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Post by mfouche89 on Jan 1, 2018 13:01:30 GMT -5
I'm so impressed by that progress. Our two two-year-olds want nothing to do with raw (Yet!). Congratulations on your achievements with these finicky little creatures! Well if you take into account that usually by the first year, most ferrets are imprinted on their kibble, it's not shocking you're having trouble. I have 3-2year olds and 1-1 and a half year old and the 2 year olds are harder to get to eat than my younger ferret. She's started hers young. They aren't as ingrained into their kibble as yours probably are.
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Post by jeshimikah on Jan 2, 2018 15:24:59 GMT -5
Posting a day late, but I worked last night, so Nicky gave the fuzzbutts their soupie and updated me on how it went. All of them ate fine, aside from our little diva, Meeka, who did very well from the spoon, but was still a tad unsure about eating from the bowl. No slivers were added, but there will be some tonight. I’ll be cutting 2 chicken hearts into 4 equal pieces, and the gizzards to about a third the size of my thumbnail! Tomorrow morning, when I get off work, I’ll be picking up chicken breast and getting more soupie made, since I only have enough for today left!
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Post by jeshimikah on Jan 2, 2018 17:24:35 GMT -5
I have great news! Meeka now goes straight to the soupie without any spoon feeding at all! Sebastian chowed down most of the heart and gizzards, continuing to eat and finish it when the others were finished and didn’t want anymore since the soupie was gone. Thomas also chewed up the hearts and gizzards very well, but mostly tried to stash it. Vladimir chewed a bit, but I don’t think he ate quite as much, though he’s a sucker for the soupie. Tomorrow, I’ll be making more soupie since were just about out, and adding some chicken liver and chicken breast slivers rather than heart or gizzards to see how they take to something different!
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Post by jeshimikah on Jan 3, 2018 20:45:27 GMT -5
Today went pretty well! I made more soupie, and added chicken slivers, chicken hearts, and chicken livers. As usual, the soupie was a hit, which I made slightly thicker this time, by adding less water to it before blending. The hearts were also still a success, and I’m pleased to now add that the liver and chicken slivers were also loved! Sebastian definately eats the most, which still surprises me, because he is our skinniest ferret. Thomas loves to try to stash the food, and so does Vladimir, but they both eat what they stash. I set up a box for them to stash their food in, where I can easily dispose of whatever is left behind (though nothing has been so far). There was still some chicken slivers left in one of the bowls when I put them away for sleep, and I’ve left the dish in their cage for when they wake up! Meeka is still being a diva about chewing and eating the chicken. But she’ll happily show down on the soupie. Does anyone have any advice on getting her interested in the meats too?
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Post by Sherry on Jan 4, 2018 9:14:48 GMT -5
Tip- if they are eating slivers/small bits, start by increasing the sizes of those so they get used to it But make them longer, not thicker. Think meat "spaghetti". That way they get the feel of small in their mouths when they pick it up, and chewing at that point is almost instinctive.
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Post by jeshimikah on Jan 5, 2018 17:26:32 GMT -5
Okay, so Meeka is being stubborn. She still won’t do anything but lick the soupie and meat slivers. Tomorrow, I’ll be taking Sherry’s advice and making longer strips of the chicken. Spaghetti chicken! The boys love the chicken, hearts, gizzards, and liver,
I am very nervous about giving them bone-in chicken though. I do have some, but chicken bones are sharp, and I’m so concerned about them getting hurt. Once I am comfortable doing that, when the time comes, I’ll also be branching out to different meats, such as turkey, pork, etc...
Does anyone have any advice on giving them bone-in? I know they can eat whole prey, but when I took apart a few chickens, the bones were very sharp, and I love my fuzzbutts so much! I’d be devastated if they got hurt because of me giving them bones...
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Post by jeshimikah on Jan 6, 2018 17:14:17 GMT -5
Spaghetti chicken was a success! Not only did the boys love it, but I went back to the spoon method with Meeka; it got her interested in the soupie, and I wondered if it would be the same with the chicken. Though I used a fork instead of a spoon, I had a piece of the chicken on it, and she was much more willing to bite it when I held her. She then took it and ran off and began to chew at it. She broke it apart, and I know she ate a small bit of it, but it wasn’t much. She then abandoned it and went back to the soupie. Sebastian finished off most of the chicken, Thomas ate some, then lost interested and just wanted to play. Vladimir loves it, but takes his time eating, whereas Sebastian practically inhales it. I’m going to cut a few of the strips into slivers for tomorrow and hold Meeka, she’ll be less likely to run away with it if it’s small and can be eaten quickly...at least that’s the goal.
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Post by Sherry on Jan 8, 2018 8:01:41 GMT -5
That is an excellent step! I still have one here, though she's been raw fed for 2 years, sometimes likes me to hold a piece for her to taste first
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Post by jeshimikah on Jan 9, 2018 1:36:51 GMT -5
Today, in my opinion, has been the biggest success! Meeka actually ate the chicken slivers. I spoon fed them to her, and she ate them, they had to be really small though. If she deemed them too big, she’d try to run away and stash it. She also didn’t eat much, but she’s definitely moving forward! Sebastian on the other hand, he looooooooves the strips of chicken. I’m sure he’d eat pretty much anything I gave him. Though I’m still really anxious about bone-in... I’ve noticed that when they eat the soupie and chicken, they are more playful and energetic. Thomas and Vladimir are pretty much tied as to how well they’re taking to the soupie and chicken strips. They both eat and enjoy it, but aren’t quite as obsessed as Sebastian. I’d love to try more with Sebastian, Thomas, and Vladimir, but I don’t want them to accept the switch and Meeka still be on kibble, it would be hard since they’re all caged together. I’m out of the soupie now, and I’m going to try moving forward without it, though with Meeka being so picky, I may make another batch solely for her.
