|
Post by Desiree on Feb 27, 2015 19:46:45 GMT -5
well I didn't find it in poop or stashed so far. I could have missed it. Also, my dogs are in there at night and they could have chewed it too. (I have two small dogs) the bad did smell like CGH. So I'm hoping that it either passed or they never chewed it. I prep all the food in the kitchen and then bring it to them, so I have no idea how the bag got in there and now I'm thinking one of my dogs pulled it out of the trash and nommed the corner and blamed it on the ferrets. I found 2.5 pounds of chicken for 5 dollars and 3 pounds of beef for 6 dollars so I have been prepping a lot. I make more soup for Rebel this time making it thicker. As I was prepping today though, Riot was sniffing at the gate so I reached over. He ate about an ounce of chicken, just straight up, no water, no oil, nothing. so that was a small success. I've been letting him eat Rebel's leftovers since they share a cage but he has been eating with the kits more often. Rebel is still fighting slivers. She is starting to spit them out. I made her soup thicker too which she is fine with, just no slivers right now.
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Mar 1, 2015 11:39:21 GMT -5
I bet it was one of the dogs. My boxer digs in the trash all the time too. Bad dogs lol
Riot will eat more than I bet he lets on, living with Rebel he prob just LIKES the easier things. Ferrets are lazy, bless their hearts. lol Just keep increasing the thickness and maybe try smaller slivers than you were doing before and see if she tries it. Some are just more stubborn than others, but all will switch eventually. With time.
|
|
|
Post by Desiree on Mar 1, 2015 12:28:16 GMT -5
It marks three months today since I started switching. I definitely did not realize it would take this long. I attempted to put Riot in with the kits because Rebel gets picked on by Riot some nights. He chews and licks her ears bald, sometimes he gets rough but she would not settle down and sleep without him so I put him back. Apparently even with all the abuse she endures she has bonded with him. I went to defrost some CGH this morning and accidently cooked it. Apparently my water heater was extra excited this morning or something, so I had to toss 10 ozs of CGH. (headwall) Attempting super long super thin slivers today with Rebel. If she has to chew it, she chews a piece off and lets the rest drops, if they are too small she just swallows them whole and they come out the other way whole too. I might hand feed her slivers dipped in soup as my next step. I have to be there to watch her eat three times a day anyway. Maybe hand feeding her slivers and then chunks will get her little butt moving onto full raw?
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Mar 2, 2015 21:57:40 GMT -5
3 months is a pretty average switch, honestly. Especially with older ferrets. YOU already know what your doing (I would feel 100% confident graduating you) it's your old guys you have to convince. haha Those two Rs are silly. I bet they are bonded, it sounds like a love, hate relationship. AH that stinks about the CGH..... LITTERALLY STINKS! I hate that smell. yuck! Especially 'overcooked' mice. No Bueno. Hand feeding, if they will, is a good way to get them to eat and actually chew pieces. Shes a tough one. She WANTS to eat raw, and will, but for some reason is being really lazy with those slivers. Just keep at her, she will crack eventually.
|
|
|
Post by Desiree on Mar 2, 2015 22:17:54 GMT -5
Great news, I got them to eat slivers today, no soup by hand feeding Rebel! She did really well and .8 ozs. Riot also ate about 1 oz and I let him lick the remaining soup from the bowl this morning. The sliver were about as long as two inches and about 1/4 inch wide at the thickest parts. I think this will work really well in getting them to move along.
Bad news, someone ate a piece of rubber so I have started blockage protocol with all four since I don't know who ate it. Watching for signs of poop and any crashing. A surgery would not help anyone right now.
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Mar 3, 2015 15:33:37 GMT -5
Ahhhh your just not having any luck with your babies eating things they are not sapost to!!! Hope to hear good things later about this.
Glad the Rs are being more cooperative. If you have to hand feed her for a few days, keep that up and just start lowering the slivers to the bowl and sometimes they will get the hint and start eating from the bowl. How are you doing in getting a good variety for these two? Are they eating heart and liver chunks eye also?
|
|
|
Post by Desiree on Mar 3, 2015 17:10:40 GMT -5
The soup I was using was full so I haven't been feeding them a separate meal of organs. I actually blend all my organ so that the portions are already made. I have some heart I can try though and some beef tongue. Normally I pour the soup of liver, kidney and brain over the chunks of heart or tongue. The kits are getting that meal soon so I will feed try with them too. So far so good on the slivers though. (Of course, after I made a huge batch of soup) Riot is eating off the plate. I have to watch him though because he likes to stash all the time!! Rebel is doing well too. She will take chunks off the plate after I hand her the first piece. Should I start introducing more proteins now or wait till they are on a bone in? Might start with wing tips for that since they do like their chicken when we get there. Riot also tried some pheasant today. He wasn't trilled about it and sort of chewed on a piece but he is my pickiest when it comes to switching proteins so I was impressed he took it in the first place. Oh and because I have been on super poop watch, I have noticed that Arbor and Tundra have super dark poos after eating beef and elk. Is that normal? I didn't find anything in the orange poos. Both Arbor and Tundra got an extra course this morning, just in case, and Arbor finally pooed a super orange one and has been since. (Also, Tundra and Arbor love both pumpkin and Arbor like Vaseline I don't know) So I'm hoping everything passed and nothing is floating.
