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Post by bishop24 on Dec 16, 2017 17:58:49 GMT -5
On another note, question time! So I’ve been trying to give the ferrets different types of meat but it’s not always very successful. I tried lamb the other day and Flint loved it but Missy and Ellie didn’t want anything to do with it. I tried hand feeding Ellie and she eventually grabbed it but didn’t eat it. How do I get them to try new stuff?
And the ferrets seem to be good with finishing off the slightly smashed chicken wings and we are moving onto non smashed ones. What’s the biggest sized bones they can eat? I have the whole turkey but the leg bones are pretty big.
And any suggestions on cutting up whole Bird’s? I got a duck and I cut it up yesterday but I’m still finding bits of it stuck to the walls and the fridge and the floor and everywhere! It looks like a grizzly murder scene!
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Post by bishop24 on Dec 17, 2017 21:34:15 GMT -5
1. Name: Flint 2. Weight: 1250g 3. Ferret has eaten “3oz” per meal 4. Stools: fabulous 5. Activity levels: Tries to keep up with Ellie and us until he gets so tired that he falls asleep in the middle of the floor 😂 6. Weekly menu: Monday am- chicken wing Pm- beef chunks Tuesday am- quail Pm- quail Wednesday am- chicken wing Pm- chicken heart Thursday am- quail Pm- lamb chop Friday am- chicken wing Pm- liver/kidney soup Saturday am- chicken wing Pm- chicken gizzard/ lamb chop Sunday am- quail Pm- heart/organ soup w/bonemeal 7. Picture: He’s a bit yellowish right now but I’m putting that to his change to his winter fur
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Post by bishop24 on Dec 18, 2017 0:31:54 GMT -5
1. Name: Missy 2. Weight: 810g (pretty sure most of that is her poof fur!) 3. Ferret has eaten “~1oz” per meal. More on her favs like chicken wings and soups and less on things like lamb and beef 4. Stools: still a mess and terrible smelling. We just found another poop in her fav sleeping drawer. She didn’t poop on the blanket but still!! 5. Activity levels: normal 😊 6. Weekly menu: see above 7. Picture:
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Post by bishop24 on Dec 18, 2017 0:37:45 GMT -5
1. Name: Ellie 2. Weight: 820g 3. Ferret has eaten “2-3oz” per meal (hard to tell with the little stasher) 4. Stools: a bit runnier than last week but overall good 5. Activity levels: off the wall 🤪 6. Weekly menu: see above 7. Picture: Sorry the pic is kinda dark. Lights freak her out
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Post by Aftershock on Dec 18, 2017 2:42:53 GMT -5
RE Missy's poops- Color and texture, I'm blaming the chicken heavy menu and not getting quite as much bone in as the other two. To be honest, I'm going to pin her accidents down to needing litter box boot camp until proven otherwise. Some ferrets are less of a battle than others, but I'm convinced it happens with all of them. I mean, Croc is awful about forgetting to poop where he should, if he does it Cow follows, and Gator has occasional accidents too. I end up vinegar water spraying the area/washing the fabric item after it happens and try to watch them closer to direct them to their poop boxes. Missy has probably gotten into forgetting because she gets busy playing with Ellie So, because she's not really going after stashes, I think we should feed her separate from the other two right now. It will make life a lot easier for everyone. Also- how has her bone in meals been going? RE introducing new stuff- So, we shouldn't HAVE to go all the way back to soup, but if they don't want much to do with a new food here's the small list of steps to try: Take a few steps back on size (make it easier to eat) Salmon oil Pop piece in mouth Mix with an already accepted protein Wait 2-3 hours before offering new protein (only if healthy) Offer on a spoon with ferret in lap These are not in any particular order as it really depends on the ferret, examples- Gator all it takes is offering the new thing on a spoon in my lap with maybe a bit of salmon oil. Croc needs smaller pieces, oil, popped piece in mouth, spoon, and a few pieces of meat he already sees as food. Cow needs to go all the way back to soup, oil, mixed with a favorite food, spoon fed, and still manages to get half of it on me -.- RE bone sizes- So mill ferrets can usually eat most fowl bones. Thigh/leg bones always seem to be an issue because the bones are either too big or the ferrets are too lazy. Necks occasionally need smashed a bit. Turkey I find the bones need a lot more smashing than that or duck or chicken, but as long as they are small enough, they will eat them!
