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Post by teric506 on Mar 10, 2011 11:05:35 GMT -5
Hi guys,
I am new and want to get started feeding raw to my girls. Jasmine is 6 months old and Jesse is 3 years old. I currently feed them a mixture of evo ferret food and 8 in 1 ferret food. They both love ferretvite and uncle jims dock soup. I was going to start with a freeze dried food such as Stella & Chewyz freeze dried but dont know if that is a good one and which type I try to start them off with. Also do I need to give them bones for their teeth when I switch them over? Any direction would be great as this is new to me and I just want to give them the best nutrition possible. My three year old is pretty skinny and I am hoping this will put a little wieght on her. Thanks so much for the help.
Teri
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Post by Deleted on Mar 10, 2011 11:21:57 GMT -5
I initially switched my girls using freeze dried. It was very easy. I recommend getting all four of the proteins that S&C has. Chicken, duck, lamb, and beef. That way you have a wide range of variety and you can mix and match and keep meals interesting. I would recommend you to also feed it wet, so that they don't get dehydrated.
If you are going to be feeding freeze dried for a while, you should consider giving some type of bone in meat for the teeth. Chicken wings work awesome, so do necks. If you don't use bone, you should brush their teeth often to prevent tartar buildup.
Honestly, I find feeding whole meats a bit easier than freeze dried. I still use it occassionaly, and my kids love it, but I like the different variety and the ability to work their jaw muscles. Whole prey is even easier. But that is expensive, so it can be hard to do.
You might also want to add some taurine to the freeze dried. I know the lamb formula has heart, but I'm not sure of the others.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 10, 2011 11:23:43 GMT -5
I have quite a few skinny girls and found that they love freeze dried soup. They will seriously chow down on it. But beware, freeze dried is expensive. Even moistened, my girls went through a entire bag every 2-3 weeks.
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Post by teric506 on Mar 10, 2011 11:24:20 GMT -5
would I just buy frozen chicken wings and give them to the girls for the bone? Thanks for the help, I appreciate it.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 10, 2011 11:26:59 GMT -5
Yep, frozen chicken wings from your grocery store. Make sure they don't have any added salt, flavorings, seasonings etc. Just pure chicken wings. Some buy the winglettes, but I get the whole wings with the joint. They can handle most of the bones in the entire wing.
To get them to eat it, you can basically pulverize the bone into tiny bits and chop the meat very small. You might have to scruff & stuff them a couple times, but they will get the hang of it.
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Post by teric506 on Mar 10, 2011 11:27:06 GMT -5
How do I make the freeze dried soup? I would love to put some weight on Jesse.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 10, 2011 11:29:45 GMT -5
Do you have the freeze dried already? Do you have a blender?
Here is what I did: Get the freeze dried patties, crush them up onto small bits, add a bit of water, blend. If it's too watery, add more freeze dried. If it's too thick, add more water. My girls like their food warm, so I usually add warm water. I usually make it the consistency of yogurt. Thick but movable.
If you have no blender, just put the freeze dried in a bowl with some water and let it sit. It should re moisten. Then mix it a bit to try to make it homogeneous. My girls like it blended, but they enjoy it the other way to.
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Post by teric506 on Mar 10, 2011 11:32:14 GMT -5
No not yet, I am on casey's hidden pantry food right now trying to figure out what to get. I do have a blender though. When I switch do I first mix it in with their current food? How should I start?
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Post by Deleted on Mar 10, 2011 11:34:35 GMT -5
I would try making a blended mush, let hem lick it off your finger, and see how they do. If they take to it well, no need to back track.
My girls took to it immediately. They also like it dry, but I limit leaving it out dry. If they don't like it at all, we can take a couple approaches. You can sprinkle the dry freeze dried on top of the kibble, you can pour the soup on top of the kibble, you can mix kibble in with the freeze dried mush. My girls adore it, so hopefully your kids do too.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 10, 2011 11:36:44 GMT -5
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Post by teric506 on Mar 10, 2011 11:37:58 GMT -5
Cool, thank you. IS there a particular meat that they like more or should I start with the chicken patties?
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Post by Deleted on Mar 10, 2011 11:39:31 GMT -5
Chicken is a good place to start. It's easy on the stomach and most take to it well. Bland and yummy. Mine like the duck, too. Lamb and beef can be tricky meats, and I got mine to eat those by mixing it with the chicken or duck.
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Post by teric506 on Mar 10, 2011 11:44:37 GMT -5
Great, I just ordered it with next day shipping. I cant wait to try and see if my girls like it. Thanks so much for the help
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Post by Deleted on Mar 10, 2011 11:49:08 GMT -5
No problem. Glad I could help you out - keep updating and we can continue to help you switch. One thing you might be able to do now is make a kibble mush. Soak the kibble in hot water until it is all soggy and easy to break up. Then blend it. This way, they are used to the consistency of mush and don't snub it so easily. Just to note, wet foods can be left out for 4-6 hours. Sometimes more, depending on the temperature.
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Post by Sherry on Mar 10, 2011 20:36:15 GMT -5
Mine were a bit different(read difficult ;D ). They switched using a cooked soup that I slowly mixed in more and more of a raw puree If your girls don't take to the freeze dried right off, don't worry. There are as many ways of switching ferrets as there are ferrets! We just have to find the right one
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