|
Post by brittles888 on Dec 10, 2014 15:22:50 GMT -5
I do have a few Cornish game hens so I pulled one out of the freezer to thaw as well as some chicken wings. Tomorrow I'll try the bones. I have a ulu so I'll try using that.
They ate heart yesterday and Zin went back to reluctantly taking a piece and running away with it. Lola munched it down. I have to make the feeding bin today and try that. I tried him on my lap and he wasn't having it. He just tried to get away the whole time. Today will be chicken breast chunks so I'll see how he does.
When I make the bin, where should I put the hole? Right at floor level or higher up?
|
|
|
Post by katt on Dec 10, 2014 22:37:31 GMT -5
You want it to be easy to get in and out but with enough of a lip to contain any spilled juices. Let me know what they think of the bone bits! It's Interesting that they seem to like the stronger meats better - I wonder what they'd think of beef heart? LOL For lap feeding you really have to stick it out with the tough love - of course he wants down, he wants to play! (giggle) Did you try doing it at the end of playtime instead of the beginning?
|
|
|
Post by katt on Dec 13, 2014 17:12:26 GMT -5
Finals are over and I'm back at full force! How are the dynamic duo doing?
|
|
|
Post by brittles888 on Dec 15, 2014 1:51:29 GMT -5
Hey!
So, they just had their first bone in meal. I wasn't sure if it mattered how big the bone pieces were? I used an ulu to chop up some chicken wings. I just cut the bone into sliver sizes chunks inside the meat. I put it down in front of them AND THEY WENT NUTS. I've never seen them eat so enthusiastically. I could hear the bone crunching in their mouths. I think they give bone two paws up! Is it normally so easy to get them to eat bone? Zin especially went nuts. He was munching away on it. Maybe it reminds them of the crunchiness of their old beloved kibble.
Anyway, I didn't add egg shell to the bone. I assumed I didn't need to? Let me know if that's wrong. And let me know the next step. I have one more meal of the pulverized wings the I have a Cornish game hen I haven't cut into yet.
|
|
|
Post by brittles888 on Dec 15, 2014 1:55:12 GMT -5
Oh! And to respond to your earlier post, I tried to get them to eat beef heart and beef liver in the past (during the summer) and they were NOT into it. I'd never tried beef muscle till this week though. I have beef heart and liver (and kidney) so I should give it another shot.
And I DID try feeding Zin on my lap after play time. He still fought to get off and wouldn't take the pieces from me if he was on my lap. He likes being in that little tent with the food plate in front of him though so we've been continuing to do that. And he just turns around to eat instead of running each bite up three flights of cage. So it seems better.
|
|
|
Post by katt on Dec 15, 2014 2:51:42 GMT -5
Woot! Good fuzz, that's awesome! :boing: Congrats to them and you on a really big step! I was expecting them to give you a lot more trouble than that. Just goes to show that you never know with these little cretins. You were right to not add eggshell. Keep giving them the bones, and work on increasing the size along with the chunk size too. Meanwhile, we need to start working on a menu! Every week they need: 1.5 meals heart 1.5 meals organs (at least half liver) 7-9 meals containing significant amounts if edible bone When you can, make a weekly menu (so am and pm meals for 7 days) using the meats that they currently eat. Don't worry if it's not perfect the first time - we will make adjustments as needed. For the beef organs, I would give them another shot now that they are eating beef muscle and other organs better. You can try hiding them in about 2/3-1/2 chicken organs if they seem unsure. As for Zin, if the rent works better than stick with that. Every ferret is different and he's doing much better his time around with actually eating his meats like a good fuzz. How is his weight doing?
|
|
|
Post by katt on Dec 19, 2014 0:44:36 GMT -5
Brittles is out with the flu atm.
|
|
|
Post by katt on Dec 27, 2014 16:15:01 GMT -5
Keeping in my feed
|
|
|
Post by brittles888 on Dec 30, 2014 2:58:00 GMT -5
Hello!
Sorry it took me so long to get back on here. Things have been a bit hectic with the holidays.
So-I weighed them yesterday and Zin is 2.45 lbs and Lola is 1.81 lbs. Poops have been looking good, more blackish and slightly runnier when they have the heart and organ meals but that's normal right? I remember seeking a chart at some point showing all the different poops on different meats. Do you know where that is located off the top of your head? It would be helpful for me to bookmark.
Both of their energies are way up. They both have been super playful and have been war dancing and playing hard much more often and for longer amounts of time. Zin has started loving me throwing the dogs small stuffed animals or the cats "mouse on a stick" and he catches them and bites right at the neck. I think his hunting instincts are starting to go strong. Which is great for when I eventually end up breeding my own mice for feeding.
