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Post by Deleted on Nov 18, 2015 20:46:39 GMT -5
Hi! I'm just popping in to say that I'm still here. I've just gotten off work and go back at 7am, so bear with me and I'll be back soon. In the meantime, you two are doing fantastic and I'm very proud of you both and of course all the fuzzies. Hugs to everyone and talk to you again soon. Thank you for being so understanding.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 20, 2015 1:11:30 GMT -5
Hi Hi! Sorry I didn't reply yesterday. I was catching up on home work and well asleep early. @poncesmom Yay! It will be great to have you back~ I hope work is going smoothly and hopefully not too hectic The power must still be down in Avy's area, so she'll get back to us with her Questionnaire and update on how things are going with her fuzzies when things go back to normal.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 22, 2015 16:09:34 GMT -5
FOR 11/16/15
1. Cheshire 2. 1lb 4.1 oz (1lb 3.9 oz) 3. 1.5-2 oz per meal 4. pretty normal except kind of white when eating really fatty food 5. high
1. Spinner 2. 1 lb 12.4oz (1lb 12.1oz) 3. ~2 oz. per meal 4. Normal 5. SUPER high
1. Loki 2. 2 lbs 10.8 oz (2lbs 10.6 oz) 3. ~2.5-2.75 oz per meal 4. normal 5. High
1. Mycroft 2. 2 lbs 11.2 oz (2lbs 10.6 oz) 3. ~3 oz per meal 4. smelly/ a bit sticky poo after fish 5. highest I’ve ever seen it
1. Courage 2. 3 lbs .4 oz (3 lbs .1 oz) 3. ~2.73 oz per meal 4. same as Mycroft, plus a bit darker on beef at first, but then seemed normal 5. high
6. Still have soupie mixed in because of a lack of bone in meals. Monday they had Ground turkey. Tuesday they had bone-in wings cut up. Thursday they also had bone-in wings. Friday they had salmon. Saturday they had goat. Sunday they had rabbit.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 22, 2015 16:16:20 GMT -5
I'm back!! Power came back on yesterday but we had a TON of farm stuff to catch up on. Questionnaire for last monday is posted and I'll be posting one for this last week tomorrow So happy to finally have a shower and laptop back I have issues posting pics from my computer sometimes but I can post from my phone. I'll probably just post a super pic/short clip heavy post on this thread I also tried a meal sans soup, using powdered eggshell in place of bone and after the first meal I had to change the ratio and add a wee bit more eggshell powder and now it seems to work well! Everyone is happy and fat *cough* (Courage) *cough* Everyone has sooo much more energy than even when they were babies (for those who I've had since they were babies at least). Mycroft has always been pretty quiet personality wise, but since theyre on a new diet I'm seeing his colors shine more brightly. It's always nice to learn their quirks and such. How are your babies?
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Post by Deleted on Nov 22, 2015 18:08:54 GMT -5
Yay! Welcome back! It must have been some crazy weather to cause a power outage for so long. If you have issues with posting pics from the laptop, there's an app on mobile called Tapatalk which lets you post pics directly to the forum. I can't wait to see photos, they must be looking super gorgeous! Everyone seems incredibly healthy, and have so much energy! It's fun because they have to let all that energy out during play then they sleep like babies! It's also great to hear that they're eating well and are great weights. Mycroft reminds me of my Haru. She's pretty quite as well, so when she starts playing I get so excited. Its incredibly adorable! My babies are doing well. Lately Yuki has been quite cheeky, he's managed to get the bath plug and stash it on two occasions. (sigh) Beavis has a vet appointment tomorrow to have his cataract checked up on and to get some eye drops, but other than that my guys have been very healthy and quite energetic. Have you noticed how keen your babies get when it comes to dinner or breakfast time yet? I love it! Every time you bring breakfast or dinner, they all rush to dig in. I think this is one of those specs of the natural diet that I really love. You would never get this with kibble. I was also going to give you a small quiz, but that can wait until tomorrow. Give everyone a big hug~ Poncesmom will also be back soon too! Yay!
