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Post by Deleted on Apr 6, 2011 10:32:46 GMT -5
Do you have access to freeze dried raw? Stella and Chewys is a great brand and a lot of ferrets enjoy the taste. I think it might taste like kibble in some way. It can also be great for weaning them onto other foods. I think it even masks other flavors, because I've been able to mix some things they don't like into freeze dried soup with no issues
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Post by gnarlysalamander on Apr 6, 2011 12:36:55 GMT -5
i have free dried from afs... i HAD chicken and beef but the dog decided she wanted the chicken as a snack while i was at work i give that to them a lot mixed in, and i even have pieces in with their kibble so hopefully it picks up the smell. they liked the chicken better but more of that just isn't in the budget for the time being. jayjay likes it made into mush, but again he'll only eat it when i'm there and i can't leave it like that in the cage with them because bandit licks off ALL the moisture other than his drool before he starts to eat it and then it gets gross and no one else wants any.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 6, 2011 12:51:24 GMT -5
Yeah, the stuff is expensive I have one who does that. She licks anything I put on first. Pumpkin, oil, water, soup. I usually separate her and Let the others get some first
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Post by gnarlysalamander on Apr 6, 2011 14:08:49 GMT -5
oh yeah, with sammy and jaydon i have to give them pumpkin from a spoon now because whoever gets to it first was getting all of it.
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Post by gnarlysalamander on Apr 6, 2011 22:50:06 GMT -5
i almost had a heart attack when i couldnt find my thread. i didnt consider it was moved, just thought it disappeared completely i didnt think to even look at my inbox for a good 10+ minutes of refreshing the page
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Post by Deleted on Apr 6, 2011 23:45:51 GMT -5
Haha, sorry about that! Anyway, can you give me a quick run down of who's eat what, how much, etc? And where you'd like to be?
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Post by gnarlysalamander on Apr 7, 2011 16:10:30 GMT -5
alright, there's 5 kids altogether. sammy and jaydon are both totally raw now. frankie, bandit, and jayjay can't make up their minds what they do and dont like. bandit will eat anything soup/with a lot of liquid on it. i'm NOT buying any more kibble so they need to get with the program before i run out. i tried giving them just the freeze dried today [cut up because the chunks are huge] and frankie and bandit had no problem with that, but jayjay i ended up having to give chicken baby food with water mixed in. jayjay will eat whatever i put in front of him [mostly] but he doesnt like huge chunks, and i have to be holding/half scruffing him or he'll run off. he wont eat on his own. sammy and jaydon get freeze dried when i'm away longer than overnight, because my mom refuses to do the raw with them. i'm thinking now that i have frankie and bandit eating the freeze dried [frankie, bandit, and jayjay are in the fn, the other two are in a smaller cage up in my room] i may move sammy and jaydon in with them and move jayjay upstairs in the next few days so i can keep a better eye on him and what he is/isn't eating. sammy and jaydon both prefer the raw to freeze dried, so i'm thinking i can easily put both in the cage so bandit and frankie can eat it when theyre ready [they already take tastes here and there but not in big quantities] i'm not concerned except for jayjay, because he's my little baby and i feel bad "starving him to death" as my sister says. the others eventually break down and eat, but jayjay won't. he hasn't lost any weight, but he just seems kind of depressed so sometimes i'll take him out on his own and give him a small handful of kibble ::)while the others i'm a lot more strict and firm with. i also feel bad because now frankie and bandit are just about on the same page and i dont want to have to keep jayjay by himself in the cage, yet i don't want one of the others backtracking. i get paid tomorrow so i'm going to order some more of the chicken freeze dried and hopefully it's just the beef he's being stubborn with and not the freeze dried in general. but since it's going to be the weekend i don't know if that will get to me before my last few handfuls of kibble run out. worst case i can buy a bag, but i'd honestly rather have to hand feed him for a while [not to mention i can't get evo at work, it would have to be zupreem] then again, this is my kid who doesn't even like ferretone and would never even eat the bandit treats before i actually read the ingredients and threw them all out. *end rant*
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Post by gnarlysalamander on Apr 7, 2011 16:14:18 GMT -5
oh, where i'd like to be:
the goal is frankenprey, with freeze dried on occasion when i have to leave for longer than the meat is ok sitting out. possibly some frozen/thawed pinkies/fuzzies here and there if they'll eat them but nothing bigger because: a. it was hard enough getting used to feeding those to the snakes at work [THEYRE SO CUTE], and b. i want to avoid the shaking out of the insides that i hear horror stories about... especially if my mom ends up being the one to find it on the walls.
