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Post by angelfish on Feb 11, 2011 17:58:24 GMT -5
So far so good. I've gotten everybody to eat from the bowl on their own. Pita is being a pita and refusing to eat boned meats like chicken neck/wing but she'll chomp through the bone bits in the commercial ground no problem. Today I found the wing I gave her two days ago in a tunnel, half chewed. I think she's been carting it around with her because she doesn't want anyone else to eat it, but she wasn't eating it herself. Sugar will eat from the bowl as long as I guide her there with a spoon first. I sit on the floor on lay her over my ankle and guide her to the plate Once she's seriously eating, I remove my ankle and let her eat. If she stops, and she's almost never DONE eating at that point, I hold up a spoon and guide her back to the bowl. I'm hoping this way she'll eventually get the drift that she can come up and eat from the bowl all by herself. She will chew a few tiny pieces, but if I let her run off with a chunk she never eats it. We're going to have to work up to chunks slowly. Spice is good about eating on his own, but he doesn't eat chunks either. I've tried reducing the amount of water in the meat, but I've had to back off because if it's not mushy enough no one will eat willingly. In fact, yesterday, Spice ate, ran off to the styrofoam dig box and I caught him eating peanuts! Good thing they're biodegradable. He does that kind of thing all the time though. He'll eat some and then run off to find something non-edible to eat. Here is my proudest moment (15 seconds really) two days ago:
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Post by Heather on Feb 11, 2011 19:59:23 GMT -5
Looks like they're doing really well, the picture is wonderful. I'm sure that Sugar will get the hang of it soon. You've got a good plan and you know your little ones, that's what counts. You and your little ones haven't been at it that long. You're really doing well. ciao
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Post by angelfish on Feb 13, 2011 13:30:28 GMT -5
Sugar made proud this morning by shuffling up to the bowl and sticking her nose in it. When she noticed I was spoon feeding Pita, she came over to eat from the spoon, but at least she had started to eat from the bowl all on her own. Spice tried chewing on the end of a chicken wing and made it a few bites/chews before he gave up. Then Pita stole it and tried to stash it under the cage. I got a mini food chopper yesterday so I'm going to puree some liver for their food. Normally I would do 1/2 a liver for 8oz but I have their meals separated into 3-4 oz portions. Should I do 1/4 liver per portion? Or can I do 1/2 a liver for one meal a week? BTW, apparently 2 day old ferret jerky is just fine for them. I think I've cleaned up/out all the old meat, and someone finds a piece to chew on. I found Spice chewing a piece of heart (maybe) in their nesting box. I thought he was chewing paper and when I pulled him out, I found a pink piece of dried meat in his mouth that he refused to give up.
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Post by Heather on Feb 13, 2011 20:41:47 GMT -5
Got to love ferret created jerky. I don't know how many times I've thought I got all the old meat out of the room, only to find someone merrily chomping on some mummified piece of meat. One of the problems about a ferret who have grown up eating kibbles, their jaw joints are usually so weak that they often can handle no more than a couple of good chomps before their jaws ache and they have to rest. This will improve as they become more experienced as your raw feeding journey progresses. Try your organ meats either way or both and decide which works better for you and your furkids. My guys get their organ meat in small amounts daily, instead of a meal once a week (really loose and messy poops) As long as the amount is covered, when they get it is up to you and the convenience of getting them to eat it. ciao
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Post by angelfish on Feb 21, 2011 19:01:01 GMT -5
Sorry I haven't written in a while. School has kept me quite busy the past few weeks. Sugar is finally eating on her own! My husband was in charge of feeding them for the past few days, since I was studying for exams, and his method was to hold her with her face tilted into the bowl until she tasted the food and started eating on her own. So much for my explaining how to use a spoon but it worked. Apparently, 3 days of that was all she needed to figure out that she could eat on her own. I think I even heard her chewing on a little piece of bone today. Everyone is doing quite well and Pita has learned to climb. She's apparently not satisfied with the floor and tubes, she's started climbing our desk chairs and cruising our desks. This week is dedicated to ferret proofing the desks just in case she figures out yet another way up there. Back to the books.
