Switching: Spazz & Mimi

[Deleted]

Hi, I’m Tiffany and I plan on applying for the mentoring program soon as I finish getting everything together (working on getting a small deep freezer and making sure I have everything) though I have some questions to get started. A little info is I’m a knew ferret owner, hmm going on like 3 months now and from day one when I got it in my head I wanted a ferret I started research. Once I decided I was 100% committed and could take care of a ferret confidently I purchased a little girl (Spazz). In a few short weeks, I felt even though I gave Spazz all my attention and love she needed more and specially when I was at work, so I searched and found another girl (Mimi) who needed a new home. Long story short I ended up with two girls Spazz and Mimi and my research continues.

So, my first question is in the Raw “Soup” recipe it calls for 8oz raw chicken thigh, I’m kind of cautious of this only because I’ve found Spazz sneezes and itches a lot more when she eats chicken kibble or treats and I’m thinking she may have an allergy to it, yes I could be wrong but I know when I limited her chicken the itching and sneezing stopped….I know sneezing can be caused by being sick and I’ve had her to the vet twice and vet says she is fine. So, is there something else I can use in substitute for the chicken like duck or turkey possibly?

Second question, do I need a meat grinder to start the switch seeing as neither girl has ever eaten whole bone before? I’ve read you can give bone meal with their soupie or sprinkle it on meat I’m not sure how accurate this is so I’m asking in advance before I even start. I have however been rinsing out egg shells and grinding them up since I decided to start this.

Third question but not the last just an end to this long post where would you suggest sourcing meats? Exactly what meats (dumb I know but I want to be sure I’m doing this right) I know heart and liver but anything else a 100% need? I live in the U.S are there any certain type of places you’d suggest checking out or should I be looking for butchers?

P.s. I’m not familiar with forums or any sort so I hope I’m doing this correctly

[raynebc]

You can substitute a different protein for the muscle meat portion of the soup without any problem. Even ground meat if it's convenient, as long as it's unseasoned and has no "solutions" added for tenderness/etc.

A blender should work just fine for making soup. A meat grinder would be more for if you wanted to make raw ground diets (including raw bone) long-term. For the short term use of soup, bone meal or ground egg shell is good.

If you're going for a "frankenprey" diet, you'll want to have a secreting organ to go with the heart and liver in the diet. It will depend on what you can get locally, but you can order meat online if the cost isn't a big problem. I went with pork kidney because it's usually available at an Asian market near me. I can get chicken heart, beef heart and chicken liver at various other grocery stores. Make sure to call/visit several butchers/stores close to you, even different locations of the same grocery chain will have different things they keep in stock. If they don't have something you want, they might be able to special order it.

[Sherry]

You can use any protein, no problem However food allergies in ferrets tend more toward severe vomiting and projectile diarrhea within about 20 minutes of consuming it. You also notice by really weird stools if there is a sensitivity vs true allergy. These stools are not to be confused with detox poops which will be all over the board for colour and texture for the first 2-4 weeks on raw.

[Deleted]

Apr 20, 2017 10:25:26 GMT -5 Sherry said:

You can use any protein, no problem However food allergies in ferrets tend more toward severe vomiting and projectile diarrhea within about 20 minutes of consuming it. You also notice by really weird stools if there is a sensitivity vs true allergy. These stools are not to be confused with detox poops which will be all over the board for colour and texture for the first 2-4 weeks on raw.

Good to know! Being a new ferret owner I'm still learning so I wasn't a 100% on it but I can happily say I've not seen or heard either girl vomit and we only had funky stools when I was getting mimic off the crappie cat food the previous owner was feeding her and spazz of Marshalls food.Have not started raw soupie yet as I get paid biweekly and am making sure I have everything on hand to commit 100% but getting closer :-)

[Deleted]

Sherry....sorry don't know how to tag so I hope you see this. Would the me cutting back on her chicken intake (freeze dry treats and such) and her sneezing and itching almost 100% stopping mean she may have a slight allergy? Curious of your thoughts on that.

[LindaM]

If you wanna tag some one, you can type the @ symbol and their username if you know it. This can be different than their display name though. So if you don't know that one, you can start typing the name after clicking the little icon with an @ symbol and person in the little menu of the reply box, and just click on the correct name as options appear.

As for your question...
Not necessarily, no. There's quite a few factors that can play in itching and sneezing. It is shedding season right now, ferrets are getting rid of their winter coats, this can make them itch and sneeze (especially if one of those pesky hair gets stuck up a nose or even in the throat which will make them cough. Common household items that can lead to allergies can also play a part (eg. even the detergent you wash laundry with unless it's a Dye Free, Fragance Free), or allergies from the outside, like pollen. If you bathe your ferret... the resultant dry skin will lead to a lot of itching for example.

