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Post by Deleted on Jul 20, 2015 12:33:24 GMT -5
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Post by Deleted on Jul 20, 2015 12:45:59 GMT -5
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Post by Heather on Jul 20, 2015 14:40:19 GMT -5
Yes?? Cute kiddos ciao
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Post by FireAngel on Jul 20, 2015 19:18:05 GMT -5
Sounds like they are doing great! If they are eating everything I would give them more until there is a. It left over. Sable is still a kit and could very well demolish the 6oz on her own twice a day. I will definitely leave the ECE and poops questions for Heather though. The pictures are just too precious!
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Post by Heather on Jul 20, 2015 22:48:25 GMT -5
I'm curious...you mention feeding pumpkin, are you still doing this? The amount of pumpkin you're feeding is the amount that is greater than the blockage protocol. If you're using pumpkin it should never exceed 1 tsp per ferret per day. It is no longer advocated to feed pumpkin on a daily basis. The longest time that it's supposed to be used is 3 days. No more. If the ferret continues to have poor stool quality after this time, the vet needs to be consulted do discuss an possible medical protocol. I noticed that it was mentioned that you are or were dealing with ECE? How long ago did this happen? and was this confirmed that it was ECE and how was it treated? This damage is often a concern that has to be considered for the life of the ferret. Seemingly the result of ECE is damage to the bowel that prevents proper absorption of nutrients. Depending on the extent of the infection the damage can cause long term issues like IBD. ciao
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Post by Deleted on Aug 4, 2015 7:34:59 GMT -5
Sorry for the lack of posts everyone, still dealing with some turmoil, but the raw soup is a success with all three now. I can wean them off the kibble any day now. I'll respond to previous posts on here after I'm done taking my birthday girl to the vet, she's going adrenal again and we're either going to do another surgery (hoping not because of Chiquita) or an implant. Paws crossed things go well and I'll update everyone later with their weight changes, energy, etc on the raw soup! Here's the birthday girl! Ladikin is 2 today. ❤❤❤
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Post by Deleted on Aug 5, 2015 20:37:17 GMT -5
Heather No ma'am, I'm no longer giving pumpkin unless it's for blockage protocol. Yes, Rowdy got ECE may 22nd/23rd and was hospitalized for four days. They never confirmed ECE, but he had liquid green diarrhea for about a week straight. He was severely dehydrated and needed to be on IVs the whole time he was there. If we hadn't of got him to the hospital when we did, he wouldn't have made it. When they released him to me, he had three different medications and was given electrolyte replacement fluids in his duck soup. I would like to add, since he's been on the raw soup, his poops have gotten better, still a little loose looking, but less seedy.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 5, 2015 20:47:50 GMT -5
@poncesmom FireAngel Heather Thérèse Ok everyone, as of yesterday............. We're officially off the kibble!!!! No duck soup mixed in the raw either!!! So proud of my kiddos. They're getting fluffier and softer coats, Rowdy's gained all but one ounce of his weight back (before the ECE), and Sable (now 4 months) weighs the same as Ladikin. All three are more energetic, especially my senior, he's so playful now. Since we're all on soup, I'll be starting the next stage of their raw transition. I do have a question though, my girls both eat quite a bit, but Rowdy eats small amounts everytime, is that normal? He doesn't stop eating because he hates it, he stops eating when he's full(to my knowledge), he's always done that with his soups though. Here's the three of them enjoying their soup from yesterday.
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Post by FireAngel on Aug 5, 2015 20:52:16 GMT -5
That's great news! Sable will be eating a lot for a couple of more months yet and as long as rowdy isn't losing any weight and doing well then he is eating what he needs and since he is actually gaining then you can be sure he is getting what he needs! Awesome job!
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Post by Deleted on Aug 5, 2015 21:16:02 GMT -5
Thanks! There's been some rough patches for me and halts on the switch, but we made it off the kibble finally. Oh, Sable eats A LOT AS IT IS!! Hungry little girl. Haha. I just wanted to make sure that was normal for Rowdy. He doesn't eat near as much raw as he would duck soup, I'm guessing because he gets more from the raw, but yes he's gaining weight back and eating until he's full. FireAngel
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Post by Heather on Aug 6, 2015 0:09:20 GMT -5
He will eat less of the raw because he's full faster. Meat is denser than kibbles and he doesn't have to eat as much to get better results. As long as he's gaining weight and his stools are good then he's doing good with what he's eating. His system is still healing it's going to take time if he indeed had ECE. It's entirely possible as I had to deal with it this year too. I wasn't happy about having to, I should have put my new rescues in hard quarantine and didn't because they'd supposedly been vetted. I paid for my carelessness. It takes months to truly heal from ECE, sometimes they never do recover entirely. Watch for IBD symptoms later on. Your little girl is trying to make up for lost time. She will eat twice what she would normally. This will go on for a few weeks to a few months depending on how much her body feels it needs to make up for lost nutrients. You will see some amazing changes in their coats and attitudes. ciao
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Post by Deleted on Aug 6, 2015 4:59:21 GMT -5
That's wonderful news about getting off the kibble. Good Job to all of you.
