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Post by Deleted on Jan 27, 2014 22:07:33 GMT -5
Wow, since I am chopping up George's food again for him he is eating great. He even ate ground turkey, (so did Penelope and Miko). Today he ate 6.1 oz. He must have been so hungry. I have an appt for him Thursday and them I will find out what is going on with his teeth. All 7 ate like crazy today. Group 1 had to have a mid morning snack and Group 2 an afternoon snack. Here is the 2 week update: It seems my girls are just going to be little squirts.
January 27, 2014 George: 2 lbs 7 oz. Starting to eat better again, I am chopping his food really fine (almost mush) due to his teeth. Chicken breast & beef and chicken thigh & gizzard. Poop looks good, little gassy. I think that was from him licking more soup. Plays great for a 7 yr old, although not as long as the younger ones. Miko: 2 lbs 3 oz. Eating great. Chicken breast & beef and chicken thigh & gizzard. Poop looks good. Plays as normal Penelope: 1 lb 7 oz. Eating great. Chicken breast & beef and chicken thigh & gizzard. Poop is good. Hyper in the mornings. Has a little ritual in the evening. Gets up puts a few toys away, crawls in a drawer, I get her out, cuddle a bit, then she is hyper. Lulu: 1 lb 8 oz. Eating more often and the same size chunks as the others, still needs her EVOO. Chicken breast & beef and chicken thigh & gizzard. Poop is good. Plays a lot now that her BS is regulated. Emmett: 2 lbs 12 oz. Eating great, big chunks . Chicken breast & beef and chicken thigh & gizzard. Poop looks good. Plays as normal Coco: 2 lbs 5 oz. Eating great. Chicken breast & beef and chicken thigh & gizzard. Poop looks good. Plays as normal Mikah: 1 lb 5 oz. Eating great, she is a slow eater. Chicken breast & beef and chicken thigh & gizzard. Poop looks good. Plays as normal. Weekly menu was: . Chicken breast & beef and chicken thigh & gizzard. I alternate the meats almost daily. I tried ground turkey, that didn’t go well with all of them. Working on that. Sundays they get an egg. Not all eat it, but working on that.
Is there any thing I should change with the menu? I do mix the breast & beef and the thigh meat & gizzards together.
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Post by goingpostal on Jan 28, 2014 10:11:19 GMT -5
Ok so we will keep George on a mush, still way better than kibble, you can still go ahead and try different proteins, if you get boneless meat it will go through a food processor enough that he can eat it no problem and the variety will be good for him.
For the rest since they are eating chunks we want to go ahead, keep increasing size, get them chewing, are you chopping up the chicken gizzards currently? If so stop and see if they will chew them up and let's see if we can get them to try something bone in as well, either some smashed up wings or chicken/turkey ribs if you can get those. Maybe try some another protein as well, what all do you have access to?
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Post by Deleted on Jan 29, 2014 9:53:54 GMT -5
Will try pork tonight and put some whole gizzards on the plates. I can get chicken, CGH, turkey, pork, beef, lamb. I do have only a pound of buffalo, I want to find out where I can buy it cause I like it too. I can also get fish. How do they do with the bones, that is the part that concerns me about feeding fish. Also I'm going to pick up chicken legs. Thought of splitting the bone open. Can I give them a raw dog bone so they can have a taste of beef marrow? I could hook that onto the cage or something.
George will get all the different proteins as the other. He likes turkey, so that is a plus. He is eating so good again.
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Post by goingpostal on Jan 29, 2014 10:56:13 GMT -5
I've never tried buffalo myself is it good? The only option locally for that is $14/pound ground meat so neither the ferret or I have ever gotten to try that. Any of those meats are great options, always got for the fattier cuts if you can, they are usually cheaper anyways. Fish they can eat the bones fine, mine have never been good fish eaters, I've offered walleye, smelt and sardines and they make more of a mess with it than really eating it but maybe you will have better luck. Splitting the chicken legs open is a good idea, mine are lazy and won't put much effort into legs unless they are really hungry and then mostly eat the ends. Marrow bones are fine as well, mine seem to love it.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 29, 2014 15:20:29 GMT -5
I went shopping, picked up some veal brains, 2 different kinds of beef tripe, (the guy told me there is 3 kinds of tripe. It depends on what part of the stomach.), drumsticks and pork ribs. Going to add pork tonight. How fast do I offer all the different meats to them or should I let them get used to the pork first.
