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Post by goingpostal on Jan 13, 2014 20:13:06 GMT -5
If she'll try it at all without evoo skip it, but if that's what it takes to get her tasting something new go ahead and add it. Some evoo is healthy for them and a few drops is fine, as she gets used to eating meat in general we should be able to wean her off it. Or what you could do is only drop it on top, not mixed, or only mixed in say 1/3 of the meat and see if she keeps eating. Thank you for the pics, love seeing them eat raw!
Chicken thigh instead of breast is absolutely fine, one of the main things feeding raw is variety, not just in proteins but every different part of the animal contains different amounts of vitamins, it's important to switch it up. I just picked up a pack of thighs today that were marked down to use for soupies actually.
Even once they are on raw, you will get those loose tarry organ poos, I always feed heart and liver together as a meal and get goo poos but oh well. Problems of a short digestive system.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 13, 2014 21:42:27 GMT -5
I weighed them tonight and noticed some lost weight. I can't remember if I weighed them before or after eating last time and it was a new scale. Lulu, according to the weights lost 3 oz. So I am thinking it may have been before eating. She was also having issues with her BG and wasn't as active. Today she did great. January 13, 2014 1. Ferret's name: George 2. Ferret's weight: 2 lbs 8 oz 3. Ferret has eaten his normal amount 4. Stools on various proteins. Mushy, and a tad gassy 5. Activity levels: Ran around and played 6. Weekly menu: Chicken breast chunks, some beef & chicken gizzard chunks with soupies & a little Arch 1 as a topper. 1. Ferret's name: Miko 2. Ferret's weight: 2 lbs 4oz 3. Ferret has eaten Normal amount 4. Stools on various proteins. Mushy 5. Activity levels : Ran around and played with others 6. Weekly menu: Chicken breast chunks, some beef & chicken gizzard chunks with soupies 1. Ferret's name: Lulu 2. Ferret's weight: 1 lb 8.5 oz 3. Ferret has eaten Ate more today. 4. Stools on various proteins. Mushy, and a tad gassy 5. Activity levels: Ran around and played with others 6. Weekly menu: Chicken breast chunks, some beef & chicken gizzard chunks with soupies & EVOO. 1. Ferret's name: Penelope 2. Ferret's weight: 1 lb 9 oz 3. Ferret has eaten Normal amount 4. Stools on various proteins. Mushy 5. Activity levels: Ran around and played with others. Always has more energy. 6. Weekly menu: Chicken breast chunks, some beef & chicken gizzard chunks with soupies. 1. Ferret's name: Emmett 2. Ferret's weight: 2 lbs 14 oz 3. Ferret has eaten Normal amount 4. Stools on various proteins. Soft 5. Activity levels: Ran around and played with others 6. Weekly menu: Chicken breast chunks, some beef & chicken gizzard chunks with soupies 1. Ferret's name: Coco 2. Ferret's weight: 2 lbs 5 oz 3. Ferret has eaten Normal amount 4. Stools on various proteins. Soft 5. Activity levels: Ran around and played with others 6. Weekly menu: Chicken breast chunks, some beef & chicken gizzard chunks with soupies 1. Ferret's name: Mikah 2. Ferret's weight: 1 lb 5 oz 3. Ferret has eaten: Eating a little more 4. Stools on various proteins. Mushy, and a tad gassy 5. Activity levels: Ran around and played with others 6. Weekly menu: Chicken breast chunks, some beef & chicken gizzard chunks with soupies I think I have everything I am sposed to post for you. If I forgot something let me know. I am still trying to get the hang of this.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 15, 2014 19:03:32 GMT -5
Everybody is doing good. Lulu is now eating the same size chunks as the rest. I am starting to switch to off between the breasts and thighs and adding gizzards to the breast and the beef with the thighs. along with the watered down soup.
There are some days I noticed they don't eat as much. That is normal right? Could they be to the point of leveling off on the amount they eat. They started the switch on 11-21-13.
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Post by goingpostal on Jan 16, 2014 21:22:42 GMT -5
Good for Lulu eating some chunks! Keep watering down the soup while slowly increasing the chunk size, you can also cut some longer but skinny strips of meat rather than making them thicker, get them chewing just a bit more. See if they will take some hearts/liver chopped up rather than in soup as well. For the mushy poops, it's normal but if you want you can mix a little eggshell powder with the chunks, if they will eat it that way, it's never bothered my ferrets but some don't like the texture.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 17, 2014 12:38:17 GMT -5
I was worried about Lulu as she had lost weight. She is such a tiny little thing to begin with. Now it seems she wants to eat in the cage. I will try the hearts and liver by them self. Emmett is doing great with the big chunks of beef. I have been cutting bigger and smaller pieces of chicken breast and thigh and that seems to be going okay. Need to use the little chunks of beef and then cut them bigger next round of chopping. I thin out the soup and put a little amount on cause other wise them little smarties just lick the soup off. The poops are looking better, when I made the last batch I put in a teaspoon egg shell powder. Should I put in a little more? Lulu's poop seems to be the softest but I think that is because she still has the EVOO. I think we are moving along at a good pace. Somedays they seem like they don't eat as much and some days they act like they didn't eat for a week.
