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Post by Deleted on Oct 26, 2015 1:25:08 GMT -5
Hiya! So after many obstacles, I finally have everything to switch my fuzzies over! I got the last ingredient for soupie earlier today and already made my first batch! I decided to take an ounce of soupie and see how well-received it would be, although I did not take away kibble. Koi needed some coaxing with oil, but she quickly realized it wasn't so bad. She had about a teaspoon before she got bored with it. Pocky was the same as Koi, but needed more oil and ran away much faster. Booker is going to be difficult. He wouldn't lick it off his mouth, he wouldn't take it with oil, and he wouldn't keep licking if I snuck it in while he was licking straight oil off my fingers. I'll try scruffing next. Ciel had the rest of the ounce, he loved it! He didn't need coaxing with oil at all, which I'm excited about. I plan to try again tomorrow after classes. This time I will take away kibble beforehand and only feed one at a time. I will also post on the mentor programs thread as soon as I have time, which will probably be Wednesday. One question; would it be acceptable to feed them around 3-4pm and 12-1am? I don't believe it would matter, but I figured I'd ask. I have classes during the day and I'm much more of a night owl. My fuzzies are accustomed to my schedule and are most active around 10pm
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Post by raynebc on Oct 26, 2015 2:06:04 GMT -5
They'll likely be more receptive of the soup when they're hungry (ie. a couple hours with no kibble). When they're fully on raw, you can just leave them a fresh meal a couple times a day (3pm and 1am should be OK as long as they have enough food to last from meal to meal). 14 hours is probably longer than soup would stay fresh, the bigger the chunks of meat, the longer they last before starting to spoil.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 26, 2015 21:08:36 GMT -5
Thanks, I'll keep that in mind. I think I could feed them earlier on most days, but there's one day that has to be 4pm. Maybe just feed them a bit later on that day... Alright, lesson learned, they have a stash of kibble. I took their food away around 2 and planned to feed them at 4. At 4 I started gathering what I'd need and woke them up. They notice the food is gone, go to their stash, and I hear the crunching of kibble. So I didn't get to feed them until 6:30. Booker was the only difficult one, but he did eat more than last night with oil. Stats! Koi, F, 0.31 ounces Pocky, F, 0.21 ounces Booker, M, 0.10 ounces Ciel, M, 0.87 ounces I'll be able to post to the mentor sign up thread tomorrow.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 27, 2015 8:34:27 GMT -5
Hi Booker It sounds like you are off to a good start. When you get a chance, please post some information on your four. Let's put it on your unofficial switching thread here so Mentors can refer to it. List their names, ages, weights, any health issues and gender. Then if you could please post pictures of each one. One from the top and one from a dangling viewpoint. I'm linking your Hello thread for reference also: holisticferret60.proboards.com/thread/19270/helloYour four will adapt to your schedule, so don't worry about that. Also, raw food is safely left out. Leave their food out for them and they can eat or snack when you're gone. The soupie is fine left out for up to 12 hours. Booker is your stubborn one and we always get one that is more finicky. I'm not a fan of scruffing for meals. I'd rather sit with one on my lap. Then dip your finger into the soup and put some on Booker's mouth. He has to lick it off. Have a small spoon ready and offer the next bite from the spoon. If he tries to run away, gently put him on your lap and place your other hand lightly across him. Just enough so he knows you are there and that will reassure him. The key with switching them is to feel secure and comfortable and then they will feel secure. This is all new to them and they simply don't recognize new food as food as they get older and imprint on kibble. Oil is fine to get started but you'll have looser poops if you use too much oil. Try to keep it down to about 1/2 tsp every 3 days. Keep posting and don't hesitate to ask questions. (dance)
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Post by Deleted on Oct 28, 2015 0:22:48 GMT -5
I just posted to the mentor program sign up! I did get a chance to weigh them today, so those are up to date. I'll just copy what I posted there. Koi, F, 3.25 yo, had her 3 years, 1.9 lbs, underweight, prone to blockages Pocky, F, 3.25 yo, had her 3 years, 2.0 lbs, no health problems Booker, M, 2.75 yo, had him 2 years, 3.0 lbs, no health problems Ciel, M, 2.5 yo, had him 2 years, 3.3 lbs, overweight, possible Waardy, no health problems
Knowing that kibble and raw shouldn't be fed together, should I take their kibble away during the day and just leave soup? Then put it back at night for Booker? Can I leave both overnight or would that be ill-advised?
I found a trick with scruffing, actually. With Booker, I'll scruff him and hold the spoon close to perpendicular to the floor, and after he starts licking (which takes a while and just some rubbed on his mouth wasn't working) I relax the scruffing to just slight pressure/rubbing on the back of his neck with encouragement until he finishes the spoon.
Last night and earlier today they were fed without really measuring. I had an exam today, so last night I kinda set everyone up with their own soup and kept them wrangled together as I fed Booker by hand. And Tuesdays are my late day as far as classes, so I really didn't want to make them wait longer than they needed to. Bowls are always going to be immediately tipped over and stashed by Koi, and I'm not really sure how I would go about setting soup on their tiles then scrapping what they don't finish and still get accurate measurements... Any suggestions?
