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Post by marietta on Mar 27, 2017 12:40:33 GMT -5
Still not eating the gizzard even when I cut them up. Can gizzards be a meal? I am considering putting just them in a bowl so they can't choose the chicken thigh over the gizzard. Then maybe put some soup on it.
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Post by LindaM on Mar 27, 2017 15:39:37 GMT -5
Gizzards fall under muscle meat, so yeah I believe it can be counted for a muscle meal. I just give gizzards as a treat myself, since my two for some reason aren't too fond eating much at all of them and wouldn't get enough in to be a meal, but they will chew on them anyway. You should be fine to try it for a meal and see how they do at the next meal change time, if they've eaten any or just avoided it entirely. Have you tried popping a few small pieces of it into their mouths to help them taste it?
Sherry has a good idea with starting with the cornish game hen, those are quite easy to come buy and not expensive either, and they have easier bones. I usually find them in the frozen meat section of stores, by the turkeys and chickens.
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Post by marietta on Mar 27, 2017 17:18:32 GMT -5
I might just try the Cornish game hens and see how that goes since the meat will at least be similar to what they are use to. Maybe that will get them more interested.
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Post by marietta on Mar 27, 2017 22:21:20 GMT -5
I don't know what is going on with these guys. They had their normal chicken thigh chunks all day today and barely touched it. I don't know if I increased the size to quickly or what but I feel like the past couple days they are barely eating. Their weight is ok and they look normal so I guess they are eating enough it just bothers me how stubborn they are being lately. I'm worried it is going to be a nightmare when I try and start them on bone. Thank God my dog will eat anything or I would be pulling my hair out.
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Post by Sherry on Mar 28, 2017 9:44:24 GMT -5
How much are you giving now? Keep in mind spring is here, and appetites sharply cut back. Often to half their winter appetite.
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Post by LindaM on Mar 28, 2017 12:50:34 GMT -5
Sherry is right, their intake can take a large dip due to the seasonal change. Athena has cut back quite a bit with hers, but the change was enough to make me check up on her like a hawk for at least one meal each day, just to be sure food does go in her belly. Ferrets can be notoriously stubborn and lazy when it comes to eating. Especially when starting off with the larger pieces and bone-in meals, as well as proteins they might not be fond of. I've watched my two with a protein they dislike, but will eat if they must, and sometimes they'd not even touch it at all until they were hungry enough to HAVE to eat it. Whereas with small pieces and favorite proteins it's like they just inhale the bowl. You're going to be okay, take a deep breath and relax.
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Post by marietta on Mar 28, 2017 13:06:26 GMT -5
I try not to freak out I just worry about them not eating enough and getting sick.
I guess it is just tough to know what they should be eating because I started this in the transition period between winter and spring so I'm not sure if they are slowing down because of spring (and not having a winter baseline is hard too) or if they are slowing down because they don't want the large chunks.
I get more nervous because when I do watch them they either are not hungry at the time or they chew on the meat for a bit and put it down and go play or go back to sleep. So I never really get to see them eating much. Then about half of what I have been giving them is usually left over so I don't know if only one of them is eating or if they are both just eating a smaller amount. They have separate bowls and I put about 2oz in each bowl per meal because they seem to fluctuate on how much they eat so I'm never sure how much to give them.
I will try to remember to post a photo of their meat chunks tonight so you can see the size.
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Post by marietta on Mar 28, 2017 20:30:03 GMT -5
Cut up my first cornish hen. So I am going to try and get them to eat the wings tonight. They ate more thigh chunks today than they did yesterday so far so that is good.
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Post by marietta on Mar 28, 2017 21:15:18 GMT -5
Tried them on the wings a bit with hand feeding. They are interested but all they wanted to do was hide them. So I guess they are not hungry right now. I'm going to leave it in there cage overnight I think. I'm just wondering if I put chunks in as well if they might ignore the wings but the wings are not necessarily enough food. Any advice?
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Post by marietta on Mar 29, 2017 6:53:49 GMT -5
Albie ended up eating most of a wing last night. There was more of a wing missing by morning and I'm not sure who ate it. I wish there was a way to get just Cornish wings bc I only have two more from the other hen I got. I am going to try them on a heart meal again tonight. Then maybe tomorrow I will try another wing. I ended up putting more chunks in last night but they didn't get eaten.
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Post by Sherry on Mar 29, 2017 10:04:57 GMT -5
You are doing just fine How is their activity level now? Just checked, and Albie has only lost 40 grams in almost a month. And the same for Gwin Given it is spring, and weight loss is part of it, they are doing really well! They will likely eat anywhere from 2-4oz a day each right now. For the cornish hen, you can use the entire bird. Use ribs next, spine, neck, and finally drums and thighs(smash those up fairly well). To get mine on bone I use "tough love". I used chicken wings, and only segmented and cut the drumette lengthwise, middle in two between the bones. One wing for 2 ferrets so they had a bit of hunger going on. They got the wing, one for a meal and replaced the next meal for 3 days straight The first day they barely ate anything. Next a bit more. By the end of the third day most of the bone was gone.
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Post by marietta on Mar 29, 2017 13:12:52 GMT -5
Their activity level last night was good. They were jumping around like Mexican jumping beans.
I misunderstood and thought I should only give them the wings right now because of jaw strength. So maybe I will start giving them the other parts of the cornish hen as meals this week. Hoping that the heart meal I plan on giving them tonight goes well.
Thanks for the support. It can be hard to know if things are going well with this since I have never done it before.
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Post by LindaM on Mar 29, 2017 13:20:00 GMT -5
You are doing really well marietta, and so are the boys. You should be proud. Yea, it's pretty daunting when you do a switch the first time, especially while you are still learning, but that's why there's so many helpful people on here to help guide you in the right direction and help you learn things you never knew about it. You guys are doing so well. Let us know how the boys take to the cornish hen pieces, and yes, you can use the entire bird, since they are smaller than normal chickens and have easier bones overall. I hope they do well with their heart meal tonight too, keep us posted!
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Post by marietta on Mar 29, 2017 23:32:05 GMT -5
How long can heart chopped into quarters stay out?
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Post by LindaM on Mar 29, 2017 23:39:42 GMT -5
Probably a few hours easily, I'm not quite sure myself since mine get their heart meals as puree or tiny slivers to discourage them from stashing pieces and eat it all instead.
I tend to not try and keep things like that (hearts and organs) out very long as they can sometimes start smelling bad, they usually already have a bit of a strong (yucky to me) smell just to start with already, but that's just my preference, I'm sure the ferrets wouldn't care that much about it being out longer.
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