Rosita and Charlotte's Raw Diet Transition Diary

[Deleted]

May 6, 2016 18:15:48 GMT -5 Celene said:

That's fantastic news! I'm sure Rosita will come around soon if you are gentle and persistent.

Rosita is so upset with us. We have tried twice now to introduce the soup (this last time we scruffed and stuffed and finally had her get a really good taste). She ate what was given to her but when placed down immediately ran to the water bowl and drank water and then went to Charlotte who was eating a little more of the soup herself and tried knocking the bowl over (which looked almost on purpose; tantrum style). Any advice? We have tried salmon oil and coconut oil with a small amount of soup, placing on nose on 6 different occasions (all times she rubbed her face on things until it came off), placing kibble on top, and scruff and stuff. It is only the 2nd day, so we know she will come around, just running out of ideas or what to try again. I think the egg yolk and soup will be our next attempt.

[Deleted]

5/7

Evening

Heisenberg - Ate 4 TBS of soup

Rosita - WE FINALLY HAVE PROGRESS
Crushed up kibble and mixed in soup and put more crushed up kibble on top. Mixture had 3 TBS of soup and she ate about 1.5 TBS. Slowly but surely!

[Celene]

Slowly but surely - that is GREAT progress!

Both of my girls were fussy as h*ll. It took me several DAYS to get them to try the raw soupie. Some ferrets are much easier than others, but all can be successfully switched to raw

[Deleted]

5/8

Morning (I added diced chunks of chicken thigh to soup mix for today)

C - Ate 7 TBS (absolutely loves the thicker meat cuts)
H- Ate 5 TBS (was hesitant with meat chunks at first but dug in soon after)
R - Had to mix kibble in again but she ate another 1.5 TBS and wasn't as nit picky about the raw

Evening

C - Ate 5 TBS
H - Ate 7 TBS
R - Still on the kibble and raw mix with her. She ate maybe a TBS of raw

[Deleted]

5/9

Morning (diced chunks in raw for H & C and soup only with kibble - less kibble today - for R)

H - Ate 8 TBS
C - Ate 6 TBS
R - Took 3 different times of coaxing (bowl fed) but ate total of 2.5 TBS raw with kibble (YAAY Rosita!)

Afternoon snack

H - 3 TBS
C - 4 TBS
R - Sleeping

Evening (used chicken breast and thigh, had chicken breast diced pieces and took one of the chicken hearts and diced up to try and see if they would eat them that way; also added a little more bone meal powder to tonight's soup because stools have been very loose)

H - He was very hesitant with tonight's soup (pretty sure it was because of the heart) but eventually ate 4.5 TBS
C - She absolutely loved the cut up heart pieces and ate 4 TBS
R - Took two different feeding sessions, but she ate another 2 TBS raw soup with kibble
(more progress with Rosita!)

My fiancé will be calling in an order soon to our butcher to incorporate a new protein for H and C

Also have to add - Both Heisenberg and Charlotte's poops started to smell absolutely awful late afternoon. Charlotte's poop also had what looked like undigested raw pieces. Not sure if this is normal or not.

[Deleted]

Apr 25, 2016 22:22:01 GMT -5 @fatesarrival87 said:

Apr 25, 2016 22:08:55 GMT -5 @fatesarrival87 said:

Name: Amanda
HF Forum Username: fatesarrival87
Please confirm that you are 18 years of age or older: 5/5/87

***UPDATED 5/7/16***

1. Where did you first learn about natural diets for ferrets?
From members in three of the FB ferret groups I'm apart of (including Holistic Ferret)

2. Please describe the type of diet you would like assistance in switching your ferret(s) to. Be sure to include if you are interested in feeding whole prey (live or frozen-thawed) and if you are wanting to FULLY switch to a natural diet or PARTIALLY. If you are unsure what kind of diet you want to put your ferrets on, please express that and we can help you find the best type of natural diet for your ferret.

I would like all of my ferrets to be completely transitioned to eating only a raw natural diet.

3. Why are you interested in switching your ferrets to a natural diet?

The overall health benefits and longevity of your ferrets greatly increase when feeding a natural diet. I want both of my girls to live long and healthy lives minimizing the risks of certain diseases/disorders they could acquire.

