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Post by Deleted on May 4, 2017 18:51:46 GMT -5
Tomorrow (5/5/2017) I plan on starting Feddy and Benji on their raw soup.
Freddy(6m) weight 1390g Benji(9w) weight 509g
Question before I start tomorrow.. I will be getting home from work at 1am, can I take their kibble out of their cage in preparation to feed them the raw soup tomorrow morning at about 8a?
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Post by Deleted on May 5, 2017 8:06:43 GMT -5
This morning was their first morning being introduced to raw soup.
Both were given 1oz.
Freddy was not interested. Scruffed and put glob in mouth x 3. Still was not interested so I decided to mix the "raw soup" with some of the baby food that I had been given him 1oz baby food to 1oz soup and HE ATE IT! woohoo! Total food he ate was 1oz of the mixed. My plan is to wean the portion of baby food over time and have it just soup
Benji as a champ digging right in with a whopping total of 1.2oz of soup. He licked the bowl clean after the first oz so I added another one.
I do not plan on giving their Kibble back as of right now but if you guys think otherwise please let me know and I know that it could change over the next couple of feedings.
Feeding Schedule I plan on following: 8A 4P 12A
Is this a good schedule?
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Post by Deleted on May 5, 2017 16:43:17 GMT -5
Fed them lunch at 1:30 because they were acticing hungry.
Freddy ate 1.2 oz with less mixed in baby food and had to dab it on his lips to remind him it tastes good. Benji ate 1.5oz of soup no problem.
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Post by Deleted on May 5, 2017 23:19:33 GMT -5
Fed Dinner at 10:30p
Freddy ate 3oz with a little baby food mixed in. In total Freddy ate 4.7oz for the day Benji ate 1.7oz with no problem. In total Benji ate 4oz total
They have been quite active today and poops have been normal.
I was also quite excited to find a meat market that had an abundance of heart today and are able to order me anything and make grinds for me if I needed.
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Post by Deleted on May 6, 2017 8:12:13 GMT -5
5/6/2017 Breakfast went well. Freddy ate 1oz without any additive. Benji ate 1.6oz no problem.
Both started with out any encouragement. Freddy hesitated a bit but then dug right in.
How can I tell if they are eating enough?
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Post by Deleted on May 6, 2017 14:07:09 GMT -5
Lunch: Freddy 3oz soup Benji 1.8oz soup Poops are good and activity level is normal Tomorrow I think I will add little chunks of chicken to see if they will eat it.
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Post by Deleted on May 7, 2017 0:20:50 GMT -5
Dinner: 7p Freddy ate 1oz Benji ate 1oz 12a Freddy ate 2 oz Benji ate 1oz
Totals for the day: Freddy 8 oz Benji 5 oz
Both were active like normal and had normal poops. Both have not had kibble since Thursday night.
I hope they are eating enough I feel as though I am flying by the seat of my pants.
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Post by LindaM on May 7, 2017 1:21:33 GMT -5
Don't stress, you're doing well! How old are your two furnoodles? So there are a few things that happen when first switching to raw, at first your the ferrets will eat more than their averages, almost like they're trying to make up for lost nutrients from their kibble days. Secondly, as you move toward things that require effort from them to eat (eg. chewing meat or crunching bones), they will also slow down on eating. Other key factors that play in how much ferrets eat are Age, Gender, the Seasons, and even Health can play a role. The adult male average amount of food is 2-5oz a day. The adult female average amount of food is 1-3oz a day. Ferrets can lose up to 40% of their body weight in the switch from winter to spring and their appetites will also go down, in the winter, they'll pick up weight and even get a bit chubby since they'll eat more than they do in the spring and summer months. One of the best ways to figure out your averages for YOUR ferrets (as they all differ somewhat), is to weigh food before putting out and again afterwards, and jotting it down in a journal for a few weeks, in essence you'll end up doing this for a whole year to get an idea of your seasonal averages. Which it seems like you are doing, so just keep up with it. Make sure that at the change of meal times, your ferrets' bowls still have about a bite of food left. A licked empty bowl can mean that someone might not have gotten their fill of food. You can definitely go ahead and add a few small slivers of meat into their soup tomorrow and see if they'll eat it, if they stop entirely, you may need to decrease the amount of slivers and slowly increase them with the meals as you go along and they get used to them. If they are happy with the slivers, you can keep increasing the amount you add, as well as their size. Please review the following link for help on sizes: Standardized Sizing for Meats
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Post by Deleted on May 7, 2017 10:01:19 GMT -5
Thank you LindaM . For breakfast my loving husband decided to let me sleep in and take over. Freddy ate a huge chunk of chicken thigh skin but would not eat the chicken thigh piece my husband though would be a good idea to eat so he then gave him some soup and he ate it all. 1.5oz Benji was given a 1oz chunk of chicken thigh as well and he munched through about .7oz of it! So what do you think my next steps should be?
