Olliver's Unofficial Transition to Whole Prey - help!

[Deleted]

Ihate to say this but I might be a ferret whisperer.

Olliver went from actively avoiding thin soup when he came home, and is now already eating very thick soup with chunks.  I don't even need to sprinkle kibble dust on it, he just digs right in!  He's eating about 1oz at a time, but it is better than nothing!! We are working with a soup made from 8oz chicken meat, 2oz lamb liver and 2oz pork heart with a tsp of crushed eggshells. 

Here he is, the sweet little love, at a whopping 2lbs:




Seriously, I must have some way with ferrets, as he is chowing down on this stuff now!!

I need to make more soup tomorrow but I will also make some with longer slivers to see how he likes that.

[raynebc]

Handsome guy. Regarding the soup recipe though, it should be 8 oz. muscle, 1 oz. liver and 1 oz. heart along with the ground eggshell. You can probably get away with replacing an ounce of muscle meat with heart if Olliver likes it that way, but it's better safe than sorry with liver amounts.

[Deleted]

Jan 11, 2016 19:14:51 GMT -5 raynebc said:

Handsome guy. Regarding the soup recipe though, it should be 8 oz. muscle, 1 oz. liver and 1 oz. heart along with the ground eggshell. You can probably get away with replacing an ounce of muscle meat with heart if Olliver likes it that way, but it's better safe than sorry with liver amounts.

Whoops, guess I remembered the recipe wrong!  Since I am making another batch tomorrow I will correct that.

[Deleted]

Unforunately I had spoken too soon.

Ollie is back to avoiding raw to his best efforts. He struggles and fights when I try and hold him, and even with some kibble dust sprinkled on the new batch of soup (measurements corrected), he absolutely refuses to eat it.

I couldn't even get 1 oz in him yesterday so I think today we might start scruff and stuffing. I really didn't want to do that (because Enzo is still being a jerk so I want him to feel as comfortable as possible) but he needs to be eating more.

Also, should've snapped a picture but didn't think, his waste is very loose and a yellowish color? Any ideas?

[Deleted]

You aren't the first ferrent to  get tricked by a ferret who decides suddenly to turn his nose up at something after happily scarfing it down. Don't let that discourage you.
Oliver looks a bit thin and might simply have been too full after getting a nice tummy of nutrients in him.

During a transition, there is usually a one step forward and one step back time at some point.
Also just like us, some days they will eat more and some days they don't feel like eating much.

Oliver is handsome but he looks too thin at this point. To judge if a ferret's weight is good, you should be able to feel his ribs but not see them. He should not have a waistline but be straight up and down.
It could be the angle of the picture but he does look thin from the picture.

I would not force feed him. You need him to associate food with love and pleasure.
Perhaps instead you could place him on your lap, reassure him and gently dab some on his lips.
Put one hand on him lightly to let him know you are there and then offer some from a spoon.
Praise him and talk sweetly to him. Coax him and go for that "just one more bite".

He may need to eat small meals for awhile and you will want to watch him throughout the day and offer
him his small meals every few hours until he is use to his new food.

As for his poop, you can expect funky poops from new food. Soupie's have organs in them and organs mean loose poops. That's why we recommend following an organ meal with a bone in meal once he is on a Frankenprey diet.
Yellow usually means an eggy poop. Did he have any eggs?
If the soupie had skin in it then it might be undigested fats but that usually results in seedy looking poops.
A vaccine could also produce a yellowish pale poop.
Most likely it is simply the result of a new diet and you can expect this off and on for bit while he transitions. A smelly poop is a warning flag.
Here is a copy of a poop chart that will let you see some of the different poops they have:
holisticferret60.proboards.com/thread/2469/poop-chart

You're off to a good and normal start. Lovely job ferrenting and give both of them a big hug for their first efforts.
Your signature drawings are just so good!
(dance)

[Deleted]

Jan 13, 2016 16:16:19 GMT -5 @poncesmom said:

You aren't the first ferrent to  get tricked by a ferret who decides suddenly to turn his nose up at something after happily scarfing it down. Don't let that discourage you.
Oliver looks a bit thin and might simply have been too full after getting a nice tummy of nutrients in him.

