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Post by Deleted on Apr 8, 2014 6:56:06 GMT -5
This morning:
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Post by katt on Apr 9, 2014 3:45:36 GMT -5
Okay, good tips. Her coat does look like it's getting shorter. But still nice and shinny. She is eating in her cage now! She seems much more relaxed in there and is eating better without my help, phew! She seems to like the fd treats too. Next batch of soupie I'll add more egg shell and decrease the amount of liver, I think I was adding too much. Her next mix will be lamb and chicken with beef and pork slivers. Replied earlier from my phone and it refreshed before I hit post and all disappeared. Ugh. Good Bea eating in her cage! Let me know how her poops look on the new soup. Also, try adding in MORE slivers (of the same size) and let me know how she does. Every 2-3 meals, increase the number of slivers by a little more. Have you tried introducing her to raw egg yet? Now would be a good time with Spring Shed right around the corner. Take a whole egg and scramble it up with a fork. Try dabbing a little on her nose, and letting her lick it off of your finger. I forget - you said she doesn't like salmon or fish oil? Have you tried Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO)?
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Post by Deleted on Apr 9, 2014 12:02:01 GMT -5
Bea loves raw egg! I have been giving her just the yolk, should I give her the whole thing instead, mixed up like you said? Sometimes if I'm strapped for time and she's all out of soupies i'll give her the egg yolk until the next meal. She usually eats the entire thing. I also give her fish oil for pets too. She really likes that. I try to remember to give her that once a day. I'll try increasing the slivers (she won't be happy ) lol
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Post by katt on Apr 10, 2014 0:42:09 GMT -5
Bea loves raw egg! I have been giving her just the yolk, should I give her the whole thing instead, mixed up like you said?Oh great! Yes, the whole egg is far better. Mixing it up will keep her from picking out just one part or the other. See my post RE the whole egg: www.holisticferret60.proboards.com/thread/3811/raw-eggs-safe?page=6Sometimes if I'm strapped for time and she's all out of soupies i'll give her the egg yolk until the next meal. She usually eats the entire thing. That's good. A good rule is No More than 1 egg per ferret every 3 days (every 2 during shedding season IF that doesn't give them horrible slimy poops), and a good standard routine is 1 a week. I also give her fish oil for pets too. She really likes that. I try to remember to give her that once a day. Ah ha! THAT might explain the poops! lol Fish and salmon oil are great. Oil does make for looser stools though. Generally the rule for oil is similar to egg - no more than 1 tsp per ferret every 3 days. Less if that makes her poops too loose too often. You also have to be careful to balance the egg and the oil. So you might do egg once a week and oil 1-2 times per week. Her poop will be your main indicator there - slimy and/or loose poops = cut back on the oil/egg. I'll try increasing the slivers (she won't be happy ) lollol Well Miss Spoiled Little Princess just needs to get over it! Let me know how it goes!
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Post by Deleted on Apr 10, 2014 11:50:11 GMT -5
Ha ha, she is totally a spoiled little princess!! Even my boyfriend spoils her and he, of all people, is not a spoiler, lol! ...she knows she's adorable I give her a tiny bit of fish oil, the bottle has measurements on the dropper. she gets a little less than .25 ml It's been awhile since I gave her an egg so I'll give her one tonight. We have chickens so we have eggs galore right now.
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Post by katt on Apr 10, 2014 13:22:32 GMT -5
LOL As she should be! Okay, if it was just a tiny bit of oil daily then that really shouldn't be the culprit. You have chickens? I am super jealous! One day we'll have some egg chickens for ourselves... Do you eat the chickens at any point? I think it would be nice to have egg and meat chickens, but I know there are different breeds and for good meat chickens there's certain ages and such. I don't know a lot about it, we won't be anywhere near ready to have our own chickens for 5+ years so I haven't bothered to research things too heavily yet. lol
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Post by katt on Apr 11, 2014 22:05:53 GMT -5
Checking in for updates
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Post by katt on Apr 13, 2014 3:51:05 GMT -5
Bump
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Post by Deleted on Apr 14, 2014 15:00:42 GMT -5
Busy weekend! I had an art show, part of the masters program I'm currently in. Bea is doing good but is being finicky. I've had to decrease the size of the slivers because she just won't eat them she'll spit them out if she thinks they're too big. I want to make sure she eats enough. She stopped eating the fd turkey treats too. So I leave what raw soupie she doesn't eat in the am, In her cage. She doesn't seem to touch it during the day, but leaving it in there anyway.
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Post by katt on Apr 14, 2014 20:40:01 GMT -5
Are you able to hand feed larger chunks? That may be the only way to push her forward if she won't eat them on her own. If you can get her to eat the larger chunks hand fed, then you can wean her off of hand feeding later. I don't know why this is, but it seems like insu ferrets are always the pickiest of them all - go figure. lol
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Post by Deleted on Apr 15, 2014 10:58:28 GMT -5
Okay, I'll put smaller slivers in her soupie mix and hand feed her bigger ones. Sometimes she eats the bigger ones on her own with no problem. Sometimes she is super picky. I tried hand feeding her the bigger pieces but she was very resistant the little punk, lol. Whereas before, hand feeding her made her less picky. Trying to avoid going backwards but I want to make sure she eats enough. She even turned her nose up to the egg once I started giving her the whites and all. Sigh.
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Post by katt on Apr 16, 2014 23:22:07 GMT -5
Okay, I'll put smaller slivers in her soupie mix and hand feed her bigger ones. Sometimes she eats the bigger ones on her own with no problem. Sometimes she is super picky. I tried hand feeding her the bigger pieces but she was very resistant the little punk, lol. Whereas before, hand feeding her made her less picky. Trying to avoid going backwards but I want to make sure she eats enough. She even turned her nose up to the egg once I started giving her the whites and all. Sigh. lol She is a little brat isn't she? They always like to see what they can get away with. For the egg, try removing about 1/2 of the whites (or add in an extra yolk, but that might be a bit much egg for her) and as she learns to accept that after a few to several meals, add the rest of the whites back in later. Honestly, it sounds to me like she is just being a picky brat. She clearly knows the big chunks are food if she will eat them sometimes. How is hand feeding going? I would like to try and really push her, but making sure she eats enough to keep her BG up is priority. Only offer her larger slivers, and try increasing the size a little bit every few meals. Leave a few pieces in her cage during the day, and hand feed her or watch her eat when you can to make sure she is eating. I'd like to get her up to eating hmmm....let's shoot for 2" strips of meat. Obviously we want to move her past that eventually too, but over the next week or two try pushing her a little harder and see if you can get her there, then we can ease off a bit. Like I said, her eating is priority, but I feel like she is being stubborn more than she is actually not liking the food. I have a feeling if you push her a bit you can break through this plateau.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 17, 2014 11:20:46 GMT -5
She IS being picky. Hand feeding helps, but she still spits out chunks. She seems to do that more with the pork slivers. They are a little more solid it seems, maybe thats why. I am going to be gone for 3 nights, my partner is going to feed her while I'm gone. I've given him very thorough instructions and he knows about her eating habits. I will check back in with you on Sunday evening. I'm hoping he will be better at getting her to eat the bigger chunks! Her weight is holding steady at 1lb. 10oz.
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Post by katt on Apr 17, 2014 12:54:31 GMT -5
Have a good trip. Hopefully the little princess behaves while you are gone! lol I'll watch for your update.
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Post by katt on Apr 18, 2014 21:18:02 GMT -5
Just checking in for the night
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