Should I only give them 1 meat at a time? I have been giving them a choice and I think that is why we are stuck on chicken. That is what they seem to eat the most of. I know they won't starve if they don't eat alot for a meal, but I really hate the "Mama, I am hungry" look they give me later.
Buffalo is a rich meat, I think any way. If you ever get a chance to try bear, you will fall in love with it....
I am going to hang a marrow bone in the side of the cage and see what happens. :thankyou:
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Post by Deleted on Jan 30, 2014 18:08:10 GMT -5
The kids got pork. Miko & Coco were a little unsure but the rest are great. It did take a few tries and they finally ate. I did leave it in Emmett, Coco and Micah cage last night. They hardly ate so I thought if they get hungry they will eat it and they did. This morning the plates were empty. I was really surprised how fast they took to it.Mikah and Emmett needed a snack mid afternoon. They will get pork tonight and chicken Friday. Saturday will be pork again. I think I have to start to make a menu. Friday nights has to be the chicken. I know they eat that and that is the only night I work. Hubby isn't as patient as I am when it comes to sitting on the floor with them and stuff. When we start another meat I think starting them on Sat or Sunday is a better idea. How long should they get just pork? I have yet to give them whole gizzards, so I could do that Sunday morning. I think Lulu will be the hardest with that. George will have to stay on the rally fine shopped stuff for about a week yet. He had his doctor appt and will be getting 1 tooth for sure removed and the rest cleaned. If he has any other bad ones he will have them removed also. He has an infection on the tooth. I chopped the meat ahead and will have to use that up along with chopping bigger hunks. Mikah, I saw took one of Emmett's big breast piece and eat it. I guess just cause she is little doesn't mean she needs little bits I have to get that in my head and not to chop so much ahead and stop treating them like babies. I think I am having a harder at this then I thought I would. Tell me if I need to do anything different and don't be afraid to yell at me if I need it. Okay?
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Post by goingpostal on Jan 31, 2014 16:56:11 GMT -5
It is definitely hard for the human then the pets sometimes getting used to raw! You think, man these ferrets are NEVER going to eat meat, struggle to get them to eat chicken and then some surprise you and eat anything once they grasp the idea. I took a big leap when I first switched to raw, all mine already ate mice. So I ordered all the whole prey I can't get locally, rabbit, guinea pigs, rats, quail and I was so worried it would be impossible to get them to try something new and weird and all this was going to go to waste. Nope, I had to open them up once and they dove right in.
What I would do for introducing new meat is offer the "old" protein chicken for a meal, then offer the new protein, just go back and forth for a few days to make sure no one has any reaction or issues with it and then go ahead and add in another new protein. And you can vary through different cuts of chicken while introducing other proteins, offer hearts, gizzards, thigh vs breast meat etc and try some wing or wingtips smashed. What happens with a lot of ferrets is once they try darker richer meats they can actually start refusing plain old boring chicken so we want to keep them trying new things and not getting into a rut.
Is George going to be on antibiotics? Because those can throw off the belly bigtime, don't be surprised if you see some really bad stools from him. Make sure he keeps eating and hopefully he will feel a lot better after getting that bad one out and a cleaning.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 2, 2014 16:57:12 GMT -5
George will be on antibiotic 2 days before and 3 day after the surgery. Doc said they usually pop right back and feel even better. I will be a nervous wreck that day. Think I will save that day for chopping food.
They got mostly beef this morning. Not happy campers but they eventually ate. They did have a little breast mixed in and ate that first. So we are moving along. Coco and Miko are the biggest blockheads about trying something new and the bigger chunks. I think they just don't want to chew harder/more. Lulu can be if she doesn't get her EVOO. I have to make sure she (and George) eat good cause of the insulinomia. The rest are doing great with the bigger chunks. I love watching the eat the gizzard... Most of them are doing real good with the gizzard. I'm going to try chicken heart tonight along with the beef and the little bit of breast.
