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Post by Deleted on Oct 9, 2015 19:30:56 GMT -5
Hope I did this right, It's been a long while since I've been on a switching board x.x Ferrets being switched: Coda:
Age: 7 years, 1 month
Weight:689Kg (1.52lbs)Eragon
Age: 1year 8 months old
Weight: 1.27kg(2.8lbs)Food before and current during switch: Nature's Variety Instinct Turkey and Duck Current Available proteins(will be updated as meats become available): Chicken, Turkey, Rabbit, Pork, beef. Current Organ Meat: Chicken Liver, Chicken Heart, Rabbit Liver, Rabbit Kidney, Rabbit Heart. Soup of the week: Porck Hock, Chicken wing, Rabbit thigh, rabbit kidney, Chicken lungs, beef shank, egg. Current bone in: chicken wings, rabbit legs Status: Eragon and Coda have together decided that they hate raw and i'm out of ideas. Any help is appreciated, I'd rather not force feed, but i'm willing to finger feed. BEFORE PHOTOS: Coda:   Eragon: currently in the middle of a coat change 
 Other Notes: Diet I would like tips, ideas, and help switching to:Franken prey and eventually whole prey. ALL HELP IS APPRECIATED! Why am I interested in switching my ferrets?I now have the means of getting organ meat, and paying for meat in general. I've always wanted my ferrets to be on a better diet and have always advertised raw over kibble even when I was unable to feed raw myself. Other then wanting a healthier diet, I also eventually wish to become a mentor myself. So that I may not only suggest raw, but help with the influx of people interested in raw. Do you understand that switching can be lengthy...I do understand that switching can be a lengthy process. I'm willing to go out of my way in order to give a proper diet to my fuzz. Especially with Coda being an older girl, I'd like her last few years to be healthy and happy. How often do you have access to a computer/device for internetEvery day. Multiple times a day. I can be contacted via Facebook if I am not online here. My name is Kaitlin Kitya Moulder. Do you have the requirements...I do have a scale, I can weigh my ferrets daily, weekly, monthly, whatever it takes. I have at the least, partial access to the necessary organ meats, but i am limited to only two different protein organ meats(rabbit, and chicken/turkey) |
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Post by raynebc on Oct 10, 2015 2:00:59 GMT -5
Have you considered ground meats like beef? Since it's such a staple human food, I can't think of it not being available pretty much everywhere throughout the continental US. Mine don't like beef very much, but they don't mind ground lamb.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 10, 2015 15:05:05 GMT -5
Have you considered ground meats like beef? Since it's such a staple human food, I can't think of it not being available pretty much everywhere throughout the continental US. Mine don't like beef very much, but they don't mind ground lamb. I don't use ground meats, I just haven't picked up any beef yet. Thank you though |
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Post by Deleted on Oct 10, 2015 19:06:23 GMT -5
Hi! Congrats on creating your switching thread! It's a wonderful decision you've made to switch your ferrets to a more natural and healthy diet. Switching isn't always easy, and since you have an older ferret, Coda, it is too be expected that he(?) will be more reluctant to try meat. Eragon is still quite young, so hopefully he(?) will be more curious to try something new. Food before and current during switch: Nature's Variety Instinct Turkey and Duck
Is this the kibble that is designed for dogs? If I googled correctly, it would appear that there are a few things in the ingredients which aren't very good for ferrets. (Especially the Salt & Vegetables) Thank goodness that you're switching.  Current Available proteins(will be updated as meats become available): Chicken, Turkey, Rabbit, Pork.
That sounds good, however you will need to add red meat somewhere in there. Beef has Iron, Vitamin B and Taurine. Rabbit is very low in Taurine. I also want to point out that Chicken is a hyper-allergenic meat which means its one meat that is more likely to be the cause of things like IBD. Lamb is the opposite, it is a hypo-allergenic and is less likely to cause things like IBD. Its also easy on the stomach. Current Organ Meat: Chicken Liver, Chicken Heart, Rabbit Liver, Rabbit Kidney, Rabbit Heart.
