|
Post by Klarissa on Aug 16, 2015 21:52:39 GMT -5
It's mainly for me, its extra lean, so not great for ferrets, but I'm going to certainly let them all try it The bone pieces range in size, from the size of a plastic bead, to macaroni sized. When I got home Willy had a piece stuck on his tooth, but he didn't seem upset about it. His paw is so much better today! He is still limping, but he doesn't hold it up anymore, and since its happened he has kept his paw limp, all his toes pulled together. Today he has the normal paw sprawl, so he is flexing his paws again I moved him from the cage into the small pen; nothing to climb, but more exciting. I have a few more days of soup made, then I will be doing all muscle meals & bone in meals slivered. The organs will still be soup, since they aren't used eating just organs; though I was happily surprised when Bear ate the organ only (heart, liver, kidney) soup without any coaxing - maybe I will try slivered hearts & soupify the kidney/livers. Having this thread is unbelievably helpful - to be able to go back & see where I started. And of course, how responsive & supportive @julesalot FireAngel have been. When I started it, mostly I just wanted a place to record the transition. The feedback has been priceless. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!
|
|
|
Post by FireAngel on Aug 16, 2015 22:01:07 GMT -5
I'm glad we could be helpfull! You are doing great!
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Aug 16, 2015 22:36:03 GMT -5
That's great to hear about Willy, hopefully he is back on all fours 100% in no time. We are glad to help, it is a pleasure working with you, Willy and Bear. I'm so happy we have been of help to you guys. You're a wonderful ferrent who cares a lot for your babies and we could all tell that from the beginning.
|
|
|
Post by Klarissa on Aug 18, 2015 16:23:48 GMT -5
It's not on topic at all, but I'm not starting a thread for this: How on earth do I put pictures in the signature?
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Aug 18, 2015 20:44:58 GMT -5
Haha yeah I had trouble with it for a while, you have to make your collage of pictures or if it's a single picture just upload it to a site like Photobucket, then copy the IMG link, and paste it in your signature in your edit profile settings.
|
|
|
Post by Klarissa on Aug 19, 2015 14:22:19 GMT -5
Yeah, it worked! I live in a zoo, and was dyyyying to share pictures of my flock Willy has been consistently on his own. Day #6 without any kibble. Other than that, its been pretty uneventful, which is a nice change. The last time I did meal prep I was making for 3 ferrets (and Trixie had the biggest appetite) so its taking longer than expected to go through all the food. I've been feeding Bear on a schedule, and after the next meal prep I hope to get Willy on a schedule & away from the all-in-one soup. I also need to start weighing what I feed them at each meal, so I can do the math. Not ferret math... No more ferrets... So I am told.
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Aug 19, 2015 19:42:02 GMT -5
Sounds good! How is Willy doing with his paw, about the same?
|
|
|
Post by Klarissa on Aug 19, 2015 20:15:50 GMT -5
It's much better, he walks, runs, climbs... A little bit of limp still, but I can flex it in all directions and he doesn't pull away anymore. When we catch him trying to get up/down off furniture we give him a lift.
Two nights ago was his first real play time since he sprained it, and he was running laps around my room dooking. No doubt he has exclaiming "I'm free! I'm free!".
|
|
|
Post by FireAngel on Aug 19, 2015 20:39:48 GMT -5
I'm so glad Willys paw is doing better and hooray for no kibble! Try adding some slivers to his soup, keep the momentum going and yes weigh everything!