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Post by goingpostal on Jan 18, 2014 19:54:20 GMT -5
Are you following the normal soup recipe? That's a little more eggshell than normal but if they are handling it ok it's fine. It'll be soft anyways, a liquidy food and new proteins and organs in the mix, just kind of a funky phase during switching. As long as they don't look discolored or undigested they should be ok. Appetites will be very odd like that, some days they are bottomless pits and other days you end up worrying they are sick because they eat nothing. Brats.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 19, 2014 17:29:54 GMT -5
I have been putting a teaspoon of egg shell in the recipe, but I have been watering it down and not putting to much on the food. I made enough today to last me about a week. They don't mind the extra egg shell. I'm going to start giving Lulu a little food when she gets her meds in the afternoon rather then just 2 meals a day. tonight they are going to get ground turkey along with the chunks of breast and beef. I have been giving beef with the breast and mixing thigh meat and gizzards. Should I try a different meat mixed in with the thigh and gizzard? I have lamb and pork.
They diffidently need to go to bigger chunk. But I thought with the gizzards they would learn to chew more.
Well I am glad to hear that they don't eat great everyday. That makes me feel a lot better.
I fed Emmett, Coco and Mikah eggs for the first time. I knew Emmett would eat a whole one. Coco the fuss button that he can be took right to it., he didn't eat a whole one so that left some for Mikah. She ate some on her food but wouldn't eat any by itself. Tonight I will try an egg with George, Miko, Penelope and Lulu. That should be a once a week treat, right? I did have to laugh at Coco when he tried to "pick" up a mouth full and stash it.
So far we are just rolling along. Oh I was going to ask you. I have a old hand crank grinder. Would/ could I grind up some wing tips and offer that with the bone in or would that be a choking hazard?
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Post by Deleted on Jan 21, 2014 18:18:24 GMT -5
Do you think I should add a little taurine powder to the soup since I am watering it down. O have been adding a cup of water to it and not putting a lot of it one there food. I am going to try some sliced hearts with the breast and beef mixture. Also should I be slowly adding more beef to the breast? Do you think I should start adding different meats? I have lamb and pork. Or am I trying to move along to fast. If I am just tell me to slow down a bit. I sure hope I am not driving you crazy with all the questions.
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Post by goingpostal on Jan 22, 2014 11:32:05 GMT -5
Questions are fine! I'll try to hit them all. First how well are they eating the chunks of beef? If they are eating it eagerly you can try adding in a new protein option, if they are still a little picky then you might want to wait. You can always put a little to the side and see if any want to sample it though.
Eggs! I laughed at trying to stash them, honestly mine hate plain eggs, I don't know what the deal is. They like them scrambled up better than raw. So I usually throw one into their soup mix or whip one up with something they like better, like some freeze dried raw or blood juice, it seems to be the texture or scent they don't really enjoy but once they try a little they eat it. But eggs are a fantastic little meal if they do like them and you can feed an egg or two per ferret every week. Expect some funky poo though.
You can try grinding up some wing tips if you want, how coarse/fine does it grind them too? Since wings are so boney you would want to feed more with a boneless source. You can also just smash the h*ll out of the wings with a mallet and see if any feel like chewing on them for a snack, sometimes the marrow scent will entice them.
I wouldn't worry about the taurine too much, you can add some if you are concerned but it's probably not needed, all meat does contain some, the darker meats just have more.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 22, 2014 17:28:38 GMT -5
They are eating the beef pretty good, I am mixing it with the breast meat. They are not to happy I started cutting all the chunks a little bigger cause they have to chew. I will separate the beef and breast and see how that goes. Some of them wanted NO PART on the heart and ground turkey, even with a little soup on. Emmett however, I swear he was a garbage can his prior life. So far he eats about everything. Didn't try the liver alone yet. Most of them enjoyed the egg. I think that will be a Sunday morning treat for them. I must say the poo was interesting... I'm not sure how fine the wings would be ground up. I think there is a fine grinder attachment. Them grinders are so old. Should I grind up meat right along with the wing tips if I try that? I'm so worried they will choke on a little hunk of bone... or bone period, so I am kinda scared of trying it too. I think I am finally figuring out where & how they all like to eat. Coco likes to eat in the cage or on my lap, which is great cause then he won't run away with his plate. Mikah is a real slow eater. Emmett like to stash and sometimes be hand fed. Lulu will eat outside the cage, but before she goes to bed she need some in the cage. George like "his dish" but does eat off the plate later. Miko is seeming to want a dish to now or on my lap. Penelope needs coaxing once in a while cause she just has no time to stop and eat. We do have to keep the cats kibble up or Lulu will eat that. > They are way to spoiled.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 24, 2014 14:19:55 GMT -5
When do they cut back on chowing down? It seems like some of them aren't eating as much. Could it be that I cut the chunks bigger and they don't need to eat that much? Do you know what I mean? LOL George seems like he isn't eating as much. He is playing and all.
