. A well behaved, 7 month old hob with an excellent nature. 7. Stormageddon – Male, polecat. A clever 5 month old hob who believes he will one day rule the world. 8. Sigma – Male, dark sable. A 4 month old hob with a temperament as sweet as the Ood’s song. A real cuddle bug. 9. Wheatley – Male, silver panda. A 9 month old hob who may be a few sandwiches short of a picnic but he’s as affectionate as any other ferret. Currently still stuck at the soup stage.
About My Natural Feeding Experience:
Type of Mentor: I have fed kibble so I have experience judging quality of kibbles. I mainly feed commercial raw products right now and I also use raw, meaty bones and muscle meat. I am trying to secure myself a local raw meat supplier so I can begin to transition my group to a full frakenprey, non commercial, homemade diet. I also use freeze dried and jerkied meats.
My Specialty: I would have to say that I seem to find creative ways of getting ferrets to try new things when the normal process just isn’t working for a stubborn ferret. I’ve never fed whole prey, but I could certainly come up with ideas to help others who wanted to try get there.
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Post by thelifeofmyferrets on Oct 12, 2013 11:32:31 GMT -5
This is so exciting!
Right now, I have ground chicken, chicken gizzards(they wont eat), cut up chicken wings, a mixture of ground chicken,liver,hearts and eggshells
They love the raw mixture, and the chicken wings is usually a hit or miss.
I feed them 1/2 and 1/3 cup 2 times a day. I was doing it 3 times a day but was noticing they weren't eating it all. If I notice someone is still hungry then I'll give them some from the dinner portion.
"You should never try and starve them into eating a new food, always go gradually if they refuse it. Some ferrets will starve themselves to death out of stubbornness. (I have one of those!)"
This is so good to know. Someone told me a hungry ferret will try anything.
I'm glad I got paired with you, I was going to culinary school before I got sick.
If you have any questions, please ask away.
My email address is theofmyferrets@gmail.com
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Post by Deleted on Oct 12, 2013 19:58:53 GMT -5
I've tried my stubborn girl Mayhem with no food for 24 hours. Would not touch it. If she's willing to go that long, I'll not risk her further. Too dangerous. Clearly she wasn't going to eat it. Survival instincts are pretty nonexistent in most ferrets.
Ok, how do you handle the chicken wings? Are they cut up into small bits, or just sections? If the pieces are too large, that may be deterring them.
Are you trying the gizzards whole or cut up? You may need to sliver the gizzards into small pieces at first, and even hand feed it to them instead of from a bowl if they are very stubborn. This same rule applies to any new meat you may try, from chicken breast to beef if they aren't willing to eat chunks. You can also mix these small slivers into a bowl of soup and see if they'll eat it that way. Some ferrets will eat around the pieces. If they do, try letting it sit in the soup and marinate for a few hours to pick up the odor and taste of the soup itself.
Another few tricks to try are dribbling a few drops of oil on a piece of meat to entice them into licking it and trying it, or you can dribbling a few drops of hot water onto it. This will release the scent and make it more interesting. You don't want to cook the meat though.
Also if you have any questions for me, please do not hesitate to ask.
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Post by thelifeofmyferrets on Oct 12, 2013 22:44:01 GMT -5
Ohh I never went that long, I think the longest I went was like 8 hours that was when I was trying to transition them to all raw.
The chicken wings, I use a cleaver to cut up.
I never thought about cutting up the gizzards, I always gave it to them whole. I'll try that when I defrost them. I mix the chicken wings with the soup and sometimes put salmon oil of them. I went to the Blaze and gave them their dinner at 5 and when I came home, most of the chicken wing was gone. They are fine on the chunks, it is just the bone that is a hit or miss. I actually video taped them one day eating chunks.
I actually warm the soup up in hot/warm water after I take it from the fridge before I feed them. I noticed in the summer, they would wait until if got room temperature before they ate it which made the house stink because I guess it started to spoil, so I started to warm it up so they'd eat it faster.
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Post by thelifeofmyferrets on Oct 12, 2013 22:45:32 GMT -5
is there a way that I can get a notification when you post in this thread?