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Post by Deleted on Nov 22, 2015 18:36:07 GMT -5
Tapatalk is what I use on mobile Please excuse long nails, they got trimmed today but pics are from this morning/yesterday Mycroft standing for a piece of beef Mycroft playing Playing in dirty laundry of course Crash after playing Courage after long hard play (L to r) Mycroft, Courage, Spinner My little Loki bear Cheshire
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Post by Deleted on Nov 24, 2015 3:12:09 GMT -5
Good morning(or)evening~ I love the photos! They all look incredibly healthy and have such shiny and fluffy coats~ They must have their winter coats? They look like they're having such a blast in the video and really do appear to have a whole lot of energy! I'm impressed by mycroft standing~ Have you been teaching them tricks? Two out of my Three can stand up and roll over. I think teaching tricks is so much fun. Mycroft also appears to have nice clean teeth from the photo~ Have you checked teeth before? Sometimes its good to check their teeth just to make sure there is no build up of plaque or tartar. Good Oral hygiene is very important for carnivores just as it is for us humans. Healthy teeth and gums can lead to a longer life, and bad oral hygiene can increase chances of various oral diseases or health complications. Plaque has been linked to Heart disease. Ferret's who eat a kibble based diet have more plaque build up, whereas a ferret on a natural diet will have less plaque providing there is a good amount of bone in meats in the diet. Even on a healthy diet, it can still build up over time but in much smaller amounts so its always good to have a check on teeth to make sure their gums and teeth are both healthy~ Whole prey, bone in meats and things like gizzard are all great for our ferrets teeth and can brush along the teeth/cleaning at the same time as they eat. Oh there's also this incredibly awesome article by Bob Church that you should give a read when you have some spare time. It teaches the basics of a ferret's dental design and discusses teeth fractures among other things. www.ivis.org/journals/exoticdvm/9-2/Church.pdfHere's a couple of questions that I said I would quiz you on. Feel free to go back to the lesson on IBD for the answers. 1. Rabbit is another meat that, in ferrets, rarely causes an allergic reaction. Rabbit is also a great non-poultry source of edible bones. However, rabbit meat is very deficient in what? 2. Why is Lamb is typically considered “The Hypoallergenic Meat” ? I'm off to go finish some school work now~ See you later!
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Post by Deleted on Nov 24, 2015 13:55:45 GMT -5
They must have their winter coats?
Yup! and just in time! We had our first snow fall last night and it's all beautifully white. Living on a farm is nice this tim eof year because theres just blankets of snow that seem to go on forever! If I bring the ferrets out I'll post pics! I do believe this will be all the boys' first time in snow! Does it ever snow there? If not, have you ever seen snow in real life? It's so beautiful! Have you been teaching them tricks?
Not yet, I'm a really big fan of Joey the Trained Ferret on youtube but no one would take treats before! Now they'll eat whatever I hand them so I now have leverage to train with Have you checked teeth before?I have and It's crazy how much cleaner their teeth look now. Before, Chesh had a dark yellow stain on her back teeth that just wouldn't go completely away even after a vet visit. Now it's almost gone. Here's a couple of questions that I said I would quiz you on. Feel free to go back to the lesson on IBD for the answers.
1. Fat? 2. It is very gentle and easy to digest like goat Read more: holisticferret60.proboards.com/thread/19382/avys-switching-thread-poncesmom-machan?page=6#ixzz3sR7Knttf
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Post by Deleted on Nov 24, 2015 14:20:46 GMT -5
Much closer to a proper menu now!
