2 Kits transition

[Deleted]

Hera and Zeus are between 10 and 11 weeks old. Hera is a little girl and Zeuz a boy. We have had them for a week today. They are both very energetic and playful and after 2 days with us they adapted to our schedule! They wake up at 8am after they hear me, I open their 4 level enclousre and they are free to go around their room (and living room if I'm home) play for a few hours, and they go in their enclousre on their own to take a nap at noon. They play for another few hours and take another nap around 4pm (I don't force anything they made their own schedule! lol) play again and go to bed around midnight (same as me  ) The hey are free roamers if I'm home, they have their own room if no one is home, and they sleep in their enclouse in their room at night.

We offered them some chooped beef meat and chicken liver before but no interest. Up to now they were eating Marshalls kibble soup and a few bites of dry kibble here and there. Today I made my first batch of soupie with 8oz. chicken quarters, 1oz. chicken liver, 1 oz chicken heart and 1/2 tsp egg shell. First offered it in a spoon, nothing. Rubbed it in their gums, nothing, Zeus even spit it out and ran for his water!!! But then I added a tea spoon of wet kibble to their 2 oz raw soupie and they both ate some! They went to bed right after, but I'm hoping they'll have some more later. I can't say how happy I am that they actually ate some, even if I had to put a bit of kibble in there, at least they have some meat in their bellies and know the taste!!!  (giggle)
I'll weight them when they wake up and see how they do with the rest of the soupie! Should I leave some more overnight or save their apetite for the morning?

[Deleted]

So my brother in law just got a deer, do you think they'll take deer heart in their soupie?

[Heather]

You can use deer heart in their soupy but make sure it's a new batch and keep within the boundaries of the recipe. The recipe is balanced. You should freeze the deer heart for a couple of weeks anyway. I can't imagine kits turning their nose up an real food. That's unimaginable. Are they marshals kits? Anyway, good luck with your switch. Try and convince the wee ones to come off the kibble as soon as you can. Mixing it can upset their stomach (not saying it will but it can). Some use a sprinkling of powdered kibbles to try and integrate the flavours
ciao

[Deleted]

They are marshals. Zeus ate a whole cube of soupie on his own this morning, no kibble at all! There were even some big chunks that the blender didnt get and he ate them, proud mama here! I have to asume he ate what was left overnight too, so im going to separate their enclosures tonight to make sure Hera eats something!

[Deleted]

Hera weighs 1 lb 2 ounces and Zeus weighs 1lb 12 ounces. He's grown a lot in a week, Hera not so much.

[Heather]

Keep an eye on her and make sure she's eating. It's good and natural that he's taken to this so readily. Kits should eat meat without hesitating. He will need to be fed 4 x a day. Once he gets the hang of it he will eat a lot and so should she.
ciao

[Deleted]

They are both eating the soupie happily! And some big chunks too! They even enjoyed pulling the meat I couldn't get out of a chicken leg bone. Any suggestions on how to introduce frozen-thawed mice? Or should I wait?

[Deleted]

They are eating straight organs and muscle chunks with egg shell sprinkled on! And they love pulling meat out of big bones. I'n nervous about giving them bones they can chew on because they are so young. Any suggestions? What should I start with and what should I absolutely stay away from?

[Deleted]

Oh, can I give them raw egg? I read somewhere that they shouldnt have any until they are 6 months old.

[Deleted]

I'm full of questions today! How do you guys ensure they are getting the propper amount of food when you have multiple ferrets?

[raynebc]

You could try cutting up a mouse to see what they think of it. I've read some people introduce whole prey by cutting it open and drizzling a favorite oil on it. The smaller the bone, the easier it will be for them to practice on. Many people start with something like bone-in quail, chicken wing tips (the smallest section), frog legs, etc. Larger bones can be smashed into smaller pieces. Raw egg should be fine if they're already eating raw meat. As for amounts, they'll probably be like bottomless pits for a while. Aim to offer enough so that they don't run out of food, either with larger portions or more feedings per day.

Edit:  Forgot to mention cornish game hen, that's usually pretty inexpensive and easy to find in grocery stores.

[Heather]

Give those naughty little kits bone in meats and let them crunch those bones. It's good for them..really Chicken wings, chicken ribs, rabbit, quail, duck, pheasant...all easily eaten bones. Kits need those bones.
Yes, scramble up those eggs and let them have one between the two of them. They can have 2 a week, between the 2 of them.
Making sure they get enough meats....weigh them. Kits I weigh 2x a week, I can also tell by how full their bellies feel but you may not be comfortable with that.
ciao

[Deleted]

So the past week they have eaten chicken, pheasant, rabit, turkey and beef!! Yay!! But the only bone they ate was the rabbit tail! The pheasant wings they clean the bone spotless and I found a few teeth marks, but that's it! I'm still sprinkling bone meal powder on the meat. Do you think they are finding the bones too hard because they are young?

[Bonbon]

are you crushing the bones for them with a hammer and cutting the meat into small pieces about the size of your pinkie?

[Deleted]

No, I will start crushing the bones, dummie me (headwall). Do you think I need to cut the muscle meat? They are eating big pieces no problem (even the skin on chicken and pheasant)