|
Post by Deleted on Apr 8, 2011 16:20:49 GMT -5
That is fantastic. You've got the foundation started. Are you feeding boned meats yet? What flavours? ciao No, just your chicken soup recipe frozen. We have been de-boning the thighs, and only sticking with mild chicken for now. The soup is pretty watered down, a recipe with 2 cups of water added. I think next time I make it I will only make it with 1 1/2 cups of water instead? As soon as more chicken is thawed for the cats I may also try cutting up some bits to put in there during the day and see if he'll chew them up because he chewed up the cube. But he might be fussy about it, I'm not sure, since it won't taste exactly the same? *ponders how to trick him into chewing up whole meats*
|
|
|
Post by Heather on Apr 8, 2011 21:26:53 GMT -5
Try thickening it up and see if he will go for it. You might also do one or two pieces to see if he will go for it. You know him better, do you think that he would take a couple of things on at once or is he one of these little ones who we have to go real slow with. I would like to get him eating bone though...perhaps a wing smashed up?? ciao
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Apr 9, 2011 22:41:35 GMT -5
I cut up teeny pieces of chicken in an attempt to tempt him. He may have eaten two of the tiniest pieces but I don't think he was thrilled and left most of it. Next time I make soup I will make it thicker by adding less water. Probably only half a cup at a time? He is one of these little ones we will have to go real slow with, I feel. (With grown ferrets, what other kinds are there? jk ) Just based on his reaction to the cut-up chicken. I'd love to have him eating bone as well but he's not even eating teeny-tiny snippets of plain chicken quite yet. I will keep trying, especially more so when I thicken the soup up. What tool will I need to purchase in order to "smash up" a wing? *begins to feel overwhelmed by all of the accessories*
|
|
|
Post by Heather on Apr 10, 2011 22:45:48 GMT -5
Got a hammer That's the accessory that I use ;D Great tool to take into the garage and beat up some wings while grumping about finnicky ferrets I don't use a lot of accessories. I try and keep to the basics. Switching adult ferrets are at all sorts of levels, everything from the stubborn to the rediculous. If you don't rush it you probably will be fine. I agree, I would try and get him to eat just a few chunks in a thicker soupy. Don't make large amounts, at this stage of the game he could suddenly leap forward or hop back and you will need to make different types to accomodate his changing humour . I would work harder at getting him to eat a thicker soupy and seeing if he will play with some chicken wings ciao
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Apr 13, 2011 22:54:08 GMT -5
Everything from the stubborn to the ridiculous...LOL. Ferrets. Hard to harder.
Anyways. I don't know what you think, but if you think it's O.K. I believe I can take away his kibble for good now. He is to the point where if you offer him both he will choose a frozen cube of soup OVER the kibble and has been for a couple days. Take it away for good?
I am making one recipe at a time, no more than that, so about once a week I make fresh. Last night I tested him by not giving him kibble then either but a big bowl (think 2-3 cubes worth) of fresh soup and by morning it was all gone. If I take away the kibble I will have to make more than one recipe a week probably. (3 cubes a day, or more? They are big cubes.)
Still no interest in large morsels of raw, say, when he's around the cats' meals. I mean he'll always sniff it, but then stalk off. I may just have to mix bits in with his soup. Next time I can get my hands on more chicken wings (the cats ate the last) we will take a hammer to it, but then what? Zip-tie it to the cage? Dribble soup over it?