1. Cheshire 2. 1lb 4.0 oz (1lb 4.1 oz) 3. 1.5-2 oz per meal 4. dark/a bit runny on organs 5. high
1. Spinner 2. 1 lb 12.5oz (1 lb 12.4oz) 3. ~2 oz. per meal 4. dark/a bit runny on organs 5. High!
1. Loki 2. 2 lbs 11 oz (2 lbs 10.8 oz) 3. ~2.5-3 oz per meal 4. normal, but whiter after eating a lot of fat 5. High
1. Mycroft 2. 2 lbs 11.5 oz (2 lbs 11.2 oz) 3. ~3 oz per meal 4. Normal 5. high
1. Courage 2. 3 lbs .2 oz (3 lbs .4 oz) 3. ~3 oz per meal 4. normal 5. high
6. If it doesn’t say soupie next to it, it was not included:
Monday am- beef with soupie snack- raw scrambled eggs Monday pm- goat with soupie
Tuesday am- chicken wings (bone-in) snack- chicken feet Tuesday pm- beef with soupie
Wednesday am- goat with powdered eggshell ("bone in") Wednesday pm- (whole) chicken hearts
Thursday am- rabbit ribs (bone in) snack- baby bunnies Thursday pm- rabbit ribs (bone in)
Friday am- goat with powdered eggshell ("bone in") Friday pm- ⅓ (rabbit) liver ⅓ (rabbit) kidney ⅓ (chicken) heart; all blended evenly
Saturday am- beef (muscle) Saturday pm- chicken wings (bone-in)
Sunday am- rabbit ribs (bone in) snack: chicken feet Sunday pm- ½ (rabbit liver) ½ (rabbit) lungs; evenly blended
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Post by Deleted on Nov 24, 2015 19:55:15 GMT -5
Yup! and just in time! We had our first snow fall last night and it's all beautifully white. Living on a farm is nice this tim eof year because theres just blankets of snow that seem to go on forever! If I bring the ferrets out I'll post pics! I do believe this will be all the boys' first time in snow! Does it ever snow there? If not, have you ever seen snow in real life? It's so beautiful!Wow! SO lucky! I've never seen snow before, other than in photos of course. We don't get it seasonally like you do. We get snow up in the mountains, and sometimes randomly in crazy cold winter in some states, but its quite rare. I remember hearing of snow in a few towns from me and got so excited only to find out it wasn't 'blankets of snow' rofl! It's also quite funny because christmas we have Summer, and most other places in the world would be having Winter. Oh! The boys will love it! I saw some videos posted to the HFF Facebook group of ferrets playing in snow and it was so incredibly cute! Not yet, I'm a really big fan of Joey the Trained Ferret on youtube but no one would take treats before! Now they'll eat whatever I hand them so I now have leverage to train with I loved Joey! >3< What a little cutie. I make my own freeze dried treats for training. If you want I can post the recipe here later on~ It's so easy and can be done with any meat and a freezer. The key to training is persistence~ I also think now that they'll eat what ever you give them is a huge advantage. I have and It's crazy how much cleaner their teeth look now. Before, Chesh had a dark yellow stain on her back teeth that just wouldn't go completely away even after a vet visit. Now it's almost gone.
It is awesome! Clean teeth is one of the great pro's to natural feeding. Two of my guys have a chipped canine, and the single tooth ends up going a deep yellow. Its quite gross, but at least the chip wasn't enough to have them removed, anyway my little girl Haru who had the worst teeth ever, has shown so much improvement in such a little time. I kind of laugh every time I hear that 'kibble cleans teeth'. Nothing cleans teeth like a healthy diet~ Here's a couple of questions that I said I would quiz you on. Feel free to go back to the lesson on IBD for the answers.1. Fat? Yes, very good! Rabbit meat is very deficient in both fat and taurine. Wild rabbit though would have a much higher taurine content compared to farmed rabbits since wild rabbit are always on the move. 2. It is very gentle and easy to digest like goat.Correct~ Good job! I have to go run and do errands so I will check over your menu when I get home~ See you later!
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Post by Deleted on Nov 25, 2015 22:30:55 GMT -5
Very nice! Everyone is eating the slivers well? It might be a great time to start removing the soupie soon. Fantastic~ How are they all handling the wings? Is anyone having any troubles eating the bones? Are the wings whole, or chopped up?
Is the goat with bones, or just muscle meat with egg shell? It's also fantastic to see a full meal of hearts~ The baby bunnies as a treat is a nice add for Thursdays meals~ Remember it's ¼ liver + ¼ other organ meal + ½ heart. I forgot to ask, thats not too confusing is it? I'll put little example here for reference. Example: If a ferret eats 3 ounces per meal. (1 / 4) of (3 ounces) = 0.75 ounces. 0.75 ounces (liver) + 0.75 ounces (Other organ) = 1.5 ounces. (1/2) of (3 ounces) = 1.5 ounces. So 1.5 of hearts and 1.5 of organs make up a 3 ounce meal. If you see runny poops, try switching the muscle meal and the bone in meal. Organ meal from Friday night is best followed with a bone in meal just to firm things up. Lungs do not secrete hormones so they are not considered a true “organ” as far as raw diet is concerned, however they are considered an organ that can be fed occasionally. They are very high in Iron and Vitamin B12, as well as other B Vitamins. Major Hormone-Secreting Tissues are Liver, Kidney, Spleen, Pancreas, Gallbladder, Brain, Major glands (thymus, thyroid, parathyroid), Uterus, Testicles etc. You have a great variety of proteins lined up so far. It's best to have a good variety for optimal health and to insure ensure enough Vit B, iron and a good base of taurine is in the diet (most taurine comes from the heart in the diet however). You have a total of 4 different proteins (Beef, Goat, Chicken, Rabbit) At least one of the minimum 3 proteins needs to be something other than: chicken, rabbit, cornish game hen or fish. If you can get in one more protein then you would have a great base diet. 14 meals that consists of 4 Muscle Meals, 1.5 Heart Meals, 7 Bone In Meals, 2 Organ Meals. Base rule is if you noticed dry, chalky (or seedy) and firm poop you can reduce or switch the bone-in meals and feed muscle meat instead. If you noticed Loose, unformed and overly liquid, increase or switch to bone-in meals. You've worked wonders with your business since beginning your switch! I'm so happy that they started quite well and are willing to try new proteins without much resistance. I was expecting Mycroft to be the stubborn one out of your business, but even he has exceeded my expectations so I'm overjoyed! (dance) I was suppose to send this yesterday but I got caught up in some course work. I hope all is well for you and your incredibly awesome business!