Are you leaving the soupie out. It's good for 6-8 hours. Rowdy may be a grazer, and like to eat a few small meals thru the day or night. Like Heather said, he is recovering from ECE. My Roamy had it and he is fine.
Rowdy may like to wait and eat alone also. My Mika is a grazer and never eats when anyone is around.
The next step is to work on getting them to eat slivers and increase the size and begin reducing the amount of soup, when you see them eating slivers. This may be where you want to try hand feeding some slivers. Sit with them and offer each a sliver, don't let them run off until you see them put the sliver in there mouth. Then try for another bite.
The fur change is amazing isn't it? It becomes so soft and lovely. Have you smelled any Grapetails yet?
You're doing really well and hugs to your little ones for doing really great! :wave3:
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Post by Deleted on Aug 6, 2015 11:04:03 GMT -5
Heather I just wanted to make sure that was ok with him eating less raw than the other soup. He is putting on weight, some of his stools have been a little looser than others, but I'm not seeing seediness at all now. I too payed for not doing a quarantine with my youngest, she exposed Rowdy to the virus and the hospital bill was outrageous, but it was paid out later. They never confirmed ECE, but my vet did see the stools he had that day we rushed him there and said we could test for ECE(this was after the hospital release), but she was very certain that's what he had. I've been keeping an eye out for IBD symptoms for a while, before he even got sick. Certain kibbles stopped agreeing with him and after the virus, all kibbles stopped agreeing with him. Sable is definitely making up for lost time, she's going through the soup like crazy, she will eat and eat and eat. Sometimes she eats, leaves, then comes back later and eats more. I've been doing two big soup feedings a day and they all eat their fill, a few hours later the plate will be clean. I'm already starting to see some good changes! Thanks.
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Post by Heather on Aug 6, 2015 11:11:32 GMT -5
If they're both eating very well, start adding slivers of meats to the soupy, not a lot just a few. No bigger than your fingernail tip. Also start thickening up the soupy, so it's denser. Just remember if you've got the bone meal or egg shell amount measured out for the soupy you will have to add more bone meal or egg shell for the slivers of meat. Remember for every 8 oz of meat there has to be 1/2 tsp of egg shell powder or bone meal. I also found that the ferrets that were most affected by the ECE outbreak seem to require more bone (egg shell powder or bone meal). They just do not seem to be able to absorb their nutrients as well as the others. ciao
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Post by Deleted on Aug 6, 2015 11:16:42 GMT -5
Thank you very much @poncesmom. Yes ma'am, I am leaving it out, I dontwo big souo feedings and they all get their fill, a few hours later the plate is clean. Rowdy definitely does like to eat small bits here and there, so I'll be leaving some in their eating area in my room overnight now. They have a cage still, but now they can free roam all night, I love it. I think Rowdy has his moments, he'll eat with the girls and then later he'll eat on his own. Yes ma'am, I'll be doing the slivers soon. I need to go to the store today and get more meats (they've almost wiped out the batch I just made), and I'll be getting double the chicken and more hearts, those are just about gone. I'll definitely have to sit with Ladikin, she likes to run off and eat. I'll need to make sure she's actually eating it, instead of running and hiding it to stink of things later. Oh yes, the fur change is great. Ladikin's used to be very rough when I adopted, now it's get softer and fuller and I don't think I've smelled any grapetails yet. Thank you, it's been a challenge at times, but we're getting there! Also, this is for both you and Heather, but since they are on the raw now, their stools have become less in volume, they are much smaller now. I'm assuming this is good, because it means their bodies are getting more from their food and not wasting much, yes? And also, is the eggshell powder better for the soup or bone meal powder? I'm doing eggshell right now. There's some loose stools here and there with each of them, but not pure liquid. Do I need more powder in the soup or is this ok with them? I quadruple the recipe the forum has, so I use about 3 teaspoons of eggshell powder to 2lbs of chicken and 4oz of both beef liver and chicken heart.
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