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Post by Deleted on Mar 7, 2015 17:23:17 GMT -5
Will do! Thank you guys for the advise!
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Post by Celene on Mar 7, 2015 17:25:26 GMT -5
For some reason it seems to be easier to get ferrets to long, skinny pieces of meat than tiny pieces. The veggie peeler on frozen meat works great, you can also slice it thinner (like pieces of spaghetti) to start if need be.
What I found easiest was to hold a sliver by one end and dip it into egg or salmon oil and dangle it in front of a ferret. Generally in the process of licking it they would "accidentally" start eating it too.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 8, 2015 11:42:49 GMT -5
For some reason it seems to be easier to get ferrets to long, skinny pieces of meat than tiny pieces. The veggie peeler on frozen meat works great, you can also slice it thinner (like pieces of spaghetti) to start if need be. What I found easiest was to hold a sliver by one end and dip it into egg or salmon oil and dangle it in front of a ferret. Generally in the process of licking it they would "accidentally" start eating it too. I just made a new batch and added some slivers in each containers. He had no problem eating them. I also made it a little thicker. He ate 3.4 ounces this morning. I'm actually very surprised how quick he's taken to it. He was so picky when I was trying to get him on a better kibble.
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Post by Celene on Mar 8, 2015 12:05:34 GMT -5
That's so awesome! Maybe he recognizes that it's real food... Or at least that it's more interesting than crunchy brown stuff.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 9, 2015 19:27:29 GMT -5
Kemblin is still doing wonderful. He is eating the slivers like a champ. He is now taking 2.5 ounces in the am and then around 3.0 to 3.2 ounces in the evening. His energy has sky rocketed and his poops are starting to look much better already. I will get a pic of them this evening or tomorrow and post, along with an update pic from of above him. I was wondering if it would be ok to introduce egg yolk to him or should I wait until he is completely off the soupie? Thanks in advance!
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Post by Celene on Mar 9, 2015 20:10:31 GMT -5
Egg yolk is good any time!
If he is shedding you can give an egg yolk every 2-3 days to prevent hairballs (my girls get half an egg yolk every three days during shedding season but they're tiny). If he isn't shedding you can actually give him a whole egg once a week, just whip it together so he isn't eating only the whites.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 15, 2015 2:13:34 GMT -5
Kemblin is still doing really well. I have started to put bigger slivers in his mix and he is chewing them good. I found some chicken gizzard that you suggested. How am I serving these to him. He still isn't eating really big pieces, so wasn't sure if I need to make these really small. OH, he LOVED the egg. His fur is starting to get really fluffy and his spots that were lighter are getting really white and the spots that were darker are getting really dark. He is so beautiful. Really am glad I decided to make the switch!
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Post by Celene on Mar 15, 2015 10:18:58 GMT -5
So glad to hear that! I'm really glad he liked the egg - it's a great "tool" to be able to have to get ferrets to try new meats if they're being reluctant. I would say for the gizzards, to cut them into whatever the biggest size piece he's currently eating is. If they're cut into really tiny slivers Kemblin might just slurp them down instead of chewing, which defeats the purpose (although they are still a great source of protein). If he isn't eating slivers on their own yet, you might want to try offering them right before mealtime so he's nice and hungry. If he won't try them yet, you can always portion and freeze for later PS - for the same reason gizzards are great for teeth-cleaning (they're tough and rubbery and require a lot of chewing) they're also lots of "fun" to cut. What I found worked best for me was to use really sharp scissors (they're actually supposed to be for sewing and cutting fabric) and cut them into chunks that way. I also only cut enough for a couple meals and froze the rest whole.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 15, 2015 17:54:26 GMT -5
Thanks so much for all the help! Will try him with the gizzard tonight.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 18, 2015 17:56:12 GMT -5
Kemblin did ok with the gizzard. He was unsure of it at first. He only ate a couple of bites but it went better then I thought it would go. He is now weighing 2.8 pounds (YAY), and back to eating 2.5 ounces of soupie in the am and 3ounces in the pm. I have started to cut it by hand instead of using the processor and just cutting everything to the size of a marker head. He seems to be chewing it up fine. Poops are still normal. I keep forgetting to get a picture of one for this thread. I'll set an alarm on my phone to remind me to get one, lol. Short post but just wanted to write down where he was at right now with the transition. He has had a TON of extra energy as of late! Plays alot harder then before but he has been so so fun!
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Post by Celene on Mar 18, 2015 20:19:59 GMT -5
Eeeeeeeeeeeeeee! He seriously has the world's cutest mask!
I'm glad to hear that you're already starting to see some of the benefits of feeding raw! Once Kemblin is consistently eating chunks, the next step is to move onto the frankenprey model and start him on bones.
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Post by katt on Mar 22, 2015 16:24:04 GMT -5
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