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Post by Deleted on Feb 21, 2014 11:59:15 GMT -5
yes, it's light olive oil. I think it is just a bit lighter in the taste bc mine can smell something different right away and then I have to chase them down to get them to try it! LOL!
Well, the ground chicken went over great with Daisy and Clyde. They both devoured it and then Clyde went on to finish another plate =) All in all, with soupie and meat, he ate a good 2 ounces at dinner and Daisy at one whole ounce just by herself. She usually is half of that per feeding. Bonnie has been being very difficult these last couple days. It might be bc the last soup I made had a funny smell even to me! This morning Clyde took a whole chicken heart from my hand and ran off with it. I followed him so I know where he stashed it and I checked after he came out of his spot. He had eaten about half of it =) Sometimes they surprise me bc Fred wouldn't touch it no matter what I tried.
They are showing more interest in the foods that Fred gets now and I am hoping that by watching Fred, they will eventually try something new. I am determined to get them all fully switched but they sure aren't making my job easy!
Once I have used up the bison liver in my fridge, I am going to put in an order for more duck and some rabbit maybe and see how they like that. =)
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Post by Deleted on Feb 21, 2014 12:15:15 GMT -5
I forgot to tell you that the olive oil went over great!!!!! A small drizzle on a chicken heart cut open and Fred ate the whole thing no fussing. Then a drizzle for Daisy and Bonnie and they licked a plate ground chicken up til it was clean =) Clyde hasn't tried it yet bc he had already eaten his breakfast and was sleeping inside my couch. He doesn't take being woken up from his nap very well so I will try this with him tonight. Also, turkey neck did not go over very well with Fred. He nibbled on it but I am beginning to think he's just more a chicken guy. He has started turning his nose up at CGH and turkey =( But, he might just not be in the mood for them when I offer? Even I get in the mood where sometimes I just feel like eating something and nothing else will do =) I am just so happy for the small step of progress this morning that I am not going to stress over other stuff right now =)
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Post by fretki on Feb 21, 2014 15:48:01 GMT -5
Is it a refined olive oil? Sounds like a good starting point for oil, best would be to get them to like extra vergine olive oil, usually "extra vergine" labels have a totally different ratio of different fatty acids compared to a refined ones... This may take time, my ferrets took long to like it, I guess it is the "grassy" taste of evoo Strangely they took immediatly to rose hip oil, I use a lot of different oils for cooking for me and in very moderate amounts for the ferrets, they consider every oil or fat as a treat... They would do everything for a little bit of duck fat! Wow, Clyde and Daisy ate a lot of ground chicken, is this one with bones and organ? I'm sorry I wanted to have a look at Hare Today, it really seems to be a good place to get meats for the ferrets, but website unavailable here (disappointed) Rabbit is a very good idea, I can get rabbit front quaters at my favorite grocery store: a lot of edible bone, not that much meat; so perfect for ferrets Would you like me to ask the mentor-team if they could recommend good "appetizers" from Hare Today? Yeah, a turkey neck might have been a bit overwhelming for the little boy, even chicken neck require a certain jaw strengh to eat it, there my girls are picky, they wil eat around the vertebrae and leaving those pieces... Fred ate the chicken heart? First he refused and then he took to it with oil? Is Bonnie ok? Any change in poop and/or weight, energy levels? Are all the ferrets stable in weight, having normal poop, normal behaviour/energy levels? Can't wait for the weekly report Hahaha, a few days ago, you weren't sure if they will come off soup, and now they are on different textures & consistencies, including eating chicken heart! This is great! :goodjob:
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Post by Deleted on Feb 21, 2014 21:16:24 GMT -5
sure! Any help with feedback on Hare Today would be great. They are a little pricy but if you save up and buy in bulk, it's worth it. I looked at the label again and it said Extra Virgin Olive Oil and under that it says "lighter tasting". The ground chicken was just muscle meats this time bc I wasn't sure if they would eat that texture and it was on sale at the store.
YES! I was so excited that he took the whole heart =) It would be a lot easier to measure his intake if it were whole and not in soup form. Also, Clyde finally woke up and wandered into the living room to see what was for dinner and I tried him on the olive oil too. Success =) He licked my finger clean so I decided to see how far I could push the oil thing. I made a plate of chicken slivers and nothing else and then drizzled about a tsp on the whole plate and put it out for the gang. They all took some and then Bonnie took over and even pushed Fred off the plate. I think maybe her problem is she was ready for something new? All poops are the same and still looking good on the energy levels. She ate some of the new soup I made this afternoon so I think maybe it was just the last batch?
My only thought is how much is just right with the oil? I don't want to give it to them every day bc I'm almost positive that won't be healthy.