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Post by goingpostal on Jan 24, 2014 17:13:56 GMT -5
If they are behaving normally they are probably fine, it really varies on the ferret when they cut down, my male Hannibal has been with me over a year now and this is his first real winter with me. He's fat fat fat! But Pandora my female has almost no seasonal change weight wise and eats very little. Some days they eat 2-3 oz between them and others they will eat 10! Especially if I am feeding something special like a ground mix or freezedried raw, I'm not sure if it's more appealing or if it's less filling but even on that kind of food after 2-3 gorge meals mine back off greatly. Just keep a weight on what you are offering to give you an idea of how much they will eat daily.
Re choking, honestly they are much more likely to choke on something in a grind or that is mashed up simply because it's smaller and they didn't work it to that size themselves. Pandora got a piece of bone caught in her mouth once and that's the worst I have experienced, never had one choke. Can you get anything with smaller bones like a game hen or quail? You might want to offer something that like first for bone in since they are really small if you are worried about it. But they can handle bone just fine and they will eventually and you'll learn to love that crunching sound.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 25, 2014 20:22:38 GMT -5
Ya I can get Cornish game hens. How would I prepared it? Just cut it up like a chicken? Quail I am not sure of. We have Asian stores so they might carry it.
I worry more about George cause he is a senior, probably 7 already or real close, he also has adrenal (des implant tho')and insolumia (I for the life of me can't spell that) and he lost his brother in November. He's not grieving any more, it's me who gets all freaky. Plus we lost our Hedgehog 4 days ago...so it's me the big worry wart when somebody acts different and stuff. George is playing and acting fine. T
I will diffidently start weighing the food. I usually just try to eyeball it. Miko & Penelope usually get food from the same dish and I know Miko sneaks George's when he can. George gets a little Arch 1 with his, just cause he's George, LOL. Lulu gets hers separate, she still needs EVOO and I don't want the others to think they need it too. The other 3 Coco Mikah and Emmett are doing great. Could the age make a difference with how much they eat? Group 1 is older thatn Group 2. We are not for sure how old Lulu and Penelope really are. We were told about 2 1/2. The vet just said said Lulu is older by the looks of her teeth. That is also the vet who tld me I should be feeding them Marshalls. I don't like that vet and refuse to see her unless it is an emergency and have no choice (with any of my critters). Now I must see if them little bums will get up, they were out most of the morning...cage cleaning and they are tired yet.
Sometimes I feel like I am not doing this right. Just seems like I am stuck in a rut... I guess I think they should be moving along faster. I know PATIENCE for me AND TEACHING them.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 25, 2014 22:28:11 GMT -5
Not sure if you are on facebook,so I copied my post so you could see it.
OMG, I feel absolutely horrible! I think I figured out why George isn't eating a lot. (Please forgive me if this turn out rather long). In Nov we started the switch and then went to little chunks. He ate like a champ. I started cutting them bigger and it seemed he wouldn't eat as much. George is 7 yrs and been on kibble all his life. Tonight I was watching him again and I thought maybe I should check his teeth. That poor little guys back teeth are in horrible shape and I think it hurt to chew. Anyway I chopped up some really little and he ate it all. I feel just terrible... I'm not sure if anything can be done, like getting them pulled or anything cause of his age.
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Post by goingpostal on Jan 26, 2014 18:08:14 GMT -5
You'll have to see what the vet says about George's teeth. If they are too bad and painful it may be they need to come out, not too uncommon with the oldies but you'll have to weigh your options given his age and other issues. I know how you feel, my old girl has adrenal and insulinoma and she scares the crap out of me on a regular basis, I think she is on the verge of dying and she bounces back. My old male we lost last spring was even older, with both issues and he used to really go back and forth, doing well. Or doing poorly, looking thin and lethargic where I'd have to start feeding him extra soupies daily just to make sure he was eating. Then he'd go back to normal. I thought that ferret was going to die for 3 years straight and he just kept kicking until he died of old age. The one time he did just keep losing weight and losing weight even with feedings, turned out he had a liver infection so it does pay to keep a close eye on them. If one seems sickly weighing is a really good way to notice a difference.
Anyways since he can handle the smaller cuts just keep doing that for him, the lack of carbs and act of chewing should help his teeth a bit and you can still offer the various proteins to make sure he is getting a balanced diet.
Game hens yep just chop up like a chicken, what I do is offer each ferret a small chunk like a wing or leg, if you offer a drummie they are pretty easy to break the bone open and slice some of it open so they have an easy spot to start chewing. I'm jealous you have asian markets, really opens up options from what I hear, I am super limited on meat cuts and sources at my local store.
Age can be a huge difference in how much they eat as well, the younger ones can really pack it away especially at first or during winter. There is a thread somewhere on the forum about guessing age based on teeth, have you had a look at that?
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