I plan to feed them one by one, by hand, later tonight, so I'll have updates in a few hours! I'll plan to take better pictures tonight, as well. My phone's camera doesn't like movement...
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Post by Deleted on Oct 28, 2015 3:42:24 GMT -5
It's 3:30 am, so this will be short and sweet. Stats: Ciel: 2.81 oz Booker: 1.26 oz (So proud!!) Koi and Pocky split the rest, fairly evenly: 0.355 oz each No oil this time. I'm worried about how much the girls are eating. Is eating such a small amount because it's still pretty new? They should've been hungry...Is that normal? Pictures: (Update once my phone syncs...) Ciel: Booker: Pocky Koi Pocky
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Post by Deleted on Oct 29, 2015 1:49:57 GMT -5
Alright! I fed them earlier today and you would've thought they were starving. They easily ate through 3/4 of the entire batch. They kept finishing, so I kept giving them more... I take back what I said about the girls not eating much! And even Booker ate plenty, and no longer needs scruffing! I needed to do it once today, then he started eating on his own with the spoon, still working on eating from the bowl.
Tonight will be the first night without kibble! Bowl has soup instead.
I'll update with stats tomorrow
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Post by Deleted on Oct 29, 2015 22:44:28 GMT -5
Another giant appetite across the board! They've completely cleared out the double batch I made Tuesday, haha. No numbers yet because I had a busy day with classes and homework, and I haven't had the time to feed them individually and wait through the impromptu running breaks.
And good news! More progress with Booker! He'll eat off the spoon on his own, so long as it's on my lap (which is completely fine by me), and he even eats it cold! He won't even eat pumpkin cold, which is his favorite treat, so eating this cold is a huge leap. He's not too fond of the larger chunks (half-thumbnail size) that the food processor leaves behind, but I'm assuming that will come with time. I'm just happy they got off the kibble so quickly!
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Post by Heather on Oct 30, 2015 11:41:42 GMT -5
Sounds like you're making good progress. Great job. One thing you can try is to figure out just what they're eating. Weekly weigh ins at this point also help. It just allows you to keep track of where it's going and who's going to need help. Sounds like your guys are doing wonderful. Leave the chunked pieces in as it's part of the learning process is to eat them. Once they start to eat those then it's time to increase the numbers of the chunks. Great job with Booker, the method you used with him is the similar one to what I use. ciao
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Post by Deleted on Oct 31, 2015 20:41:36 GMT -5
I think I figured out a way to measure what each of them are eating, but not only let one out at a time. I sectioned off a part of my room with a gate, so I can stick one in there to eat, and play with the rest. It allows them to run as much as they want, and stash if needed, and I can still clean up after and keep the others away without putting them back in the cage. I'll try it tonight.
The afternoon meal today was fairly low because I left some soup in the cage overnight. Ciel: 0.55 oz, weight: 1350 g --> -150 g (grams seem to be easier/more accurate to measure weight changes) Booker: 0.28 oz, weight: 1300 g --> -50 g Koi: 0.32 oz, weight: 1000 g --> +150 g Pocky: 0.36 oz, weight: 1000 g --> +100 g
And an additional 2 oz with all of them running up, getting a few licks, then running away.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 1, 2015 4:35:58 GMT -5
Booker: 1.7 oz Pocky: 1.2 oz Koi: 0.5 oz Ciel: 0.9 oz
I'm not sure Koi feels well right now...She's prone to blockages, so I think I'll give her some pumpkin tomorrow and see if that helps
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Post by Deleted on Nov 2, 2015 0:26:37 GMT -5
Pocky: 0.72 oz Ciel: 0.33 oz Booker: 0.51 oz Koi: 0.29 oz
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Post by Heather on Nov 2, 2015 23:18:18 GMT -5
How is Koi doing? You mentioned possible blockage? ciao
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Post by Deleted on Nov 3, 2015 3:39:14 GMT -5
Yeah, she seems to be doing much better. I posted in the emergency thread because I thought she was the one with cloudy poop, but I watched her twice and it wasn't her. I think it might have been just the heat. As for Pocky, her poop is very runny lately, and I'm pretty sure the cloudy one was her, so I think I'll try a different muscle meat for the next soup to see if it's an allergy. She seems fine besides that, big appetite, lots of energy and very playful, the only thing I've noticed is that she's digging more... Night meal was 3.2 ounces for all of them, split fairly evenly. The meal before was about the same. I spent the day working on a lab report, and have chem lab in the morning. I should have time tomorrow to do individual feeding and weigh-ins, they definitely feel much fuller
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Post by Heather on Nov 3, 2015 16:31:45 GMT -5
One of the problems sometimes encountered in group feedings is the different needs of the individual ferrets. It may be one of your guys needs more calcium than another. This would account for sloppy stools. Sometimes it's just a matter of the type....bone seems to settle better and is better absorbed than say egg shell powder ciao
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