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Post by Blue on Jan 27, 2016 8:12:52 GMT -5
Not too bad indeed! 18" here and today is the first time we're allowed back to work (they closed down to clean up). It'll be a nice change of pace after all the shoveling! Maisie has quite enjoyed herself. When the snow was still powdery she voluntarily took a nosedive off both the front and the back porch, and snorkled around "undersnow"! It was adorable
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Post by Blue on Jan 27, 2016 8:24:48 GMT -5
Maisie Report: good!
Sunday weigh-in: 2 lbs 2 oz (+3 oz) -- she's caught up to her winter weight and is beginning to eat 1-2 oz instead of 2-3 oz per meal.
HT Mutton: she doesn't like it. We got up to 2/3rds mutton, 1/3rd chicken but it was slow going and I wanted to see how she'd do on the other foods.
HT Duck: she loves it. Was 100% duck by the 2nd meal
HT Rabbit: she seems to like it. This morning is her 2nd meal, 100% rabbit, although she hasn't finished it (probably because I gave her 2 oz instead of 1 oz).
Poops are still all good. She's been sleeping a lot more lately, been less active, but I think (hope) that's hibernation catching up to her, and not lingering flu symptoms or something. Sometimes she'll only get out of bed if I show her food. I've been at home the last few days and she's spent most of them in her open FN, asleep.
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Post by Sherry on Jan 27, 2016 11:27:04 GMT -5
With the mutton, keep working at it. Even if it has to be fed just half and half she is still getting the benefits of another protein And her seasons could be a bit mixed up, and she is just coming into her winter mode now. Have her appetite and weight been increasing along with it?
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Post by Blue on Jan 28, 2016 14:41:43 GMT -5
I was looking up her stats from the same time last year, but couldn't find my unofficial switching thread. Do those get destroyed when we get a mentor? I think it was called "Maisie's Unofficial Switching Thread"
In any case, she started rapidly gaining weight around February, I think? But she had been pretty sick before that, and it was her first time on any kind of raw. Although I see I copied my numbers into this thread (whew):
Jan 19 1 lb 13.5 oz started raw chicken soup Feb 01 1 lb 15 oz Feb 08 2 lbs 0 oz Feb 15 2 lbs 2.5 oz - 1st time: raw egg, lamb Feb 22 2 lbs 3.5 oz - 1 kg!! Mar 01 2 lbs 3.5 oz - same weight Mar 08 2 lbs 5.5 oz - started pork on Mar 3rd Mar 15 2 lbs 4 oz Mar 22 2 lbs 1.5 oz Mar 29 2 lbs 1 oz Apr 03 2 lbs 2.5 oz Apr 13 2 lbs 2 oz
And she stabilized around there for the rest of the year. She only started dipping under 2 lbs in Nov-Dec when I started withholding soup and giving her only slivers. I think I might have pushed too hard, and that I mistakenly based the food I gave the sitter (just soup) on what she'd been eating, which wasn't enough. She came back ravenous, eating 3 oz both morning and night for a while!
I thought she was only about a quarter of a season behind, and that it was mostly due to illness or not enough food?
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Post by Sherry on Jan 29, 2016 11:10:18 GMT -5
she is a bit mixed up it seems I am so glad you are finally getting her off the soup and onto the commercial raw. It is much more balanced, and will do her better in the long run.
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Post by Blue on Jan 29, 2016 19:49:09 GMT -5
Maisie is eating 100% beef grind from Hare Today as I type! She didn't even need finger feeding. In the past she hasn't liked my beef soup, so I thought it would be harder. Yay! Now what to choose next... we still have 5 more flavors to go.
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Post by Blue on Jan 30, 2016 10:53:18 GMT -5
Got overconfident and offered her 100% salmon this morning, on the basis that she loves salmon oil She eventually ate a mixture of 1 oz salmon, 0.2 oz turkey, 0.2 oz beef, so about 70% salmon. It shouldn't be too hard to get to 100%. Maybe the texture threw her off.
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Post by Sherry on Jan 30, 2016 12:08:41 GMT -5
Sounds par for the course lol. So, how many different proteins is she eating now?
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Post by Blue on Jan 30, 2016 14:59:17 GMT -5
With Maisie's approximate ratings out of 4 stars - chicken **** - turkey **** - duck **** - beef *** - salmon *** up to 70% (new today) - rabbit ** but 100% (we worked on it) - mutton * up to 70% (will work some more) I still have goose, pheasant, pork, and quail in the freezer. I intend to work my way through the whole Hare Today inventory! So, should I do the math on what proportion of meat/bone/organs she's getting based on the grinds I use, and make sure it's the right ratio (80/10/10)? Or as long as I serve a variety, I'm good? And I'm guessing the 3 proteins per week apply here too?
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Post by Blue on Jan 30, 2016 15:42:32 GMT -5
BTW, it's not a problem that I'm mixing in a lot of water with the grinds, is it? The soupier it is, the more she likes it, and I like knowing how well hydrated she is.
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Post by Blue on Jan 31, 2016 8:36:54 GMT -5
100% pheasant! I'm going to try pork next, all the rest I have are poultry (fowl? birds, anyway).
Sunday weigh-in: 2 lbs 2 oz - finally stabilized!
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Post by Sherry on Jan 31, 2016 12:07:43 GMT -5
It should actually be about the texture and consistency of a wet ground meat. Just sloppy enough that you can still pick it up with your fingers. Think sloppy joe consistency at the wettest. The ground you are feeding- are they all whole animal grinds?
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Post by Blue on Jan 31, 2016 12:53:06 GMT -5
Yes, as I understand it. They're all from Hare Today, this was my order. Interesting, I just noticed there are no organs in the salmon! All the others have meat/bone/organs: If I start out like that, she'll eat some, and then nudge her bowl with her nose to get warm water added. I could resist if necessary (although I think the whole routine is adorable). Is it really necessary? What's the problem with too soupy? Beyond the spill & clean up aspect that is
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Post by Sherry on Jan 31, 2016 12:56:56 GMT -5
The problem is she fills up on water instead of meat Another ferret owner noticed something really interesting about one of his who is borderline insulinoma. If he gave her the mince to watered down(just sloppy, not really watery), her BG would dip a lot. If he gave it to her the way I described she remains stable. So they really DON'T get as much nutrition if it is to watered.
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Post by Blue on Jan 31, 2016 13:16:43 GMT -5
That's an interesting and weird data point! I guess some tough love is going to have to be served up here She really loves her tepid water. She'll even drink a whole bunch after a good meal (in the bathtub or out of a saucepan)! Hopefully that isn't a problem too.
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