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Post by Deleted on Mar 26, 2015 9:48:22 GMT -5
Okay, last night I didn't end up having time for finger feeding. I want to try Friday or this weekend. I did put a little ferretone on it last night and they ate their food!! This morning I put a little less. I'm going to try reducing the amount added little by little. Also going to start working on switching to salmon oil so I don't have to worry about that as much!! That said, Raisin ate a TON this morning. I put out a dish with about 3 oz and she and Porkchop went nuts. They finished the dish, so I put out some more so that Peanut and Noodles can have some when they wake up.. well, a few minutes later I peeked in and Raisin was eating the new food, too. Piggy.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 27, 2015 10:39:47 GMT -5
Everyone had sort of watery poops yesterday. Raisin especially. Diarrhea explosion on our back door.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 28, 2015 22:20:24 GMT -5
HOLY WOW. I put soup out this morning without ferretone on it and when I let them out just now, only 1/3 was left. (dance)
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Post by Desiree on Mar 28, 2015 22:57:58 GMT -5
How much bone meal or egg shell are you using? You can up it by 1/4 tsp to help with the poos.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 28, 2015 23:21:33 GMT -5
I just finished up the last of the batch listed in my original post, so about 1/2 tsp bone meal to 18 oz of meat/organ... that's the best I could math it out haha. I'm going to make a new batch today, which will be about:
1 lb ground beef 2 oz beef liver 2-3 oz chicken hearts
How much bone meal do you think I should use?
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Post by raynebc on Mar 28, 2015 23:32:36 GMT -5
For that much meat, it should be about 1 to 1.5 tsp of bone meal. When I fed soup, I usually used .75 tsp per standard batch size (8 ounces muscle meat, 1 ounce liver, 1 ounce heart).
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Post by Celene on Mar 28, 2015 23:54:55 GMT -5
The "official dose" is 1/2 tsp for 8 oz of meat, although different ferrets have different requirements. Our soup recipe says 3/4 tsp for the 10 oz of meat because we realized measuring spoons don't come in 2/3 tsp If the poops are really loose and wet you can add more. If they start to get hard, crumbly or gray then you've gone too far. I think the "ideal poop" should be a little bit softer than a kibble poop.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 29, 2015 1:17:29 GMT -5
Whoops, I meant earlier that I put 1 tsp per 18 oz, not 1/2!
Anyway, today's batch was as I listed above plus 1.5 tsp of bone meal.
Poops looked a little better when I put them to bed tonight. Watery but not explosive like before. I did see some green ones, though I've found it's not unusual for those to show up here and there. Is it something I should be concerned about, or is it okay as long as most of the poops are normal?
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Post by Desiree on Mar 29, 2015 9:48:32 GMT -5
A green poop here and there is fine when switching. If it continues or gets worse then worry.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 30, 2015 22:50:39 GMT -5
Well, we've gone a few days with NO kibble at all. I think I have to dial it back. I just weighed Noodles and he's all the way down to 2 lb 13 oz. I'm frustrated but I have to start giving him some kibble.. he used to be my fat baby boy.
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Post by Celene on Mar 30, 2015 23:25:44 GMT -5
No! Don't give in and go back to kibble! Spring is coming, and many ferrets are starting to lose their winter weight and shed their winter coats. As long as Noodles is still playing and healthy I wouldn't worry about weight loss. Did you weigh noodles before winter? Mocha went from 1.4 lbs before winter all the way up to 1.8 lbs in a short period of time. And then mid-February, she lost all that weight in about a week or so and is back down to 1.4 lbs. If you do want to add some extra calories in his diet though, I recommend giving him a bit of egg after his soupie every second day. This will also help prevent hairballs when he starts to shed *You can feed the yolk alone or the whole egg whipped, but never just the whites.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 30, 2015 23:34:50 GMT -5
I gave him some shortly after my last post. I'll take it away. I'm so scared of him wasting away. Last monday was the first time I weighed them at home, so he went from 3 lb 4 oz to 2 lb 13 oz. :\ He doesn't like egg.. It's just scary. They are SO stubborn.
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Post by Celene on Mar 30, 2015 23:55:58 GMT -5
They are! If you read some of my switching thread posts you'd see I was pretty much in constant fear the whole time! When I first tried to give Mocha egg yolk she acted like I was trying to poison her! She kicked and squirmed and I was barely even able to get a dab or two on her nose... But after she licked it a few times she realized just how tasty it was and now is such a piggy for it You can also try watering it down and/or mixing it with some soup to start. But yes, ferrets are really, really stubborn. I'm pretty sure it's their life's goal to give us constant anxiety.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 31, 2015 0:23:51 GMT -5
Week 1 stats: Peanut Normal activity level 1 lb 15 oz (-7% change) Raisin Normal activity level 2 lb 2 oz (-1.5% change) Porkchop slightly lethargic (a little quiet, but not alarming) 3 lb 1 oz (-3.5% change) Noodles Normal activity level 2 lb 13 oz ( -13% change) Still seeing some watery/mucusy/slightly greenish poops. Don't know whose. Think it's probably Raisin though. Some other poops look like they're on the normal spectrum. I also saw some that were pretty solid looking and pink color. My life is poop. lol.
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Post by katt on Mar 31, 2015 2:27:51 GMT -5
As Celene said, spring is a very stressful time for people to switch because normal seasonal weight loss is happening and can be mistaken for abnormal weight loss (AND the opposite can occur too). Ferrets can gain/lose about 40% of their body weight each seasonal change. Continue feeding the raw soup and watch to make sure they are all eating. If it puts your mind at ease Or if you have any doubt as to whether they are actually eating/eating enough - hand feed them. Weigh the meal before you feed them, and then spoon feed each ferret until they are full and weigh the meal again (for each ferret so you know how much each one ate). This will be great bonding time, and will help give you an idea of how much they are eating.
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