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Post by Heather on Mar 3, 2015 15:47:55 GMT -5
Name: Tara Foster HF Forum Username:tara8200 Please confirm that you are 18 years of age or older:I am 31 1. Where did you first learn about natural diets for ferrets? When I wanted to order a better kibble, I came across info that described natural diets. That intrigued me to switch 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. We are currently doing soup with kibble sometimes in between. O would like help switching from soup to frankenprey to whole prey frozen. 3. Why are you interested in switching your ferrets to a natural diet? Because I have a Marshall ferret and wanted to lessen her chances of illness. 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! 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 one female who is about 11 months. No health problems so far, just doesn't have a lot of muscle mass and straw like fur. I've had her maybe a month. 6. What diet do you currently feed your ferrets? (Please include all treats, supplements, etc) Do they already eat some form of soup? Some soup with kibble in between. 7. Have you ever tried to switch your ferrets to a natural diet in the past? If yes, what happened? No, she's my first ferret and is kind of a challenge. 8. What additional information about yourself or your ferrets would you like to share? She hides chunks and ground up bone and refuses to eat if I add those in there. 9. How often during the week do you have access to a computer? Every day. I own 2 computers 10. Please post a picture of each of your ferrets (if possible). I'll come back to this, need to set up photo bucket. 11. Have you met the requirements for this program? Are you at least 18 years of age? Do you have your scale, a place to access meats, hearts, livers, etc? I have everything needed yes and over 18. Hi and welcome to the mentoring program . In a little while your mentor (Sveta), 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 (dance). Your mentor is here to help you on this journey. ciao
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Post by Deleted on Mar 6, 2015 4:15:00 GMT -5
Hi! Just now seeing this
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Post by Deleted on Mar 6, 2015 22:51:14 GMT -5
Hello Tara!
I'm Sveta. I'm very excited to work with you on transitioning your ferret to the raw diet.
A bit about me. I am an artist, I currently study Animation, but also do work in illustration, and teaching arts to children. I live in Canada.
I have three ferrets that are mine - Miri, Zack and Honey. Every once in a while I get fosters from the shelter as well. So currently there is a fourth - Rapscallion. There is more info and links on the "Meet your mentor" page, if you have any questions feel free to ask.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 6, 2015 23:13:19 GMT -5
So to start I'm going to need some more info on Sophie and how she is doing. I gathered that she is approximately a year old now. Can you please take a photograph of her from the top, and one of her hanging down? (If you want I can post examples of these) these are to see if she is underweight or not, and it will also show how her fur looks. Also how much Sophie currently weighs. A good method for weighing ferrets is to take a big plastic container, put in a drop off oil, put that on the food scale and zero it. Then put in the ferret into the container. If you already knew this method then I apologize for the redundancy What proteins is she eating, and treats/oils? Are you on chunks in soup, or just grinds or what? A picture would be great too, but just a description works fine. How is Sophie taking to this consistency? And lastly for now, approximately how much does she eat per meal? And really lastly now, what sort of feeding setup do you have? Does she eat in a cage, or feeding den, or on your lap? Is she caged or free roam? Hopefully we can get started now!
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Post by Deleted on Mar 9, 2015 0:19:49 GMT -5
So to start I'm going to need some more info on Sophie and how she is doing. I gathered that she is approximately a year old now. Can you please take a photograph of her from the top, and one of her hanging down? (If you want I can post examples of these) these are to see if she is underweight or not, and it will also show how her fur looks. Also how much Sophie currently weighs. A good method for weighing ferrets is to take a big plastic container, put in a drop off oil, put that on the food scale and zero it. Then put in the ferret into the container. If you already knew this method then I apologize for the redundancy What proteins is she eating, and treats/oils? Are you on chunks in soup, or just grinds or what? A picture would be great too, but just a description works fine. How is Sophie taking to this consistency? And lastly for now, approximately how much does she eat per meal? And really lastly now, what sort of feeding setup do you have? Does she eat in a cage, or feeding den, or on your lap? Is she caged or free roam? Hopefully we can get started now! Hi sveta! I'll answer everything in a day or 2. I'm gonna weigh everything and her for the questions:)
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Post by Deleted on Mar 11, 2015 7:32:00 GMT -5
Just checking in how are you doing?
