|
Post by Deleted on Jun 10, 2015 11:32:39 GMT -5
Appetites are getting crazy all of the sudden. I think I need to re-institute lunch until I can get bigger bowls. Last night I gave them my last bit of cornish game hen during playtime because they demanded I feed them ASAP. They gobbled nearly all of it and the only thing I had thawed out and ready to go was beef heart. They never had it before and I was planning on feeding it tonight when I could coax them with a spoon. I had to give them *something* for dinner so I chopped up that beef heard and stuck it in the cage. This morning I weighed the leftovers and they apparently ate over 100g!!
|
|
|
Post by Desiree on Jun 11, 2015 10:15:06 GMT -5
Yay! You can go back and start feeding them lunch if you want, especially if room is an issue. I can help you balance out a menu including 3 meals a day as well. Would mind taking a picture of their chunks for me next to something like a quarter so I can get a size reference?
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Jun 11, 2015 11:46:26 GMT -5
Yeah, I can do that tonight.
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Jun 11, 2015 22:54:14 GMT -5
|
|
|
Post by Desiree on Jun 12, 2015 9:44:30 GMT -5
The chunks are looking good.
How are the poos?
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Jun 12, 2015 10:14:54 GMT -5
Not very good, which is frustrating. Raisin was constipated *again* last night and Porkchop had thin/watery poo (I heard him fart from the other side of the living room..). I did notice that the best poo (did I really just say that) seems to happen when they eat cornish game hen. That meat/bone ratio seems to be the sweet spot.
|
|
|
Post by Desiree on Jun 12, 2015 10:55:03 GMT -5
Have you tried the bonemeal powder or eggshell sprinkled on the muscle meat to help with the loose poos?
|
|
|
Post by Desiree on Jun 12, 2015 10:58:05 GMT -5
If you can catch them, try to get a picture of the poos which are worrying. Ferrets on a raw diet with have softer poos than a kibble fed ferret so I want to be sure the poos are actually worth concern than just softer poos that come with a raw diet.
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Jun 12, 2015 11:02:44 GMT -5
I didn't put bone meal on their porkchops last night but I should have I'll take a pic tonight. yay for poo pics. Also another thing I'm having trouble with is 2 vs. 3 meals. 2 wasn't enough, but they don't always eat 3. Last night I gave them lunch during playtime. They didn't eat any so it became dinner. :\
|
|
|
Post by Desiree on Jun 12, 2015 11:18:22 GMT -5
Hmm, can you up their meals just a little bit? My four get about 6 ozs a meal which is about 170 grams a meal. Sometimes they eat it all, sometimes they have leftovers for the next meal. I do not feed new food until it is mostly gone. It's okay to not give them new food, especially now that your chunks are bigger the food is going to last longer. If they run out of food, defrost some more and give them. Also are you doing every twelve hours? That might help. If I know I am going to cage later in the evening and take them out fairly early, I tend to give my guys about 4 ozs of food instead so it's mostly gone in the morning when I take them out for the day.
Also double check and make sure they don't have some food stashed which can make it hard to know how much they are really eating.
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Jun 12, 2015 14:25:53 GMT -5
Yeah, I'll try just upping the meals instead. As you know, Noodles likes his food to sit for a while anyway so not to worry about leftovers. No food stashed in the cage. I monitor them during playtime to avoid stashing. Also the cats love to sneak bites in. D:
|
|
|
Post by Desiree on Jun 12, 2015 15:19:36 GMT -5
You should switch the cat too!
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Jun 12, 2015 17:10:31 GMT -5
The cats are HUGE! Ham is like 30-35 lbs?? I'd have to buy a cow a week hahaha
|
|
|
Post by Desiree on Jun 12, 2015 17:43:22 GMT -5
HAHA! Should he be that big? Ham would eat around 3-5% of his body weight, probably closer to 3% because of his size, you want to maintain or lose weight for him. For his size he would eat about 14 ounces a day. So yeah, it's a lot but it would be very healthier for him. Cats are also obligate carnivores. I'm talking with a few senior mentors about our problem with Raisin. I don't want to jump to any conclusion without poop pics but a couple of suggestions were made. One was to feed Raisin a few pieces of muscle meat first before some meals of bone in but she is a very private eater so I'm not sure she would go for it. Of course, there is handfeeding but she also has issues with that too. So I'm not sure where that leaves us. (If I'm getting your ferrets mixed up please tell me )
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Jun 12, 2015 18:55:02 GMT -5
Yeah! He's a Maine Coon. Sausage is too, about the same weight, maybe a little smaller. They're actually my boyfriend's cats. He feeds them Orijen and that's just about expensive enough for him. I swear he had a heart attack the first time he had to buy a bag without splitting it with me (since I don't use it anymore (dance)).
You got it - Raisin is basically an all-around problem child. And a brat. She won't eat food she doesn't like as much (like boneless meat) unless she's really hungry. So while it's possible, that would be a real challenge. It might work if I use chicken since that's her favorite.
|
|