Jenpettit's Switching Thread/Sherry

[jenpettit]

I did what you said with the mixing the pork and chicken and they ate it! So as of right now I have them eating about 2 oz of pork and chicken pieces at 10 am, then 4oz soupie at 6 or 8 pm depending when they finish the last meal, and kibble when I go to bed. Any changes you can think of? I would really like to get them off of kibble at night. I have this fear that they will run out of food during the night or it will go bad.

[Sherry]

Try leaving the kibble out for a few days now, see how they do! I'd also start giving chunks twice a day now, as well.
Also, you can try upping the pork, and decreasing the chicken and see how they take to it

[jenpettit]

I fed chicken and pork this morning but I think I made the chicken pieces too large. They just kept throwing it out of the food bowl. So this evening I tried cutting them a bit smaller and they ate them just fine. I am going to leave that out overnight instead of kibble. Right now I am doing about half and half of pork and chicken. Correct me if I am wrong but chunks of meat last about 12 hours right? Also can I start feeding hearts and liver? I have a whole bunch of them in the freezer.

[jenpettit]

Well they have been eating A LOT lately! It has been hard trying to keep up. I'm going to go to the grocery store tomorrow and get more chicken and pork. Should I try a new protein or wait a little longer? They still haven't been eating pork on their own but they are almost there!

[Sherry]

I'm so very sorry! Somehow I missed the fact that you'd posted
By all means, try some heart first, then liver!
And yes, you can start introducing new proteins, but no closer together than about 5 days. You need to know if they've got a sensitivity to any particular protein.
As for amounts, yes, that's fairly normal for first transitioning them ;D They'll eat you out of house and home for anywhere from a month to 3 months. Rest assured, they WILL settle down to a more reasonable amount

[jenpettit]

Thats ok. It happens to the best of us! I fed them some hearts tonight chopped up and mixed with chicken pieces. Luna ate one but Mowgli was sleeping so we will see about him. I also bought some beef steaks at the grocery store so I am going to try that tomorrow. Their poops seem runny. Is it because they are not getting any bone?

[Sherry]

It is. You can try putting about 1/2 tsp powdered eggshell mixed in with the meat. I use a coffee grinder for doing the eggshell. Just make sure they are rinsed and totally dried first ;D Otherwise- you gum up the grinder!
You can also add about a tsp pure pumpkin mixed into the same amount of meat as well.
How big are the pieces you are giving them now?

[jenpettit]

Oh gosh I am so bad about describing things like that! I want to say they are about the size of a finger tip, some a little bigger. Does that make sense? If not I can take a picture.

[Sherry]

You want to know the easiest way to describe it on a computer? Use [------] for a size approximation ;D Describing as the "size of a finger tip" can mean a sliver like the very end of the finger, or the entire tip from the first joint ;D

[jenpettit]

Didn't think about that! They are about this size: chicken [--------] pork [------]

[Sherry]

Oh, that's fantastic! At this point we can either look at introducing another protein, or you can start them with some smashed up bones. Your choice. If you decide to go with bones, take a wing, section it, cut the middle between the two bones, and try them with those. If they refuse, then either take a mallet to it, or a large chef's knife or cleaver, and chop the bejeepers out of it ;D You essentially want to break up all the bone, and expose the marrow so it's mixed in.
It would be a good time to try some heart meat, as well. That would go in the place of muscle meat.
Once they are accepting some bone and some heart, then we try the biggie- liver ;D Generally, they either love it, or hate it. But they HAVE to eat it, so we've got ways to trick them into it if it doesn't go so well right off the bat

[jenpettit]

Well I bought some beef the other day so maybe we should try that for now. Then when I go shopping next week I will buy some chicken wings. I just hate going to the grocery store more than I have to. I can't wait to try them on bones though. I want to see how they react! I also made an order with a raw meat pet food place here. I bought 10 lb ground whole chicken, 10 lb ground pork, and 2 lb ground whole rabbit. OMG I have never seen so much meat in my life! ( well besides at the grocery store ) I would not have ordered so much but it was way cheaper to buy in bulk. My daughter was so grossed out watching me shove my hands into this giant pile of meat to separate into single bags. How long do you think 22 lbs of meat will last 2 ferrets? I also gave them heart and Luna loved it. Mowgli ate it but not with as much enthusiasm. When you say heart meat goes in place of muscle meat do you mean I have to feed it by itself or it just counts as a muscle meat meal? Thanks Sherry! Switching has been going so much easier with your help. No confusion!

[Sherry]

If they go as per normal, they'd eat an average of anywhere from 5-10oz. per day. It really varies. One of my females only eats about 2oz a day, one of my big males around 6-7 oz a day. Right now, yours are going to be eating more than the average, but they'll settle down to a lower amount. At least until winter appetites hit ;D Then it can almost double for a month or so before settling out again.
Clear as mud?
In other words, not a clue on how long it will last your ferrets
For the heart, yes, I feed it as a meal in and of itself. Your average for muscle meat meals during a week should be 3-4 of them. Make at least one of those meals heart. You can't overdo it with the taurine(which is why heart is pretty much essential)

[jenpettit]

Ok so I have set up a meal plan. This is what I have so far.
Monday am ground pork pm same
Tues am chicken pieces pm same
wed am ground chicken pm same
Thurs am ground rabbit pm same
Fri am chicken heart pm pork, beef, or chicken pieces
Sat am chicken heart pm pork, beef, or chicken pieces
Sun am ground chicken pm same
It all just depends on if I have any leftover from the day before as to what I feed in the am. Except on the heart days, those days I will feed the leftover in the pm. This will all probably change once I start feeding meaty bones etc. I just feel like I need to start making a schedule so I can feed them a balanced diet for now. Any suggestions?

[Sherry]

One question- the ground you are feeding, is it commercial raw, or simple ground meats?
And it's likely time to start getting some organ meats in there as well Those are fun ;D Either love or hate 'em!
Chicken liver is the mildest, and usually the most easily accepted if you can get it.
One thing I tend to do is to try not to feed too many of the same meals in a row. In other words- since you are feeding chicken heart in the a.m. on Fridays, try giving beef or pork that night. I've found if I give more than a couple meals of the same meat, the brats start decreasing how much of it they'll eat by the third meal, or even refuse it outright I guess they just get bored with it.