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Post by racheld on May 24, 2014 8:34:20 GMT -5
I wanted to start a thread to track his progress. 5/23 He ate 2.15oz over the course of 24 hours or so. He still mostly just wants to eat it if spoonfed...spoiled baby. His energy level was average. 5/24 I got home around 8:30 and had to finish defrosting his soup cubes. He ate a little bit of soup on his own, but then when I spoonfed him he gulped down an ounce and then stole the spoon and ran away with it! There were even some chunks that the food processor missed and he ate them without hesitating. His energy is super high this morning, he was very enthusiastically trying to dig under the bathroom door. I think I'm gonna move him up to mince in three or four days. Just need to find time to chop everything. (Or would it work if I just put it through the food processor without adding water?)
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Post by Deleted on May 24, 2014 8:40:33 GMT -5
Good idea! I had one of these until I got my mentor thread and it really helped. Re: mincing vs putting it through the processor; What I did, and it worked very well for us, is putting soup in the blender (or processor in your case) and blending it so there were just a few chunks. Not many. Once that was done, I did not add any water and put it in the freezer. Now, I have basically what is the equivalent of mush (think ground beef texture). At first, I added water to this. Now that Ezra has "graduated" past that stage, I have the option of chopping up meat into bite-sized chunks or mince, and simply adding it (half and half, or 25/75, whatever works) to the soup mixture... This way it's a familiar texture and the taste is consistent. The more mince you add into the soup, the less soup you use.
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Post by racheld on May 24, 2014 8:44:16 GMT -5
Do you think it would be a good idea to do a step where it's just soup without water so he gets used to the thicker texture, then move on to mince? (I ask because last time I tried doing the raw switch he was suuuper slow and stubborn.)
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Post by Deleted on May 24, 2014 8:53:38 GMT -5
Definitely try the pureed soup without water. You can also try doing a plate of mince and just pour a tablespoon of warm water, over it or a tablespoon of pureed mince. What proteins will Remus eat?
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Post by Deleted on May 24, 2014 8:54:13 GMT -5
I am not a mentor so I can only speak from experience. We have been documenting Ezra's progress via video, so you can see exactly what the soup looked like and how he ate it. Again, this is just what worked for me... We started with a 50:50 soup/water mixture, letting him lick off my finger. video 1Moved onto a spoon, 75:25 soup/water mixture. video 2Put him on the floor. Mostly soup mixture, just a bit of water. He didn't like the floor much but we gave him "tough love" on that front. video 38 days from the first video, he had only the soup mixture (no water), and I placed him in the cage to eat. He sorta did it. video 4Lastly, yesterday's nighttime meal. This is soup, no water, with chunks of mouse in it. You can really see the difference in texture here.: video 5Sorry for spamming all the video links... Hoping it gives you an idea on the thickness and how it worked for us.
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Post by racheld on May 24, 2014 9:32:04 GMT -5
I'll definitely check out the videos! Right now he's just eating soup with chicken liver, breast, and hearts. I wasn't planning on trying any other proteins until I get him eating chunks of that.
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Post by Deleted on May 24, 2014 9:38:21 GMT -5
Yeah that is what our plan is too. Have him eating chicken chunks and then move onto rabbits, etc. You are mixing in eggshell powder too, right? Not sure what recipe you have.
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Post by Deleted on May 24, 2014 9:40:11 GMT -5
alyse those videos are great! We should save those for everyone to see. And Ezra is too cute for words, what a sweetheart! (dance) Racheld, you are doing well. When you are ready to introduce other proteins, you can use the soup method for those also. You don't have to put the organs into it, just puree the new protein.
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Post by racheld on May 24, 2014 15:16:38 GMT -5
I'm adding in powdered bone meal. He's being really stubborn about eating from the bowl on his own and I'm hesitant to let him go too long without food...
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Post by gfountain on May 24, 2014 15:47:28 GMT -5
If he's eating fine from the spoon (holding him on your lap or is he on the floor?), start lowering the spoon closer to the bowl each time you get a spoonful. That way he'll get used to eating with his head down. Also, the kind of dish you're using could make a difference. Some ferrets don't like bowls, but prefer larger, flatter dishes. They like to be able to see around them while they're eating.
And fyi: next batch of soup, try using chicken thighs... higher taurine and fat content.
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Post by racheld on May 24, 2014 15:49:27 GMT -5
Noted! I'll use a small plate when I feed him before work tonight And I didn't know that about chicken thighs, thank you.
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Post by racheld on May 24, 2014 16:52:59 GMT -5
The plate idea was perfect! Great idea.
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Post by racheld on May 25, 2014 7:32:06 GMT -5
I'm not sure what his total was for yesterday, but he had 22g for breakfast.
Not really raw switch related, but I hate doing his meds. He gets so stressed out.
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Post by Sherry on May 25, 2014 9:04:17 GMT -5
What meds is he on?
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Post by racheld on May 25, 2014 9:46:45 GMT -5
Prednisolone and an allergy med. He does okay with the allergy med but the only way I can get the pred into him is to scruff him. I'm gonna see the vet next Monday and get the chicken flavor though, hopefully that'll help.
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