|
|
|
Post by Klarissa on Aug 19, 2015 21:45:58 GMT -5
He gets small slivers (grind sized) and bones, and happily eats both. He doesn't stash , unlike some other fuzzbutt I have, Bear! Her half of the room, the floor is caked with jerkified meats - tomorrow is floor scrubbing day. She has a stash hut too, doesn't use it. I put the dish in the hut, won't eat from it. She just grabs meat, walks a little ways, drops it. Repeat. Sometimes she likes to take it to the litter box, ew. Lately, if they have rejected for for being too chunky I attack it with the bacon scissors, instead of putting it in the magic bullet. How long does it usually take to get ferrets to eating meat as is (whole wings, whole hearts, whole prey)?... More or less than 9 months
|
|
|
Post by FireAngel on Aug 19, 2015 21:59:19 GMT -5
He gets small slivers (grind sized) and bones, and happily eats both. He doesn't stash , unlike some other fuzzbutt I have, Bear! [img src="http://i1105.photobucket.com/albums/h352/JW_2012/Emoticons/ .png" src="http://i1105.photobucket.com/albums/h352/JW_2012/Emoticons/ .png"] Her half of the room, the floor is caked with jerkified meats - tomorrow is floor scrubbing day. She has a stash hut too, doesn't use it. I put the dish in the hut, won't eat from it. She just grabs meat, walks a little ways, drops it. Repeat. Sometimes she likes to take it to the litter box, ew. Great, sorry I thought he was only doing soup for some reason. Sometimes mine go to the litter box too. It was a frequent thing but now only a rare thing thankfully!
Lately, if they have rejected for for being too chunky I attack it with the bacon scissors, instead of putting it in the magic bullet. This is great, you have complete control over the sizes this way.How long does it usually take to get ferrets to eating meat as is (whole wings, whole hearts, whole prey)?... More or less than 9 months Yes! :heehee: Seriously it is pretty individual for each ferret and ferrent. You play a huge role in how long it takes. If you are lazy about it or do not want to push them at all or very little it takes longer. You are definitely not having either of those issues btw!
|
|
|
Post by Klarissa on Aug 20, 2015 12:31:07 GMT -5
Thanks! I don't mind pushing them a little They are reasonably young (2 yo & 4 yo), and healthy. Bear right now is getting some tough love; she wants Willy's food because its less chunky than hers. Meanwhile Willy wants Bears food because he loves the bones - he took 3-4 bone pieces, stashed them & are them I'm getting to the end of this mix, so sometimes it's soup, sometimes chunky. I made wayy too much soup last time This morning Bear & Willy each got (separate) 20 minutes of play in the dirt box while I cleaned their room. Then we took them for a walk. Then we let them play around the apartment. THEN we put them together. There was some small scuffles, but by the end they had both fallen asleep in separate blanket piles. They were together & not fighting - small wins! We are going to continue exhausting them & then introducing them. It seems to help.
|
|
|
Post by Klarissa on Aug 20, 2015 20:50:01 GMT -5
Bear sleeps like hooman My neck ache just watching some of the ways Willy sleeps.
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Aug 20, 2015 21:17:26 GMT -5
That's wonderful that they didn't fight as much, keep trying, they'll get there. Do you know how many oz Bear and Willy are eating per day (each)? It's good to keep track of the amount they eat, in case they start eating less because of illness or etc.
|
|
|
Post by Klarissa on Aug 20, 2015 21:34:41 GMT -5
I have no idea . I know I really need to get on it (even have a cute notebook lined up). When I was doing the soup with Trixie & Bear I just made the soup recipe & decided by # of days. But now one male/female, different sizes, etc that I need to be weighing each meal. I will be doing meal prep Sunday. This batch is lasting longer since Trixie ate wayy more than Bear or Willy, so I made a 2 week supply for 3, when I only needed 2. Willy & Bear have polar opposite eating schedules. He will only eat a a few bites all day, but he will eat a tonne overnight. (I just weighed 1 tbsp of meats to get an idea/guesstimation, and he eats about 3.45 oz overing & probably 0.5 - 0.75 oz during the day). Depending on the meals, Bear will eat 1oz - 2.5oz a day. If its beef, with eggshell or if its organs she will happily gobble up 2oz. If it's bone in chicken grinds she will eat closer to 1oz. I think every 2-4 days, we will do a ferret friendship bootcamp We will tire them right out, THEN put them together. They spent a lot of time just staring at eachother, probably thinking "I'm too tired to fight".
|
|