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Post by Deleted on Aug 15, 2014 16:35:54 GMT -5
This is Puddin'. His starting weight is 2 lb 10 oz. All we had to do was put it in front of him and he was on it. He ate and ate. The funny thing is, while eating he made is strange face. His nose squinted up and he had is eyes all half mast and his ears back. It was hilarious. He took 3/8 oz all in one sitting.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 15, 2014 16:38:37 GMT -5
More Puddin Face. I swear he looks like a deranged bat.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 15, 2014 16:43:39 GMT -5
When they wake up again Ill do another feeding. I would like to think BigBoy will be starving after not having anything the first go round, but what do I do if he doesn't eat again?
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Post by katt on Aug 15, 2014 18:37:22 GMT -5
Hey sorry we've had a big day too. Making the 8 hour drive back from my parents' house in ID with 5 ferrets in tow. Long story short they are rehoming their 3 ferrets so we are taking them with us to Seattle so I can rehome them as the ferret community in their area is next to zilch. That's great that Puddin' loved the soup! Hehe The bat face is their face if ferrety pleasure at great food. Hopefully you'll be getting so see that face a lot in the future. BigBoy is being naughty! I am very surprised he didn't like the soup - it must be a texture thing. If he won't take it we will do it more gradually. Don't let him go more than 3-4 hours without food though. You can try adding a little treat oil they like into the soup too. Do they like fish oil or olive oil? Even a little meat baby food might get him into it. You should also th making the soup a bit thinner by adding more water. They seem to take to thin soup faster than thick for some reason. Brats.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 15, 2014 22:39:04 GMT -5
Tonights feeding went really well with Puddin and LuLu. Puddin ate like a fiend. LuLu ate much better than this morning. BigBoy refused again. I tried mixing some dried kibble bits in with it and he wouldn't go for that either. My husband is going to get a jar of baby food chicken when he gets off work tonight and we will add that to the morning food for big boy. Should we offer it in the mix to the others as well? I tried the olive oil and it was a no go. Ill add the numbers here in a bit after I convert them. Oh and also do I need to weigh them daily or weekly?
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Post by katt on Aug 16, 2014 1:05:45 GMT -5
Well isn't he a stubborn little thing! LOL Okay, if mixing the baby food doesn't work in the am, then we can try the snail's pace approach. We can start with some moist kibble rather than soupie. SMH I can't get over what a little turd he is Already being!! Hahaha
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Post by Deleted on Aug 16, 2014 14:15:22 GMT -5
So this morning we had no problems with Puddin eating. Didnt even have to coax him. He went straight for the food. He ate, in one sitting, twice what he ate all day yesterday, 92 grams! It was awesome watching him go to town like that. LuLu took a little coaxing. She did eat, however she only ate 5 grams. BigBoy refused again. This time I took his kibble and just let it soak enough to make it soft. I left it in whole pieces so it looked just the same, and still no dice. I put him back in the cage and put it in there with him. Some of the food is missing now, however I dont know which one ate it. When they wake up again Ill separate BigBoy and make sure he has plain dry kibble, just to be sure he has eaten.
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Post by katt on Aug 16, 2014 14:33:02 GMT -5
LOL I think we're going to have to switch tactics with him. Not my usual approach but one that others use successfully. Remove all kibble about 2 hours before and thaw some raw soupies. Try hand feeding them each a bit. If they don't like it that's fine. Let them play and every time one runs by, grab them and dab a little soupie on their nose so they have to lick it off. Keep doing this until they start to lick it off of your finger. Do this a few times a day. When they start willing licking it we will go from there!
