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Post by Deleted on Mar 14, 2014 10:33:05 GMT -5
So good news. Both Finley and Oliver seem to be enjoying the chunks of meat in their soup. And they are both eating off the plate and seem generally a lot more willing to eat it. I don't have to coax them as much any more and they actually stay and eat it instead of running away lol. Yay! Cooper is doing just as well, but I've noticed he's not a big fan of pork and beef. He likes them, but it seems he prefers chicken over most things. But I'm very happy we've made progress with the other 2.
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Post by bitbyter on Mar 14, 2014 10:51:43 GMT -5
(dance)
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Post by Deleted on Mar 15, 2014 17:19:34 GMT -5
Today I made another batch of soup and added quite a bit of the chicken breast chunks so we'll see how they do with it. Also, I went to Petco and while there grabbed a frozen mouse for Cooper to try out. I was curious lol. Anything I need to know before giving that to him?
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Post by bitbyter on Mar 15, 2014 18:56:17 GMT -5
I'd cut it open a bit (not in the guts) to stimulate him by letting him smell the blood. Otherwise it can stay in the cage for up to 24 hrs. Just make sure he doesn't stash it somewhere you can't get to easily.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 16, 2014 16:42:07 GMT -5
Kk thanks. I haven't given it to him yet. Was waiting until I had a good time to put it in the cage with him and record him going at it hehe. Finley 1250g/1220g/1160g He is eating about 1.5-2oz per meal. Stools have been changing a bit with the addition of the chunks of chicken breast. Now much more solid and orangey-brown colored. Activity levels seem normal. Soup 2x a day. Also - Not sure if I should be concerned about his slight weight loss. Just curious as it looks like he lost a couple of ounces. Oliver 1360g/1330g/1280g 1.5-2oz per meal. Stools getting more solid but still a bit dark. Activity levels seem normal. Soup 2x a day. Oliver also lost a bit of weight as well. Cooper 737g/822g/Don't have his weight yet, he was sleeping when I did the other 2 lol. Will get it tonight and replace it here. 1.5-2.0oz per meal. Seem normal. Normal activity levels. Cooper's meal plan for this past week: Monday am: chicken wing Monday pm: turkey drumstick Tuesday am: pork neck Tuesday pm: chicken breast Wednesday am: chicken wing Wednesday pm: 3 chicken hearts Thursday am: beef bone Thursday pm: pork shoulder Friday am: chicken wing Friday pm: turkey breast meat Saturday am: beef ox tail (he's not a huge fan of this but I think I have a piece left for him that I don't want to waste lol) Saturday pm: pork meat Sunday am: chicken wing Sunday pm: 2oz chicken liver, 2oz pork kidney I am going to try to find some more bone-in meats for him this week. The only thing I've seen him eat completely (bone and all) is a chicken wing. I noticed he never eats too much of the beef bone/beef ox tail, and he is okay with the pork shoulder. Any suggestions on bone-in meats similar to chicken wings? Maybe duck wings or something similar? I have a butcher near me that has literally all sorts of animals lol the place is huge, so I don't think I'm going to have a problem finding anything.
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Post by bitbyter on Mar 16, 2014 16:53:46 GMT -5
They can't consume the bones of any hooved animals (to dense). They can eat pork button bones or rib ends but that is it. Turkey they can eat some of the bone but again most are to hard. Chicken, Cornish game hen (perfect), duck, quail (perfect), whole prey, rabbit are all bone in meats that they can eat all of the bones. BTW, could you post your ferret weights in ounces instead of grams? I've found that my mentees get a little too twitchy when posting in grams (the amounts really are small). Ounces give a better indication if there is a problem or not. Also your two adults are coming into spring so they should be losing weight and eating less than they would in winter. It's totally normal but until you have a years worth of weight logs (recorded monthly once the switch is done) you won't really know what "normal" is for them at this time of year. Copper is still growing so his weight should steadily be increasing until he is full grown.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 18, 2014 16:09:10 GMT -5
Sorry for the long time no response lol. Been unusually busy this past week. And thank you for the info on the bone in meat and what not.
Cooper didn't even want anything to do with the mouse lol. I was surprised because he's moving so quickly I thought he'd love it. I tried cutting it open a bit as well and left it in his cage with him all night but he didn't even touch it. Should I try again at some point?
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Post by bitbyter on Mar 18, 2014 21:49:26 GMT -5
My girls took a long time to eventually eat mice. They moved faster with rats and guinea pigs.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 19, 2014 9:01:28 GMT -5
Kk good to know. I noticed they all seem to be eating a bit less the last week or so. It seems like they only want to eat 1 time a day, but I'm guessing that's because of the season change? Cooper still eats 2 meals but sometimes he lets of one if he's not hungry yet. Also, Finley and Oliver seem to be taking the chunks really well. I'm not sure what to do next or if I should just continue doing this with the chunks in the soup for a bit longer. Do you have any thoughts on this?
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Post by bitbyter on Mar 19, 2014 9:20:20 GMT -5
I would slowly start reducing the amount of soup and increasing the number of chunks / slivers. Check the weight of their meals the same and see how they do. Once they are fully on solid food we can see how they do with organs.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 19, 2014 20:01:49 GMT -5
Kk thank you. Is there any other soup recipe I can make for them or should I just stick with the chicken? Right now I'm just doing the regular soup and then cutting up lots of chicken breast into pieces and mixing it up, they still won't take pieces out of my hand lol. I just don't want them to get sick of/bored of chicken lol.
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Post by bitbyter on Mar 19, 2014 20:18:39 GMT -5
I'd acutally suggest using chicken thigh as it has better fat content. I'd try sticking with the chicken soup and introducing new proteins as slivers. Maybe Cornish hen, turkey or pork. Once they turn the corner on solids you can usually start to move pretty fast with changes in size. Mixing in solid organs is usually the tricky part.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 21, 2014 7:10:35 GMT -5
Ahh okay, that makes sense. And I will definitely try chicken thigh. I once mixed in slices of chicken heart just because I had a couple left over and they seemed to eat them with everything in the soup (didn't lick around them or anything), so hopefully they're getting the hang of this sliver thing lol. Other than that, they are eating probably 2oz a day right now. They were eating 4 (2oz each) but they seem now to only want to eat once a day so it's more like 2oz (each). Cooper also started eating a bit less, but I guess they're probably eating less due to the season change and what not. Oh and I did start introducing eggs to them. Cooper loves egg but I'm still trying to convince the other two haha. I've been mixing some into their food (hope that's okay) to get them to start trying it.
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Post by bitbyter on Mar 21, 2014 8:15:42 GMT -5
Yeah both of mine aren't to thrilled by eggs but shedding season has started so it is important. If you notice anyone coughing or heavily grooming then you might want to do 1 tsp of pumpkin per ferret ONCE a week during shedding.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 21, 2014 12:19:23 GMT -5
Thanks, I will definitely try this. I noticed Finley couching a bit more than usual and it sounds hair ball-ish lol. I also noticed Cooper's fur changing a bit too in texture. Oliver is actually the only one who has the exact same fur still lol long and silky. But Cooper's feels shorter and more like peach fuzzy sort of lol. Lol I'm a first time ferrent so every time I see a change I wonder if it's normal.
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