my dog catches mice in our basement sometimes, i may give them one the next time it happens to try before i buy any.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 7, 2011 17:59:54 GMT -5
sammy and jaydon are both totally raw now. That's great - if they are eating bone-in chicken, I think the next step is adding in organ/heart meats and another protein. If you can, try to pick up some liver and heart, and if you can find it another organ like kidney. Protein examples are cornish game hen, turkey, beef, pork, lamb, goat, rabbit. bandit will eat anything soup/with a lot of liquid on it. What's in the soup? Will he is the soup on his own, no problems? No soup feeding, etc? If so, I would just feed his the liquid soup and each meal reduce the amount of liquid in it. If he refuses to eat, spoon/finger feed him. As long as he's getting around 2 oz (4 tsbp) in, it should be fine. Leave a bit of soup overnight/during the day and see what happens. i'm NOT buying any more kibble so they need to get with the program before i run out. I don't think you should, either. If anyone is refusing the eat the raw, go with baby food instead. Kibble will be backtracking. If they accept baby food fine, start adding the raw soup in. 1 part raw, 3 parts baby food. The next day, split it 50/50, and so on. jayjay i ended up having to give chicken baby food with water mixed in That's okay. One thing you could try is hand feeding raw soup n the morning, and then baby food at night. He should be hungriest in the AM so that will help encourage him to eat. the goal is frankenprey, with freeze dried on occasion when i have to leave for longer than the meat is ok sitting out. Okay, great Bone in meats/chunks are generally good for 12 hours, soups about 4-6, whole prey about 24-48 hours depending.
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Post by gnarlysalamander on Apr 7, 2011 18:24:21 GMT -5
oh when i say totally raw, i mean they'll eat any type of chicken part, beef, turkey, pork, hearts [they FIGHT over hearts], livers... basically i haven't found anything they wont eat.
again, the soup is anything. he likes to lick all the liquid off and leave chunks if its too thick though. he will break down and eat whatever's left for him [bandit] and is more open to try new things than the other two.
im currently without blender so the soup thing has been difficult. also, my work schedule is not at all consistant, which is what worries me about the feedings because some times i have to be in at 6am, and other days i dont have to go in until 2 in the afternoon. it makes it hard to stay on a schedule, and thats why im worried about not having the kibble because no one else in the house is willing to contribute to my... "project"
how much can they fit in their stomachs at once? like you said about 4tbsp at a sitting, but if i water it down is he going to be able to eat all of it?
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Post by Deleted on Apr 7, 2011 23:37:35 GMT -5
Oh, that's even better! Yay! Have you let him skip dinner once and see if he's more accepting the in AM? Or giving him an early dinner or smaller dinner. I think one ferret could eat anywhere from 1-3 oz (2-6 tbsp) in a sitting. Depending on activity level, age, hunger, season. I would make your soup, and just leave it out. They won't eat it if it's bad, so I just clear everything out every 12-16 hours. If it's not eaten, it gets tossed.
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Post by gnarlysalamander on Apr 9, 2011 9:57:55 GMT -5
last night i got jayjay to eat the baby food all by itself with no water mixed in, just warmed up for about 10 seconds in the microwave. the reason i wanted to know how much they should be eating is because jayjay will not eat the freeze dried, but the others will; so if i put the soup in the cage with them they will eat that until it's gone and not touch the freeze dried. i have to feed jayjay with him on my lap so i know he's eating, how much, etc.
the kibble ends this weekend. i'm going up to my boyfriend's house tonight, until monday afternoon and there is JUST enough kibble to last my mom to feed them while i'm away. sammy and jaydon get the freeze dried of course. when i get back it's really crunch time because the way jayjay ate kibble this morning made me think even though he was within the 2-6 tbsp range, he still wasn't getting enough.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 9, 2011 10:44:56 GMT -5
Yay for Jayjay!! That is progress! I'd say keep up with the baby food feedings and once he is eating that on his own for a bit, we'll start mixing raw in. I think it'll be good once the kibbles completely gone. They might be holding out and waiting because they know kibble is coming. A ferret will eat a ton of kibble, and not nearly as much on a raw diet. As long as he isn't losing too much weight (he should be slimming down for summer anyway) then I wouldn't be concerned. Do you have a kitchen scale? I have a digital one that I weight my kids in about once a week when nails get clipped. Helps to know what's going on if a problem does arise.
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Post by gnarlysalamander on Apr 9, 2011 11:42:51 GMT -5
yes i have a scale i weigh them with. he's lost a little but it seems to be just from the seasons changing. it's hard to tell his body condition because he has super long fur.
as far as feeling bones through muscle and all, everything seems alright. i was just shocked when i gave them enough that would have normally lasted a day and a half in the WINTER, and it was gone within 6 hours or so. i'm sure bandit and frankie are holding out to some degree, but since they will eat the freeze dried on their own i'm not worried about them starving themselves to death.
i just gave them another small bit to last a few hours and then when i get off of work i'm going to stop home before leaving and give jayjay some baby food just so he doesn't get out of the habit when i leave for 2 days.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 9, 2011 12:04:47 GMT -5
Sounds good. When you come back, we can start pushing them harder and try to get this rolling Have fun on your trip
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