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Post by bishop24 on Dec 19, 2017 10:14:57 GMT -5
Missy- So does chicken cause looser poops? Or do you think she is sensitive to chicken? Or just not eating enough of the bone? I am going to try just duck and turkey this week and see how she does with that. Are there any other kinds of non-fowl bone in yums that we can try? Aka would smashing beef or pork bones work? It also seems like Missy doesn’t like using the litter boxes the other ferrets use. Could that be a submissive thing? She had “her” litter box but then it became Ellie’s fav got to go place so Missy goes beside it now 😐
Are you still referring to Missy when you mentioned stashing? She has found her own “special” place to keep her extra noms that other hungry mouths can’t reach! It’s her safe place ☺️ It’s a good thing too because Flint and Ellie are currently in a battle of “I’m going to eat your stash!” But for now, I’m making sure I have some extra foods in the fridge for Missy. She is also getting the hang of eating bones! We are finding less and less leftover bone bits all around! I love to hear her crunch 🤗 And the bonemeal in their organ soup seems to have helped too! No diarrhea since Sunday morning!
Also, the fish oil and a bit of yum quail helped with the lamb. Duck seems to be a win too!
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Post by Aftershock on Dec 21, 2017 20:31:37 GMT -5
Missy's loose poops are probably because she isn't getting quite enough bone The color doesn't necessarily mean allergy or anything, meats that are lighter in color can come out as yellow poops. I could happen with turkey as well. It's kind of like organ poops being dark and loose, that's because what they ate was dark and loose. If it was an allergy I promise you would know. Allergies to food usually come with vomiting and AWFUL smelling AWFUL looking poops. Missy's look normal, just lacking in enough bone. I'd really rather you add a bit of bone meal to her bone in meals vs organ nights if you wouldn't mind❤ more because we need to know how much more bone she needs on her bone in days, does that make sense? RE the litter box- Hee hee, some ferrets are just super particular about litter boxes. I've definitely heard of them tantruming if someone else poops in their box before. How many litter boxes do you have? It might help to grab 1-2 more and see if that helps. RE Missy's stash spot- Bahahahahahahaha, good girl. Good ferreting. Also good job on keeping some extra noms in the fridge just in case. You all will get the hang of it eventually and will be able to just toss food in without worrying ^-^ RE non fowl bone in sources- Lemme think..... The first that come to mind are rabbit, guinea pig, mice, and rats. If you can find a feeder breeder near you, you could probably get some nice rats and mice for a cheaper price than the petstores (and much better quality). If you're on facebook, there's a group called feeder breeders ONLY and you can ask if anyone is in your area❤ I'm so excited to hear about the lamb and duck! Keep it up! You and your babies are doing fabulous❤❤❤
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Post by bishop24 on Dec 22, 2017 16:52:13 GMT -5
Missy’s poops are much better this week! Thanks for the heads up on poop colour. The turkey turned everyone’s poop almost completely white! I’m gonna do my weekly post tomorrow cause its Christmas Eve on Sunday!!!!
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Post by bishop24 on Dec 24, 2017 1:06:12 GMT -5
1. Name: Flint 2. Weight: 1350g (he’s looking pretty chunky now!) 3. Ferret has eaten “3oz” on average per meal (I swear that all he does is eat!!!) 4. Stools: a bit crumbly sometimes but overall no issues 5. Activity levels: definitely slowing down but still always wakes up to check out what we are doing. Him and Ellie play a lot 😊 6. Weekly menu: Monday am: quail Pm: lamb Tuesday am: duck Pm: pork Wednesday am: duck Pm: heart Thursday am: quail Pm: turkey breast Friday am: turkey wing Pm: heart/organ soup Saturday am: turkey wing Pm: pork Sunday am: chicken wing Pm: organ soup 7. Picture:
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Post by bishop24 on Dec 28, 2017 0:16:17 GMT -5
