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Post by Deleted on Jan 17, 2017 20:48:16 GMT -5
I had posted this on fb and it was suggested I post it here. I will be looking for a mentor soon enough but I have been very slowly attempting to convert my girls to a raw diet on my own. So far I have been able to get my girls to accept raw through soup and they will eat raw eggs (I grind the shell and add it in). They so far seen to have a sensitivity to chicken but after talking with Sherry I'm lead to believe it has to do with something the chicken was fed... which is also frustrating. They don't seem to have a similar issue with beef.
I'm going to be using the raw soup suggestion on the forum since I just found out the soup base I have been using is most likely kibble based. I was not lead to believe that or I wouldn't have used it.
I have taught both of my girls to accept anything from my hand (even the nastiest medicine known to a ferret metronidazole). I used salmon oil to teach them and because of that it has made this process much easier. I'm open to many ideas regarding types of raw. From whole prey down to frankenprey. I also want to breed mice to use as a treat for them since I don't have open access to chicks.
I'm really curious how I can get them to eat things like hearts, livers, kidneys, brains, etc. I had tried previously but my other ferrets absolutely would not go for it.
Please help!
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Post by LindaM on Jan 17, 2017 23:31:29 GMT -5
Persistence. You just keep on trying and trying. Not all ferrets, especially older ones past the imprinting stage, take to new food easily. Sometimes it's a long and arduous struggle.
Since they already know salmon oil, you can drizzle a little of that over the meats to lure them into trying them, just be sure to keep to the total weekly oil limit. You can also toss the meats into a blender (just please do not try and blend gizzards, lol) and puree them into a soup which can help, since yours already know what soupies are. Finger feed them some, you may need to rub some of it on their gums to get them going, or hold a spoon near their mouths to start them licking it and then progress to letting them eat it from the bowl by themselves.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 18, 2017 1:55:55 GMT -5
So far they LOVE freeze dried raw, raw whole eggs (shell ground down into it) and raw beef. I have been gently pushing the raw since I got them at 8 weeks. They contracted ece before I got them and I went with a raw meat soup because it was so much gentler then kibble.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 18, 2017 1:57:52 GMT -5
I should have also mentioned that both girls are almost 7 months old. They trust me whole heartedly and will take anything off my fingers, a spoon or a syringe. It's something I pushed for.
I made the mistake of attempting coconut oil at first and they HATE me for it. Once I got the salmon oil they went bonkers lol.
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Post by Sherry on Jan 18, 2017 12:13:12 GMT -5
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Post by Deleted on Jan 18, 2017 12:57:10 GMT -5
The biggest issue I'm having right now isn't my girls but the foster that I currently have. I'm not completely sure if my friend (His actual ferrant) is going to strictly raw feed or not. How would I raw feed my girls but keep them out of his kibble? Kibble is free fed here and I have been doing morning and night raw soup. I want to get rid of the kibble all together but with him here I can't do that.
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Post by Sherry on Jan 19, 2017 11:04:01 GMT -5
If you like, you can do what I did with my fosters. I raw fed them for the most part, but they got kibble back once a week so they remembered what it was. They stayed in the closed cage with it for about an hour around normal mealtime.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 20, 2017 5:16:11 GMT -5
I really like that idea and actually gave it a try today. It went phenomenally. I have had to back up the raw feeding though since I acquired another female. She's really underweight and definitely needs to catch up. 
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Post by Sherry on Jan 20, 2017 11:22:46 GMT -5
Raw is the very best way for her to catch up. I start the switch day one in my house.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 20, 2017 12:44:34 GMT -5
I ended up starting her last night on freeze dried. At first she was extremely unsure but Shila actually chewed some up and literally spit it out for her. I have never seen my girls do that before. They love their food. Then this morning I made soupies and added raw egg. She saw the girls going for it and immediately joined in. I didn't even have to smear it on her teeth. I'm in awe and my heart is happy.
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Post by LindaM on Jan 20, 2017 15:48:27 GMT -5
That sounds great! If you want to give some FDR to your new little one, rehydrate with some water, it will do her better and make it easier to eat, plus she'll also get some fluid intake from it then.
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Post by Sherry on Jan 21, 2017 12:31:20 GMT -5
It does sound like progress  And yes rehydrate the FDR if you haven't already. |
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