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Post by Sherry on Jul 16, 2015 10:05:27 GMT -5
Not very often, and only the alpha as a rule if they refuse to allow the others to clean them. Keep on pushing with the new proteins. Might be an idea to do 3-4 meals in a row then switch to let them get used to the taste, and not get the idea they can just wait it out if they aren't overly fond of something
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Post by Deleted on Jul 16, 2015 15:50:19 GMT -5
I never see mine cleaning each others ears, the only one of mine that every groomed the others was Jules but she was adrenal and she groomed all the time, she even would try to groom me excessively lol.
For the new proteins I fed 4 meals of it, so they ate the mutton for 1 whole day and the rabbit for 1 whole day then I'd give them pork or chicken the next day and try another protein after that. Should I introduce the duck tomorrow or give them another day? Their poops are getting a little wacky and so I was going to wait until maybe Friday or Saturday before trying the duck, since feeding them the rabbit their poops have been loose and dark (but the rabbit was very bright red and bloody meat compared to the other proteins so it concern me a lot). But besides them not liking the new proteins they're doing really really well with eating all of the grind, they're even starting to eat the bone pieces! Marcie ate every single chunk and piece of bone of the chicken grind this morning, she licked the plate clean. So the next order I place I'm gonna order some coarse grinds. Once they're eating those do you think it'd be good to see if I can get them eating some bone-in meals a few times a week too? I have a lot of faith in Marcie and Caillou is doing so much better too.
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Post by Sherry on Jul 16, 2015 17:28:16 GMT -5
They are doing SO well Emily, and so are you I have to admit I am SO impressed with what and how you have done to date We ALL are! Okay. For now, give each protein for 3 days running to make sure they will eat it on their own without having to be fed. If you still have issues with them accepting anything after that you may have to do a mix of the two proteins. Example- I cannot get mine to accept straight up beef mince. But they WILL take it about 30% mixed with duck. So they STILL get the benefits of a different protein, especially if I give it mixed 2-3 times a week like that.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 16, 2015 17:54:00 GMT -5
Thank you I'm very proud of them and the progress they're making, I still can't believe they're even eating those pieces of bone so soon. I tried so hard before to get them to even chew on one tiny piece and now they're willingly eating several of them at each meal. And as of the last day they're eating it with barely any water added at all, maybe a little spoonful for every 1-2 ounces. But I'm working on getting them to eat it straight out of the roll/plastic it comes in with no added water at all, I see them getting there in a couple days considering how well they're doing with it now. It may not seem like a big leap but for Caillou it's huge, he's always been so so picky about that, he never wanted to eat anything unless it was watery and now it's a very thick/ground meat pudding consistency. If their poops are back to normal by tomorrow I'll introduce the duck on Saturday and give it for a couple days like you said, hopefully they'll be more accepting the next time i give them the new proteins. Cai has always been terrible with new foods though, like chicken is his favorite, but if he went without eating it for over a week or two if I tried to give it to him he would act like he has never eaten before and turn his nose up. So for him considering how he usually is he is doing fairly well with the new ones. Oh and I have a question, a while back Katt explained to me about how what protein an organ you're feeding comes from doesn't count as another protein on the menu, like if you feed in muscle meat form chicken, pork and beef that week and then feed something like lamb liver, then you would only count that you have fed 3 proteins and not 4 because the lamb was an organ. But is it like that with heart too? Like if you fed chicken, pork and beef then lamb heart would you be able to say you fed 4 proteins that week, or still only 3? I hope that made sense lol.
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Post by Sherry on Jul 16, 2015 18:02:07 GMT -5
Okay first: But I'm working on getting them to eat it straight out of the roll/plastic it comes in with no added water at all DON'T WORRY ABOUT IT!!! I have NEVER been able to get them to eat it plain after 8 years ROFL! While I don't do it in a soupy form I do add a bit of water to it Have you ever seen or made hamburgers for your family? Think about a pound of ground beef. Add that single egg. What you wind up with at that point is what I refer to as "wet" ground meat. That is what you want to aim at Don't worry about dry grinds! If you need to add a tbsp or so of water, and/or an egg or two go for it! They are eating it, that is all that matters lol
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Post by Deleted on Jul 17, 2015 10:59:34 GMT -5
Haha well that's good to know then, considering that then they're doing really good getting towards a wet grind consistency. I took a picture of their food this morning, I added less water than yesterday and was a little worried that Cai wouldn't really want it but he had a mini-breakthrough! I sat it in the cage and usually I have to dab whatever I am feeding repeatedly on his nose before he'll even taste it on his own (even his favorite food I have to do that) but this morning I just sat it down getting ready to spoon him some of it and he started eating it all by himself. Almost tears of joy that gave me, I was so proud of him when he was done eating he was smothered with kisses (he probably thought he was being punished, LOL). Here's the picture of what they're eating right now. I'm adding less water every day, when they first started it was a soupy consistency and now this is what it's like. And just let me know what you think about the heart/protein thing, if I can count whatever animal the heart they eat comes from as another protein then could I give them a beef heart soup meal every now and again? That way they'd have another protein and since taurine is water-soluble it couldn't hurt. I have a bunch of heart left (and kidney, and liver, and brains and pancreas lol).
