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Post by Deleted on Oct 12, 2016 22:05:29 GMT -5
Yay! Making progress. (I'll mention that they didn't eat the amount that they should have tonight, but I think the longer pauses tomorrow may help with that.) Also, the last feeding for the night, neither of them licked from finger and instead used the spoon! I'll upload the videos tonight. (Warning! My dad didn't realize I was filming and swore during the end of one of the videos. Feel free to mute it , as I'm pretty sure my cousin was mimicking the baby I was watching, too. And there's conversation about onion and chicken wings, too. O.O oops.) Cow sounds like she was a handful in the beginning! Blaze is starting to dislike the feedings, for some reason, so I'll start on the positive scruff training tomorrow as well. How long do older ferrets that switch to raw generally stay on the soupie?
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Post by Aftershock on Oct 12, 2016 23:24:55 GMT -5
:boing: super yay on them both eating from the spoon! I'm so very proud of them! And high five to you as well for getting them to that point! Great ferrenting! bahahahaha, swearing doesn't bother me, so you're good. Cow was an absolute butthead, and she's turned into such a sweetheart. What are the signs of her disliking feedings to You? Actually, all ferrets differ in their transitions. kits are generally easier, but you do get some stubborn cows (Hee hee , pun intended) that are kits and a pain to switch. You also can get older ferrets that are easy to transition. The idea here is that once they accept the soup, you begin to introduce them to bigger pieces like slivers of meat, and go up from there.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 13, 2016 0:08:18 GMT -5
Well, maybe not starting to dislike them as much as lose enthusiasm for it. While Bo is accepting it more and more each time, I think Blaze is losing patience. She's squirming more than she did at first attempt, trying to avoid eating it. (Though I've gotten her to eat at least a little bit before releasing her.) It's funny you say slivers of meat. The soupie I made (not sure if this goes for all or not) always has little strings of muscle meat. Not big ones, but about the thickness of a fingernail. And watching the two eat those is always kind of interesting, because their mouth scrunches up when they eat them.) I just realized I used thigh instead of breast for the soupie too.
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Post by Aftershock on Oct 13, 2016 1:25:00 GMT -5
Hehehehe, I have one like her. 'Oh, I will taste it easy the first few times, but after that I'm gonna squirm.' Patience is key here, and ending on a positive before letting go like you're doing is fantastic! (giggle) hee hee! The mouth scrunch entertains me too. I'm actually in the process of teaching my ferrets to enjoy egg on their own, and got to see the mouth scrunch for the first time. The recipe actually calls for thigh meat vs breast! Do you know why that is?
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Post by Deleted on Oct 13, 2016 8:48:35 GMT -5
Bo eating. (He did so much better later on in the day though!)
Blaze eating. (And this was a rather stubborn one, but she's doing better too)
I didn't know it called for thigh! I even searched (shortly) to see if I could find it, but one simply said 'chicken', and another said 'skinless boneless chicken'. Are the thighs fattier versus the breast? (I read that we want fattier cuts for ffeedig them.)
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Post by Aftershock on Oct 13, 2016 10:19:01 GMT -5
(dance) Thank you so much! Okay, a couple of things, while scruffing when you support them, make sure their front paws aren't lifted up, this is to make sure their little backs are fully supported. You did great, this is more of a helpful tip. When you watch the video of Bo, you can see that he gets closer to the bag, right? Use that to your advantage, keep moving him closer and closing the gap between him and the bag. When he gets to the point of licking your finger while it's in the bag, switch to a small plate. The plate is less intimidating than a bag because it's open space. The goal of closing the gap is to get him to eat off the plate by himself. I like the verbal cue, I do it often with my ferrets (I have two deaf ones though, so I have to nod and shake my head with my verbal cues ), but I would like you to swoop in with a positive verbal cue right when they start licking again (Gush on positive verbal cues while you are positive scruff training them too ) Any questions here? I know I ask this a lot, I just don't want you to think you can't ask me anything. Raw Soup Recipe: 8oz raw chicken thigh (raw) 1 oz raw chicken liver (or other raw liver) 1-2 raw chicken hearts (approximately 1 oz) or 1 oz other raw heart ½ to ¾ tsp bone meal or crushed egg shell (air-dry egg shell then crush with mortar and pestle or in a clean coffee grinder) Hee hee, see? You got it! Partially correct, thighs are fattier (ferrets rely on fat as an energy source like we rely on carbs) but because they are also a dark meat, they are higher in iron (this is more in animals such as beef, duck, lamb, etc. Not so much for chicken) and taurine. The meat itself is darker because it is used more. (dance) How are ferret poops looking?