Thats a good variety for now. Very good.  Soup of the week: 1 Chicken heart, 1 Chicken liver, 1 Rabbit heart, Pork chop, chicken breast, rabbit legs, powdered egg shellI recommend following the HFF soup recipe, just to make sure that things are well balanced. Here's the link to the document. docs.google.com/document/d/1aRms_O0F38lNSQktABNYDqievQ9GZSR4rRR6fcAcPHA/editCurrent bone in: Chicken feet, chicken ribs, possibly rabbit ribsChicken feet are a good treat, however they aren't best for a meal. Are you able to get turkey wings/necks or duck wings/necks? Those make great bone in meats. Status: Eragon loves the soup, will also eat bone in. Coda sniffed, looked at it like she would trash, and promptly walked away.Oops I called Coda a He before- Anyway, You will need to work with Coda and coax her into trying it. She will be reluctant which is to be expected but just be persistent. Try dapping some soup on her nose, or rub it on her gum line so she gets a taste of it first. She doesn't recognise it as food, so we need to reassure her that it is edible hahaha.  |
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Post by Celene on Oct 11, 2015 1:01:32 GMT -5
Kaitlin, welcome to the forum! I'm glad to see you're finally going "all the way" |
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Post by Deleted on Oct 11, 2015 20:41:22 GMT -5
I've actually been a forum member for some years now haha, i just recently returned. The Instinct Turkey and Duck i feed is a cat food. Not the dog food, and one of the best available kibbles for ferrets. However I'm still switching. I've been through a type of switch in the past, and trust me, I know Coda well. She's extremely picky, and the last time we tried to switch, she was about two... 2.5 years old at the most. Eragon is less picky. Yes, he's a he As for Chicken, one of the reasons our switch stopped was because Tubesock was intolerant to chicken. Unfortunately she passed away late wednesday night. So I started switching the last two. Coda and Eragon are not chicken intolerant. |
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Post by Deleted on Oct 14, 2015 21:21:16 GMT -5
Progress was halted due to business, starting again tomorrow morning fresh and new, making brand new soup because god knows meat mush spoils a hellofa lot faster then whole meat. Will update.
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Post by Celene on Oct 15, 2015 0:23:53 GMT -5
You know you have ferret on the brain when you read "due to business" and think you are referring to YOUR business of ferrets... After I make grind/soupies I immediately freeze all but what I need for the very next day. Then I take out the meal/day before so it thaws in time for when its needed  |
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Post by Deleted on Oct 15, 2015 9:04:54 GMT -5
That's one of the reasons we haulted, i have no ice cube trays! Picking some up today hopefully Along with beef, i have crap loads of chicken and rabbit left over, as well as some pork. Other then beef, what red meats can I access easily? I didn't think about the red meat issue until it was pointed out, I knew about beef.. But i'm not so sure i can just get lamb from my local supermarket.. |
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Post by Celene on Oct 16, 2015 1:23:11 GMT -5
Nothing wrong with beef! I get lamb at my local grocery store - it's in the freezer section if nowhere else. Red meat isn't an absolute necessity though, it's more about getting a variety of different nutrients (the whole "red meat" thing originated because some people were feeding chicken, turkey and quail and saying they got their minimum 3 proteins, even though all are fairly nutritionally similar).
Lamb is a great one though because it seems to be the least allergenic and easiest on the stomach to most ferrets. Duck is a great option - it is quite high in B Vitamins and iron. Duck gizzards are SUUUUUPER cheap and the only food my girls love so much they will actually hiss and fight over it.
Pork is a good option too.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 23, 2015 10:42:53 GMT -5
Updates!
Well Kinda...
We restarted late. But at least we did!
Coda: still refuses to touch anything wet unless it's salmon oil. Today i picked up beef, she licked it! But....that's about it. She licked it. Decided she hated it and walked away. I tried putting a very small piece in her mouth, she hated it. I warmed it to room temperature, she refused it.
Eragon: Isn't sure about beef. Every so often, he'll go back and sniff at it, lick it a bit, take a few very small bites and walk away.
I took their kibble away just over an hour and a half ago. Maybe since they both tried it, they'll get hungry enough to munch!
Edit: Guys, I've forgotten all the tricks. How in heck did Sherry manage to help me switch Coda before!
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Post by Deleted on Oct 23, 2015 11:54:02 GMT -5
AGHHH
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Post by Celene on Oct 23, 2015 20:47:14 GMT -5
Lol! The #1 trick is tough love and not giving in. Ferrets are terrifyingly clever. Each time you give in and go back to soupies or treats, they know that if they hold out long enough they won't have to spend the effort eating chunks.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 23, 2015 21:17:25 GMT -5
We're still in soup stage anyway. with the exception of Eragon who will occasionally eat chunks, I want to be switching them both at the same time.
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Post by Sherry on Oct 24, 2015 1:48:54 GMT -5
Katie- Coda could ALWAYS play you lol! Don't let her. Hand feed where you need to. Use tough love as well. If you KNOW she isn't at risk wait her out. Get the others switched and she WILL follow suit. She remembers. She just doesn't want to let you know  |
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