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Post by birdyyy on Jan 1, 2018 10:51:50 GMT -5
Our Ingredients List: - Beef Heart - Beef Kidney - Pork Tail - Chicken Wingette - Chicken Foot - Chicken Liver - Turkey Neck We began our raw diet two days ago for our youngest, Cornelius who is approximately two and a half months old. Saturday 12/30 AM: Chicken Wingette (1) With slightly broken up bones (ate everything except a sliver of slightly larger bone) PM: Beef heart (around 1oz-2oz. I'd say an ice cube amount or more) Sunday 12/31 AM: Pig Tail (around 1/8 of the entire tail with only a bit of bone leftover. It was slightly cut up and the bone was smashed) PM: 1/2 beef kidney and 1/2 chicken liver (around 1oz-2oz. I'd say an ice cube amount or more) ![]() Monday 1/1 AM: Pig tail (around 1oz-2oz. I'd say an ice cube amount or more) We have Hyde and Kelso who are both around two years old and we're going to try soup today. I will update later. Pictures for reference:  
 ![]() Edited: We blended together a smooth puree the consistency of a thick pudding with chicken breast, a bit of egg, eggshell, liver, and heart to make a soup. We baggies around 2 tablespoons in small snack sizes for meal prep. We took the remaining soup from the blender and used our finger to massage Kelso and Hyde's gums and teeth. As usual, they acted like we were poisoning them and let them go after about thirty seconds of struggle. Lots of soothing voices and pets afterward. For reference, Hyde and Kelso are our two-year-old rescues. |
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Post by Sherry on Jan 2, 2018 10:58:42 GMT -5
It sounds like a good start. And yes, they typcially act like they are being poisoned lol. Best bet is grab and dab. Every 5 or 10 minutes while out running around grab, dab soup on a nose, and release.
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Post by birdyyy on Jan 2, 2018 11:40:15 GMT -5
It sounds like a good start. And yes, they typcially act like they are being poisoned lol. Best bet is grab and dab. Every 5 or 10 minutes while out running around grab, dab soup on a nose, and release. Good to know how often! I'll have to increase in frequency, then. Since Hyde and Kelso are so new to the household, I didn't want to break the trust we've built so far by putting weird soup on their mouths. I'll take your suggestion and dab away tonight! I put around two tablespoons in around 6-7 seven bags for the soup mixture. I am willing to be patient with them. If it does turn out that they start to become leery of my hands and when I pick them up, should I back off on frequency or will they get over it? They're both cuddly right now and I hope that it continues. Thanks for the help! |
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Post by birdyyy on Jan 4, 2018 15:29:58 GMT -5
Boyfriend posting on behalf of Birdyyy today.
1. Ferret's name: Cornelius
2. Ferret's weight: Weighing tonight
3. Ferret's Daily Medications: None
4. Ferret has eaten 1oz-2oz amount on average per meal.
5. Stools on various proteins. Liquid on all
6. Activity levels: Very active
7. Weekly menu:
Saturday 12/30
AM: Chicken Wingette (1) With slightly broken up bones (ate everything except a sliver of slightly larger bone)
PM: Beef heart (around 1oz-2oz. I'd say an ice cube amount or more)
Sunday 12/31
AM: Pig Tail (around 1/8 of the entire tail with only a bit of bone leftover. It was slightly cut up and the bone was smashed)
PM: 1/2 beef kidney and 1/2 chicken liver (around 1oz-2oz. I'd say an ice cube amount or more)
Monday 1/1
AM: Pig tail (around 1oz-2oz. I'd say an ice cube amount or more)
PM: Pig tail (also around 1oz-2oz)
Tuesday 1/2
AM: Pig tail (1oz-2oz)
PM: Beef heart (1oz-3oz)
Wednesday 1/3
AM: Chicken wingette (1)
PM: Chicken wingette (1, decided to go with this instead of heart because his poop is quite liquid)
Thursday 1/4
AM: Pig tail (1oz-2oz)