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Post by Deleted on Oct 13, 2016 10:55:42 GMT -5
I'll definitely add all that into my notes! (Having everything written down makes it so much easier for me. That way I don't have to go online constantly, ha ) Part of the challenge is I'm not a habitually vocal person haha. So it'll take some getting used to but I will start with using more praise. The poops are mixed, since they're still eating kibble at night. Mostly though, they're looser and lighter in color.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 13, 2016 15:40:17 GMT -5
Update: As suggested, I let block of soupie thaw on a plate and put it in the cage for a few hours. I come back aaannnddd.....it's gone! Blaze is being pretty stubborn still, I'd say she's eaten about an ounce, more or less, each day. I don't think she participated in eating off the plate, because I haven't gotten her that far with our feeding sessions yet. Bo, on the other hand, chose bowl over spoon as I was feeding him and has eaten from the bowl twice today. Neither of them have eaten from my finger at all today. Progress! I'll post a pic of Bo soon.
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Post by Aftershock on Oct 13, 2016 16:10:23 GMT -5
:boing: Yay! Go Bo! What a good boy! Is Blaze still eating from the spoon then? I'd go ahead and try to lower the spoon towards the plate with her too. keep her on her toes. I'm so very proud of all of you! (dance) You are all doing such great jobs! Quick mini-quiz! You ran out of hearts and the store doesn't have any, what else can you use? Does freezing degrade taurine?
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Post by Deleted on Oct 13, 2016 16:24:51 GMT -5
Blaze is still eating from the spoon, but I have been working with her with lowering it; dinnertime will be on the plate to see if I get better responses from that. I'm so excited about this I thought it would take longer haha! If stores run out of hearts, next thing to get would be beef tongue, or a muscle that's used constantly. Freezing does not degrade taurine, that's a misconception Did I pass? Bo eating out of the bowl. (Yes, he's on the counter but I was careful not to let him fall.)
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Post by Aftershock on Oct 13, 2016 18:18:09 GMT -5
Just keep it up and they will be perfect little carnivores in no time! Beef tongue is correct, but there is also the option to buy a taurine supplement. Taurine is definitely found in every meat, but muscles that are used constantly like the tongue or heart have tons of it. Also the awesome thing about taurine is that it's water-soluble, so even if your ferrets get more than they need, they will just get peed out. bit of a tricky question there, huh? Correct that freezing doesn't degrade taurine! Great job! it makes me so very happy when they start to eat new things on their own! He sure looks like he's enjoying it!
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Post by Deleted on Oct 13, 2016 18:45:45 GMT -5
Here's my question: judging on how fast they're catching on with the soup, how soon should I start planning out their weekly menus? Or is that a 'time will tell' thing?
I didn't realize taurine was water-soluble! That's helpful haha.
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Post by Aftershock on Oct 13, 2016 19:04:44 GMT -5
What different proteins do you have access to?
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Post by Deleted on Oct 13, 2016 19:22:05 GMT -5
Everything would from Hare-Today (other than chicken/beef/pork that you can get from regular grocery store.)
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Post by Aftershock on Oct 13, 2016 19:48:27 GMT -5
I don't see why not, you have access to everything you plan on giving them. would you mind posting it up for me when you figure it out? Do you need the menu outline?
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