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Post by fretki on Feb 22, 2014 11:13:32 GMT -5
I asked the other mentors for info about Hare Today, please have patience! Yeah, if you can buy ground meat with bones&organ, this could be really handy to keep 1 meal per week on that, even after transition, so they are use to it, which is excellent in case of sickness for spoon feeding Oh great, I didn't knew that someting like lighter tasting exists in the range of "extra vergin" labels, good to know Maby the last batch of soupie wasn't at her taste, we all have things we eat with pleasure and others we simply eat because we have to... You are in transition time, as long as it is a pure oil in a moderat quantitiy per day, use it! And a teaspoon for 4 ferrets per meal doesn't make me alert, as long as their digestion can handle it, it is ok. For the moment you feed rather lean meats, if I'm right? Like chicken breast? So the extra fat is ok. Ferrets have an incredibly good sense of smell, so if you feel like they get too much oil, decrease to a few drops per meal, you can also rub a few drops on the plate and then put a few pieces on it to trick them
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Post by Deleted on Feb 22, 2014 16:23:17 GMT -5
that's great! I was thinking that if I could use a little bit a day then I would start trying to do just one meal with soupie say that they begin to get used to eating their food without it. They like the chicken breast better than the thigh anyways so that might actually work in my favor. A little more progress was made last night before bed. I fed Fred a plate of chicken liver and heart( for a total of 2 ounces) He ate half of the plate and when he wandered off, Bonnie came in behind him and finished off the plate!!! She has never offered to try anything like that before and I was so proud of her :boing: It's so funny that I have stressed over their food and the stages they are on for 2 weeks and even lost a little sleep over it just bc they are like my children and I wanted to make sure I was doing everything right. Now, all of the sudden, they are making progress every day it seems. Thanks so much for your help so far. If not for your suggestions, I would probably be a mess and so overwhelmed
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Post by Deleted on Feb 22, 2014 16:31:28 GMT -5
my sweet Bonnie eating her liver and heart dinner. I'm a proud mama =)
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Post by fretki on Feb 22, 2014 17:29:07 GMT -5
:boing: Awwwww, maybe that's why she refused soup, she was waiting for liver and heart And it makes me smile that you took a photo in the right moment, I have a collection of pics like "his/her first X" I'll wait for your weekly update on what they ate during the week, but don't be surprised if I'll suggest to cut back the soup, I think we'll basically work on that for the next week. ah, and don't be surprised the combination liver/heart may result in black tarry poop You're welcome, it's a pleasure to work with you on this switch!
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Post by Deleted on Feb 24, 2014 8:41:38 GMT -5
one new development is that now ALL 4 of my fur babies have tried liver and heart off a plate! Fred has been so against the organ meals for a bit so I decided to give him an extra serving to make sure he is getting enough taurine =) I put down a plate for him and when he didn't eat it all, the others came over and devoured it! YAY! They finally understand that it's food not poison I am going to try and keep all this info in a cohesive manner but I apologize if it gets confusing. Also, I am making an order from Hare Today in next couple days but until then, I'm afraid there will a good bit of chicken in this weeks meals. And since the 3 aren't eating bone yet then I will just be alternating meals of chicken slivers with and without soupie on them. I am also going to see if they will accept turkey in sliver form this week. They've been on chicken and soup with duck liver for a good bit now and I figured that the turkey being a bird might not upset their digestion too much? Or do you think I should wait since I just introduced the olive oil? Fred Bonnie 3lbs 6oz(+1oz) 2lbs 1oz(no change) average meal is 1oz-1 1/2 oz(2 x's) average meal is 1/2 oz(3x's a day) stools are more solid on chicken than beef poops stay solid VERY active Average activity Clyde Daisy 3lbs 8oz(no change) 1 lb 10oz(+1oz) average meal is 1.5 oz(2 x's a day) average meal 1/2oz(3x's a day) stools solid stools solid gaining energy! VERY avtive Fred's menu mon: (a.m.) chicken drumette (p.m.) chicken drumette tue: (a.m.) CGH (p.m.) beef stew meat wed: (a.m.) baby back rib (p.m.) chicken heart thurs: (a.m) chicken wing (p.m.) chicken wing fri: (a.m.) baby back rib (p.m.) chicken thigh meat Sat. (a.m.) CGH (p.m.) beef stew meat sun: (a.m.) chicken drumette (p.m.) chicken liver
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Post by fretki on Feb 24, 2014 12:00:43 GMT -5
