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Post by LindaM on May 14, 2017 21:05:54 GMT -5
Yeah, you can continue to thicken the soupie into almost a ground meat consistency, or even try a bit of ground chicken either with or without a little water to see what they'll do. Do they still refuse entirely to touch it like that? Have you continued to decrease the amount of soupie with the slivers? How are they faring with that?
Soupie is another thing that can be drizzled over new proteins to help entice them to try the food, once they have accepted doing slivers and we try to get them eating some other proteins.
To me it sounds like the girlies are just trying to out-stubborn you right now, and you're going to have to prove to them you are more stubborn than they are. They know the chicken slivers are food. You could try seeing how long it takes them to try it if that's all you give and not modify it until the next meal time. Skipping one meal shouldn't harm them, and since they do know it's food, here's to hoping they'll cave and try it. It's pretty much the tough love approach.
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Post by Deleted on May 15, 2017 10:43:10 GMT -5
LindaM on my phone so will reply to your previous message when I get home to my pc. I have a question on meats, I just learned yesterday I can go to an auction here and get rabbits, chickens and various other meats (living) for cheaper than I can get at the butcher or ordering. My father and brother are hunters and have agreed to teach me to for lack of a better work my brains not working but to kill them quickly and how to skin and clean them.....would this be ok? They are farm raised animals not wild so no worries about parasites and such. Thought I'd run it by you see what you think. I grew up in a hunting family so this doesn't gross me out or nothing and could save money, auction is every Friday and father's friend buys the rabbits for his snakes.
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Post by LindaM on May 15, 2017 13:07:14 GMT -5
That's great hon, you sure you don't perhaps want to offer your ferrets whole prey in their diet? Rabbits are a great whole prey option when you get the whole thing, and depending what other meats you can get, you may also have more options. The auction animals should be fine, I'm assuming the animals are all being sold as human-grade level meat for slaughter, yea? You have more guts than me, I was looking through some whole prey threads and tutorials last night, and I gotta say after watching how to skin a fully furred rabbit and then chop it up, it got me a wee bit on the green/pale side. I've overcome my horror in chopping up the dressed or skinned and gutted (mostly just intestines removed) versions, but seeing the fluffy dead bunny and thinking of what I'd need to do to it just twists my mind a bit, maybe in some time I'll get over that too, haha. I've hunted rabbits plenty a time before, but the parts afterward get me a wee bit.  |
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Post by Deleted on May 16, 2017 11:42:41 GMT -5
I'm very interested in whole prey, long as I have guidance to get the girls there I'd love to. I don't want to do live whole prey but I'm not squeamish when comes to skinning or anything like that. My goal is the healthiest natural diet so yes I'd like to do whole prey. If you have a link to those videos mind passing them my way? Thanks :-)
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Post by Deleted on May 16, 2017 11:55:41 GMT -5
Yeah, you can continue to thicken the soupie into almost a ground meat consistency, or even try a bit of ground chicken either with or without a little water to see what they'll do. Do they still refuse entirely to touch it like that? Have you continued to decrease the amount of soupie with the slivers? How are they faring with that? Soupie is another thing that can be drizzled over new proteins to help entice them to try the food, once they have accepted doing slivers and we try to get them eating some other proteins. To me it sounds like the girlies are just trying to out-stubborn you right now, and you're going to have to prove to them you are more stubborn than they are. They know the chicken slivers are food. You could try seeing how long it takes them to try it if that's all you give and not modify it until the next meal time. Skipping one meal shouldn't harm them, and since they do know it's food, here's to hoping they'll cave and try it. It's pretty much the tough love approach. Slightly flustered with the girls, yesterday I tried doing ground chicken and mixed in some water but left the chicken pretty whole not like a pudding consistency, mimi would kick at it but nothing, spazz wouldn't even touch it so I thought hmm maybe the chicken is no good so I thawed fresh chicken and tried again and left it with them all night....they didn't touch it :-(. I drizzled egg over the slivers, they would kick at it but ended leaving it sitting till I had to toss it out. Tried the salmon oil drizzled over and mixed in...wouldn't touch it. I'm scared of them refusing to eat mainly because mimi is already small. Going to keep making soupie less and less water. Still adding slivers to soupie, some times they eat them some times they eat around them |
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Post by LindaM on May 16, 2017 12:01:40 GMT -5
Whole Prey is definitely the ultimate diet for them, it's perfectly balanced, of course you still need to be feeding at least 3 different proteins to them. This is just simply because the nutrient levels vary from protein to protein. Once your little girlies get to the stage where they will munch on bone-in meals, it should be a good time to introduce WP. Though depending on what you get, the bones may be soft enough that it can actually help to get them onto eating their bone-in meals. I started my ferrets of their bones by offering them some quail (Cornish Game Hen works too) when I switched. Though when you get to the WP stage of things, hopefully there will be a mentor ready to help you with that, as I am definitely not experienced in feeding that, haha. But if not, then I'll simply tag in some of the WP mentors or admins who do WP to help give some guidance and insight on that phase. As for some WP info, check out the WP board on here (there's a great sticky on gutting guineas, and one on rabbit): holisticferret60.proboards.com/board/40/preyAs for searching how to skin and whack up bunnies.. I simply searched youtube.. there are loads of them. I'm pretty sure for other types of animals too. |
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Post by LindaM on May 16, 2017 12:06:28 GMT -5
If they're willing to eat some of the slivers, then that's good. Keep lessening the soupie gradually for now, and we'll see how the girls do in the next little bit. Especially for Mimi's sake, if it's got you concerned. Though build-wise, Mimi may be a whippet ferret. My Athena is one, she's a small wee sprite (she weighs about what Mimi does), but she's also the Alpha and rules everyone with a furred little iron paw.
