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Post by Celene on Jan 17, 2015 12:55:22 GMT -5
Amazing, AMAZING advancements. I tagged you in the thread where I went into detail about what/how etc. But basically this morning Mocha ate all the chicken in this green dish (mixed with a quail egg) and Nova ate the pieces in the orange cup from my hand. I know these aren't slivers since they're quite wide, but also not chunks. But super great news!
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Post by Deleted on Jan 17, 2015 14:38:08 GMT -5
That's awesome!! I'm so proud of the girls
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Post by Celene on Jan 17, 2015 21:19:23 GMT -5
Update: It's been 4-6 hours since their last meals of chicken (and egg for Mocha) and they both woke up and pooped at the exact same time (good thing we have two litter boxes in the cage).
Both of the poops were equally liquidy and a dark brown. I am assuming it's because of the lack of bone powder/egg shell/calcium source which normally gives it consistency. Their last commercial grind meal (beef) was around 10 hours ago.
Just wanted to make sure that was okay/normal since their poops are quite consistent on the commercial grind.
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Post by Celene on Jan 19, 2015 10:05:47 GMT -5
Food Update: Jan 17: Beef Day. They ate a combined (approx) 3.36 oz, not counting the large slivers I gave both of them and the quail egg Mocha got. Jan 18: Turkey Day. Their main meal was a "turkey chicken pot (not pot) pie" which consisted of their regular turkey grind topped with a generous layer of slivers. Nova dove right into the slivers but Mocha mostly tried to eat from where Nova had already "broke in" and eat the turkey grind underneath. I saw her eat at least two slivers though. They ate a combined 3.2 oz. This morning (Jan 19): Fed the rest of the turkey (about 1 oz) and then made a mix of 2/3 NV Instinct (frozen) Raw Duck and 1/3 big chicken slivers. The chicken was thawing so some slivers didn't come out smooth but I put them in anyway. I saw Nova drag a HUGE sliver-chunk out onto the floor and gobble it up. Kangaroo is thawing in the fridge but will be their evening meal plus tomorrow's. I don't think I'll mix any slivers in since they're still getting used to kangaroo (it's only their 2nd time). In anticipation of larger pieces/meat not contained in a dish I have bought them a separate eating shelf so they don't get meat on their bedding. It'll also be really easy to take out and wash. I plan on taking their weight when I get home tonight. They both just ate a whole bunch so the results would be skewed if I took this morning
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Post by Deleted on Jan 19, 2015 14:05:58 GMT -5
Okay so they had some liquidy poops, it's normal when they first switch to have some funky poops but I would go ahead and add some bonemeal or eggshell powder since they aren't eating any bone in meals yet. Hopefully that will firm up their stool a bit. They seem to be eating really well. You're doing a great job of getting them to eat stuff. Are you adding some extra organ meat to make up for the extra muscle meat they get? They need to get 10% of organs. An easy way to figure it out would be take how much you're feeding them muscle meat instead of whole grinds and multiply that by .1
I like your eating shelf idea, but be prepared for them to hide big pieces of meat in their blankets anyways. You wouldn't believe the places that I find stashed stuff. Like half a mouse in my shoe rack.
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Post by Celene on Jan 19, 2015 14:25:45 GMT -5
Yuck! When They start eating bigger pieces my plan is to use a shower hook to hook the meat to bars like people do with feeding dens. Unless they rip the meat off and stash it?
I don't think I'm adding enough meat yet to warrant adding extra organs, although I do have some ground-ish liver frozen. I also have a whole lamb kidney. I know ferrets need at least some liver for sure and at least one other organ is suggested. if the 10% organ is made up 50/50 of liver and kidney does that work? I also have ground heart which I will add.
I know heart counts as muscle, but is there a recommended % I should add for adequate taurine?
In other news, I (finally) got my oxyfresh. So I "brushed" their teeth (using my finger) with the gel and also added the liquid stuff to their water. Their breath already smells SO MUCH better! Can't wait until I get them eating bones.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 19, 2015 16:10:58 GMT -5
You should feed at least 10% heart, but its okay to feed more since taurine is water soluble they pee out the excess. Since heart is a cheaper protein where I live I use it often as my muscle meat meals.
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Post by Celene on Jan 19, 2015 18:38:29 GMT -5
The commercial grinds I feel right now are 20% heart and 10% liver. Wasn't sure about the heart since cats probably have (at least slightly) different taurine requirements than ferrets. For now I'll add extra liver and powdered eggshell into their grind but keep the heart frozen for later.
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Post by Celene on Jan 19, 2015 18:39:03 GMT -5
PS - any tips on transitioning from slivers to small chunks?
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Post by Celene on Jan 19, 2015 21:37:39 GMT -5
Oh and I just weighed them, so before I forget, here are their weights from the past week:
Mocha Nova 13-Jan-14 1.65 1.63
15-Jan-14 1.69 1.65
19-Jan-14 1.69 1.63
So... basically pretty stable still.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 20, 2015 3:32:16 GMT -5
Just slowly start thickening the slivers. You might need to put some oil or warm water on them to entice the girls, but they'll get there. I think with ferrets slow and steady is the way to.go. also tomorrows my first day back at uni after Christmas break so I might not.be super active tomorrow.
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Post by Celene on Jan 21, 2015 10:36:14 GMT -5
So yesterday was kangaroo, and boy did they NOT eat it. I fed them in the morning before I went to work, and came home to an almost full bowl (hard to tell if they ate any 'cause it was partially dried up). I felt really guilty, but the upside is that they were REALLY hungry so when I gave them fresh kangaroo with tons of chicken slivers (and really watered down, with salmon oil added) they gobbled up the slivers no problem! I think I am going to stop pushing kangaroo though because once they're on frankenprey I think it will be difficult and/or expensive to find kangaroo meat anyway.
I've also made little container of "balanced slivers" which have liver, heart and eggshell powder added so that I can mix in with their grind and maintain the right nutritional ratios. Seemed to work well this morning when I mixed about 50/50 their "balanced slivers" with the turkey grind. They gobbled it right up!
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Post by Celene on Jan 21, 2015 10:39:41 GMT -5
OMG. Did NOT see that horrible (unintentional) pun until after I re-read over my post :\
Also, I realized that none of their commercial grinds are pork, so I might start introducing pork slivers since it will probably be one of their main frankenprey proteins due to the low cost and easy availability. I do have a wild boar grind, but the colour and texture seems closer to "red meat" than pork.
My husband will be happy though, he loves pork but never buys/eats it since I hate it, but now if I buy a pack of two chops I can use one for slivers, and one for hubby!
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Post by Deleted on Jan 21, 2015 22:22:43 GMT -5
hehehehehe they gobbled up the turkey??? (giggle) Also since you already bought the kangaroo you should probably use it. Maybe just mix like a teeny little bit in with their food? Sorry for the wait >.> I hate uni sometimes
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Post by Celene on Jan 21, 2015 23:04:12 GMT -5
I hear you! I work full time, have my own part time business, started a charity making hammocks for ferret shelters AND I'm taking two university courses this term! What are you studying? PS - on the switching related front, I only have one more 1/4 lb packet of kangaroo (I think/hope). They'll eat it if I water it down a whole bunch and top it with salmon oil
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