Post by Heather on Jan 14, 2015 0:09:15 GMT -5
Name: Celene Hoag
HF Forum Username: ckozee
Please confirm that you are 18 years of age or older: Yup! (24)
1. Where did you first learn about natural diets for ferrets? Stumbled across this forum while searching other ferret topics, plus hear about it all the time on ferret facebook groups.
2. Please describe the type of diet you would like assistance in switching your ferret(s) to. Be sure to include if you are interested in feeding whole prey (live or frozen-thawed) and if you are wanting to FULLY switch to a natural diet or PARTIALLY. If you are unsure what kind of diet you want to put your ferrets on, please express that and we can help you find the best type of natural diet for your ferret. Looking to switch to a frankenprey diet (fully).
3. Why are you interested in switching your ferrets to a natural diet? 'Cause I want my girls to be as happy and healthy as possible and want to try and prevent insulinoma or other diseases.
4. Do you understand that switching your ferret to a natural diet can be a lengthy, arduous process? Its not an overnight switch. It can be a commitment of several weeks or even months. Your HF Mentor will be more then happy to assist you in switchng your ferret(s) to a natural diet, but you need to be equally as commited. If you aren't willing to tough out a potentially lengthy switching process, or if you have major life changes approaching (baby on the way, moving, starting school, getting married/divorced, etc) then it might be a better idea to wait on switching your ferret's diet until you have more time. Are you willing to make the commitment? Absolutely! I am already starting the transition prior to being accepted into the mentoring program/assigned a mentor.
5. How many ferrets do you currently have? What are their names? Ages? Genders? Do they have any health problems? Are they overweight? Underweight? How long have you had each ferret for? I have two girls named Mocha and Nova. Nova is roughly 2 years old and Mocha approximately 3. We adopted them in May and they were both underweight and Nova was quite bony. They've recently put on some winter weight: Nova currently weights 1.6 lbs and Mocha weights 1.45 lbs. The girls are healthy and happy.
6. What diet do you currently feed your ferrets? (Please include all treats, supplements, etc) Do they already eat some form of soup? They are on a kibble blend of Go! Fit and Free, Orijen, and NV Instinct Raw Boost. Nova gets FDR treats but Mocha is too picky and won't touch them. They also both looooove raw egg and I'm trying (but failing) to teach them how to open and eat a quail egg on their own. They were previously also getting ferretone however we have been switching to salmon oil (Mocha is so picky we had to even do that slowly, but the blend is currently 25% ferretone and 75% salmon oil).
Update: Both have been fully raw for a few weeks on a commercial grind, and are rotating between chicken, turkey, venison, lamb, beef, buffalo (which they don't seem to like much) and kangaroo. I have also started with small pieces of chicken, although Nova will eat little chunks. They are also 100% on salmon oil - no ferretone in the blend anymore.
7. Have you ever tried to switch your ferrets to a natural diet in the past? If yes, what happened? In the process of transitioning. For the last couple weeks or so I've started feeding them a commercial raw once a day (Red Dog Blue Kat) which is made locally. I bought a bunch and put them in smaller containers so they get more variety of proteins (so far they have been introduced to chicken, turkey, venison, lamb and buffalo). Today is the first day I've removed the kibble entirely. Once they are 100% transitioned to RDBK I will start working on getting them to eat bigger chunks of meat.
8. What additional information about yourself or your ferrets would you like to share? Before adopting these girls I had a girl (Truffles) who passed away last January from a liver tumor. I love my girls so much and just want what's best for them!
9. How often during the week do you have access to a computer? Basically all the time, although during the day I am at work and can't really check personal stuff too much.
10. Please post a picture of each of your ferrets (if possible).
Hi and welcome to the mentoring program . In a little while your mentor ( Bella ), will introduce herself and you can get started on a new adventure in natural ferret care and diets. Please remember to post regularly (daily or as per arranged with your mentor) so that your mentor can assist you move along safely in this adventure. If you experience computer difficulties or are going to be away, please notify your mentor and most of all relax and have fun :boing: Your mentor is here to help you on this journey.
ciao
HF Forum Username: ckozee
Please confirm that you are 18 years of age or older: Yup! (24)
1. Where did you first learn about natural diets for ferrets? Stumbled across this forum while searching other ferret topics, plus hear about it all the time on ferret facebook groups.
