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Post by dorena261-Natalia on Aug 11, 2014 12:50:48 GMT -5
is everything ok, are you back? i want to know everything about the trip and your fuzzies!
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Post by Deleted on Aug 13, 2014 21:42:27 GMT -5
I'm baaaaaack! I wanted to give the fuzzies to settle back into being home before updating :-) They had lots of fun at "ferret camp" and wreaked lots of havoc, including destroying an entire roll of toilet paper. They weren't super eagar to eat the first few days. I portioned their meals into 8oz sizes, and for the first few days they only ate 1 bag between the 3 of them. Once they settled in, my ferret sitter reported that their appetites were up and they started eating 2 bags a day. YAY. I also sent along some chicken wings and gizzards for snacks, which I guess they ate well because I didn't bring any home! I asked if they ate the bones and she said that when she was cleaning the cage, she only found pieces, so it seems that they did nom on them some, YAYYYY! They are eating chunks really well...the pieces of the meals I prepared were 1/2in or bigger. Chowed down like piggies this evening :-) Now I have to go clean their room, that was one thing I didn't miss while I was away! Here's a picture of my favorite meal from vacation...sorry fuzzies, NOT SHARING!!
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Post by dorena261-Natalia on Aug 17, 2014 6:43:00 GMT -5
wow, 16 oz of meat daily is really much for three of them! little eating machines so sorry for late reply, i saw your post two days ago, but i was unable to reply over my cell phone, don't know why. i was at work ( it's a madhouse here till the middle of the september) and couldn't get to the laptop. first of all, i'm jealous of you and your fav meal haha, i couldn't get even 2 days free from my job.... but i'm glad you had a great time, and your fuzzies accepted it all so well i suppose they are relaxed now, since they came home. did you try to give them chicken wings? if they are chewing it fine, soon they will eat all other stuff and that's great!!! you can also try to give them bigger chunks of meat mixed with usual sized, just for the test. did you start to weight the food before they eat? it's a good start to save the meat and have less waste. i threw away so much before i started to weight. if you have a chance, it would be great to weight them either and check did they lost some. now rest a bit and enjoy in them. i know you need it
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Post by Deleted on Aug 17, 2014 22:10:10 GMT -5
They've slacked off a bit now. The last few meals they haven't eaten as much. I haven't weighed it, but I'd estimate maybe an ounce or so has been left.
Hmmm maybe they ate so much at the sitters because they were basically free roam in a large pen. Probably burned off more energy :-)
Tomorrow I'm going to give them some wings and supervise better so I know what they do with it! (been working most of the weekend, unfortunately)
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Post by dorena261-Natalia on Aug 18, 2014 10:25:31 GMT -5
they left 1 ounce from 8 or 16? and what about the chunks? how big are they right now? and do they eat the soup too or only chunks? can you weight them? you haven't updated me about that either, it would be good to know where are we now
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Post by Deleted on Aug 19, 2014 13:23:07 GMT -5
1 ounce from 8, sorry! They are only eating chunks now, nothing is blended.
I will weigh them tonight after work :-)
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Post by dorena261-Natalia on Aug 21, 2014 2:10:54 GMT -5
did you weighed them?
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Post by Deleted on Aug 21, 2014 20:57:26 GMT -5
Yes ma'am!
Fatties!
I actually picked up a new one today. he plan was to foster and then potentially add her to my business. Having 3 males, I've always wanted a female, and was told that it was a girl. Well I went to meet, and it's actually a male!! The owners had no idea. So he came home anyway (poor thing hardly ever got out of the cage and smells like cigarettes) Anyway, he's separate from the other boys right now until he settles in. I hope to get him on at least partial raw, and off the horrid WalMart Wild Harvest food he's on now (it's possibly the worst ferret food available here in the US)
Anywayyy, here are the weights:
Wesley- 1261 grams/ 2.78lbs Starting Weight: 1237g/2.7lbs Percy- 897 grams/ 1.97lbs Starting Weight: 860g/1.9lbs Owen- 1199 grams/ 2.64 Starting Weight: 1208g/2.7lbs
Owen doesn't feel any different, if anything he feels chubbier. The other 2 feel bigger to me, and Wesley feels really muscular to me as well. No flab on him. They all feel so much sleeker and nice since starting raw. The new ferret is really fat and fluffy but my guys feel softer and better, haha!
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Post by dorena261-Natalia on Aug 22, 2014 17:55:29 GMT -5
Wow, congrats on your new family member!! that's really great news! how old is he, do you know? i want to see his pictures someday soon other boys ARE fatties, and i'm surprised how Owen hold his weight since he was the stubborn one :goodjob: it's amazing how you can see the change on their coat already, isn't it?! (dance) Did you try to give them liver or organs? if they are refusing, maybe you can try to add few drops of olive oil and mix it, or something else they like. it would be great if they can start to follow the plan for weekly meals.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 23, 2014 17:09:18 GMT -5
New boy still doesn't have a name (nothing sounds right, ahhh!)
Their meals of chunks also include liver and heart so they were still balanced. I haven't tried feeding exclusively heart or organ though.
Shopping day is tomorrow, so I'll get a basic meal plan cobbled together and get everything :-) They're not to keen on chicken wings though, I think I will still have to smash them, hah!
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Post by dorena261-Natalia on Aug 24, 2014 14:48:32 GMT -5
I wrote whole post and couldn't send it. Of course it was deleted I am cutting the chicken wings for mine too. It's nothing unusual I'm so glad they want to eat liver and hearts, it will be easy to write a menu plan. I assume they eat other organs too? Maybe you can try to mix liver, hearts and organs in one meal. Do you have access to rabbit, quail, duck or something else but chicken with edible bone?
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Post by Deleted on Aug 26, 2014 12:34:32 GMT -5
I can get turkey wings, though I think they might be too big. No duck around here. I might be able to get meat rabbits, but I'm not sure how expensive they are. (I know a breeder, just don't have her contact info. I usually see her about once a month)
Oh, and mice/rats! I don't mind feeding whole prey too much, and my work (pet store) store sells frozen mice. I did try them once before and they seemed to like them. I put them in overnight and didn't find any leftover bits. I can pick some up tonight at work. How many mice are considered a meal for a ferret, 2?
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Post by dorena261-Natalia on Aug 28, 2014 11:38:48 GMT -5
you could give it a try with turkey wings. cut the wings at the joints into 3 sections, smash them a little, and offer them a tip section to see what they do with it. If they eat it that will be great. If not, you can freeze the rest for later. about the mice/rats, it depend on how old are they. small animal is not rich in calcium and it can be only occasional treat. adult one can be a balanced meal and you can give them often.
what about organs? do they eat anything else or just hearts and liver? we will need some other organs like kidney, brain, spleen....
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Post by Deleted on Aug 30, 2014 20:25:53 GMT -5
I can get baby (pinkie) mice, full size mice, and medium rats (I'd say adolescent?)
Just for kicks I priced lamb at my local grocery store $9 a pound...I don't think my fuzzies will be eating lamb anytime soon!
Right now they only eat hearts and liver. I have an order planned for My Pet Carnivore for some things I can't get here, but it will have to wait til payday (Friday) I do have some beef liver to switch things up a bit too
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Post by dorena261-Natalia on Sept 2, 2014 7:13:44 GMT -5
great for mice/rats! especially if they love them. mine don't and i'm so sad... they just smell it and walk away So the idea now is to just keep increasing the size of the pieces and try another protein. you should be working up to chunks about 1/2 inch wide and a couple of inches long. They'll do better with longer pieces rather than square. when you get some organs, let me know. And just keep an eye on their activity, poops, and weight.
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