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Post by Deleted on Mar 14, 2015 13:42:10 GMT -5
So to start I'm going to need some more info on Sophie and how she is doing. I gathered that she is approximately a year old now. Can you please take a photograph of her from the top, and one of her hanging down? (If you want I can post examples of these) these are to see if she is underweight or not, and it will also show how her fur looks. Also how much Sophie currently weighs. A good method for weighing ferrets is to take a big plastic container, put in a drop off oil, put that on the food scale and zero it. Then put in the ferret into the container. If you already knew this method then I apologize for the redundancy What proteins is she eating, and treats/oils? Are you on chunks in soup, or just grinds or what? A picture would be great too, but just a description works fine. How is Sophie taking to this consistency? And lastly for now, approximately how much does she eat per meal? And really lastly now, what sort of feeding setup do you have? Does she eat in a cage, or feeding den, or on your lap? Is she caged or free roam? Hopefully we can get started now! Hi @sveta! Sorry I'm behind on this! Sophie is just a tad over a pound, apparently she was more interested in the scale than oil LOL. Ferret ADHD haha! She currently eats soup with chicken, lamb, or Turkey, she's pretty picky and I've been trying to get more proteins into her. Her soups are a cream consistency; some days she'll eat slivers but most days she won't ? I weighed her soup frozen from an ice cube tray, it's about 1oz every 6 hours. She mostly eats out if a plate on the floor, but sometimes I'll hold her in my lap and finger feed her. She eats without my help. She is free roam in her own room ? Posting pix one sec
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Post by Deleted on Mar 14, 2015 13:45:44 GMT -5
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Post by Deleted on Mar 14, 2015 23:12:12 GMT -5
Ok I see Is she your first ferret or have you owned any others previously? Your Sophie looks sooo much like one of my girls - Miri! so close! (if you click on the insert image icon and paste the link there it puts the picture right in the post:) ) She looks to be a good weight. If you can measure her more precisely then that would be good for us to keep track for later, but visual assessment works great as well. I think that just looking at your ferret would be fine, because she is young and healthy. With older ones you might want to keep more precise record. A tad over a pound sounds pretty petite (depends on how much over a pound ). Do you know how to measure whether the ferret is a good weight visually? When you hold her hanging down she should be straight down the sides. If their tummy bulges out (like a bowling pin, or pear shape) then they are a bit on the chubby side. If their tummy goes in under their ribs at the sides then they are underweight, and need more noms. When you hold them you should be able to feel their ribs, but not see them. Visible ribs mean underweight ferret. Not feeling ribs mean that the fuzz butt is a fatso and needs a diet I know how wiggly they can get when you try to weigh them. So she eats about 4oz per day what a good girl. And the proteins are lamb (which is a good red meat), and chicken and turkey. I suppose the organs and liver is chicken in origin? What sort of oil does Sophie like? Have you seen what other protein your store sells, or wherever your source is (some people hunt) Which protein are you thinking of adding? With no insulinoma issues you can split the feeding into 2oz twice a day to make it easier for you. Girl ferrets usually eat about 1-3oz per day (30-90grams)(do you prefer oz or grams for measurements?). Add the slivers into the soup and either spoon or hand feed her so she eats them. You can even use the scruffing method for her to start taking slivers consistently. It would be great to see a picture of this meal, but it's up to you. What you want to do is to get Sophie eating the slivers confidently (without your help), then increase the number of slivers so she gets a bit hesitant, then stay at that stage until she is confident eating those ones. Keep me updated on how this goes How often do you want to exchange these posts about? I sometimes disappear for a couple of days because of classes, but usually I lurk here almost on a daily basis.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 15, 2015 0:57:55 GMT -5