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Post by katt on Aug 16, 2014 14:35:08 GMT -5
Posted this in chat but putting it here too: You can start to slowly mix some raw soup a little at a time into their kibble soup for the other 2 if you want WHILE doing the dab method. That is no problem at all. Who knows, maybe BigBoy will join them - peer pressure is a great thing.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 17, 2014 15:04:02 GMT -5
So this morning went so much better than the last attempts! I am so happy and feeling accomplished. First off we pureed the wet kibble into soup then added about a teaspoon worth of the chicken soup to it. As expected puddin' ate like a mad man.He ate almost the whole plate. Just out of curiosity, a ferret wont do what a puppy does and eat until they are sick will they? He ate 71 grams! Next was LuLu and BigBoy. We had to hold them and put it on my finger and continuously wipe it in their mouths. Both of them actually did some licking and got a pretty decent amount. It was almost impossible to measure how much each of them took because they made such a mess {The front of my shirt was a wreck! lol} But they took enough in my opinion for it to feel like a success. However I didn't feel like they got enough to not be hungry so I put them back up with a little bit of dry kibble and they both ate it up. I hope that was the right thing to do. I do feel like it was a great success this morning though.
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Post by katt on Aug 17, 2014 16:23:17 GMT -5
So this morning went so much better than the last attempts! I am so happy and feeling accomplished. First off we pureed the wet kibble into soup then added about a teaspoon worth of the chicken soup to it. As expected puddin' ate like a mad man.He ate almost the whole plate. Just out of curiosity, a ferret wont do what a puppy does and eat until they are sick will they? He ate 71 grams! Next was LuLu and BigBoy. We had to hold them and put it on my finger and continuously wipe it in their mouths. Both of them actually did some licking and got a pretty decent amount. It was almost impossible to measure how much each of them took because they made such a mess {The front of my shirt was a wreck! lol} But they took enough in my opinion for it to feel like a success. However I didn't feel like they got enough to not be hungry so I put them back up with a little bit of dry kibble and they both ate it up. I hope that was the right thing to do. I do feel like it was a great success this morning though. Good progress! And go Puddin!! (dance) You did do the right thing, they are off to a good start as are you. Next meal instead of mixing the raw with the kibble soup first, try dabbing just the plain raw soup. If you have to convince them it's food and not poison, why not go straight for the source? Normally I use the kibble soup as a disguise and sneak the raw in gradually. I'm curious to see what Puddin' thinks of straight raw soup too. If he dives right in like he has been To answer your other Q, yes and no. Yes, some greedy little ferrets will eat too much too fast and end up puking. So if he pukes after diving in, don't panic! haha That said unless he starts doing that, let him eat as much as he wants. Ferrets are good self regulators. In the beginning of a switch they almost all eat a LOT, as they are trying to make up for the nutrients they aren't getting on kibble. After a while though they slow down significantly and eat a much more normal amount.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 18, 2014 12:20:21 GMT -5
Last night Puddin once again ate well. The other two flat out refused, so they got kibble. This morning I took the soft kibble and instead of blending it I left it soft and just chopped up. I used my pastry cutter on it. Then I took 2 spoons worth of the meat soup and mixed it in. It was more meat than kibble. Puddin loved it. I forgot to weigh it, but he ate almost everything on the plate and it was pretty full. About to work with Lu and Bigboy.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 18, 2014 15:50:03 GMT -5
Well, Lu and BigBoy were an utter failure at breakfast. Im not sure what I am doing wrong. Ive tried different consistencies of the soup and prepared just like I am supposed to. They just aren't having it. Im not giving up by any means, but its so frustrating watching Pud eat like a champ and the other babies almost fighting to get away from the food. I dont know what to do.
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Post by katt on Aug 18, 2014 17:38:16 GMT -5
lol Don't worry they will get there. See my previous post. Instead of trying to feed them kibble soup, just use the raw soup. Every time you take them out to play, have a bowl of raw soupies (1-2 ice cubes, you won't need much to start out) thawed on a table or somewhere nearby. Whenever a ferret goes by you, pick them up and dab a little on their nose. They will have to lick it off. Just keep regular dry kibble in their cage for now. As much as BigBoy is resisting the kibble soup there's no need for the middle man, we'll just skip to raw soupies. They won't like being dabbed with raw soup at first, they may even gag and hack and hiss and wriggle like you are poisoning them. (giggle) But keep dabbing the raw soup on their noses several times during every play time and eventually they will start to lick it...
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Post by Deleted on Aug 18, 2014 18:34:40 GMT -5
Okay, I will. Same for Puddin? Or can I still give him the soup mix? He loves it soooo much.
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