2. Please describe the type of diet you would like assistance in switching your ferret(s) to. Be sure to include if you are interested in feeding whole prey (live or frozen-thawed) and if you are wanting to FULLY switch to a natural diet or PARTIALLY. If you are unsure what kind of diet you want to put your ferrets on, please express that and we can help you find the best type of natural diet for your ferret. Looking to switch to a frankenprey diet (fully).
3. Why are you interested in switching your ferrets to a natural diet? 'Cause I want my girls to be as happy and healthy as possible and want to try and prevent insulinoma or other diseases.
4. Do you understand that switching your ferret to a natural diet can be a lengthy, arduous process? Its not an overnight switch. It can be a commitment of several weeks or even months. Your HF Mentor will be more then happy to assist you in switchng your ferret(s) to a natural diet, but you need to be equally as commited. If you aren't willing to tough out a potentially lengthy switching process, or if you have major life changes approaching (baby on the way, moving, starting school, getting married/divorced, etc) then it might be a better idea to wait on switching your ferret's diet until you have more time. Are you willing to make the commitment? Absolutely! I am already starting the transition prior to being accepted into the mentoring program/assigned a mentor.
5. How many ferrets do you currently have? What are their names? Ages? Genders? Do they have any health problems? Are they overweight? Underweight? How long have you had each ferret for? I have two girls named Mocha and Nova. Nova is roughly 2 years old and Mocha approximately 3. We adopted them in May and they were both underweight and Nova was quite bony. They've recently put on some winter weight: Nova currently weights 1.6 lbs and Mocha weights 1.45 lbs. The girls are healthy and happy.
6. What diet do you currently feed your ferrets? (Please include all treats, supplements, etc) Do they already eat some form of soup? They are on a kibble blend of Go! Fit and Free, Orijen, and NV Instinct Raw Boost. Nova gets FDR treats but Mocha is too picky and won't touch them. They also both looooove raw egg and I'm trying (but failing) to teach them how to open and eat a quail egg on their own. They were previously also getting ferretone however we have been switching to salmon oil (Mocha is so picky we had to even do that slowly, but the blend is currently 25% ferretone and 75% salmon oil).
Update: Both have been fully raw for a few weeks on a commercial grind, and are rotating between chicken, turkey, venison, lamb, beef, buffalo (which they don't seem to like much) and kangaroo. I have also started with small pieces of chicken, although Nova will eat little chunks. They are also 100% on salmon oil - no ferretone in the blend anymore.
7. Have you ever tried to switch your ferrets to a natural diet in the past? If yes, what happened? In the process of transitioning. For the last couple weeks or so I've started feeding them a commercial raw once a day (Red Dog Blue Kat) which is made locally. I bought a bunch and put them in smaller containers so they get more variety of proteins (so far they have been introduced to chicken, turkey, venison, lamb and buffalo). Today is the first day I've removed the kibble entirely. Once they are 100% transitioned to RDBK I will start working on getting them to eat bigger chunks of meat.
8. What additional information about yourself or your ferrets would you like to share? Before adopting these girls I had a girl (Truffles) who passed away last January from a liver tumor. I love my girls so much and just want what's best for them!
9. How often during the week do you have access to a computer? Basically all the time, although during the day I am at work and can't really check personal stuff too much.
10. Please post a picture of each of your ferrets (if possible).
Hi and welcome to the mentoring program . In a little while your mentor ( Bella ), will introduce herself and you can get started on a new adventure in natural ferret care and diets. Please remember to post regularly (daily or as per arranged with your mentor) so that your mentor can assist you move along safely in this adventure. If you experience computer difficulties or are going to be away, please notify your mentor and most of all relax and have fun :boing: Your mentor is here to help you on this journey.
ciao