Penny, Bear, Bianca and Mel switch thread

[brightstar]

Today is day one of switching my four furkids from FDR to raw.  I haven't applied for a mentor yet---thought I'd see how it goes on my own first.  But I thought I would post this topic to keep track of my progress, and to hopefully ask for advise if I have any questions.

I started by making up the soupie recipe and putting it in the blender so I have a sort of mushy consistency. 
I made up their FDR like I normally do.  Usually, I feed them 50g of FDR a meal.  This time, I weighed out 25g.  I then mixed in 10g of raw. 

I'm going to be feeding them 3x a day until the switch is complete, then move them to 2x. 

[FireAngel]

Great! You're doing so well with them so far, looking forward to see how they progress!

[Celene]

Congrats on taking the first step! Even though the switching thread is "unofficial" it would really help us help you if you could give us some background/details such as the following for each of your four fuzzies:

• Name
• Age
• Weight
• Any health/other issues
• Picture (not necessary, but definitely cute!)

This will also provide a good guide because then you can track their weights and progress individually throughout the switch. You will probably find that some ferrets are much easier than others.

[brightstar]

Thanks, Celene .  I'll try to get the weights and other details posted once the furkids wake from their nap.

FireAngel: Thanks. I'm a little concerned so far - I checked their food dish after 4 hours. They'd eaten the FDR and I think they'd left the majority of the raw. I emptied out the leftovers and fed them a new batch of 25g FDR and 10g raw.  They're still sleeping at the moment, so I don't think they'll want to eat for another few hours yet.

I'm not sure why they ignored it. I'm hoping if I persist, they'll get used to it being there and try it.

[FireAngel]

Did you mix them together? I would think it would be very difficult if not impossible for them to separate soup from soup.

[brightstar]

FireAngel: Yes, I blended the soupie into a mush, and then mixed it with the FDR(which was also a mush). Maybe it was just bad luck and they were full and just happened to leave the last bit which was the raw.

A quick note about getting their weights: I tried this evening, but the scales don't seem to be able to get their weights(I think the furkids were being too squirmy and wouldn't stay still long enough for the scales to read the weight.) I'll try again later.

[Celene]

I bribe my girlies to sit still for their weights. I know other people also tare the scale with a large mixing bowl on it, and put the ferret in the bowl with some sort of liquid treat (egg yolk, salmon oil) at the bottom to keep them occupied.

[FireAngel]

I bribe mine also with a treat, the bowl idea sounds good too though! Lol
If everything was mixed together I think maybe it was just a fluke that there was a raw bit left. How much did what was left weigh?

[brightstar]

Great ideas about the scales! I'll try that next time. I use treats to get them to sit still for nail clipping, I'm sure the same would work for weights.

FireAngel: Oops! I didn't think to weigh the leftover. It looked about 10g or so. I checked their food dish just now, and it looks like they have about 15 - 20g left of their current meal. Some of it is raw - I noticed that it seems kinda like "stringy mush" - could that be what's putting them off? Do I need to blend it up even more?

[FireAngel]

Could be yes. You can blend it down to as thin as a thick cream if need be and then slowly work your way up with it. It's a good idea to weigh what's left over each time. It will give you a better idea of how much they eat and when. Sometimes they eat more during the day then at night and vice versa depending on the ferret. In the long term it will help you cut down on waste.

[brightstar]

Success!! (I hope).

The bowl had 15 - 20g left in when I checked earlier. I noticed Bianca was at the food dish just now, so I checked when she was finished. The bowl is pretty much empty save for a few crumbs!

I'm going to try 30g of FDR and 20g of raw tonight. *crosses fingers*

[FireAngel]

Can't wait to see how they did in the morning! Sweet dreams!

[brightstar]

Thanks. When I checked this morning, they hadn't eaten as much in the night as I expected. There was about 15g left. When I made up their dinner today, I gave them 20g FDR, 20g raw.  With the two so well mixed together, it's really hard for me to tell for certain whether what's left is raw or FDR.  I'd rather they emptied the whole bowl, so I know they're eating everything.

I noticed today that Mel has a much softer coat, and Penny is putting on a little weight.

[FireAngel]

Since FDR is raw and balanced it is not a big deal if they leave a little more soup one or two days or any days really. As long as they are eating it and we can progress them that is the important part. Like mentioned before you really could skip the soup and just try the FDR soup and work up to slivers then to chunks.
shiney soft hair, a bit of weight and an increase in energy are all good signs they are taking to the diet switch well!

[brightstar]

Hm. I weighed what was left over when it came for their next meal. There was 20g, and it looked like it was the raw. For this evenings meal, I've fed them 15g FDR, 15g raw. I combined them and mixed in blender, adding a bit of warm water. I hope this works, because I'm getting a bit concerned about what to try next if it doesn't.