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Post by Sherry on Jul 18, 2015 10:18:47 GMT -5
Definitely add it in once a week Do half heart, 1/4 liver/1/4 other organ until it is all gone
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Post by Deleted on Jul 18, 2015 18:39:55 GMT -5
Okay sounds good, and when I feed the beef heart can I count that as another protein? They'd have 6 proteins then if I can. I'm curious to see how they like the pork brains, they've never tried them before but I've heard lots of ferrets like them. Have yours ever had brains?
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Post by Sherry on Jul 19, 2015 10:56:35 GMT -5
I can't get them here, so no.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 20, 2015 16:43:04 GMT -5
Sorry ive been a little absent. Ive had a terrible pain in my stomach since Saturday and I went to my doctor this morning for it, they turfed me to the ER and they think I have appendicitis. My doctor is fairly sure i will be in surgery tonight given my symptoms. My mom and sister are taking care of the ferrets for me so theyll be okay. I did give them duck this morning and they seemed to really like it so thats good.
I'll update when i can.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 20, 2015 20:00:07 GMT -5
Okay good news, no surgery. I'm back home now, after the CT scan they discovered my appendix and gallbladder were perfectly fine, but my small intestine was very inflamed, so they diagnosed me with a generalized condition, Colitis. Which just means an inflamed stomach. My doctor was wonderful, he was very honest with me, he told me that a "normal" physician like him wouldn't be able to figure it out so I have to go to a gastroenterologist to figure out what it really is. They think either Celiac Disease, or Ulcerative Colitis (which my dad has).
I'm on Prednisone for the inflamation, an antibiotic for infection and Norco for the pain. The pain is the worst part, they had to wheel me into the ER and I was too busy crying and heaving to talk. About 5 minutes after a giant vile of morphine I was pretty happy though, lol. I'm glad I didn't need surgery, but my doctor told me this wasn't going to be easy to rid of. So it'll probably be an ongoing battle for a little while. But we're hoping it gets better, as they think what's going on now is a flare up of something I've had for a while now.
But the ferrets switch is still going on of course, they are eating duck well and so I'll keep giving it to them for another day or so like you said. Then I think I'll try rabbit again. I know that Marcie really really hates mutton, but Cai was eating it great yesterday. Rabbit I'll have to try again to see, they're usually pretty picky with the first few meals of something new.
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Post by Sherry on Jul 21, 2015 10:46:04 GMT -5
While I am glad you don't need surgery, your doctor is right. Colitis is not an easy thing to deal with. You will have to pay as close attention to your OWN diet as you do your ferrets
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Post by Deleted on Jul 22, 2015 10:34:39 GMT -5
So far I'm just eating bananas and applesauce pretty much, which is what the ER doc advised me to do until I see a gastroenterologist for a more permanent diet plan after my diagnosis. But right now eating is the last thing I want to do. I guess I'll be going raw with the ferrets soon enough (giggle)
I feel a bit better today, think the steroids are starting to work. I'm giving the fuzzers a break today and letting them eat pork, then tomorrow and Friday they'll have rabbit. They hated rabbit last time, but so did they with mutton and duck and they like it now so I'm hoping they'll stop being all picky lol. Luckily the grinds are lasting longer than I thought they would so that's good. I should be able to go another couple weeks, I'll have to weigh it out sometime and see. They're doing good though, after over 2 days straight of Duck they now love it and gobble it down. Energies are good, poops got a little loose though, I think maybe from all the fat in the duck? But nothing really unusual, just less formed. Cai is still chewing a lot though, but his appointment is this Monday for his cleaning so I'm hoping and praying it helps a lot with that.
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Post by Sherry on Jul 22, 2015 11:00:21 GMT -5
Yes, the looser stools will be from all the fat Once they are accepting of all the proteins start doing them in a rotation where they get at least 3 in a week, preferably more.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 27, 2015 10:11:58 GMT -5
The only thing I cannot get Marcie to budge on is rabbit, she has never acted this way towards a meat before. She hates it, I mean she really, really hates it. She completely refuses to eat it unless I hold her and make her eat. Should I try feeding it for a few days in a row again? I did it for 2 days, would have longer but I ran out of what I had already prepped in reditainers. I did chicken today to give them a break, and I'm doing duck tomorrow, they both seem to like duck, Cai really likes it.
Cai is doing very very well with all the proteins, he has been extremely accepting which is surprising considering he is usually quite picky, so I'm proud of him. He ate the rabbit with no issue, plus the mutton and the duck. He may have been a bit hesitant at first but after the 2nd or 3rd meal he was fine.
I dropped Caillou off at the vets at 8am this morning, I gave him a little extra carafate since he has nervous tummy issues, and told my vet about 5 times to make certain they do not put any blankets in his cage, last thing he needs is an exploratory blanket retrieval surgery, lol. Plus they're checking his BG for me while he s under so I'm curious to see where it's at. I''m so nervous for him, everyone there was great though, they know me and Cai pretty well so that's reassuring. As soon as my vet walked in to do a small physical on Cai before he took him back he said that he looked really great, that his coat was astounding and his weight/structure in general was very surprising given all of his medical issues. He was quite impressed with him, so that was a really nice thing to hear. Also his hart and etc sounded good. He said that his teeth weren't terrible, but that they could definitely benefit from a cleaning. Maybe compared to all other kibble fed ferrets they aren't that bad, but compared to ferts on frankenprey they're just nasty lol.
Anyways, I just called a few minutes ago to heck on him, he's doing fine and he is next in line to go under. I'll probably be picking him up around 1pm. I'll let you know how he is when he gets out, and I also took before pictures of his teeth and so I will take after ones too.
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