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Post by katt on Feb 14, 2017 2:57:24 GMT -5
Patti: I have M on another thread and I was explaining why she is being somewhat ignored right now LOL. She said to add Turkey that can be got in a chub at Freddie's. Would that work or would it just be more weird taste to them
Katt: Ground turkey? That could work if they don't want to eat the soup and you don't want to blend more chicken. We still need to move towards slivers to move towards getting them off of soup and onto chunks though.
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Post by patti49er on Feb 15, 2017 20:10:53 GMT -5
So they eventually ate each serving of the over livered soup although not while I was watching. Today Patrick made the additional chicken and I took the adjusted food upstairs. Only Athos woke up (it was mid day - their sleepiest time.) He took a bite of the new and improved recipe in the kill box but I was intently watching him - probably holding my breath. He looked at me with his mouthful, looked at the food, looked at me so I got the message I was being rude and pretended to walk away. Too late. He took his mouthful under the ottoman where he could get some privacy. So I guess it's OK!!!
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Post by katt on Feb 15, 2017 20:31:48 GMT -5
Haha Great! Did Patrick just blend the additional chicken or did he make it into slivers?
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Post by katt on Feb 17, 2017 15:18:22 GMT -5
Just checking in
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Post by patti49er on Feb 17, 2017 16:03:21 GMT -5
He just made slivers. The task was overwhelming. But he didn't blend it as much as we were doing so it is chunkier. They have been eating 6 heaping tablespoons a day morning, afternoon and evening/overnight. Next week when we do the next batch we will try for bigger pieces. How do we do that? Not put the chicken in the blender at all?
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Post by katt on Feb 17, 2017 18:44:29 GMT -5
He just made slivers. The task was overwhelming. But he didn't blend it as much as we were doing so it is chunkier. They have been eating 6 heaping tablespoons a day morning, afternoon and evening/overnight. Next week when we do the next batch we will try for bigger pieces. How do we do that? Not put the chicken in the blender at all? Woot!! That's great progress! What I would recommend is to make a small, normal batch of soup. Then cut up some bigger chunks of the meat AND some small chunks of heart and liver. Try finger (or spoon ) feeding them the chunks of each covered in a bit of soup like gravy. You can even try offering the chunks without the soup first and if they don't take it then add the soup. The goal is to gradually make the meals have less and less soup and more and more chunks, and the chunks bigger and bigger. The sooner they take big chunks the easier the prep work gets (less chopping haha). This is one of the most key stages of the switch. While you have soup "gravy" on chunks is the perfect time to work on getting them to accept organs, and other proteins, by mixing them into the familiar soup. Some upcoming goals: - when they all will accept liver chunks in the soup, we soooo work on separating the liver/organs and hearts into separate meals and work towards the first steps of a menu [Note: if they are being really stubborn about the liver slivers in soup there are other tricks up my sleeve to try, but I prefer trying the chunk approach first] - when they will accept decent sized meat chunks in their soup, we will start introducing new proteins (pork, turkey, beef, rabbit, etc)
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Post by katt on Feb 19, 2017 3:08:24 GMT -5
Just checking in for the night
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Post by patti49er on Feb 19, 2017 3:46:43 GMT -5
I think they're eating too much. I feed the four of them two heaping tablespoons morning, afternoon, and night. Please tell me again how much each one should eat. And it's all in one common dish............ I'm very pleased with their progress. I haven't taken the kibble up because they don't eat it anyway. And on that note - is there anything the Wysong makes that is good for them? I want to continue to support them..........
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Post by katt on Feb 20, 2017 1:19:25 GMT -5
Support them in what way? As long as they are eating a properly balanced raw diet, which they will be, there is absolutely no need whatsoever for supplements. Salmon oil (I use Yummy Chummies) is good for their coat and skin and a healthy treat, but not "necessary" in terms of supplementation. I would highly advise removing their access to the kibble. They no longer need it and mixing kibble and raw poses a risk of tummy upset and bacterial overgrowth for some ferrets. As for amounts, let them eat as much as they want. Raw fed ferrets are typically very good at self regulating and will not commonly overeat. Unless you specifically have a ferret (an *adult* ferret) who is overweight, they should be allowed to eat their fill. It is very common for them to eat more early in the switch. This slows down after a while. Also, babies are "furry tummies with teeth" - it takes a lot of calories to fuel their growing bodies and they should never be restricted in how much they can eat. At 8 months they are still growing kiddos. Their appetites will slow down as their growth slows down. You will likely see a significant drop in their intake (and weights) as spring rolls around. How are they doing with the slivers? Are they taking slivers of heart and organ at all?
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Post by patti49er on Feb 20, 2017 3:04:15 GMT -5
Well I meant supporting Wysong because they take the food seriously and for the people feeding kibble it's probably the best out there. But I don't want mine eating kibble. The ferrets like their Wysong freeze dried food. Is that OK as a treat? I do give them Salmon Oil as a reward. They love it. Also when I clip their nails - they stand up with their front paws on a can and ignore the clippers while they lap it up. We will do slivers when we make the next batch. I think they will do fine. At least the babies will. It is sobering to think they are still growing.
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Post by katt on Feb 20, 2017 4:19:59 GMT -5
Well I meant supporting Wysong because they take the food seriously and for the people feeding kibble it's probably the best out there. But I don't want mine eating kibble. The ferrets like their Wysong freeze dried food. Is that OK as a treat? I do give them Salmon Oil as a reward. They love it. Also when I clip their nails - they stand up with their front paws on a can and ignore the clippers while they lap it up. We will do slivers when we make the next batch. I think they will do fine. At least the babies will. It is sobering to think they are still growing. Ahhh Gotchya! Freeze dried is definitely great for treats and foraging toys! I also find it helpful to keep them familiar with it and to always have some in hand in case of emergency. Esp in AK where the weather can be so unpredictable. What if you have a power outage, run out of meat, and the roads are too icy to get to the store? I like to always keep one bag of FD on hand juuuust in case. It's a helpful backup when traveling too, though I usually just bring a little cooler full of meat when we go on trips. But I bring a thing of FD along for emergency backup. And to put in their foraging toys to occupy them for the drive. Haha That's great they like salmon oil. Makes clipping nails and giving meds sooo much easier! Haha Yes they are big, beautiful boys. They should be pretty close to their adult size at 8mo, but they still have some growing to go - and building up all their adult man-fert muscles. Lol Are they neutered btw? I forget if you mentioned that. Let me know when you try the slivers and how they go! They are doing great - as are you! Keep up the awesome work.
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Post by patti49er on Feb 20, 2017 15:37:28 GMT -5
Thank you - I adore them so I think they are big beautiful boys! I once bought them this six armed things for dogs where you "hide" the food and it is enrichment for them to figure out how to get it. Well that was all of 45 seconds of my money's worth LOL. Can you tell me more about foraging toys? And I'm joking about the 45 seconds - it's still enrichment because they have to work for it. Yes they were neutered at 8 months but they have their scent glands. Fortunately my husband thinks it's hilarious when they poof (Only happened once LOL.) Must be a guy thing.........
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Post by katt on Feb 20, 2017 22:43:55 GMT -5
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Post by patti49er on Feb 22, 2017 14:34:04 GMT -5
Interesting that parrot toys are their gig! Thanks
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Post by katt on Feb 22, 2017 20:34:27 GMT -5
They work great!
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