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Post by Deleted on Oct 13, 2013 7:11:47 GMT -5
There's basically two ways to track new posts in a thread. One is to bookmark it which is the proboards version of subscribe. Basically go back one page from the thread to the main Mentoring board page. There should be a check box next to the thread name (I think you might need to hover the mouse for it to appear.) Check off this box, then look at the top of the board's page, you will see a box that says "Actions" that will have a drop down arrow. Select "Bookmark" from that list. Now your thread is bookmarked. If you go to the very top of any forum page, you will see under the image banner a list of options, "Home", "New Topics" etc. one of these is "Bookmarks". If you click on it you can view all of your bookmarked threads. I believe you will get a notification whenever someone posts in something you have bookmarked. Alternatively, a simpler method is to look at the "Home" bar links up top. On the far right below the "Welcome so and so" and "log out" is one that says "Participated". When a thread you have posted in gets new posts, it will say "New" next to it. If you click this it opens a pop up box with a list of threads you've posted in. Simply click on your thread to be redirected to it and the newest post. This is the moth I use to track my mentees' posting.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 13, 2013 7:20:38 GMT -5
A lot of ferrets are lazy when it comes to eating bone. They should gradually get better over time as they develop stronger jaw muscles. A couple of questions for you:
Do they take meat away to stash at all? Do they run away from where you feed them with their food to eat it? Do they have a feeding den or do they just eat off of a plate wherever?
They may need more privacy to eat if they feel they don't have enough and to feel more secure, a feeding den might help if they don't already have one. It doesn't have to be anything special, a cardboard box or plastic tote will do. You don't even need to cut holes in it, just laying on its side for them to crouch in will do. Having a place for them to carry off and stash things and eat them privately may make them more willing to eat that bone at their pace. It's ok to let food stay out *unless* the smell really bothers you, they can safely eat it even if it's several days old. I know how meat festering in the summer can smell nasty from experience. Smaller meals 3 times a day instead of two might help that, as will watching them while eating and taking their food away if they start stashing it all. Stashing means "I'm not really hungry right now, but I'll eat this later".
It sounds like your kiddos are really doing well.
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Post by thelifeofmyferrets on Oct 13, 2013 8:06:49 GMT -5
Do they take meat away to stash at all? sometimes they eat the chunks else where but they usually eat it around the plate. I just have a plate. I have a 141 ferret nation that is not being used should I make that the feeding den?
The food get yucky, I don't know how to describe it, but they wont eat it when it gets like that.
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Post by thelifeofmyferrets on Oct 13, 2013 10:05:56 GMT -5
Charlie is 3 pounds Tilly is 2 pounds 5 ounces Gus is 2 pounds 12 ounces Lucy is 2 pounds Do I weigh them weekly? How do I know how much they are eating and what they are pooping? Do I separate them?
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Post by Deleted on Oct 13, 2013 18:23:46 GMT -5
You don't need anything so drastic for a feeding den, an empty cardboard box will work. Are they living free roam or just in a room right now?
I don't personally weigh mine much anymore as they are pretty stable now. As they are first switching you may want to weigh them weekly or every two weeks for a couple of months so you'll know if they're not eating. They will often lose weight after switching off the kibble (basically loosing empty carb fat) then regain weight and put on muscle. They should be putting on weight soon as well due to the seasonal change for winter. Unless they have a backwards season. They should also start shedding if they haven't yet. I recommend some salmon oil 2-3 times a week in their food or as a treat as they start shedding to keep the itchies down. They only need like a half teaspoon at a time. Otherwise they'll smell fishy and have looser stools.
They should still be pooping every four hours or so, even on the raw. The poops should just be smaller and less smelly. If they are not pooping regularly you will want to isolate each ferret and put them with a clean litter box and watch them for a day to see who has an issue. Not pooping is a very serious sign of something being wrong, usually a blockage. Did you have a concern with any of them or are you just unsure as to how much they should be going?
Mine like their meat aged and crispy, lol.
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Post by thelifeofmyferrets on Oct 14, 2013 6:39:24 GMT -5
No, the mentor questionire said to weekly give weights,poops, what they ate. So I was confused with how to do it? I've run out of my weekly raw ground. Any advice on what to get? Should I start to transition them to bones? More chunks?
