|
Post by Deleted on Sept 20, 2014 18:09:15 GMT -5
The hamburger meat was untouched the night that i offered it,so that was scratched.
Anyway let me get this straight:
one meal is all hearts
One meal is all organs 1/2 liver 1/2 brain
Then one meal is 1/2 heart, 1/4 liver, 1/4 brain e.g. 1oz heart---.5oz liver---.5oz brain
Also, I think I might need to put the heart and organ mixed meal in separate plates because Annabelle is a "heart" piggy
Do u chop up your liver,hearts, and brains and mix it up like a salad?
I do want to get awy from adding water--- thanx for info on runny poops (dehydration)
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Sept 20, 2014 23:05:52 GMT -5
You are exactly right on your numbers! And the best way to get everyone a little bit of everything is top Mix it up, like you said a salad. If you are still having issues with one getting more of something you can trymaking two separate eating spaces.
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Sept 21, 2014 19:27:19 GMT -5
1. Ferret's name: Abbey Annabelle 2. Ferret's weight: 3. Ferret has eaten "X" amount on average per meal. 4. Stools on various proteins. 5. Activity levels: 6. Weekly menu: SEPT 22-28 Mon AM: Pork brain and liver O PM: chicken thigh BI cut meat off thigh so they could get to bone and put in wing tip and wing not drumette Tue AM: quail M PM: quail BI,M cutting up rabbit this evening and went ahead and gave rabbit meat chunks Wed AM: Heart chick and rabbit H,BI PM: CGH BI Thur AM: Rabbit M PM: CGH BI Fri AM: Beef/chick heart, liver and prk brain O PM: quail BI Sat AM: quail BI PM: CGH BI Sun AM: CGH M breast PM: Heart HRead more: holisticferret60.proboards.com/thread/16051/abbeytheferret6s-switching-thread-abbylee22?page=6#ixzz3DzxiIzy3
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Sept 21, 2014 20:29:14 GMT -5
I will look more carefully at your menu tomorrow when I have a computer but it looks ok at a glance.
Being gone that long is tricky. Even large pieces and whole are only good for 25-48 hours depending on the size. Is there anyone that come cone by once maybe twice while your gone? Even a few frozen pieces will likely only be good another 12 hours or so. I was gone a day and a half and got away with doing it that way. But being gone longer than 48 hours really needs a sitter.
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Sept 22, 2014 9:51:09 GMT -5
Menu looks good, just don't forget your other Heart meal. I know you have a few left, so I am not worried. Also, how haw poops looked, in general? Is the adding the BI meal after the O/Hrt/MM meal helping things stay firm? Good selection too, you definitely do not seem to be having an issue with getting them to eat different proteins.
When you can, post some 'hanging' photos so I can check on their weight.
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Sept 22, 2014 16:02:58 GMT -5
Sorry, what do you mean by hanging photos?
yes i am having a difficult time with new proteins. i may need to heat meat up and get some juices oozing out.
hubby just said that we will be coming back sunday morning instead of monday morning so i should be alright
So that is friday afternoon until sunday late morn (meaning ill be back probably by 11:00
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Sept 22, 2014 17:45:26 GMT -5
Well i left some overnite-----no cigar.
So, first off, how small were the pieces? Sometimes if the pieces are too big it will be overwhelming to them. If they were nice small pieces then the next thing to try is mixing it with something they DO like. The trick with this kind of method if you have to stick with it for a few days. This is also the same way you introduce a new protein (IF they won't eat it right off the bat, sometimes they surprise you...)
For example:
If your ferts LOVE chicken, lets go with breast. And you are trying to get them to eat beef hearts. First start out with about 90% chicken (cut into pieces that they are eating well) and about 10% heart. Mix this WELL and try to 'hide' the heart as good as you can. If this goes fine, ie they eat it with no problem, increase the heart % slightly, decreasing the chicken of course. If there comes a point where they DO NOT eat it or pick around the heart to eat chicken and leave the heart, back off a bit until they eating it all again. Keep increasing the heart until the meal is ALL heart. It is then best to feed that a few meals to make sure they are eating it. Now the trick is to do this CONSISTENTLY for as many meals as you can until they are eating what you want them to. If you only do it a meal or two then give them something else they might start holding out for the 'something else' and digress in the heart further. Ferrets are smart beasts and if you give in, they will take advantage. You are basically getting them used to the new taste and convincing their picky little minds that this new thing IS in fact food and not poison. So this might take 2-3 days/ 4-6 meals or it might take 1-2 weeks! Another thing to think about here is your not giving them the calcium they will need to keep healthy poops so you will need to substitute this with eggshells or bone meal.
