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Post by Sherry on Mar 6, 2017 10:35:41 GMT -5
It really isn't uncommon for the more dominant of a pair to do that. All I do is make sure there is enough for both in the dish, and at least one meal a day make sure that the less dominant is actually eating. Either by just watching, or by separating during feeding time. If they are finishing everything in one sitting, they definitely need the amount they are getting increased.
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Post by marietta on Mar 6, 2017 17:18:54 GMT -5
Haven't had time to do the den thing yet but II put two bowls in the cage today. One is empty and the other is pretty much full. I wish I could see who is eating what.
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Post by marietta on Mar 6, 2017 21:42:22 GMT -5
I ended up adding a bit of water back in the soup which oddly enough hasn't made much of a difference in Gwin's eating. I did however add some chunks to the soup and when I feed him with a spoon he eats the chunks. Albie is needing some prompting again but once I prompt him he continues eating and likes the chunks.
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Post by Sherry on Mar 7, 2017 9:58:15 GMT -5
Excellent! Keep increasing the number of chunks you are putting in and reducing the amount of soup. As long as they are accepting it, increase by 3 or 4 pieces every 3rd meal or so. When you are about half and half, start increasing the size of he the size of the pieces as well.
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Post by marietta on Mar 8, 2017 7:58:07 GMT -5
They didn't even touch their food overnight. They buried it under blankets. I don't have a clue what that means.
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Post by Sherry on Mar 8, 2017 10:13:45 GMT -5
When mine are being brats and doing that, they get that exact meat again for breakfast All it means is they didn't want that for dinner, they wanted something else and being little buggers and holding out. While you may not want to give them the meat they hid, give them the same thing again.
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Post by marietta on Mar 8, 2017 14:56:16 GMT -5
It is the same thing that have been getting other than the bowl was different because I needed to wash the other ones. Maybe they didn't like the bowl?
When you first switched did you have a lot of trouble with wasting food? Since they aren't very consistent with how much they are eating I give them what I think will be good and then they don't eat much of it and it gets stinky and hard or another day they will eat all of it. Yesterday they ate about half as much as they have been eating. I'm not home with my notebook but they went from something like 7.5oz between them to around 3.5oz. Is that normal for them to do that?
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Post by LindaM on Mar 8, 2017 15:43:59 GMT -5
Some days they'll just be snotty about things too. Remember, they're like little kids.. they test your patience and resolve whenever they feel like it. Even some days with mine, and while they have been raw-fed a good time now, and they eat all the things I give them, there are still some mornings or evenings when I put out a meal and they give it a sniff and look at me like I have deeply offended them. EVEN when it's something they usually eat without issues or even love eating. And this includes my cat. They can be real brats, never forget this!
As for wasting... yeah, I got a decent bit of wasting when mine first started, and while trying to figure out what amounts mine will eat on average. Usually once they're eating a food without trouble and you have a good idea of their average intake, you can curb most of the waste. Until then, you'll very likely deal with some waste.
Appetites can fluctuate, yes, so they don't always eat the same amounts every day. Some days they'll be very active and play hard and thus eat more food, some days are mellow and they don't expend a lot of energy and eat less too. Seasonal change also plays are role. Heading into spring here, mine are both already slowly eating less than they did in the winter. Remember, the adult male average of food per day starts at 2oz and goes upwards from that, so that was just slightly under that amount between the two of them. See how it goes today, they might be eating more today again.
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Post by marietta on Mar 8, 2017 16:15:02 GMT -5
Right, the average is about 2-4oz correct? We are going into spring too so I guess that and the combination of settling down from the first couple days of "I'm starving" to now is probably why. I tend to forget that. I'm thinking they were eating so much more why are they eating so little now!? I just love those little guys so much I freak when I think something is wrong. It is nice that our dog has been super easy to switch so I don't have to worry about him very much. It is just frustrating that there doesn't seem to be a reliable forum like this for raw dogs, that I could find anyway.
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Post by LindaM on Mar 8, 2017 16:24:25 GMT -5
Yep, though some males do around 3-6oz a day, so I try to keep in mind 2-6oz, and then just check the average that mine eats. And yeah, at the start of a switch most will eat a lot at first and then start slowing down. It can be pretty shocking when you first see it switch like that, and it wouldn't be the first time any of us has freaked out, wondering if something is terribly wrong. You're doing just fine! Always err on the side of caution, rather than be sorry. Wonderful that your pooch is switching easily, my cat is being incredibly stubborn about it.. he's not touching any raw yet, but I finally got him fully switched to only wet food a few weeks ago. Not a kibble in this house. But he still thinks raw is the devil or something.
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Post by marietta on Mar 8, 2017 22:44:25 GMT -5
Thanks a lot for your help and encouragement Linda. I actually saw Gwin eat on his own tonight which is encouraging. They also seem to be eating a little bit more today so that makes me happy. I have small pieces of meat inside the soup now and will continue to make them bigger and hope for the best
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Post by marietta on Mar 8, 2017 23:08:57 GMT -5
Their fur is starting to get really soft
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Post by LindaM on Mar 8, 2017 23:58:38 GMT -5
Huzzah! You guys are doing it! Keep up the good work and give the fuzzies a cuddle for eating their foodies. As they keep eating the slivers, you can keep making them bigger. I'm gonna link to a chart which gives an idea of the different sizes (can't recall if I have before or not): holisticferret60.proboards.com/thread/4341/standardized-sizing-etc-meatsYup, and it'll just keep getting better. I LOVE cuddling Athena... she's the softest, fluffiest ball of FLOOF I have ever come into contact with, she's softer than my cat! Loki is on par with the cat though somehow. As the detox poops start settling down as you continue, you'll also notice their poops will be much smaller, and that they will instead pee a lot more. This is because they are now getting properly hydrated, versus on kibble where they were always on dehydration's door step, and poopwise, they have less waste to get rid of as more of what they eat now are usable by their bodies. They'll also tend to have a lot more energy to burn.
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Post by marietta on Mar 9, 2017 11:44:47 GMT -5
As the detox poops start settling down as you continue, you'll also notice their poops will be much smaller, and that they will instead pee a lot more. This is because they are now getting properly hydrated, versus on kibble where they were always on dehydration's door step, and poopwise, they have less waste to get rid of as more of what they eat now are usable by their bodies. They'll also tend to have a lot more energy to burn. I'm actually starting to notice some of this already. Their poop is much less and they pee a ton. Their poop also smells less now. I think I may need to add a bit more egg powder though because there poop seems a bit loose. I would also say their energy levels are going up because Gwin is bouncing around a lot more than he use to. It is fun to watch. So excited to continue to see positive changes! How did you make that excited ferret animation? Save
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Post by LindaM on Mar 9, 2017 15:00:57 GMT -5
Well, remember on raw fed diets, their poop is going to be a bit wetter and looser overall than a kibble poop, that's perfectly normal. But if it's rather wet then you may want to add a little bit more, yes. How are they doing with the little meat pieces right now?
Once they're doing good with that, and we can up the amount and size a bit. Bone-in meals will also help make poops a bit firmer once they get to that stage. So let's see if we can increase the amount of small pieces in the bowl and decrease the soup.
As for the little excited ferret, that was one of the smileys on here. Just hit the "View all smilies" button next to the text box on here when typing and it'll be the third one in the second last row.
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