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Post by thelifeofmyferrets on Oct 14, 2013 6:46:49 GMT -5
They are kinda free roam but have a play room and a cage.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 14, 2013 17:54:51 GMT -5
Well they recommend people weigh weekly so they can keep track of what and how much their ferrets are eating, especially in the beginning. Some people just toss meat in the cage and expect them to eat it, and then they start losing weight because they're not eating and well, you can see the issue I'm sure. I watched all of mine eat every meal in the beginning to see who was fussy and who wasn't. Basically, you can weight them once a week and keep the record of their weight either in a notebook, or in a word doc or spreadsheet with each ferret's name and the date, that way you can track them back seasonally too.
Watching their poops daily is always important, it lets you know if they are eating and functioning normally, it often lets you know if they're sick before they show outward signs, and it lets you know how their diet is and if it needs adjusting. Basically, if you are feeding a balanced soup/grind you will have firm, well formed stools that aren't dry but aren't wet. If they are loose and wet you need more bone, if they are too dry you need less. This will help you adjust accordingly. Unless you see something alarming you don't really need to report it in, but if you see something you question or can't figure out, snap a pic and post it here. As you deviate from the grind mix you will start seeing weird things. Organ meals will give them black, tarry poops, fat heavy meals will turn it tan, beige or vomit colored often times.
The sooner you can get them onto chunks and bones, the easier life will be. Have you tried feeding them slivers of meat at all, such as the gizzards? (Or anything else) I've seen them eating the chicken pieces and I know you mentioned wings. You can certainly try them on small chunks of meat and bone. You may want to try other meats besides chicken too if they'll try it, such as pork, beef, turkey or CGH.
You may need to pick up some more soup ingredients if they won't eat the chunks right now as you don't want them going hungry and some may require soaking pieces in soup to transition.
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Post by thelifeofmyferrets on Oct 15, 2013 6:56:33 GMT -5
Well they recommend people weigh weekly so they can keep track of what and how much their ferrets are eating, especially in the beginning. Some people just toss meat in the cage and expect them to eat it, and then they start losing weight because they're not eating and well, you can see the issue I'm sure. I watched all of mine eat every meal in the beginning to see who was fussy and who wasn't. Basically, you can weight them once a week and keep the record of their weight either in a notebook, or in a word doc or spreadsheet with each ferret's name and the date, that way you can track them back seasonally too.
Watching their poops daily is always important, it lets you know if they are eating and functioning normally, it often lets you know if they're sick before they show outward signs, and it lets you know how their diet is and if it needs adjusting. Basically, if you are feeding a balanced soup/grind you will have firm, well formed stools that aren't dry but aren't wet. If they are loose and wet you need more bone, if they are too dry you need less. This will help you adjust accordingly. Unless you see something alarming you don't really need to report it in, but if you see something you question or can't figure out, snap a pic and post it here. As you deviate from the grind mix you will start seeing weird things. Organ meals will give them black, tarry poops, fat heavy meals will turn it tan, beige or vomit colored often times. The sooner you can get them onto chunks and bones, the easier life will be. Have you tried feeding them slivers of meat at all, such as the gizzards? (Or anything else) I've seen them eating the chicken pieces and I know you mentioned wings. You can certainly try them on small chunks of meat and bone. You may want to try other meats besides chicken too if they'll try it, such as pork, beef, turkey or CGH.You may need to pick up some more soup ingredients if they won't eat the chunks right now as you don't want them going hungry and some may require soaking pieces in soup to transition. I understand, when I first started switching them, their poops were all over the place so I finally got the right amount of eggshell to keep their poops just right. Same with pee, I read on here that too much eggshell causes too much pee. So I fixed that also. I found the right medium. I just didn't want to get kicked out of the program. But I guess it is for newly transitioning. I picked up more soup. I never fed them slivers, I kinda skipped to chunks and bones. I haven't tried the slivers of gizzards yet, I was going to try them today for lunch. I have tried them on ground turkey. Maybe next time, I'll try ground pork. I wanna try bone marrow. What is CGH? I have the cut up chicken wing " marinating" in the soup.
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