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Post by Sherry on Jan 9, 2018 6:47:15 GMT -5
TBH they tend to copy one another. And as raw is something worth getting excited about it tends to stimulate the slower ones. How much is your girl actually consuming now? By weight. Sebastian- start making his pieces longer and thicker. I think he will really enjoy scizzoring and tearing of pieces of meat. With the other 2, try making the meat just a wee bit longer and thicker. With your girl start getting her to eat on her own. That is VERY important. And remember most females eat between 1 to 3 Oz per DAY. Not per meal
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Post by jeshimikah on Jan 15, 2018 3:24:10 GMT -5
Doing shift work has made this transition a bit challenging. Also having limited freezer space poses an issue. My next day off is Wednesday, and I’ll be picking up more hearts, and trying turkey, maybe Meeka will be more interested in that rather than chicken.
I made more soupie, a bit thicker this time. And they all love it, though Meeka is still a bit behind the boys in the transition. The boys will all eat rather large pieces of chicken, cut in strips. Whereas she’ll eat the slivers if I spoon feed them to her. The boys will also eat the hearts, and liver.
Sebastian is definitely way ahead of his siblings, he is the only one who actually squeals and snaps, running off when the others go near his food. He’s very protective of his meats. As a kit, he did that with his kibble too, but grew out of it.
I feel like Sebastian will eat and eat and eat, so I may have to just cut him off when I reach the max amount of oz for him in a day. Because he loves his food, though he is our skinniest boy.
Thomas seems to get full quite fast. I haven’t separated their food into 4 measured dishes yet, I plan to start on Wednesday to measure the amount they all eat. But when Thomas is done, he just wants to play some more.
Vladimir eats slowly, and enjoys stashing the food, but he’ll continue eating until it’s all gone. He loves chewing everything, so it’s no surprise he likes to chew the meat and organs. I think he eats slowly because he enjoys chewing so much lol
Meeka, our resident diva, is stubborn as h*ll. She’s very okay with the soupie, even the thicker soupie. But it’s moving her past just licking to chewing that is posing an issue. She’s our oldest, just over a year, so I expect a challenge. But Sebastian is our second oldest, only 3 weeks younger than Meeka, and he’s being the easiest so far!
Hopefully things continue to progress forward!
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Post by Sherry on Jan 16, 2018 7:49:55 GMT -5
Sorry, meant to reply yesterday but had to get to work! For Meeka, give her a full serving of slivers, but top with soup like a gravy. Just make it a couple tsps so she can't fill completely on the soup. And make the slivers no larger than the crescent on your pinkie nail. The idea is to get her used to the change in texture. Since the boys are eating chunks- let them Leave off the soup for them and give them whatever size chunk they will eat. The idea now is to build up jaw strength for bone crunching. Cornish hen is the best start for that when ready as the bones are smaller. You can also use chicken wings. I did. If you can get gizzards they are great for building up strength and most ferrets enjoy them.
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Post by jeshimikah on Jan 18, 2018 16:42:11 GMT -5
Other than Sebastian, I’m feeling pretty discouraged, but still determined. Today I tried a variety of things to see where each fuzzbutt stands in their transition! I gave them each: Chicken gizzards, chicken liver, chicken heart, and beef. Sebastian inhaled the liver, and heart, he chewed the gizzards but didn’t eat them, and didn’t touch the beef. Vladimir inhaled the liver, then chewed the gizzards, but left the heart and beef. Thomas ate some of the gizzards, but left the rest. Meeka got the soupie, but I tried the other things too, she was stubborn, but ate the soupie from the dish while I held her, then continued eating the liver once I put her down, but didn’t touch the rest. I’m going to continue throughout the evening trying to get them to eat the remainder of their dishes. They each have their own dish now. And I gave them each an ounce of gizzards, an ounce of beef, half a chicken liver, and a chicken heart. Though Meeka also got half an ice cube size of soupie. Doing shiftwork makes transitioning very difficult. Also having limited freezer space...(An issue that may be solved in a few months though). Sebastian has begun to show a bit of stubbornness in regards to the gizzards and now the beef. Which is discouraging, since so far, he’s been so excited and easy for this transition. I have chicken wings now, though I’m still anxious about the whole bone thing. And with them not really eating the gizzards, I’m not going to be giving the wings just yet. Im going to pick up more chicken breast and try possibly just the breasts and beef with eggshell on it tomorrow. http://instagram.com/p/BeG0LouHx-b
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Post by jeshimikah on Jan 19, 2018 4:58:29 GMT -5
Just as I was beginning to have doubts, they all surprised me! Meeka ate the chicken liver today! I held her over the dish and she licked it for awhile, then slowly she began chewing it. When she picked it up and tried to run away with it, I put her in the cage with the dish, and she stayed there and finished the liver! (Unfortunately, she chipped her tooth this morning, her lower left fang, only the tip though, I’ll be calling the vet on my break at work)
Sebastian ate the heart, liver, and gizzards. He stashed the beef, but that’s better than ignoring it!
Thomas only ate the heart, he’s not a big eater at all, and enjoys just stashing the food.
Vladimir ate the liver and some gizzards. He loves to chew things, and I think the gizzards are really something he enjoys for that reason!
As I said before, I’m picking up chicken breasts today, so hopefully I can get them interested in the beef, when chicken strips and beef are their only options!
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Post by Sherry on Jan 19, 2018 6:58:50 GMT -5
Please do not give a variety right now. As you've seen they will inhale their favourites while ignoring the rest. That will lead to dietary deficiencies over time. So when they have a meal it needs to be JUST heart, or JUST liver, JUST beef, etc.
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