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Post by Deleted on Nov 27, 2015 20:03:24 GMT -5
How is everything going~?
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Post by Deleted on Nov 27, 2015 21:42:09 GMT -5
Everything is going well! Sorry for the delay, spending time with family for the holiday. I actually did do the 1/4:1/4:1/2 ratio for the mixed organ meals, I just recorded it wrong in my journal. Noted all comments on diet change. Babies got a turkey wing dinner for thanksgiving :3 I thought I'd have a problem with Mycroft at first too, but as soon as he was off kibble he was all dandy with raw! Loki may be my most hesitant one, but with a bit of peer pressure from the others, he eats new things! Girls don't care what it is, if it's put in their bowl; they'll eat it.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 28, 2015 1:39:37 GMT -5
I hope you had a fantastic thanks giving holiday~ I forgot a lot of people on the forum and group celebrate thanksgiving until everyone started posting thanksgiving related stuff. Its not celebrated over here in Aus. We tend to have family gatherings on Australia day though and lots of BBQ. They got a turkey wing! Wow those must be quite big. They must have had a lot of fun getting through it. hehe. You're incredibly lucky to have such great fuzzies who only needed only little nudge here and there before they got onto raw. At this rate you will probably graduate in no time. You were suppose to be my first difficult switch too! LOL. Today I'm going to give a small lesson on Minerals. Minerals are very important and are a very necessary part of your ferret's diet. They can be quite tricky to understand at first, but I'll try and explain it as simple as I can. They are often called Essential Minerals and the name is self explanatory. Minerals are incredibly important for your ferret in order for them to stay healthy. Their bodies use minerals for many different jobs, including building bones, making hormones and regulating the heartbeat etc. Minerals are usually divided into two groups– Macro Minerals and Micro (or trace) Minerals. These two groups of minerals are equally important but they are both required in different amounts. For example, Macro Minerals are required in larger quantities in the body. As for Trace Minerals, the body only needs these in a much smaller amount compared to Macro Minerals. Macro Minerals include the following; Calcium: Important for healthy bones and teeth; helps muscles relax and contract; important in nerve functioning, blood clotting, blood pressure regulation, immune system health. Phosphorus: Important for healthy bones and teeth; found in every cell; part of the system that maintains acid-base balance. Magnesium: Found in bones; needed for making protein, muscle contraction, nerve transmission, immune system health. Sodium: Needed for proper fluid balance, nerve transmission, and muscle contraction. Potassium: Needed for proper fluid balance, nerve transmission, and muscle contraction. Chloride: Needed for proper fluid balance, stomach acid. Sulfur: Found in protein molecules.
Trace Minerals include the following;Iron: Part of a molecule (hemoglobin) found in red blood cells that carries oxygen in the body; needed for energy metabolism. Manganese: Part of many enzymes. Copper: Part of many enzymes; needed for iron metabolism. Iodine: Found in thyroid hormone, which helps regulate growth, development, and metabolism. Zinc: Part of many enzymes; needed for making protein and genetic material; has a function in taste perception, wound healing, normal fetal development, production of sperm, normal growth and sexual maturation, immune system health. Fluoride: Involved in formation of bones and teeth; helps prevent tooth decay. Selenium: Antioxidant. Chromium: Works closely with insulin to regulate blood sugar (glucose) levels. Often found in liver. Molybdenum: Part of some enzymes. Other trace nutrients known to be essential in tiny amounts include nickel, silicon, vanadium, and cobalt. Minerals are all necessary for the continued health of your ferret, however they can also be toxic or life threatening in high or unbalanced doses. The best way for ferrets to get the minerals into their bodies, is for them to eat a wide variety of fresh raw (or) whole prey foods. A well balanced diet for your ferret will usually provide all of the essential minerals they need without the addition of mineral supplements. Some meats have more or less of these minerals, that is why a variety in the ferret's diet is very important for them to stay healthy. There is even the possibility of mineral supplements, but this should be a very last resort. Always seek professional veterinary advise before using any supplements for your ferret. Thats basically all for now. See you later! ^^//
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Post by Deleted on Nov 30, 2015 22:14:50 GMT -5
Any update?
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