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Post by Celene on Jul 31, 2015 22:06:07 GMT -5
Bonemeal/eggshell powder is for calcium and minerals (until they're eating bones) but it also firms up the poop. The general "rule of thumb" is that if the poop is really liquidy you add more, and if the poops get hard and/or grey and crumbly you've gone too far. Don't throw out the whole batch though, just blend up some more chicken, heart and livers with less/no powder to "dilute" it
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Post by Celene on Jul 31, 2015 22:16:31 GMT -5
Btw, how big was the batch of soup with 1 1/3 tablespoons?
The 3/4 tsp per 10oz of meat is just the average that ferrets NEED in order to get enough calcium, but some ferrets need more than others (just like humans). They are very good at self-regulating though which is why the texture of the poop is a good indicator. Basically, if it's liquid then they're absorbing all of the powder and could use some more. If the poop is hard/very firm it's because there is more powder than their body needs so they are excreting the excess.
They can't actually get sick from too much at once, but it is probably more difficult/uncomfortable to them to pass something harder. If any of them DOES get a really hard poop or seems to be having a hard time using the litter box you can give them a little oil or egg yolk to help things along.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 31, 2015 22:25:45 GMT -5
I feel like such a failure of a father T-T I always aim for the best I can do with my ferrets...And I kinda already dumped it after the near heart attack I had...I haven't seen Rumi go yet so I'll keep an eye on her and hopefully she won't have a blockage...I used 2 chicken thighs net worth was .84lbs (if I did my math right) 6 chicken hearts 2 livers and water worth about probably 4 cups...in end the soup was over 1.25 L full in the blender...Mia and Rumi REALLY loved the mix actually scarfed it all down with what they had. -Devan
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Post by Celene on Jul 31, 2015 23:28:05 GMT -5
No, you're a great father - the fact that you care so much about your furbabies and want to give them the best diet possible proves that! I talked to the other mentors (including some that have switched dozens and dozens of ferrets over the years and nobody has ever heard of a blockage from too much bonemeal so as long as you keep an eye on your fuzzies they should be fine.
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Post by Celene on Jul 31, 2015 23:33:54 GMT -5
BTW, where are you located? I noticed that you weigh your ferrets in metric, so if it helps here is a metric conversion of the soupie recipe: 200g chicken thigh 25g chicken heart 25g chicken liver 1/2 tsp eggshell powder or bonemeal or slightly more (technically with the conversion it should be 0.55 tsp) If your scale weighs in g/kg it will also make it easier to double the recipe
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Post by Deleted on Aug 1, 2015 19:03:30 GMT -5
BTW, where are you located? I noticed that you weigh your ferrets in metric, so if it helps here is a metric conversion of the soupie recipe: 200g chicken thigh 25g chicken heart 25g chicken liver 1/2 tsp eggshell powder or bonemeal or slightly more (technically with the conversion it should be 0.55 tsp) If your scale weighs in g/kg it will also make it easier to double the recipe We have a weight that does G, Ib:oz, kg, Ib, and oz. It mainly for ferret weight though today's report. Ferrets don't like soup that has been frozen over two days...(yay...) Made a fresh batch (Did NOT use so much bone meal Phew) Mia drank out of it 2x today, Rumi 3x, Noa is hard for me because she hates my existence but loves Raven but I got her to lick from finger 4x but no bowl eating, and great news for Emil today he actually ate from my finger WITHOUT force holding him! (Yay) he even licked once out the bowl but then said "NOPE!" and wanted to leave so I praised him and let him go. However I do have bad news too I think our blender motor might have burned out a bit I'm going to try again soon and if it is we might have a conflict...(I hope it's fine) - Devan
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Post by Celene on Aug 1, 2015 20:03:20 GMT -5
Lol! I don't know if ferrets can tell how long soup has been frozen before being thawed but I'm glad they all tried it. I'm sorry to hear about your blender - I use a magic bullet for my organ soupies and it was only about $30 or so and works great. You can also get ground chicken (or turkey) thigh so start working them to a slightly thicker consistency. Then you'd only have to blend/finely mince the heart and liver and mix it in with some water. I hope it's just fine though
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Post by Deleted on Aug 1, 2015 21:25:16 GMT -5
Hm if it works wonders with you I'll have to get one myself however I was thinking about using a grinder to make a pasty meat for them cause I wonder if Emil and Noa will eat it if it's more solid then in chunks plus Rumi tried licking a skin slice it was so adorable. - Devan
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Post by Celene on Aug 1, 2015 21:27:45 GMT -5
Grinders work great too! Definitely next time you have some meat around consider offering them each a little sliver and see if they have any interest in meat in a more solid form
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Post by Deleted on Aug 2, 2015 11:26:53 GMT -5
Good and bad news...good news is Mia at a small solid piece of chicken skin right in front of me! (No surprise she is our perfectpuff) so she might be right just to go to solids now. Bad news Emil and Noa are definitely not eating they have lost weight and I can tell without the weight scale....any ideas? - Devan
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Post by Celene on Aug 2, 2015 12:12:02 GMT -5
Do you have soup available for them 24/7? I would suggest getting them hooked on egg yolks or oil and using that to entice them to the soup. It doesn't take much to get a weasel to fall in love with egg! Dab some yolk on their noses or gums a few times and they'll start begging for it Mixing egg in with their soup is also a good way to boost calories and nutrition, although too much egg might give them runny poops.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 2, 2015 12:20:37 GMT -5
Yes and its changed every 8 hours on the spot and tried it with fish oil was a meh their not a big fan of egg yolk though...
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Post by Celene on Aug 2, 2015 12:40:40 GMT -5
Egg yolk is similar to raw in that it takes them a little bit to acquire a taste for it. However, they do much quicker and one they realize it's good, they LOVE it and go crazy over it.
With Emil and Noa just continue to encourage them to eat. You can sit one on your lap and let them eat from a spoon. Try and get them to have at least a couple spoonfuls each time before you let them go.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 2, 2015 19:29:56 GMT -5
Well Emil isn't into egg yolk so I tried some fish oil on the grounded meat went pretty well he ate 1/3 of what was made (sad thing was no theigh was thawed out but I'll be making some with it soon) Noa was not up for it again...
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Post by Deleted on Aug 3, 2015 9:17:13 GMT -5
Ok so I tried it all grounded instead of blended last night worked pretty well I'm assuming Mia ate since the meat is more filling and I know Rumi did and thanks to the fish oil Emil ate a bit but I'm unsure about Noa. Reguardless I made the same thing this morning and will put up results after my shift. - Devan
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