Should I cut the chunks smaller for Miko and Coco when they are getting a new meat? I still put watered down soup on their food too cause they are not to the bones yet and thought they should at least get some eggshells. I have to smash some tips for them and see what they do.
What are the signs if a meat doesn't agree? Some still are a little gassy but have been since the beginning. They have had pork now for 5 1/2 meals and they all seem good with it.
I have a question about tripe. I read on a raw feeding sight for dogs/cats that if the tripe is washed and clean-white instead of green that it shouldn't be fed. I did buy some, not a lot.
This might sound really stupid.... Is veal considered a different protein from beef? I also got some veal brains. That would be introduced like a new protein and is it good for them? (I just hope I can touch it.) I would just chop it up like the chunks, right?
We are making slow and steady progress. When I think back at their reaction in the beginning and see them now I am happy. Specially with Mikah. My gosh the 1st take of the soup she ran and gacked her head off and gave mean one heck of a look....
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Post by goingpostal on Feb 3, 2014 16:38:51 GMT -5
Brains are very high in taurine, I've never had access to just brain, good luck chopping that up, I imagine the texture is horrendous much like lung. I'm curious to see if they like it myself. Veal would be the same as beef but it's a great addition since it is younger and a variety of age/cut is important, the nutrient levels are quite different. It probably will taste different as well so you should introduce like a new protein.
Tripe in stores is usually bleached white, that's no good, you want the green stinky stuff, some love it, some hate it, I don't have access to it so don't feed it. If there's an intolerance to a meat you will usually see really funky poop, off colored, possibly undigested looking. One of my ferrets who has passed now used to get weird stool on pork for example and it was always noticeably weird looking, light colored and fatty looking. He never showed any other reaction to it and loved it but it just didn't seem to agree with his system so I didn't feed it, had enough other options not to mess with it although it's possible he would have adjusted over time.
I would cut new proteins maybe in a variety of chunk sizes, a few smaller to start them off but some up to whatever size they are eating. You can also toss the meat chunks straight with eggshell powder, not a lot but a little doesn't seem to deter most ferrets from eating it.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 3, 2014 19:01:01 GMT -5
Well they got chicken heart and OMG, even Coco ate it. I just split it in half. Miko and Penelope on the other hand chew the bigger hunk and spit it out. Lulu just is taking her old sweet time at everything. George is going to get some tonight. He still had breast and beef. This morning he ate like 5 oz. Can they eat to much? I don't want him to get sick. Not at once. I let them eat when they want during the time they are out. Some eat right away and some like to play a while, but always get offered food before they go to bed. I also am finding out these kids would rather eat 3 times a day then 2.
I will pull the lamb out tonight and see what happens with that probably Thurs. Weds is gonna be a heck of a day.
I have yet to smash up the wing tips and let them have them. I also have livers in the frig that I was going to try on the tonight. I hope that isn't to much organ meat.
Well I guess they aren't going to get tripe then... I was surprised to find the brains at the grocery store. I have never chopped up lung, but I have done a tongue. puke I ended up having to wear dishwashing gloves and a bucket next to me. So brains will be another adventure... I will let you know. Probably will try that next week seeing how they have had heart already.
I will have to find the link that lists all the different type of proteins. Around here it is mostly beef, chicken and pork in the grocery store and I never really paid attention to anything else.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 4, 2014 17:39:31 GMT -5
Nobody liked the livers. But I did discover something. I think them them squirts are taking me for a ride. :pullhair: I didn't have Coco's food down and he ate some of Emmett's, bigger chunk and NO soup. Penelope ate some bigger chunks for her mid day snack, NO soup. So guess what, they aren't getting soup tonight and going to get bigger chunks.