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Mar 3, 2015 20:19:28 GMT -5
Darker poos are typically from more bloody things ie heart and liver. I can imagine that beef and elk, since they are 'red meats', are bloodier so that is likely why they are dark. As long as it isn't runny or anything like that, I bet it is normal. I haven't paid attention when I feed beef *which isn't that often) and I have never fed elk.
You typically try to stay on the same protein until they are BI because if they have an allergy that can start as loose stools and so we want to wait until they have BI stools and then start with new things. However, things in the poultry family are all VERY similar, so trying CGH and such isn't going to hurt anything. Frankly, they are better, smaller BI to start beginners on anyhow.
And sounds good about the soup being balanced. That is fine. It gets a little tricky when they are eating slivers and less soup because they need to eat more of a frenkenpray model. But we are not quit there yet.
I am glad everyone appeared to have passed any potential problems. And with your luck, it's a good thing they LIKE pumpkin and Vaseline! haha
|
|
|
Post by Desiree on Mar 4, 2015 1:06:06 GMT -5
Good to know about the CGH! I'll definitely use that. Riot likes it a lot anyway. Their stools are a little runny on beef because of the no bone but nothing diarrhea like. Rebel ate really good this morning, all on her own and then tonight she just acted like she wasn't hungry. I gave her some soup so she would eat after she ate only one sliver. Riot ate really well today. Trying to get him to not run and stash as much. Need another feeding den now.
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Mar 5, 2015 16:18:00 GMT -5
haha I love my feeding den. I can get away with the one with only 3 ferts, but I bet any more I would need another. Glad Rebel is eating better. And one sliver is better than nothing...
|
|
|
Post by Desiree on Mar 5, 2015 20:29:25 GMT -5
Is there any way to get Rebel to eat on her own? Any tricks or ideas?
I'm on a dig this weekend and today I asked my sister to feed Rebel but she forgot. So Rebel went 9 hours without food. Her BG was 49 so it wasn't too bad. I tested it after she ate and it plopped up to 70. I can leave her in the cage with her food but she just won't eat it herself. She never goes for the food unless I put it in front of her. She eats with gusto too so I just don't get it. She did this with kibble, soup, and slivers. For some reason she doesn't get hungry until food is in the her mouth. Getting her to eat those first bites is also hard.
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Mar 7, 2015 14:08:21 GMT -5
That is really strange. Does she like any kind of oil or anything?
|
|
|
Post by Desiree on Mar 7, 2015 14:57:21 GMT -5
Nope, I have tried salmon oil, coconut oil and EVOO. She doesn't like any of them.
Here is the big kicker. She (and Riot) nommed on some guinea pig from the kits. It was a stashed piece but it hadn't had time to dry or anything. This is her eating it in the video below. So obviously she will eat food. I'm wondering, if you think it is a good idea, to not put out soup and slivers (since she decided chicken without slivers weren't good enough) and let her (and Riot) eat with the kits. I'm just worried about her blood sugar and her deciding not eat anything. I'm wondering is she is snacking more on the kits food than I realize. I can try this tomorrow and test her blood sugar every few hours but I don't know if that is worth it to her and to me.
I don't monitor the kits food because they are growing and eating just fine. I only weigh Riot and Rebel's food since they are still on the switch. Rebel had lost some weight but she seems to be steady now. I'm thinking this is why she is doesn't eat for me anymore. But I just don't know and it makes me worry.
Weights
Rebel - 1lb 6.0 oz - This seems to be her steady weight right now. Riot - 2lbs 4.2 ozs - He has been eating great for me recently. Just over 4 ozs some days and that's not including the snacking he does from the kits food. I do think his seasons are reversed) Arbor - 1lb 15.8 ozs Tundra - 2lbs 7.8 ozs
Video of Rebel
|
|
|
Post by Desiree on Mar 8, 2015 14:35:01 GMT -5
If to put another wrench in the weird world of my ferrets. I decided to try and throw on some bone in quail on their plate this morning. And they chowed down. I did feed Riot some soup afterward so he was completely full since he has been chomping down so much.
The thing is I just can't get them to eat bone in or chunks regularly. So I'm not sure what to do at this point.
|
|
|
Post by Desiree on Mar 9, 2015 18:09:56 GMT -5
Last video for now. Last night was my fiance and I one year engagement anniversary so went to the springs to have dinner. We were out kind of late, we got home just after 10 about an hour after I normally feed Rebel and Riot. The kits had chicken wings left out all day for them. I wake everyone up to check on them and I go make food for Rebel and Riot for the night. When I come back I see this, Rebel stole one of the kits chicken wings and was chowing down. They also had heart today and devoured it all!
|
|