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Post by Deleted on May 7, 2017 11:51:16 GMT -5
Weigh In: Freddy 1407g (+17g) Benji 571g (+62g) Freddy: Benji:
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Post by LindaM on May 7, 2017 13:10:22 GMT -5
Well, it certainly seems that they see the chicken as food, albeit Freddy might just assume it's just something nice to chew on right now. Depending on the size of the piece offered, it may have intimidated him a little. But since they both seem pretty willing, let's see how they do with a bowl of some chicken thigh slivers. If they eat it, great! If not at all, then we can step back a little and work our way up.
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Post by Deleted on May 7, 2017 20:09:07 GMT -5
Before I left for work I made up Benjamin and Freddy's food for hubby. Freddy given 3oz soup 0.5 oz chicken chunk mixed in all that was left was 0.8 of chunk and some soup Benji ate it all. I am now looking to stock up my freezer with tons of meat meat w/ bone and organs for these chunks what do you all recommend getting?? i have a pound of chicken heart and a pound of turkey heart so far!
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Post by LindaM on May 7, 2017 20:44:20 GMT -5
Seems like you got the hearts area covered. As for organs, you need to get some liver, and another organ (kidney, uterus, testicles, spleen, pancreas, brains - be wary of this one though, it's very rich, so given too often it will lead to very runny poops). Kidney tends to be one of the easiest to come across, though I have found brains and uteri in Asian markets as well. Refer to this: What Defines a Nutritional Organ MealAs mentioned, an Asian/Ethnic market is one of the easiest places to get a great variety of meats for your ferrets, and at great prices. Though, if all else fails, there are online providers who can ship you whatever you need as well (Hare Today, My Pet Carnivore, RodentPro, etc). When you get to doing your bone-in meals, the following are great options. Chicken Wings/Spines/Necks/Thighs(crushed)/Feet(added to muscle meat can make a pseudo bone-in meal), Whole Quail, Whole Rabbit, Whole Mice, Whole Rat, Whole Hamster/Guinea Pig, Duck Wingtips/Necks/Ribs, Turkey Wingtips/Necks(crushed)/Ribs, Froglegs, etc. Refer to this: Meat, Bone, Organ Weekly MenuGet Your Ferret Eating Bones (from Machan's site)Smashing Up Bone for Beginners
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Post by Deleted on May 9, 2017 18:38:32 GMT -5
So sorry for the gap in update been busy between work and finals.
Yesterday: Freddy and Benji ate a total of 5.5oz and 4.5 was soup and 1oz was chicken chunks.
Today: Breakfast: Freddy: 1.5oz soup Benji: 1.5oz soup
Snack: Freddy: 0.5oz soup Benji: 0.5oz soup This was the last of the soup
Lunch: Freddy: 2oz ground chicken/turkey heart, chicken, beef liver and bone meal Benji: 2oz ground chicken/turkey heart, chicken, beef liver and bone meal
they have been doing really well.. I am going to the butcher tomorrow.. I think I am going to get: Rabbit, chicken wings, see if they have duck or turkey wing tips, frog legs, see if they have kidney, brain, spleen or any other organs as well. Am I missing anything?
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Post by Deleted on May 10, 2017 18:34:50 GMT -5
Okay went to the butcher and got what I think is a LOT of meat!
Breakfast: 8a Freddy: 2oz raw mash Benji: 2oz raw mash
4p Freddy: 2oz raw mash Benji: 0.5 oz raw mash
8p Freddy: 1 half inch piece of a chicken neck Benji: 5 half inch pieces of a chicken neck Both crunch through the small piece of bone no problem.
OK so at the butcher I got a whole duck and a whole rabbit. I had them cut it into pieces but the pieces are HUGE they are like large stew meat cube size.. 2-3 inches. What is the best way to break them down smaller or should I keep them that large and hope my little guys will eat away at them. Also if the bone is too big will they just eat around it?
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