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Post by goingpostal on Feb 5, 2014 16:30:24 GMT -5
Oh they will absolutely play you. I put in chicken wings yesterday, cut in half, one half for each ferret. Each ate about 1/3 in the afternoon when I put it in, didn't eat any all night so I left it in this morning. Now this afternoon my girl has eaten her half and my male is still refusing. She got something new and he got the same chicken wing lol. He's a fat healthy young boy and he will eat chicken when he gets hungry. If he hasn't touched it by tonight I'll give his meal to the nearest dog and offer him some fresh wings. He's picky but I'm more stubborn. I will offer soft food or soup if they are sick or physically unable to eat chunks but otherwise I don't cater to them too much. They can be rather lazy about eating and just oddly picky sometimes which is frustrating.
George, I wouldn't worry too much, on a soft food and switching to raw you see a lot of ferrets who just get fat! It's so easy to eat and must be delicious but I've not really seen too many bad effects as a result of chunkiness in ferrets and most do level off on their own eventually. I've never had one get sick as a result of gorging, it's amazing what they can pack away at a sitting sometimes and then other times they barely eat anything.
Liver, what type did you try? Since they loved the chicken hearts you can try chopping liver real small and putting a little in that or offer it in a meat mush/soup, I know a few people on here can't get theirs to eat it at all and have to do some trickery. Hannibal isn't huge on liver but Pandora chows it down like there's nothing better. Even my cat has gotten better over time, she was very hard to convince to eat chicken liver but will eat duck, grouse and turkey now. Sometimes you just have to keep offering it.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 6, 2014 16:27:55 GMT -5
George did great with his surgery. Now to get him to eat chunks again. I think I will start off again with this smaller. He only needed 1 tooth pulled so he should be feeling good in no time. I just want to let it heal a little. The other day he ate a total of 11.6 oz, I couldn't believe he ate that much in one day! I used chicken livers. That was my mistake. I just threw 1/2 the liver on the plate with the rest of the food. I will keep trying... They are doing okay with out the soup (sort of). This morning they needed a little, but they had all beef. I couldn't believe when they started eating the bigger chunks on their own either. Miko and Lulu are a little blockheaded about them but eat them... I guess as time goes in I am learning not to cater to them. Lately tho some have been wanting to eat in the cages. Which does work out great, then they eat and don't stash so much. Are they sposed be on a eating schedule? I have been leaving food in the cages cause they don't always want to just eat in the morning and evenings. If I don't and they see me they hang on the side of the cage like they haven't eaten for a week. Saturday I was thinking of trying lamb. I don't have much so do you think I should wait till I get more so they can have it for a few days in a row? How do I make a decent menu out or does that come later in the switching? I can't think of any more questions. Let me know if I need to move along faster with things or need to change any thing that I am doing.... sometimes I feel like I am going to slow.
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Post by goingpostal on Feb 6, 2014 21:19:01 GMT -5
You can pretty much feed on whatever schedule works for you, I usually plan on 2x a day, hook a chunk to one of my feeding stations and leave it, mine are free roam so just eat when they want to and if they have leftovers I might leave it in a bit longer depending on what it is. Mine will pound on the door if they see me go by or anytime near soup meal times, even if there's food available they will hope I offer something else. You can go ahead and try lamb, if it's a hit you'll just know to buy more!
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Post by goingpostal on Feb 6, 2014 21:40:16 GMT -5
Oh to make a decent menu it's fairly easy, sit down and look at what meat options you have, separate into boneless meats, bone in meats and organ. You basically want to make sure you are feeding 3 or more proteins on a regular basis, I do weekly as it's easier to remember. I used to keep obsessive charts day to day, new for each month depending on what I bought but 3 years in now I swing it mostly, it's just second nature at this point. So if you are feeding 2 times per day that's 14 meals.
8-9 of those should be bone in. Basically any part of a bird that's chicken sized or smaller except for breast, any whole prey, duck, rabbit, some turkey cuts would work for this. You still want to vary this up somewhat, don't feed just wings or just necks. It's ok to feed wings for a week straight and then go to thighs or something else though. Balance over time. Meat on bone, not bare bones though!
The rest can be boneless BUT one meal needs to be an organ meal and another heart,the rest any cut you want, this is where I sneak in red meats like pork and beef and the fattier the cut the better, fat is an important part of their diet. You can also use an egg as a boneless meal, fish would count as boneless since the bones are tiny also.
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