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Post by Deleted on May 17, 2017 18:05:53 GMT -5
LindaM so there is another little girl being added her name is fritz, she's my best friends ferret and currently having home situation where she can't keep her so I'm taking Fritz, she said she does willingly eat raw soupie but refuses chunks so going to see if she eats the raw soupie if so I'll continue her with spazz and mimi unless you think I shouldnt? It's pretty definite she will be perminant with me
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Post by LindaM on May 17, 2017 19:01:26 GMT -5
If you wish to give the wee girlie a new forever home, go ahead hon. Just be prepared for the possible risks that always come with adding newcomers, the new girlie and your current two either might, or might not accept one another. It's common practice to quarantine any new additions in a separate cage in another room, keeping access away from the other ferrets for at least 2 weeks. This is to help reduce the risk of something like ECE. But if the girlies have already met each other, you're kinda already in for a penny, in for a pound and whatever's gonna happen is gonna happen. You'll just need to keep a close eye on them, especially poopies and depression.
I suggest getting some Bach's Rescue Remedy if you do not already own some. It's a mix of flower essences that can help calm and reduce the stress associated with newcomers being added and being in a new environment, etc. It's a pretty useful little bottle to have in your ferret medical box anyway.
What can happen right now, is that your wee girlies may backslide in their progress with raw a bit. This can happen pretty easily just from the stress of a newcomer being there, even if they like each other, it's a big change in environment. The other thing that could happen, and it's a good one, is that the new girlie might get a clue while watching the other two eating and figure out that slivers are food! Though, since there's gonna be a change of environment for the new girlie, and possibly some stress of no longer being with your friend, she may take a while to eat normally again and seem like she eats poorly for the first few days. Once she finds her place in the new home, starts getting used to it and you properly, as well as her new friends, she should do alright. Everyone might end up pooping wherever they darn well feel like too, that's another common occurrence when making an addition.
I'd love to see a photo of the new girlie, as well as get an idea of her weight and overall health. How old is she?
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Post by Deleted on May 18, 2017 16:42:12 GMT -5
This little girl has been around them before shes not new like from a stranger or nothing like that, shes just possibly furrever with us unsure yet
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Post by Deleted on May 18, 2017 16:46:07 GMT -5
The friend is moving in also so lots of changes but this little girl is the reason I got a ferret in the first place, im aware of all the things that could happen..im not 100% on her age ill ask and I will take photos and weigh her to post  |
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Post by LindaM on May 18, 2017 16:48:22 GMT -5
Good. Let me know how things go. Have the other two made any progress with their food yet? Or still being stubborn little floofs?
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Post by Deleted on May 20, 2017 7:01:32 GMT -5
Good. Let me know how things go. Have the other two made any progress with their food yet? Or still being stubborn little floofs? Still being stubborn little fools  but I'm trying :-) |
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Post by Deleted on May 21, 2017 19:39:37 GMT -5
OK I have pictures and weights everything to post but my router just went out due t o storm and power flickering on and off...it's later so I'm posting this from my phone because I don't know when it will come back on...sorry :-( the girls are still refusing to eat slivers on their own and if so upset gets to thick they won't touch it (I'm trying scruff n stuff) but no such luck yet....fritz is 2 will be 3 in october, she will not eat soupie as her previous care giver said she would so she's in a separate cage and on kibble but I'm working with her on soupie, spazz and mimi still seem to be doing fine with their soupie and I'm trying hard with slivers ....update photos and weights tomorrow with questions tomorrow :-)
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Post by LindaM on May 21, 2017 22:40:08 GMT -5
The older ones can be harder to switch since they have long since finished their food imprinting phase. But it can most definitely be done. Let's see if we can get the taste in her mouth, so I'd like you to try some Dab'n'Grab sessions with Fritz over the next few days with the soupie. Does she like to have Salmon Oil or Raw Eggs, perhaps?
Spazz and Mimi seem like they are willing to out-stubborn you right now, so you may need to try some tough love on them to try and get them moving along. Try offering just slivers in the morning meal, and again in the evening meal. Skipping a meal won't harm them (unless one of them has insulinoma or another illness). Remind me again, they don't have medical problems, right? By the evening meal they should be hungry enough to eat the slivers. You could also try it that way with a meal that has the thicker soupie, though they may go for the slivers by themselves when hungry enough. They already know it's food by now, they're just being stubborn fuzzies. Still no luck in trying to hand-feed a few small slivers drizzled with Salmon Oil or Raw Egg? Do the girls like Salmon Oil, I can't recall.
If they don't like Salmon Oil or aren't used to it yet, you can do the Dab'n'Grab method for that too.
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but I'm trying :-)