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Post by Heather on Feb 21, 2011 19:47:14 GMT -5
Sounds like things are progressing. Are they eating totally on their own or are they still having to be enticed? Hmmm, a ferret who has discovered the horizontal plains above the vertical are difficult fuzzes to keep confined and out of trouble It puts ferret proofing into a whole new dimension and is often only discovered as the ferret finds access to these places. Good luck with the multi-dimensional Pita ;D Good luck with school ciao
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Post by angelfish on Feb 21, 2011 20:05:29 GMT -5
They still welcome spoon feeding, especially with new meats or one's they haven't had in a while, but they all eat on their own. Oh yeah, it has to be from they're own bowl though. They won't share.
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Post by Heather on Feb 21, 2011 20:17:37 GMT -5
Ok, I'm really amused ;D I know that ferrets don't share...but their own bowls ciao
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Post by angelfish on Feb 25, 2011 12:00:25 GMT -5
They're eating me out house and home! I just got my shipment from Hare-Today on Wednesday evening. It's Friday morning and already they're polished off a pound of quail. 1 lb in less than 24 hours. You'd never think those little ones could eat so much. Pita and Sugar can be absolutely nasty when they're hungry. Yesterday morning, Sugar kept biting my feet until I (twice) showed her where her food was. This morning Pita kept chasing and being nasty to Sugar AND Spice (she was either smelling or biting their butt - what was that about?) until I picked her up and MADE her eat from the spoon. Once she'd finally had a bit to eat she backed off and was much nicer. The weird thing is that, even if she has food, she'd rather play outside the cage than eat. She eats on her own when she's in the cage, but when the cage door is open, it seem that food is the last thing on her mind. To top it all off, it seems I have a cold or something. I have a sore throat, runny nose, and feel overall crappy. I've had my husband doing most of the care because I don't want to handle them too much just in case this is more than a cold. It's been incubating for a least a week because that's when my throat started to feel itchy. *sigh*
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Post by Heather on Feb 25, 2011 12:05:03 GMT -5
That is such fanastic news. Your little ones are doing fantastic. You on the other hand need to go to bed and sleep it off. Take care, look after yourself and try not to handle the fuzzies too much. Your husband is a very special person for stepping in while you're sick. Good luck, take care. ciao
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Post by angelfish on Feb 26, 2011 11:26:43 GMT -5
My husband had to be at work early this morning so the morning ferret romp fell to me. After 45 minutes of try to get them to eat and chasing after them, to make sure they actually hit a litter box, I couldn't take it anymore.
My energy and patience is quit depleted this morning. Everyone went back into the cage and I went for a quiet cup of tea on the couch. Still have to sort all their food too. *groan*
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Post by angelfish on Feb 28, 2011 10:40:10 GMT -5
Just got home from the vet for vaccinations. Sugar was 1lb 10oz when we adopted her mid December. She' now 2 lbs even. She's gained 8 oz since we got her and all of that gain was in the 1.5 months that she's been eating raw. She's also no longer eggplant shaped. ;D
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Post by Heather on Feb 28, 2011 13:51:42 GMT -5
2lbs is a good weight for a female. A positive move feeding raw. I'm glad that you're starting to see progress ciao
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Post by angelfish on Mar 8, 2011 13:17:20 GMT -5
Sugar is finally chewing on little pieces regularly so I've been working on reducing the water in their food. I"m hoping that I'll be able to eliminate it completely by the end of this month. Pita and Spice both chew on chunks without a problem, although Spice still isn't up to chewing on bone/cartilage yet. I will say, their coats are SUPER shiny.
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Post by Heather on Mar 8, 2011 13:24:23 GMT -5
Great progress Spice will get there...you'll see I'm glad that you're seeing the effects of their diet, they should have gorgeous shiny summer coats for you with their spring coat change. ciao
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