I've been doing the meals like you said, all bone in meats except one heart, one organs, and one half heart half organs. They have been eating game hen for the bone in meat and I started doing a mix of cow and chicken heart for the heart meal and a mix of chicken liver, cow liver, and cow kidney for the organ meal. I do have to say, they aren't digging the cow stuff. I really had to force them to eat the organ meal. They wouldn't touch it for over a day, even with me trying to give them pieces, and finally the next day after I put oil on it they started eating it. But they didn't eat much. I didn't give them something else for a bit though, I didn't want to give in. They eventually ate it all. (They got hungry enough I guess.) so I'm glad I didn't cave and give them something else. I don't have any more chicken liver (I couldn't bring it across the border because of the poultry ban and our store hasn't been carrying it lately) so I was stressed about them not liking the beef kidney and liver, which was why I didn't give in and didn't give them anything else when they wouldn't eat it. (I leave for that wedding on January 5th.) I'm hoping the next kidney/2 livers meal will go smoother. I'll have one more try this week before I go. If it doesn't Im not sure what I should do. I might have to try and get some chicken liver flown over from a different town or something. I don't want to make the pet sitters job really difficult with dealing with my raw feeding issues, you know? I was planning on just packaging up 7 days worth of meals and then separating the weeks in different larger ziplocks so he can just pull out one large zip lock a week and give them a different portioned out meal from inside morn and night. (I also cut back the amount, and just put 2 1/2 to 3 oz in each bag instead or 4-5 oz and they have been finishing their meals in a little less than a day instead of taking over a day per meal. )
Anyway, any advice for my preparation for leaving? I don't have my ticket back yet but I'll be gone 4 weeks. (I'm going to spend some time with my dad after my friends wedding...he has terminal cancer...so I thought I'd spend 2 extra weeks doing that instead of heading back after 2 weeks like I first thought I was going to do.) My fiancé will be back after 2 weeks but he's no better than the pet sitter at doing difficult feeding stuff so I can't count on him to hand feed and such if they end up being picky. I wondered if I maybe should throw a cube of soup in the organ meal or give them a meal of soup to make sure they are getting some organs if they won't eat that when I'm gone? I guess I'll have to see how the organs go this week.
Ok! Hopefully there aren't typos...I'm on my phone. So sorry if there are. (Oh, speaking of that, it still logs me off after about an hour even though I clicked remember me, and I have to go through 6 or so pages to come and respond to this each time. You said yours doesn't log you off right? I wish I could figure out how to make mine not log off. I know going through six pages isn't THAT MUCH but it honestly deters me from coming and updating sometimes. It's so much easier to just text you, but I know that we need to have the info on here too.
Bye!
|
|
|
Post by katt on Dec 31, 2014 17:21:34 GMT -5
Sorry it took me so long to get back on here. Things have been a bit hectic with the holidays.
Glad you are back and feeling better! So-I weighed them yesterday and Zin is 2.45 lbs and Lola is 1.81 lbs. Poops have been looking good, more blackish and slightly runnier when they have the heart and organ meals but that's normal right? I remember seeking a chart at some point showing all the different poops on different meats. Do you know where that is located off the top of your head? It would be helpful for me to bookmark. I don't know where the chart is. :/ BUT I can tell you that yes, black, loose stools are totally normal after heart and organ meals - I would be worried if they didn't look like that. The high blood content of the heart and especially organ meats is responsible for that. I recommend following an organ meal up with a bone-in meal and it firms things back up pretty quickly. Both of their energies are way up. They both have been super playful and have been war dancing and playing hard much more often and for longer amounts of time. Zin has started loving me throwing the dogs small stuffed animals or the cats "mouse on a stick" and he catches them and bites right at the neck. I think his hunting instincts are starting to go strong. Which is great for when I eventually end up breeding my own mice for feeding. Good fuzz! And go Zin the warrior! Breeding your own mice is a GREAT way to go IMO. It's pretty cost effective when done right and you can't beat whole prey for the fuzz. I've been doing the meals like you said, all bone in meats except one heart, one organs, and one half heart half organs. They have been eating game hen for the bone in