So I failed a bit with the weekly post. I got all of their weights on Saturday but I just ran out of time to finish Ellie and Missy’s post. So here we go! 1. Name: Ellie 2. Weight: 845g 3. Ferret has eaten “1-2 oz” per meal. She seems to be slowing down a bit with the weight gain and eating. Is that normal? She is 3mo now. 4. Stools: good! 5. Activity levels: starting to settle in a bit I think. She will play by herself if no one is around (omg she will play with the squeaker mouse FOREVER! She can’t even hear it!!!) and seems to sleep more soundly and not wake up every 20 min 6. Weekly menu: see above 7. Picture: 1. Name: Missy 2. Weight: 790g (why is she still loosing weight?!) 3. Ferret has eaten “0.5oz” per meal on average. I have been watching her closer when she eats and she will only eat 1-2 chunks per meal. Sometimes she will get up and grab a piece but instead of eating it she just stashes it. Chicken wings are definitely her fav and she will have closer to 1 oz per meal of those. 4. Stools: better, we’ve been making sure she is eating her bone! They are still the weirdest and smelliest of the bunch and we had to take her drawer away cause she keeps pooping in it. I draw the line at sleeping, eating, and pooping in the same area 😖 5. Activity levels: Still loves her “all by herself” time but with all of the craziness going on during Christmas she has done amazingly well 😊 6. Weekly menu: see above 7. Picture: Oh, and MERRY CHRISTMAS!!! Hope it was good and Santa brought lots of presents for the furbits 😂 Our bunch loved the wrapping paper and empty boxes the most
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Post by Aftershock on Dec 29, 2017 1:08:30 GMT -5
>.> <.< You are completely fine, I totally forgot to respond in the Christmas stress x.x RE poop color- First time I served beef heart the boys had straight white poops, I thought they were dying. Turned out it's because beef heart is notorious for being fatty. LMAO Flint- Looking good here! Ellie- Yes, her slowing down now is normal. As she gets older she will eat less as well. Missy- If you hold her so her legs are dangling, are her sides straight up and down like a tube sock? Is she shedding at all? So, just to bring myself back onto the same page, everyone is eating bone in meals good, right? Muscle meats are good. What about organ nights? Are you having to still chop up bone in meals a ton? Edited to add- LATE MERRY CHRISTMAS!
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Post by bishop24 on Dec 31, 2017 3:48:03 GMT -5
Hmmm, she looks pretty “tube sock-y” to me and no shedding. It’s just weird that she finally gained a good amount of weight and then lost pretty much all of it. She started at 756g in September and went up to 965g at the beginning of November. She started loosing weight around the time we got Ellie and she switched off of soupie. Idk, what are your thoughts? She was always on the lighter side and she is so hard to read. She is such a serious ferret 🤔 Bone in meals are going pretty well. We still have to smash them a bit to get them to go at them. Otherwise we seem to find whole bone pieces instead of crumbs. Soupie nights are a hit now. No poop issues with the added bone meal either. I’ve had to keep those at a solid 7oz and there is never any leftovers in the morning. I’ve been keeping a bit of bone in stuff with the muscle meats to keep their poops good too. So I think we are doing pretty well! Happy New Years too! May it be full of noms and fat happy ferrets 😋
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Post by bishop24 on Jan 1, 2018 13:08:51 GMT -5
1. Name: Flint 2. Weight: 1340g 3. Ferret has eaten “3oz” on average per meal. I swear that eating takes up most of his day 😮 4. Stools: Perfect and plentiful! 5. Activity levels: sloooowed down. Lays down when he eats now (I guess he’s too lazy to stand 😂) and looks half asleep most of the time. He still has energy to kick Ellie’s butt and go for walks though so he’s good. Much like last winter. 6. Weekly menu: Mon am- chicken wings Pm- heart/organ soup w/bone meal (everyone was so excited for Christmas that no one ate it on Sunday) Tues am- chicken wing Pm- pork rib, vigorously smashed Wends am- duck, bone in Pm- pork Thurs am- turkey, bone in Pm- chicken hearts Fri am- chicken thigh, bone in Pm- organ soup w/bone meal, chicken gizzard (they ate through 7 oz of soup before we went to bed!) Sat am- turkey, bone in Pm- turkey, bone in Sun am- duck, bone in Pm- heart/organ soup w/bone meal 7. Picture: BEAST!!!
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Post by bishop24 on Jan 1, 2018 16:33:29 GMT -5
1. Name: Missy 2. Weight: 820g 3. Ferret has eaten “0.5oz” per meal (mon-fri) and then she went to “1oz” per meal (sat, sun)!!!! 4. Stool: Much better! When she has a small poop she has to strain a bit (cutest face ever) and I still wouldn’t say that they are solid but they aren’t diarrhea anymore! 5. Activity levels: about the same. Being much braver around new things and noises and is even curious about them!!! 6. Weekly menu: see above 7. Picture:
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Post by bishop24 on Jan 1, 2018 16:37:13 GMT -5
1. Name: Ellie 2. Weight: 845g 3. Ferret has eaten “1-2oz” on average per meal 4. Stools: good 5. Activity levels: Some days she is sleepy butt, other days she is OMG HYPER ATTACK EVERYTHING!!!! The usual 6. Weekly menu: see above 7. Picture:
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