Ok I see Is she your first ferret or have you owned any others previously? Your Sophie looks sooo much like one of my girls - Miri! so close! (if you click on the insert image icon and paste the link there it puts the picture right in the post:) ) She looks to be a good weight. If you can measure her more precisely then that would be good for us to keep track for later, but visual assessment works great as well. I think that just looking at your ferret would be fine, because she is young and healthy. With older ones you might want to keep more precise record. A tad over a pound sounds pretty petite (depends on how much over a pound ). Do you know how to measure whether the ferret is a good weight visually? When you hold her hanging down she should be straight down the sides. If their tummy bulges out (like a bowling pin, or pear shape) then they are a bit on the chubby side. If their tummy goes in under their ribs at the sides then they are underweight, and need more noms. When you hold them you should be able to feel their ribs, but not see them. Visible ribs mean underweight ferret. Not feeling ribs mean that the fuzz butt is a fatso and needs a diet I know how wiggly they can get when you try to weigh them. So she eats about 4oz per day what a good girl. And the proteins are lamb (which is a good red meat), and chicken and turkey. I suppose the organs and liver is chicken in origin? What sort of oil does Sophie like? Have you seen what other protein your store sells, or wherever your source is (some people hunt) Which protein are you thinking of adding? With no insulinoma issues you can split the feeding into 2oz twice a day to make it easier for you. Girl ferrets usually eat about 1-3oz per day (30-90grams)(do you prefer oz or grams for measurements?). Add the slivers into the soup and either spoon or hand feed her so she eats them. You can even use the scruffing method for her to start taking slivers consistently. It would be great to see a picture of this meal, but it's up to you. What you want to do is to get Sophie eating the slivers confidently (without your help), then increase the number of slivers so she gets a bit hesitant, then stay at that stage until she is confident eating those ones. Keep me updated on how this goes How often do you want to exchange these posts about? I sometimes disappear for a couple of days because of classes, but usually I lurk here almost on a daily basis. Lol oops I knew I did the pic thing wrong but didn't know what. She is my first ferret, had her since about August or so. She's definitely pear shaped so I'll weigh her again in the morning. She used to be on the thin side, I can definitely see her getting chubs lol. Yes, chicken organs so far. I'll hunt for more of a variety at Asian markets this week or next. She takes EVVO, is not a fan of salmon but I keep trying. I definitely try to hand feed her slivers she wiggles to get away to hide them in the closet LOL. We've been at this since December so a slow process for sure ? so 1oz is too much? She always cleans her plate and I felt like it wasn't enough. I guess I have a pig ? I have classes too so every couple days is perfect!
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Post by Deleted on Mar 15, 2015 0:58:26 GMT -5
Ps your baby is gorgeous!!
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Post by Deleted on Mar 16, 2015 16:56:56 GMT -5
@sveta i forgot to double check! Ive been doing half tsp of bone meal for soupies. When its all blended its about 10oz. Is that right? I feel like it should be a tad more.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 16, 2015 18:49:47 GMT -5
The amount she eats is good. 4 oz per day is fine, during the earlier stages of the switch it is common for ferrets to eat a lot. They need to get all the nutrients that they were missing out on with the kibble. I think that you should lessen the number of times you feed her per day. Most people feed them once in the morning and once in the evening. Try giving her 2oz in the morning and 2oz more in the evening. Also can I ask you to record all the feedings here for now, because if I know more precisely where you are in the switch it would be easier for me to advise. I will need to know (either per each meal or per each day) which protein she is eating, the size of the slivers, the soup to slivers ratio, how thin you make the soup, and her reaction/attitude with eating it. Also pics are always helpful With stealing the slivers to the closet (haha my foster boy currently enjoys that activity). You have to make sure she eats them (with you or in the closet ), and doesn't just put them in her stash. Just continue to hold her gently during the meal. At this early stage you don't have to get more variety, it would be good to concentrate on upping the amount of slivers vs soup in the meal at the moment. And you can always get new stuff when she gets to chunks. The bonemeal in soup is 1/2 tsp per 8oz of meat. So if you have 8oz muscle meat, 1oz heart, 1oz liver then you should really be adding 3/4 tsp. Just keep an eye on the poop consistency, it should be formed but still soft, if it is too soft or watery and unformed then add a pinch more of the bonemeal.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 16, 2015 18:53:09 GMT -5
And thank you about the photo! It was @sushi who took it.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 16, 2015 22:15:07 GMT -5
I figured out the pic thing lol. Gotta go to desktop version on my phone. Here's tonight's dinner of lamb soup.
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