During a transition, there is usually a one step forward and one step back time at some point.
Also just like us, some days they will eat more and some days they don't feel like eating much.

Oliver is handsome but he looks too thin at this point. To judge if a ferret's weight is good, you should be able to feel his ribs but not see them. He should not have a waistline but be straight up and down.
It could be the angle of the picture but he does look thin from the picture.

I would not force feed him. You need him to associate food with love and pleasure.
Perhaps instead you could place him on your lap, reassure him and gently dab some on his lips.
Put one hand on him lightly to let him know you are there and then offer some from a spoon.
Praise him and talk sweetly to him. Coax him and go for that "just one more bite".

He may need to eat small meals for awhile and you will want to watch him throughout the day and offer
him his small meals every few hours until he is use to his new food.

As for his poop, you can expect funky poops from new food. Soupie's have organs in them and organs mean loose poops. That's why we recommend following an organ meal with a bone in meal once he is on a Frankenprey diet.
Yellow usually means an eggy poop. Did he have any eggs?
If the soupie had skin in it then it might be undigested fats but that usually results in seedy looking poops.
A vaccine could also produce a yellowish pale poop.
Most likely it is simply the result of a new diet and you can expect this off and on for bit while he transitions. A smelly poop is a warning flag.
Here is a copy of a poop chart that will let you see some of the different poops they have:
holisticferret60.proboards.com/thread/2469/poop-chart

You're off to a good and normal start. Lovely job ferrenting and give both of them a big hug for their first efforts.
Your signature drawings are just so good!
(dance)

Thank you so much! You are a great mentor (even though you aren't mine) and you're always so helpful!

He did get a distemper vaccine the day he came home, so that could be it.  He is definitely too thin, that's part of the reason I brought him specifically home. He was the only ferret in the shelter who just couldn't seem to put on weight, so that's why I'm so worried about him not eating.

I will keep trying, he likes to sleep in my lap when I am on my bed, so we have tons of time to keep trying. I really appreciate your response, I will update again soon!

[Deleted]

I just realized that Olliver has two L's in his name. Please apologize to him for my mistake.

Thank you for your kind words. All of our Mentors work very hard and truly care about yours and other's ferrets as well as their own. It's such a true pleasure to be included in their group.

He sounds like such a sweetheart and I'm just so glad he found you. I'm sure he will thrive under your care.

[Deleted]

Jan 13, 2016 19:04:57 GMT -5 @poncesmom said:

I just realized that Olliver has two L's in his name. Please apologize to him for my mistake.

Thank you for your kind words. All of our Mentors work very hard and truly care about yours and other's ferrets as well as their own. It's such a true pleasure to be included in their group.

He sounds like such a sweetheart and I'm just so glad he found you. I'm sure he will thrive under your care.

Not to worry at all, having two L's in his name was actually a misprint on the adoption form but I decided to stick with it lol.

Yes, all of the mentors are very very helpful and amazing, you all put a lot of time and effort into helping others, and I'm really happy I found this forum.

[Deleted]

I tried everything @poncesmom suggested, but he is still wildly resisting.

I pet him for a bit in my lap and when he is calm, I rub a small amount of raw on his nose/muzzle, and he immediately jerks away and begins squirming like crazy until I let him go. He hasn't eaten even a tsp today.

I am so afraid that he isn't going to get enough and he'll legitimately starve!

[Deleted]

I reduced the soup to a very thin liquid and did my best to get him to eat some. He got maybe .3 an oz? In the last two days he's eaten less than an oz.

Should I be considering getting some high-quality...non raw food? Just to maybe get him a little fatter and a bit healthier, and then try switching him to raw? I'm worried this might be too stressful for him.