I'll tag Sherry for you though so she can give you her thoughts on it too.

[Sherry]

Odds are the timing of the two are coincidental TBH. And yes- many things make ferrets itch and sneeze, especially shedding season
If you need to tag me in something it is @ and admin Just hover your cursor over someone''s username and see what to use to tag.

[Deleted]

Apr 21, 2017 16:23:24 GMT -5 LindaM said:

If you wanna tag some one, you can type the @ symbol and their username if you know it. This can be different than their display name though. So if you don't know that one, you can start typing the name after clicking the little icon with an @ symbol and person in the little menu of the reply box, and just click on the correct name as options appear.

As for your question...
Not necessarily, no. There's quite a few factors that can play in itching and sneezing. It is shedding season right now, ferrets are getting rid of their winter coats, this can make them itch and sneeze (especially if one of those pesky hair gets stuck up a nose or even in the throat which will make them cough. Common household items that can lead to allergies can also play a part (eg. even the detergent you wash laundry with unless it's a Dye Free, Fragance Free), or allergies from the outside, like pollen. If you bathe your ferret... the resultant dry skin will lead to a lot of itching for example.

I'll tag Sherry for you though so she can give you her thoughts on it too.

Thank you very much LindaM, as I said in my first post I'm not familiar with forums and such so it's a little bit of learning and ill take all the information I can get.

As for my ferrets I never bath them, they both got a bath once when I first got them with a ferret shampoo and it was only because they were filthy. I use all unscented dye free laundry soap because I myself am sensitive as well as know they are to. Purchased a ferminator thing I'll give brushing them with it hmm 2-3 times a week maybe? Also I do use a 100% boar bristle brush to brush them daily to help disperse their natural oils through their coat so as to not get a harsh build up instead of washing them which unless they get filthy and completely gross I wont do.

[Deleted]

Update on getting things in order for switching my girls....going to pick up a deep freezer.....can start with getting meats once I finish my scouting around...have a few ethnic stores opening like 5mins from my house :-)

[Deleted]

Sherry & LindaM Hello Ladies,

So update as of 4:30pm Est time 04/22/17

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Question 1: Would you say I'm ready to begin soupie for my girls? I've read over and continue to read over these links listed here: holisticferret60.proboards.com/thread/17480/intro-raw-newbies-read

Question 2:If this is all ready should I continue my beginning here in this thread or make a new one? Where I can list their weights and what they've eaten and so on. Already weigh them regularly every week due to Mimi being a rescue and being so small and wanting to just keep an eye on her.

Thank you in advance

[LindaM]

It looks good to me so far. Great job on getting everything in place to start your switch. Believe me, the extra freezer space is a life (and wallet) saver.

I think you're ready to make a soupie! And yeah, you can just continue to post in here and we'll keep an eye on you guys.

Hmm, when I started my switch, and even now I still use some, I did those little rectangular containers from Dollar Tree, they're small 2.3oz ones, I fill them with 2oz portions of things. Soups, muscle, organs, heart. Bone-in gets zip lock baggies or bigger portioned containers. A 15QT container from a Walmart can fit 100 of the little containers and goes easily into my one 7cu ft freezer. I'll post pics for clarification when I get home.

EDIT: As promised, here's some photos of some of my set-up.

That container is a Sterilite 15qt from a Walmart and was like $4, and holds an exact 100 of the little 2.3oz containers (4 levels of 25 containers).


One of my little idiots tried to run off with that fresh pack of containers while I took the photos, since they know those tend to hold food. I admit I've had to raid stashes to find and even lost some to damage from their teeth before when I forgot a bag on the couch.

I could easily get little baggies of the 2.3oz containers in sets of 8/10/12 for $1 at the Dollar Tree (you can try Amazon/Ebay too, but it's way more costly) and all of the ones I have seal really well and have lasted without problems in a lot of use. The colored labels can easily be found in little packs costing that much too for about 300something stickers total (I will be ordering some bigger packs off Amazon with more colors as I feed a large variety of proteins). I label my containers and ziplock bags with a sticker color coded to a protein, with protein type (eg. Duck, Rabbit, etc.), meal type (Muscle, Organ, Heart, Bone-in), and consistency (Soup, Ground, Slivers, Chunks) written on it too.

I started with doing the 2oz portions because at first I only had one male and a female to feed, I have since gotten two more boys, but it's still an incredibly easy measure to work with, and if you have space to spare (those little containers barely waste any really), you just grab a couple of the bowls at a time for meals versus a single one. Or you can use bigger containers, my ferrets all eat out of separate bowls so this still works the best for me, portion-wise when it comes to muscle/organ/heart since they're easy to fit in these bowls. As I mentioned, bone-in due to size gets placed in zip-locks or bigger containers.

