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Post by Deleted on Mar 6, 2016 19:38:20 GMT -5
Smokey is a 12 week old female. She was being fed marshalls when I got her, so im using that for the transition stage. I tried small pieces of chicken about the size of my pinky nail and she ignored them. I put them in her food bowl and I thought she ate them, but she had actually just picked them out and left them under her food bowl.
Today I made soup and I offered her a bowl, and she ignored it. I tried spoonfeeding, playing chase the spoon and she turmed her head.
So just now I dabbed some on my finger and she wouldnt lick it off, so I put it in her mouth and she licked the rest off my fingers, but will not eat it out of the bowl. But its progress.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 6, 2016 19:39:40 GMT -5
How do I encourage her more and let her know she did good? I praise her but I feel like its all the same. Ive had her only 3 days and shes still busy exploring the new home, doesnt know her name yet
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Post by Deleted on Mar 6, 2016 21:32:04 GMT -5
It is progress. She'll settle in and begin eating but right now she's a bit stressed and needs to get her bearings. Ferrets in a new place are all about exploring their home. It's a great time to build your bond with her. Walk around your home and show her everything from the sinks running to what's in a drawer. You can ferret proof at the same time because she will point out all the little spots that need to be watched or secured and you can pick up all the rubbery foamy objects that she won't be allowed to chew on. At 12 weeks old she is a Tummy with Teeth. She'll pretty much eat what you give her. She's a baby though and needs you to give her reassurance and so sit with her on your lap and praise her. Coax her like you would a small child just learning to eat real food. After she's eaten then play with her for awhile. She'll come to associate food with play and look forward to eating. Keep saying her name while you play with her. She'll learn it soon enough. Sometimes they decide they don't like their name and you'll find yourself calling her a nickname or another name and when she responds then she has told you that she likes that name better. Personally I love the name Cody and think it should suit her well. Cody means helpful and you'll see how helpful she becomes the first time you try to sweep or clean up around her. Chores are so much more fun with their help.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 6, 2016 22:00:01 GMT -5
Lol codys my name her names smokey. I put her in her cage an hour ago becuz she was falling asleep and took out her kibble and left the soup in the cage. Hopefully she eats it on her own tonight, if not ill replace the kibble in the morning and keep finger feeding her to get her used to it.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 7, 2016 7:53:00 GMT -5
oops sorry about that. Smokey it is. How'd the soupie go over last night?
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Post by Deleted on Mar 7, 2016 10:56:33 GMT -5
The soup went untouched. I tossed the soup and gave her kibble and she went right at it, so she seemed like she was waiting it out. Today im gonna continue finger feeding. I didnt measure but my guess would be she licked 3 tablespoons off my finger last night.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 7, 2016 12:41:18 GMT -5
Okay keep trying. She's smart enough to know to hold out for kibble and will play you. Make her wait if she doesn't eat the soupie. She's young and healthy so while we don't want her to starve, you do want her to know the soupie is what you expect her to eat.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 7, 2016 13:31:27 GMT -5
I just got her to eat off the spoon. I have to hold her still, but this time, I kept lowering the spoon into the bowl until it was right on top of the soup in the bowl, and she ate a little bit out of the bowl a couple times. She had some kibble this morning, im going to remove it and leave her with the soup when she gets tired and I put her in the cage.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 7, 2016 13:47:40 GMT -5
I just got her to eat off the spoon. I have to hold her still, but this time, I kept lowering the spoon into the bowl until it was right on top of the soup in the bowl, and she ate a little bit out of the bowl a couple times. She had some kibble this morning, im going to remove it and leave her with the soup when she gets tired and I put her in the cage. Very good. I simply put someone on my lap and place my left hand over them and then cup it under the spoon. This lets them know I'm there and is a gentle reminder that I want them to stay. Smokey did great and she'll eat some more now that's she's a little more familiar with it. Just remember to make meal time fun and reward her with some playtime before or after a meal. Very nice job and good progress. (dance)
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Post by Deleted on Mar 7, 2016 16:57:53 GMT -5
More progress. I took her kibble away this morning and have only been offering the soup. I finally got her to eat some in her cage by having her lick it off my finger inside the bowl. I took my finger out and she kept going. She definitely recognizes the soup as food now, but I think she would still rather have the kibble atm. Im defrosting more soup in the fridge and will make more tonight.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 7, 2016 23:12:28 GMT -5
I found her bowl of soup licked clean earlier, I gave her more and she started eating it right away. So now shes readily eating it and I shouldnt have to add any more kibble. Im making more tonight. Should I leave it the same or put some slivers in it?
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Post by Deleted on Mar 8, 2016 9:38:04 GMT -5
Try some tiny slivers in it now. Make them about the size of your fingernail crescent and mix them into the soupie. She'll be surprised when she first finds them but she may eat them or you may need to work with her on them. The idea now is to get her eating small slivers and slowly increase the size of the slivers. Once she is happily eating the slivers then you begin to reduce the amount of soup and increase the amount of slivers. You and Smokey are making very nice progress. Be proud of yourself and let her know that you're proud of her.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 8, 2016 14:27:15 GMT -5
I gave her the rest of the soup in the fridge when I got home from work today. Her bowl was again licked clean. As I was bringing the ice cube tray of thawed soup and holding her at the same time, she was going at the tray. I put it in her bowl and didnt even have to put it in front of her, she started eating instantly, and was really chowing down, more than she does with kibble. I made this soup with chicken gizzards instead of thigh, because the thighs werent defrosted enough. So ill put some slivers of gizzard and thigh in there when I make this soup.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 8, 2016 14:37:15 GMT -5
Wow!Smokey is doing great and so are you. She's a hungry little girl and needs to make up for those lost nutrients that she didn't get in her kibble. You may find her needing to eat alot now. Anytime the bowl is empty then fill it up. Soupie is good left out for 6-8 hours or even a bit more so leave food out for her and let her eat as often as she wants.
A grown female eats only about 2 ounces a day. Smokey is likely to eat as much as 8-10 ounces or even more for the next few months. Spring time usually means they eat less but I don't think she will eat less for awhile.
She will have days where she is nice and full and may appear to eat less but that's normal also.
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jessmarie
Junior Member
Q: How do you drive a ferret crazy? A: Give him a round litter pan.
Posts: 144
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Post by jessmarie on Mar 8, 2016 14:59:23 GMT -5
Great progress! I hope my boys do as well as your girl when I start feeding them raw. Keep it up!
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