meat and I started doing a mix of cow and chicken heart for the heart meal and a mix of chicken liver, cow liver, and cow kidney for the organ meal. Great! How are they doing on the bones? When you get a chance, will you post a rough weekly menu so we can make sure everything is nice and balanced? It will be good practice too - you have to submit a menu at the end of the switch to graduate. I do have to say, they aren't digging the cow stuff. I really had to force them to eat the organ meal. They wouldn't touch it for over a day, even with me trying to give them pieces, and finally the next day after I put oil on it they started eating it. But they didn't eat much. I didn't give them something else for a bit though, I didn't want to give in. They eventually ate it all. (They got hungry enough I guess.) so I'm glad I didn't cave and give them something else. Good for you for not caving! Honestly, sometimes the best thing you can do when they revolt that way is give them that for every meal until they realize they HAVE to eat it. Obviously that gets trickier with organ meals bc too much can be bad, but it sounds like you did a perfect job of pushing them on it and they finally caved to Queen Mom's wishes! Beef organs are tough bc beef is more strongly flavored and the organs even More so. If using a bit of oil to entice them helps, by all means do that as long as they aren't getting horrible diarrhea from it. I don't have any more chicken liver (I couldn't bring it across the border because of the poultry ban and our store hasn't been carrying it lately) so I was stressed about them not liking the beef kidney and liver, which was why I didn't give in and didn't give them anything else when they wouldn't eat it. (I leave for that wedding on January 5th.) I'm hoping the next kidney/2 livers meal will go smoother. I'll have one more try this week before I go. If it doesn't Im not sure what I should do. I might have to try and get some chicken liver flown over from a different town or something. I don't want to make the pet sitters job really difficult with dealing with my raw feeding issues, you know? I was planning on just packaging up 7 days worth of meals and then separating the weeks in different larger ziplocks so he can just pull out one large zip lock a week and give them a different portioned out meal from inside morn and night. (I also cut back the amount, and just put 2 1/2 to 3 oz in each bag instead or 4-5 oz and they have been finishing their meals in a little less than a day instead of taking over a day per meal. ) Try blending the organs they aren't liking right now and see if they take that better - sometimes it is a texture thing as much as, if not more than, a taste thing. Let me know if that helps. Anyway, any advice for my preparation for leaving? I don't have my ticket back yet but I'll be gone 4 weeks. (I'm going to spend some time with my dad after my friends wedding...he has terminal cancer...so I thought I'd spend 2 extra weeks doing that instead of heading back after 2 weeks like I first thought I was going to do.) My fiancé will be back after 2 weeks but he's no better than the pet sitter at doing difficult feeding stuff so I can't count on him to hand feed and such if they end up being picky. I wondered if I maybe should throw a cube of soup in the organ meal or give them a meal of soup to make sure they are getting some organs if they won't eat that when I'm gone? I guess I'll have to see how the organs go this week. So you will be gone 4 weeks? Hmmm 2 weeks I'd say worst case missing some organs won't hurt them but a month is quite a while. Try blending the organs and see if that helps - if not let me know and we will come up with something. Are they eating bones okay yet? Ok! Hopefully there aren't typos...I'm on my phone. So sorry if there are. (Oh, speaking of that, it still logs me off after about an hour even though I clicked remember me, and I have to go through 6 or so pages to come and respond to this each time. You said yours doesn't log you off right? I wish I could figure out how to make mine not log off. I know going through six pages isn't THAT MUCH but it honestly deters me from coming and updating sometimes. It's so much easier to just text you, but I know that we need to have the info on here too. You have an iPhone or Android? I know lots of people use the Tapatalk app. I have never used it myself but I know you can. For me, I keep it open in Safari all the time in its own tab on my iPhone. Did you click the little box that says "Remember Me?" Maybe it's a matter of doing it enough times too - I used to have trouble with it logging me off, but when I started keeping it open all the time I stopped having trouble - even if I close it now it doesn't log me off. What I used to do before when it would log me off though was always keep an HFF tab open in my Safari app, and always keep the Safari app open and that always kept me logged in.