[Deleted]

One thing I noticed in his picture is that you can see eggshell fragments in there.
Eggshell powder is made by letting the eggs dry out for a day or two and then grinding them up into a fine powder. I bought a small coffee grinder for this and it quickly blends them into the fine powder.
Then it can be stored in a small plastic container and keeps well for quite awhile.
A magic bullet works well and so does a blender or food processor.

Talk to your vet about getting Olliver some Carnivore Care. It's a supplement and will help him put on some weight.

We really do not want him to starve and since he needs to put some weight on, then it looks like we'll have to ease into this with him.
I'd like to think that the eggshell fragments made him uncomfortable and once they are eliminated, he will eat the soupie better.

I don't like suggesting going all the way back to his previous menu of kibble but he does need to have something in his tummy. Put out the kibble in the morning for now and then wait a few hours and try the soupie again. This time just work on getting him use to the taste.
Dab some on his lips and let him lick it off before he wipes it off. Be firm but gentle.
Then put him down and wait a bit and maybe an hour later, try again.
Do that off and on through out the day and always try to make it a game but stop after the just one taste.
Put his kibble in with him at night but not alot of kibble, just enough so you know he can have something to eat while you're sleeping.

If you work during the day, then adjust this so you can work with him in the evenings when you are home. For the next two days, let's just work on him getting use to the taste and texture.

[Deleted]

Got a girl just recently that snatched away and also spit out food when scruffing and stuffing. I am  making progress a little at a time.

I thought i had mine eating chipped mouse with salmon oil. That came to a halt. But this---- so far, is working.

My girl took to this pretty quickly. I mash it and make a very, thick gravy. Once she took to it, I  started daubing her food with it. She licks off gravy, but does eat chips of meat along with it.

[Deleted]

Without the gravy , she went to bed this morning without eating her breakfast . I took her down from cage after thawing the medallions and made gravy to put on guinea pig pieces. Was surprised she attacked the ribs.  The rabbit formula from Petsmart or Petco

[Deleted]

Jan 14, 2016 8:13:11 GMT -5 @poncesmom said:

One thing I noticed in his picture is that you can see eggshell fragments in there.
Eggshell powder is made by letting the eggs dry out for a day or two and then grinding them up into a fine powder. I bought a small coffee grinder for this and it quickly blends them into the fine powder.
Then it can be stored in a small plastic container and keeps well for quite awhile.
A magic bullet works well and so does a blender or food processor.

Talk to your vet about getting Olliver some Carnivore Care. It's a supplement and will help him put on some weight.

We really do not want him to starve and since he needs to put some weight on, then it looks like we'll have to ease into this with him.
I'd like to think that the eggshell fragments made him uncomfortable and once they are eliminated, he will eat the soupie better.

I don't like suggesting going all the way back to his previous menu of kibble but he does need to have something in his tummy. Put out the kibble in the morning for now and then wait a few hours and try the soupie again. This time just work on getting him use to the taste.
Dab some on his lips and let him lick it off before he wipes it off. Be firm but gentle.
Then put him down and wait a bit and maybe an hour later, try again.
Do that off and on through out the day and always try to make it a game but stop after the just one taste.
Put his kibble in with him at night but not alot of kibble, just enough so you know he can have something to eat while you're sleeping.

If you work during the day, then adjust this so you can work with him in the evenings when you are home. For the next two days, let's just work on him getting use to the taste and texture.

In the new soup mix, I made it really thin and it no longer has eggshell chunks.  I gave him some kibble this morning, which perked him up a bit. We will try dabbing some raw on his muzzle every hour, and we have an appointment for a blood test next week, I will ask them about the Carnivore care

[Deleted]

Excellent. Olliver will move along at his own pace and with your patience, he will move forward.
Please let us know what the vet has to say.

Don't be surprised if your vet objects to raw feeding. Vets do not receive many nutrition classes on a ferret's needs in vet school and most studies on feeding ferrets are funded by kibble manufacturers.
If your vet is onboard then by all means, please add him to our vet list.