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Post by Deleted on Mar 15, 2014 16:59:59 GMT -5
well, the rabbit went pretty well actually. The way it was cut up when it got here was like they just skinned it then chopped it in half. I ended up with 2 whole bunny bodies minus the heads. I took the back half and gave them some ribs with meat and some muscle meat as well. Fred liked it and the others at least gave it a chance =) That is a really neat idea about the cooling box. I will have to try that! I am so happy that the surgery went well and he seems to be doing okay with his recovery I'm still trying to offer the bones to the other 3. Clyde has yet to try any but he isn't one for change. They had a pretty awesome day today bc they got to get out and go for a ride. I ran a 5k this morning that was called Voice for the Animals and I took them to show off =) They were so happy to walk around and visit all the new people. And you have never seen bottle brush tails so poofy. It was too cute! It was a lot of fun for a good cause but they are pooped now!
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Post by fretki on Mar 16, 2014 11:02:38 GMT -5
oh cool, so you got the rabbit with organs as well? rabbit is a very lean meat, no worry to use a bit of oil hahaha, so I guess they had a busy day and slept very well afterwards?
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Post by Deleted on Mar 16, 2014 13:49:47 GMT -5
yes, the rabbit came with the kidneys, lungs, liver and heart. Of course they were small but still they were able to get a variety of organs to taste test. I think they will come around. They were definitely exhausted by the trip. They slept all afternoon until dinner =) and this morning when they woke up they were so funny! I opened the door to their room and Daisy started dooking immediately and then Fred attached himself to my leg =) They were all so full of energy this morning and it was so great
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Post by fretki on Mar 16, 2014 15:40:54 GMT -5
awwww, how cute! I love when they show you how much they appreciate to live with you!
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Post by Deleted on Mar 17, 2014 9:38:26 GMT -5
I have to go to my son's school this morning so I will be posting the menu and other info this afternoon but I wanted to tell you that you were right I put their turkey hearts on a plate last night since they didn't really get a full meal of hearts this week and I mixed it with pieces of rabbit. I dabbed a little oil on the plate and this morning it was all gone! I watched each of them eat a little bit at least before I put them to bed. And I am also happy to announce that Daisy has GAINED weight this week and Clyde has had more energy than I have seen him have since he came to our home a year ago! =)
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Post by fretki on Mar 17, 2014 14:20:16 GMT -5
Yay! So they ate the turkey heart? That's great! Some time ago I had an odyssey here to introduce beef heart to my ferrets, they fooled me perfectly, so my gut feeling pointed in that direction, I guess even on the other side of the globe, ferrets are the same brats everywhere :heehee: looking foreward to your post! :christmaspresents:
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Post by Deleted on Mar 17, 2014 18:35:33 GMT -5
1. Ferret's name: Clyde 2. Ferret's weight: 3lbs 4oz (lost 2 ounces) 3. Ferret has eaten "X" amount on average per meal. 1.25 ounces 4. Stools on various proteins: all stools seem fine even on rabbit 5. Activity levels: his levels have increased!
1. Ferret's name: Bonnie 2. Ferret's weight: 2lbs 2oz 3. Ferret has eaten "X" amount on average per meal. around 1 oz per meal 4. Stools on various proteins: stools fine even with rabbit 5. Activity levels: levels are same, she's energetic but no more than usual
1. Ferret's name: Daisy 2. Ferret's weight: 1lb 12oz (gained 2 oz!) 3. Ferret has eaten "X" amount on average per meal. around 1.25 ounces per meal 4. Stools on various proteins: stools are normal even with rabbit 5. Activity levels: high! She seems to be awake more during the day
1. Ferret's name: Fred 2. Ferret's weight: 3lbs 4oz (lost 2 oz) 3. Ferret has eaten "X" amount on average per meal. 1.25 ounces 4. Stools on various proteins: normal even on rabbit 5. Activity levels: his activity levels haven't increased or decreased 6. Weekly menu:
Mon: chicken grinds (am) CGH (pm) Tue: rabbit leg (am) pork loin (pm) Wed: turkey grinds (am) turkey heart(pm) Thurs: chicken with bone (am) chicken with bone (pm) Fri: heart/liver mix (am) pork loin (pm) Sat: rabbit leg (am) chicken breast (pm) Sun: CGH (am) liver/kidney mix (pm)
I am going to continue offering them bone. Fred hasn't eaten as much this week but I caught Daisy nibbling some in her hiding spot. Slowly but surely they are realizing that bone is food too! I am limiting the soup to just Saturday's but Fred will no longer eat soup so it's mainly for the other 3.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 17, 2014 18:41:27 GMT -5
I was a little upset by Fred and Clyde's loss of 2 ounces but they are eating less and Clyde is more active than he's been being so maybe that accounts for the loss. Nothing else seems to have changed as far as energy or poops are concerned. I am keeping an eye on them both just to be sure. When I feed them tonight I will get a pic to post for you =)
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Post by fretki on Mar 18, 2014 1:28:13 GMT -5
thank you for the weekly report! yes, if they are more active and eat a little less, weight loss is programmed... keep an eye on them and continue weighing once a week, I guess they will drop now over the next weeks to stable summer weight. fantastic for Bonnie! but don't be surprised if she gains weight now and loses it afterwards I have a few questions about the weekly menu: - are the grinds with bone and organ? - do they eat the liver kidney mix without opposition? - is the heart/ liver mix half heart half liver+other organ (also half half)? How is Bonnie doing with bone? Has Clyde tried a little bit?