Another concern I get is 'you are not feeding a balanced meal' well the short answer there is that it takes a long time for any kind of deficiency to develop, so don't worry too much even if it take a couple weeks. The main issue it to watch poops, don't let them get runny for too long. The other issue is when doing this with Liver because you don't want too much liver in the diet. Well, luckily I have not ran into a ferret that didn't like liver. Sometimes not right away, but after a day or two of mixing it with whatever they are eating they will eat it willingly. I sapose if you had one that didn't like it that you would have to be more careful about feeding it long term, but so far not an issue.
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Sept 22, 2014 17:53:28 GMT -5
This is an example of a hanging photo: Basically this allows me to make sure there isn't too much of a waste and that their not too thin. A photo from above like this: Are also helpful to see any kind of waste line (which as you can see Pepe does NOT have ) yes i am having a difficult time with new proteins. i may need to heat meat up and get some juices oozing out. The best way to introduce new proteins is the description I noted above. The main thing is you will want to wait a week or two in between each introduction so they do get a bit more variety and are not eating a few things for TOO long. But honestly, it was true with my guys anyway, the more I introduced the more willing they were to just TRY new things without me having to do a intro like this all the time. hubby just said that we will be coming back sunday morning instead of monday morning so i should be alright. So that is friday afternoon until sunday late morn (meaning ill be back probably by 11:00That SHOULD be fine. I would, like was suggested, put something in there that is frozen SOLID so that it makes it the full 24 hours... and as BIG as you think they will eat it. The bigger the piece, the longer it will last.
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Sept 22, 2014 18:50:41 GMT -5
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Sept 22, 2014 19:00:19 GMT -5
Top one is Annabelle 1 year old White one is Abbey 5 years old Tomorrow i will weigh them ----they r sleeping-----we dont want to wake up the babies.
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Sept 22, 2014 19:02:28 GMT -5
Your ferrets have beautiful coats--they look so healthy too.
I hope i got close enough. (pic) Abbey has a little heavy in tummy area---not much to scruff on neck. I think i need to exercise her she likes to sleep alot maybe she is bored. Do you take yours out?
Whoops, will take top view pic today (forgot to do that one).
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Sept 23, 2014 16:36:45 GMT -5
annabelle 113.8
abbey 113.5 after eating
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Sept 23, 2014 17:05:03 GMT -5
I totally missed the pics yesterday! My app is acting funny. Wow miss Abbey looks so tiny in the pic, but he weight is about the same. hmmm interesting. They look good to me though. Abbey is certainly leaner, but I will wait till I see an 'above' pic to make that call officially. I think she might be longer, and Annabelle is young enough she likely has some nice baby fat (pear shape) still We love fat lil baby ferts haha What are your weights in? I forgot to ask... oz? grams? When I convert it, nothing makes sense haha But it looks like they are holding at about the same, so that's good. A slight gain. And to answer your question, we do take ours out something. We are lucky enough to have a pretty secure back yard, so we spend a few hours on weekend out there letting them dig around in dirt. With supervision still, I am paranoid about birds. We have a lot of hawks and other large birds around here. And it is amazing what the raw does for their coats! Mine are still babies in reality, Pepe the eldest at about 10 months, Oliver following at 9ish and Rubes at about 8. I saw the biggest change in their weights. Granted they all still had baby fats when I got them (all at young 8ish weeks old ) but they have gained weight, but it is all muscle! Even my fatty Pepe, who still has a bit of a belly on him, has the thickest, strongest back and neck muscles. It's amazing!
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Sept 23, 2014 20:38:58 GMT -5
annabelle
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Sept 25, 2014 18:41:26 GMT -5
|
|