Wow that's great! You got them from soup only to eating organs within 2 weeks!! :thumbsup: No, if their energy levels are fine as well as their poop (sorry I feel like I repeat this as a mantra all the time), they should be ready for the next bird If you can get turkey, then start turkey, you can try a "cold start" simply give them small slivers, or you start as soup (replace the chicken meat by turkey meat). What size of chicken slivers are they eating? do they show any interest in Fred's beef stew meat? Cool, looking at the menu, Fred is practically on frankenprey: a bit more heart, a bit more organ, this is the part left to work on There seems to be a lot you can order from Hare Today: different ground meats with bones&organ are a good idea all kinds of bird's heart and organs are certainly also a good investment also if they carry entire butchered stuff like duck or quail, in the long run, we'll get your babies to eat this as well, if you want. if you can get rabbit hearts and organs, these are my ferrets favorite. anyway pieces of rabbit with bones in would be great (I don't know if Hare Today offers these) Could you post photos of your 4 sweethearts on the next weekly report? A picture where they are for example standing at the bowl eating, taken from above like this: holisticferret60.proboards.com/thread/4342/type-picture-new-switchesI would like to see their outlines when baring their bodyweights.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 24, 2014 19:37:09 GMT -5
aahhh, sure! I can add pics next week =) I think I am going to order a few different bird organs and rabbit organs since the beef organs seem to turn them off completely. The other 3 don't show any real interest in Fred's stew meat but Daisy and Clyde both showed interest in the lamb chops. I'm so glad that they are all moving in the right direction! Okay, my husband surprised me today with an anniversary present....a 4 day trip to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico =) That being said, we will leave on the 27th of Feb and return late on March 2nd. My mom has taken care of my ferts in the past when I have been out of town and she will be doing so while I am gone. She's going to come stay at my house so that their little schedule doesn't get too off. She will be coming the next few days at feeding time and I will be showing her what to do. I already have their food all fixed up and in the freezer so all she has to do is thaw it out and put it on their plates. I have written down detailed instructions for her and she will be reporting back to me every day so that I can keep up with them while I'm away. I will still post on Monday bc I have told her to keep track of everything and I will weigh them when I get home. I hope this won't cause them to go backwards or be too much trouble for you! I guess after 11 years, he decided we needed a honeymoon
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Post by fretki on Feb 25, 2014 7:09:57 GMT -5
Awwww, cute, wish you a pleasant stay, hope he will spoil you, and repeat it at least every 11 years I hope your mom is ok with feeding raw? No worry, that's fine with me, your fur kids should also be fine, I don't think this will cause them to go backwards. I would simply keep their menu on things they already know/ate, that will be fine for the days you're away.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 25, 2014 10:57:04 GMT -5
yes, my mom said she was fine with feeding them raw. She knows how serious I am about my loves. I have tried to make it as easy on here as possible so I even cut up the slivers for her =)
Thanks so much! Between now and the time we leave I will still keep you informed on whether anything has changed or is the same etc. I will say that I believe they are all ready for a new protein soon bc they got excited about the stew bits when I was cutting them up and putting them in the fridge. I gave them a little taste to see how it would go over and they were all licking and checking it out and Fred gobbled it up. =) I did try to give them some egg as a treat and none of them would have anything to do with it. I think I will keep them on just the chicken and small portions of the heart and liver for now bc I don't wanna give my mom a heart attack with the dark poops from the blood. LOL!
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Post by fretki on Feb 25, 2014 15:35:08 GMT -5
If you have time: I'm gladly here to read! ...but don't stress to document here, take your time getting ready for your honeymoon Yes, if you cut back a bit on the organs for a few days no worry, this won't be bad for the ferrets, and comfortable for your mom, I hope she'll also see the difference before with kibble and now. Maybe it's my misimpression, but compared to kibble I have the impression they eat with much more delight when they eat raw. I also have to do a "light" menu for my ferretsitter, when I'm absent: no sweet & fluffy whole prey, no strange organs (like rabbit brain). (giggle) Maybe you'll have to start egg mixed with soup, some ferrets seem to have no clue that it could be edible... Great, so we'll have some more protein to work on, when you're back!
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Post by Deleted on Feb 26, 2014 22:55:30 GMT -5
I think Fred has decided he is ready for something besides chicken wings and ribs. I can't wait to see how he reacts to the rabbit! Mama said that she would feed all of them their organ meals if I would put them in a container ready to be poured onto a plate =) She just doesn't want to touch them! LOL! She came over today and got to see how happy they were eating their slivers and Fred his chunks. She said it looked like they were smiling =) I think they are much happier now and she even noticed the difference in their coats and their behavior. I am really going to miss them while I am gone My mama laughed at me bc she said I was more frantic about leaving my fur babies than my kids! Haha! They do become a part of you though and I feel lost without them running around my feet or stealing my shoes.
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