|
|
|
Post by katt on Jan 7, 2015 5:22:16 GMT -5
Brittles: So-organs went ok...Lola dug right in and started eating...kidney, beef liver and all. Zin did his weird "air take" the food from me and run up to the top of the cage then come back....I was trying to get him to take the beef liver when he was doing that. I changed it to chicken liver and he took it and went and ate it at the top of the cage. He came back for more and I gave him beef liver again but he wouldn't take it. So I broke it into tiny tiny pieces and tried to "stuff and scruff" it into his mouth. It was closed like vice grip and he would not let me open his mouth and he acted like I was trying to force poison in his mouth or something...ugh. I made him go into that tent he likes to eat in behind the food plate and gave him another chicken liver and he took it and ate it. Then he was over me and the meal and ran off and hid...so...at least he are a little. They are playing again so I'll try to get him to take more after they are done. I didn't put any oil on which usually helps him to start licking it then eating it so I'm going to put some oil on when I try again Katt: LOL Stubborn boy! At least he is eating the chicken liver. That's something. You could try blending the beef liver if he still won't take it. Sometimes a texture change helps B: Oh ya that's right. I'll try that for the rest of the plate. I wonder if I should just throw a frozen ice cube of the mostly organ soup into each bag that has the cow organs and tell my house sitter to mix it together when it thaws so at least it know Zin is licking chicken organ soup off of the beef slivers while I'm gone (assuming he won't start eating them anyway) K: Would he do that or would the soup deter him from eating the food underneath the soup? B: Im pretty sure he would lick the soup...he likes it and it was how I was enticing them to start eating chunks again. They haven't had soup in a whole though. I guess I could just wait to see what the the house sitter says he does with the organ meal. I just saw Lola crawl back into the cage and have some seconds of the organs all on her own. So she's good to go The organs I have in the organ only AND the half and half bag is a mixture of about 1/3 chicken liver, 1/3 beef liver, and 1/3 beef kidney. I only had a little chicken liver left so I figured out how many bags I needed for while I was gone and split it between them. If I had had more of it I would have increases the ratio of chicken liver to beef stuff but that's as far as it would go. Then the heart part is half chicken hearts (which they love) and half ground beef hearts (which they leave till last and then will eat if I put some oil on it) With the soup, I have six frozen ice cubes left. I made the recipe x5 when I made it but I only put 2 portions (16 oz) of the muscle meat blended in the actual soup, and I just added meat chunks into the soup when I served it back then to make the full recipe. The organs in the soup are all chicken organs. So I guess there's enough soup to add 2 oz of it (each ice cube is about an ounce) to each weeks meal if needed. K:That's better than nothing if you aren't sure if he will eat it otherwise. B Success! Lola ate so much of it on her second round that I couldn't blend it (it would have been under the blade in my blender) so I ended up super finely dicing what was left and then coating that with a little oil. I put Zin in the tent then started giving it to me off my hands. He was licking it off and taking the tiny tiny pieces and turning around and eating them. There was a piece of that thick tough white part on the kidney and he even took that and are it too! While he was turned around I quickly shut the cage door and the cage curtain and peeked inside to see what he would so. He started licking the plate, then he took another piece and kept eating. Yay! K Good boy Zin! So I would just leave some oil for your sitter to give them on the organ days. Not every day though or they will have some serious diarrhea. RE the bone, how have their poops been overall? B I just put a few drops on when I give them the oil, prob 10 drops between them? How much is too much oil? Their poops have been solid. They haven't looked runny. Only the organ and heart ones were kindof runny and black but you said that was normal right? K Yeah that's normal. If their non organ poops have been fine I wouldn't worry about the bones. The best way to judge how much bone they need is their poop. Too soft means they need more bones, too dry/hard means they need less. If they were having soft poops I'd possibly be more worried about the leftover bone chunks. For oil the rule of thumb is generally no more than 1tsp per ferret every 3 days, so a few drops on their organ days should be fine. I would have your sitter spread the organ meals in each week out across the week is possible though so they have bone-in meals between the softer organ meals. Nah the poop looks good, I wouldn't worry. It's normal for some bone bits to get left behind. As long as they ARE eating bones and their poops are good, I wouldn't worry. B Yay! It seems like everything is in a good place for my trip so they won't backslide and we can move forward when I get back! KPerfect! You've done great, I'm proud of the 3 of you! Don't forget to pat yourself on the back every now and then. It's been a long road with unexpected interruptions and Zin being stubborn - but just look at how far you've brought them. They are almost there! B It's very exciting. I'm glad you pushed me to give you more frequent updates so you could help me better. K Me too lol It really does move faster. I understand it can be hard juggling everything though. I'm really glad that you stuck with it! Give them some extra snuggles before you leave!
|
|
|
Post by katt on Jan 18, 2015 23:16:16 GMT -5
Brittles is still out of town, fuzz are doing well. Keeping the thread in my feed.
|
|
|
Post by katt on Jan 28, 2015 3:23:53 GMT -5
Keeping in my feed
|
|
|
Post by katt on Feb 3, 2015 3:32:55 GMT -5
Keepin in feed
|
|
|
Post by katt on Feb 13, 2015 22:27:14 GMT -5
Checking in
|
|