4. Do you understand that switching your ferret to a natural diet can be a lengthy, arduous process? Its not an overnight switch. It requires a commitment of several months at minimum. Your HF Mentor will be more then happy to assist you in switching your ferret(s) to a natural diet, but you need to be equally as committed. The switch takes time and effort every single day. It can also be extremely frustrating at times. If you aren't willing to tough out a potentially lengthy switching process, you have major life changes approaching (baby on the way, moving, starting school, getting married/divorced, etc), or limited time due to work, then it might be a better idea to wait on switching your ferret's diet until you have more time. Are you willing and realistically able to make the neccessary time commitment?

I am a stay at home mom and will be with the girls almost 24/7 and will also have the assistance from my fiancé in assuring we stay fully committed to our girls' transition to their natural diet.

5. How many ferrets do you currently have? What are their names? Ages? Genders? Do they have any health problems? Are they overweight? Underweight? How long have you had each ferret for?

Rosita - 3 months on 5/7 - Female - No health problems - Average weight - Had first wellness visit with vet on 4/23 - Owned for 2 weeks

Charlotte - 3 months on 5/7 - Female - Waardy (is deaf) - Average weight - Had first wellness visit with vet on 4/23 - Owned for 2 weeks

Heisenberg - 3 months on 5/7 - Male - Haven't taken to vet yet (purchased on 5/4 after the girls); will be scheduling first appointment soon. He is double the size of our girls.

6. What diet do you currently feed your ferrets? (Please include all treats, supplements, etc) Do they already eat some form of soup?

Both girls eat Orijen Cat and Kibble
Introduced egg yolk and coconut oil to both, Rosita was the only one to take to both, Charlotte had no interest
Charlotte found a live junebug today while playing and ate the entire thing (it was alive)

7. Have you ever tried to switch your ferrets to a natural diet in the past? If yes, what happened?

We tried introducing a chicken heart to the girls over this past weekend (4/23 and 4/24) and on all 4 separate occasions neither of them showed interest (we even placed them in our laps and rubbed a little against their nose on one occasion)

8. What additional information about yourself or your ferrets would you like to share?

Rosita is doing very well with litter box training, Charlotte is showing to be very difficult and refusing to use either of the three different types of boxes we have (we have a 4th type that was recommended on the way).

9. How often during the week do you have access to a computer?

Daily

10. Please post a picture of each of your ferrets (if possible).












11. Have you met the requirements for this program? Are you at least 18 years of age? Do you have your scale, a place to access meats, hearts, livers, etc?

I believe I have met the requirements. I am 28 years old. Both food and weight scales have been purchased. We have a main butcher (Herrell's Market) and secondary (Oakville Butcher Block).


Read more: holisticferret60.proboards.com/thread/61#ixzz46tevBlZu

[Deleted]

I've noticed others have their mentor sign up thread in their transitioning thread. So I've added mine here just in case that is required to sign up for a mentor (this is originally from 4/27 I believe).

[Celene]

I don't think it is required - once you are assigned a mentor your application will be copied and pasted into your new official thread. I have to say though that those photos of your fuzzums are absolutely adorable!

[Deleted]

May 9, 2016 20:57:02 GMT -5 Celene said:

I don't think it is required - once you are assigned a mentor your application will be copied and pasted into your new official thread. I have to say though that those photos of your fuzzums are absolutely adorable!

I really do appreciate all your input! And thank you so much, they definitely have become my world. Hope your fuzzies are well and happy belated Fur-Mother's Day!

[Deleted]

5/10

Morning

H - 4 TBS
C - Wasn't that hungry
R - 1 TBS w/ kibble (two two tries)

Mid-Afternoon (Soupie had 1 tsp bone meal because stools have been so soft and also had more pinky sized diced chunks of meat)

H - 2 TBS
C - 4 TBS
R - Kibble only (tried to finger feed, scruff and stuff, and coax off and on for 30 minutes without any luck)

Poops are still really runny (mainly with C) and very smelly. Rosita's poos are fine.