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Post by fretki on Mar 18, 2014 1:46:50 GMT -5
oh and a formal thing: I would say the progress you did in this few weeks is excellent, I'd suggest I release you from the obligation to post every second day, you still can do this and I'm gladly here to read and reply, I'll check in daily to see if you posted or not, but you are in an advanced stage of the switch, so 1-2 times a week is fine. there is still a bit of work left, mainly to get all 4 crunching bones, this may take a while, be persistent and offer, offer, offer, offer!
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Post by Deleted on Mar 18, 2014 15:43:25 GMT -5
the grinds are 100% meat and they do include organ and bone. I chose to give them this bc with the exception of Fred the other 3 aren't getting as much bone as I would like and while the egg shell gives them calcium, actual bone has more nutrients than just calcium. They are now eating heart and liver with no opposition at all. They have even warmed up to kidney a little bit =) I don't see them ever really liking lungs though. It seemed like the would chew and chew and never be able to finish it. It was so springy but very tough...at least beef lung is. The mix that I give of heart and liver is mostly heart with some liver mixed in bc I wanted to make sure they were getting enough liver. And the liver/kidney mix is more 50/50. Is that okay or do I need to make them only one or the other?
Bonnie and Clyde are still not real sure about bone and Clyde still has yet to really eat any. I continue to offer it everyday and hopefully soon they will all be crunchers =) I caught Daisy hiding some of Fred's bones so I think she has decided that they are pretty tasty, LOL! But she is a private eater. She will eat in my lap if it's something small but anything big and she hides it and won't eat it in front of anyone. She's so funny!
How are Shana and Spam? Is he recovering from surgery well?
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Post by fretki on Mar 19, 2014 1:52:43 GMT -5
perfect, that's what I thought but I prefer asking to be sure about the grinds, those are the ones from Hare Today, right? the poultry ones have about 20% bone content, did they handle the grinds well, poop was ok? with the grinds in your weekly menu, you have enough heart and organ, I would not add more or increase the amounts. the balance between the organs should be 50:50, so best is to think of organs like Siamese twins, where one is there should also be the other for this week it was more on the liver side, that's ok! and that's absolutely normal, that's the gap between theory and practice, keep the ideal in your head and adapt towards it, balance will come in the long run. regarding bones I have another idea, I'm currently switching Spam and this came into my mind, when I was preparing his "things to try": Bonnie and Clyde like to eat muscle meat chunks? if you have the necessary knife/cleaver, you can slice a chicken thigh like a salami, so you have meat around a small piece of bone in the middle. Thank you for asking, Shana is fine, she recovered very well. Also Spam is ok, I'm waiting for his hormones to drop, so I can introduce him to my group, but for the moment no way... and I'm mad at myself, because at the last cuddle session with him I discovered two more tiny nodules on his skin, so I'm impatiently waiting for the lab report, if this turns out to be a cancer and he has chances to live a few more months if we take all the nodules out, this time I'll shave him to do a full body check! P.S. Don't forget the photo!
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Post by fretki on Mar 19, 2014 6:39:01 GMT -5
Yay, good news for Spam: all tumors/nodules appear to be benign
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Post by Deleted on Mar 19, 2014 8:23:43 GMT -5
yay!!! That's great news I'm so glad they are doing good! Oh, I had the liver/heart mix scheduled for Friday and the hearts only for today. So I can just give them the hearts tonight as normal and then on Friday replace that with a muscle meat since they are getting so much bone from the grinds. My 3 hard heads did try bone again last night. I gave Fred a wing tip since he really seems to prefer to chew his than eat the grinds. I put it on his level of the cage and they ran over to see what it was. Bonnie was the first to try it and took a little off the end but poor Clyde put it in his mouth again and tried to nibble it but then spit it back out =( I will try your idea of the cut up bc even with them smashed up he just doesn't seem to get it. Although the grinds I have do contain small pieces of bone and he seems to handle those okay. Their poops were solid but a little gritty so I am going to keep the grinds to once a week for now bc they haven't adjusted to the bone yet. Oh and yes, they are from Hare Today =) I am still so amazed by the amount of energy Clyde has now. Right before I started the switch, I took him to the vet bc he was so lethargic and he was perfectly healthy but it scared me so bad that I knew I couldn't put the switch off anymore! And now he is running through the house from one end to the other like his tail is on fire I recently bough them a kiddie pool and filled it with cornstarch packing peanuts and they are having a blast! Makes my mornings so happy
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Post by Deleted on Mar 19, 2014 8:40:36 GMT -5
Clyde Bonnie Do you notice that the same ones always tend to eat together? Poor Fred just always walks the outside but he is not keen on sharing a plate These are pics from a couple days ago with their turkey hearts! Daisy( she just looks so tiny to me) Fred
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