[Deleted]

04/22/17 7:22pm est time

Made first raw soupie following the recipe here: docs.google.com/document/d/1aRms_O0F38lNSQktABNYDqievQ9GZSR4rRR6fcAcPHA/edit (I used egg shell powder)

Started with 2.0oz for both girls in same bowl just to see how they would do trying it. Weigh in of the left overs was 1.2oz (YAY SPAZZ)

• >Spazz
• >Mimi

Spazz


1. Ferret's name: Spazz
2. Ferret's weight: 2lbs. 3oz.
3. Ferret has eaten "X" amount on average per meal. (First try of soupie) 0.8oz
4. Stools on various pproteins.Slightly reddish, not watery but not solid
5. Activity levels: Normal, playful, active
6. Weekly menu: Raw soupie (linked above) and Kibble (not within same time period)

Mimi


1. Ferret's name:Mimi
2. Ferret's weight:1 lbs. 10oz.
3. Ferret has eaten "X" amount on average per meal. A few "Scruff N Stuff"
4. Stools on various proteins. None yet will update when have info 7:40pm
5. Activity levels: Normal, playful, active
6. Weekly menu: Raw soupie dabs (linked above) and Kibble (not within same time period)

[LindaM]

Good girl Spazz!

The method done with Mimi would be the Grab'n'Dab method, where you grab the ferret, put them in your lap or hold them, and then dab some of the food on their nose/mouth/gums, and let them go again.

If you can include a dangling picture of each ferret when doing the photos, that'd be great. They should look like a little tube-sock when dangling. Here's an example of one of mine: Apollo Dangle

I also edited my post above for you to show you my set-up of doing my food storage. I'm pretty OCD about stuff and love having things neatly organized (that way I know anyone could care for my babies if I am ever indisposed), and honestly, this was still pretty cheap to do, most of it cost $1 a piece.

[Deleted]

Apr 22, 2017 17:50:17 GMT -5 LindaM said:

It looks good to me so far. Great job on getting everything in place to start your switch. Believe me, the extra freezer space is a life (and wallet) saver.

I think you're ready to make a soupie! And yeah, you can just continue to post in here and we'll keep an eye on you guys.

Hmm, when I started my switch, and even now I still use some, I did those little rectangular containers from Dollar Tree, they're small 2.3oz ones, I fill them with 2oz portions of things. Soups, muscle, organs, heart. Bone-in gets zip lock baggies or bigger portioned containers. A 15QT container from a Walmart can fit 100 of the little containers and goes easily into my one 7cu ft freezer. I'll post pics for clarification when I get home.

EDIT: As promised, here's some photos of some of my set-up.
That container is a Sterilite 15qt from a Walmart and was like $4, and holds an exact 100 of the little 2.3oz containers (4 levels of 25 containers).

One of my little idiots tried to run off with that fresh pack of containers while I took the photos, since they know those tend to hold food. I admit I've had to raid stashes to find and even lost some to damage from their teeth before when I forgot a bag on the couch.

I could easily get little baggies of the 2.3oz containers in sets of 8/10/12 for $1 at the Dollar Tree (you can try Amazon/Ebay too, but it's way more costly) and all of the ones I have seal really well and have lasted without problems in a lot of use. The colored labels can easily be found in little packs costing that much too for about 300something stickers total (I will be ordering some bigger packs off Amazon with more colors as I feed a large variety of proteins). I label my containers and ziplock bags with a sticker color coded to a protein, with protein type (eg. Duck, Rabbit, etc.), meal type (Muscle, Organ, Heart, Bone-in), and consistency (Soup, Ground, Slivers, Chunks) written on it too.

I started with doing the 2oz portions because at first I only had one male and a female to feed, I have since gotten two more boys, but it's still an incredibly easy measure to work with, and if you have space to spare (those little containers barely waste any really), you just grab a couple of the bowls at a time for meals versus a single one. Or you can use bigger containers, my ferrets all eat out of separate bowls so this still works the best for me, portion-wise when it comes to muscle/organ/heart since they're easy to fit in these bowls. As I mentioned, bone-in due to size gets placed in zip-locks or bigger containers.

LindaM , Thank you for this I think I'm going to copy you and do the same. The first soupie I made I just poured into ice cube trays, each cube is roughly 1.2oz (weighed them all to check if its consistent) but I like your process a lot more I could make up a bunch and plan entire weeks out with that which would help with my work schedule and such. Want to ask though, what is your thawing process when it comes to these portions? With the ice cubes I put them in a plastic serving bowl to thaw over night seeing as they aren't large they shouldn't take long to thaw.

[Deleted]

Going out sourcing more meat markets today as didn't have much luck here in my vicinity of town. Most I found was ox tail and a friend mentioned an Asian market near her so going to go check it out.

LindaM Updated Photos: 04/23/17 8:20am

Spazzmy easy child


Mimimy hellion