Evening

H - 3 TBS
C - Wasn't hungry (had massive diarrhea; had to put in cage because it was so bad; poor thing went poo over 10 times in less than 4 hours; gradually got better overnight)
R - 1 TBS w kibble


Evening

[Deleted]

5/11 (WARNING: STARTING TO POST PICS OF POOS TODAY)

Morning

H - 6 TBS
C - 2 TBS
R - 2 TBS w/ less kibble

H and C's poos are still runny and smelly. C's poos overnight became less frequent. Hasn't had bowel since I've been up
(I will start taking pictures today of the poops)

This picture is Charlotte's before lying down for a nap (after morning meal)


Late Afternoon

H - 4 TBS and gave egg yolk (took about 7 licks)
C - 6 TBS and gave egg yolk (took about 10 licks)
R - 1.5 TBS with kibble and gave egg yolk (took about 7 licks)

Heisenberg's poos are more solid (still foul smelling) and Charlotte's poos are more solid as well (still foul smelling, not as bad)

Charlotte's poo after waking up from nap after late afternoon meal



Evening

H - 2 TBS
C - 2 TBS
R - 1.5 TBS w/ kibble

Poos were funky again tonight and overnight

[Celene]

They are all doing great so far!

One thing to keep in mind is that raw fed poops will NEVER look like kibble poops. The main reasons are that a) they are now much more hydrated (since they aren't consuming dried food) and their poops will reflect that, b) kibble has a lot of carbs/grains/veggies which provides bulk/fibre (which ferrets shouldn't have anyway), and c) once they are all on the frankenprey diet their meals will always be different, which will be reflected in their poops. For example, after organ meals their poops will be VERY dark and running and gross, but much firmer after bone-in meals.

For now, If their poops are really soft/loose, you can increase the amount of bonemeal/eggshell powder. If their poops are pretty firm/hard you can decrease it. The poop pics you showed don't look bad, but kits often need more calcium in their diet while their bones are still developing so it couldn't hurt to add a little more eggshell powder.


I would also recommend pulling the kibble entirely for Rosita. That stuff is like junk food for ferrets, but since we know she DOES recognize the soup as food, I can guarantee that if you take away the kibble and she's hungry she will eat the soup instead. It also helps that kits (young ferrets) will eat almost anything!

[Celene]

I would also suggesting buying a couple chicken wings with the tips still on and try offering some wing tips to everyone as well and see how that goes. Most ferrets that age will take straight to bone-in meats without much fuss.

[Deleted]

Celene
Thank you tremendously for your input once again. I'm still adjusting as well with the transition and us humans can become overly worried with new things. I don't use the eggshell powder (but I do have some egg shells on hand to grind up and use), rather I use the human grade bone meal (which the last two batches of soupie I have used 1 full tsp). I do believe it is finally kicking in for both H and C. As for Rosita, absolutely going to pull the kibble altogether now (she just got finished eating and out of the 2 TBS of raw there were only 10 pieces of kibble and she ate more of the raw than kibble; ate 1.5TBS of raw). We will be visiting our butcher again tomorrow and will buy wing tips for them to try and also going to buy another protein (may be going to Asian market for this).

[Deleted]

5/12

We will be going out later today to purchase a new protein. Going to try either pork, quail, or frog leg (may get them all if we can find them all). Also going to give H & C bone in meal today after getting new protein.

Morning (Today's batch of soup has half diced chunks and then half regular blended soup)

H - 2.5 TBS
C - 3 TBS
R - 2.5 TBS (no kibble and only soup; took two separate tries)

So proud of you Rosita!

Afternoon

H - 3.5 TBS
R - 3 TBS (she went after H's bowl when I wasn't looking and she was eating a diced chunk, so added chunks to her own bowl and she ate them all; she's a whole new ferret!) and the rest of her egg yolk from yesterday
C - 2.5 TBS

Pic of Rosita eating out of H's bowl


WENT TO BUTCHER TODAY AND BOUGHT CHICKEN WINGS AND PORK CHOPS (2nd protein) AND WAITING FOR CALL TOMORROW TO ORDER CHINESE RABBIT, LAMB, AND/OR VEAL

Chicken wing derby participated by H and C (both took to the wing very quickly, and H even spent over 45 minutes fervently eating and gnawing, eating the wing tip and almost half the meat, while C spent around 20 minutes the first session eating the wing tip and 1/4 the meat and another 20 minutes the second session where she ate all the soft part of the wing bone and another 1/4 of the meat) - PICS OF H AND C IN POST BELOW EATING WINGS

Evening

H - 4 TBS (half soup and half larger chunks)
R - 3.5 TBS (half soup and half diced chunks)
C - 4 TBS Introduced new protein (pork chop; half soup and half larger chunks; ate it like a champ)