1. Ferret's name: Kelso
2. Ferret's weight: Weighing tonight
3. Ferret's Daily Medications: None
4. Ferret has eaten trace amounts of soup on average per meal.
5. Stools on various proteins. Normal on kibble, normal on soup
6. Activity levels: Pretty sleepy, but that's normal.
7. Weekly menu: Kibble as main source, soup attempts four times a day
1. Ferret's name: Hyde
2. Ferret's weight: Weighing tonight
3. Ferret's Daily Medications: None
4. Ferret has eaten trace amounts of soup on average per meal.
5. Stools on various proteins. Normal on kibble, normal on soup
6. Activity levels: Pretty sleepy, but that's normal.
7. Weekly menu: Kibble as main source, voluntarily licks soup off fingers twice a day
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Post by Sherry on Jan 5, 2018 9:44:03 GMT -5
They won't become leery  When you pick up to dab noses, offer a lick from your finger first. If they don't take it, dab the nose then let go immediately. It won't take long before they start to lick it first. |
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Post by birdyyy on Jan 5, 2018 14:19:35 GMT -5
They won't become leery When you pick up to dab noses, offer a lick from your finger first. If they don't take it, dab the nose then let go immediately. It won't take long before they start to lick it first. We have one, Hyde, who has really come out of his shell and licks off our fingers! |
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Post by Sherry on Jan 8, 2018 8:03:53 GMT -5
Sounds like you may be able to progress him fairly quickly |
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Post by birdyyy on Jan 8, 2018 11:17:16 GMT -5
Sounds like you may be able to progress him fairly quickly Hope so. We're still dabbing Hyde's nose and we are going to begin attempting spoon feeding tonight. Cornelius has fully transitioned into a frankenprey diet. I have one concern though. Kelso is fairly thin, but his activity levels and eating habits remain the same. Since they're not raw yet, I am transitioning them from their walmart brand ferret food to Wysong just so they have enough nutrients before they start eating soup regularly. I know they're supposed to have put on weight during the winter and some ferret bodies are just naturally more rotund or more thin. How can I judge whether Kelso is "too thin" for even his body? He's not acting ill/his poops are normal/eating like normal. We didn't really have a baseline for him to start with. Maybe I'm overreacting. I know for dogs, it's considered normal if ribs show only when they're breathing heavily, for cats you should be able to easily "feel" their ribs without a layer of fat on them and hedgehogs, if they're a normal potato shape and don't have an indentation where their hips are, then they're considered healthy. These banana hamsters have me a little confused because they're thin to begin with. Any pointers? |
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Post by Sherry on Jan 9, 2018 6:40:56 GMT -5
Why do 2 transitions? That is actually harder on them than going straight to raw?
As for body type- depends entirely on the ferret. Some are just naturally very slender
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Post by birdyyy on Jan 9, 2018 8:54:19 GMT -5
Why do 2 transitions? That is actually harder on them than going straight to raw? As for body type- depends entirely on the ferret. Some are just naturally very slender I am feeding them kibble while we try to get them over to raw. They will only take small licks of soup at a time. Do you think that we should just take away the kibble completely? I just don't think that a few licks several times a day is enough to keep them full. Do you have a different suggestion? We're so new to this, so I worry a lot.  * |
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Post by Sherry on Jan 10, 2018 6:22:58 GMT -5
No- definitely not. But you said you were switching them from one kibble to another. That is acyually harder on them than leaving them on the old crap and going full on raw switch.
When I get new ones here, I try to get some of their old kibble. Then I work on hand feeding raw puree until they are eating that- then just ditch the kibble. I hand feed twice a day, and don't let them go until they've had at least a tsp worth (after doing grab and dab for a day or two). I push them to transition lol.
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Post by birdyyy on Jan 10, 2018 10:04:49 GMT -5
No- definitely not. But you said you were switching them from one kibble to another. That is acyually harder on them than leaving them on the old crap and going full on raw switch. When I get new ones here, I try to get some of their old kibble. Then I work on hand feeding raw puree until they are eating that- then just ditch the kibble. I hand feed twice a day, and don't let them go until they've had at least a tsp worth (after doing grab and dab for a day or two). I push them to transition lol. OOOOhhhhhh that makes sense. I didn't realize how forceful we should be about the transition. Today will be a new start for us since we've been taking it super slowly. My two transitioning have had tummy upsets recently so I hope to get them on raw as soon as possible. |
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Post by Sherry on Jan 11, 2018 6:57:15 GMT -5
Good luck and hope it goes well!
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Post by birdyyy on Jan 13, 2018 17:41:27 GMT -5
Life has just gotten really insane for us, so I haven't posted in awhile. Recently, we had to rescue a dog from euthanasia and he requires a lot of TLC and rehab. However, our transitions are the same except Hyde has finally gotten to spoon feeding!
Kelso still hates feeding time with a passion and glues his mouth shut so we end up rubbing soupies all over his gums. Corn. is still on frankenprey and looking great.
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Post by Sherry on Jan 14, 2018 11:27:59 GMT -5
Kelso will be a work in progress lol. I had one like that. Persevere. Something else you can do is try a different protein. My Boris actually tried ground beef made into a soup instead of the chicken.
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