|
|
|
Post by Heather on Apr 13, 2011 23:14:38 GMT -5
I would get rid of his kibble...what soupy are you using? mine?...yes get rid of the kibble as it's basically balanced. You can try either way, though I might be tempted to put pieces in his soupy as that is recognizable to him as food. That's what the issue is, he still doesn't recognize whole meat as food. I know that you want to tie it down to prevent stashing but at this point it's trying to get him to recognize different types of raw as food. At the moment he only recognizes soupy as an alternative to kibbles. He's discovered that soupy makes him feel good, so he's leaning toward that food. That's good, despite all the trouble he's given you he's realizing that this food makes him feel better. Let me know which way you decide or if you have any different ideas ciao
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Apr 14, 2011 4:09:52 GMT -5
I would get rid of his kibble...what soupy are you using? mine?...yes get rid of the kibble as it's basically balanced. You can try either way, though I might be tempted to put pieces in his soupy as that is recognizable to him as food. That's what the issue is, he still doesn't recognize whole meat as food. I know that you want to tie it down to prevent stashing but at this point it's trying to get him to recognize different types of raw as food. At the moment he only recognizes soupy as an alternative to kibbles. He's discovered that soupy makes him feel good, so he's leaning toward that food. That's good, despite all the trouble he's given you he's realizing that this food makes him feel better. Let me know which way you decide or if you have any different ideas ciao Yes, it is your recipe for soup. That's what I've been using from the beginning. I have taken the kibble away for good and given him a cube for tonight. How many cubes are adequate per day? Three (morning, afternoon, evening)? Or more? I will try both cutting up tiny snippets of meat next time we cut up more meat too, and as soon as we thaw and portion one of the packages of wings we have we'll try dousing a battered one in soup also.
|
|
|
Post by Heather on Apr 14, 2011 14:06:06 GMT -5
See what he will eat. If you're getting soupy left behind then he's got too much, if there's none left then maybe add more. I'm not keen on measurements unless I dealing with sickies, then I measure. Otherwise, I feed what they want, especially when they first start switching. ciao
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Apr 25, 2011 2:10:43 GMT -5
I never saw that you'd replied until now despite checking - weird. He is eating about 3-4 per day. I get the feel that he would eat more than that if we gave him more (he is gaining weight!) so we have been staying at that level. We've thickened the soup considerably (lots of skin chunks and barely food processed) and he is eating it with the same amount of gusto, if not more. A hilarious moment from the other day... I was playing with Teddy and the cats were eating at their dish; what was left of their meal was an organic chicken wing. Well, Teddy ran over, sniffed the wing, gingerly picked it up in his tiny jaws, and ran off with it under the futon! (Where Teddy's things go to die.) He didn't eat it, but I see this as progress!! He is showing a lot more interest in the cat's food now. It was just SO funny to see Forest, who had been eating, and Figaro (who ignores all ferrets) looking at him like, "Hey! That's OUR food! Why would you take our food?" In a couple minutes Forest crawled under the futon to retrieve the stolen wing himself.
|
|
|
Post by Heather on Apr 25, 2011 11:17:23 GMT -5
That's great. Try bashing a wing and leaving it for him or putting some cut up chunks of wing in his soupy. He might just get the hang of it Have you tried him on anything other than chicken yet? ciao
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Apr 25, 2011 13:20:04 GMT -5
I would have bashed wings for him earlier but unfortunately for me DH gave what I had planned to the cats, so we've had to wait on that. I hadn't forgotten.
Am I supposed to try other meats? He's not even eating pieces of chicken yet, so I'm afraid that will just turn him off to the soup if I throw in other meats in there. What do you want me to do?
|
|
|
Post by Heather on Apr 25, 2011 13:32:32 GMT -5
Is he eating chunkies in his soupy? If he is, give him a couple, even one piece of a different meat and see his reaction. If he's not eating that at all and still isn't entirely comfortable, don't do it. You are aware as to how comfortable he is with his diet. If you don't think he will accept this then don't do it. I'm only here to bounce suggestions, you are working the front lines and know exactly what your little one will or won't accept. If he's not there...that's fine ciao
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Apr 25, 2011 13:52:05 GMT -5
Ah, but you have many, many ferrets for reference material. He is eating a thicker, "chunkier" soup, but without the cut up pieces. We got it quite a bit thicker this time (made a a batch last night) to see how he'd do, and so far he loves it. Next step is to start sneakily infiltrating bits and pieces. I'm hoping he'll eat them!! Hopefully I'm not being too cautious. But the more we thicken his soup now the more he seems to take to it - he would turn practically obese if I gave him all the cubes his little heart craves. He ALWAYS eats them frozen in cube form!! The only way I could sneak in bits and pieces would be to thaw it out first... Teddy, Teddy, Teddy...
|
|
|
Post by Heather on Apr 25, 2011 16:57:21 GMT -5
Silly little boy. I have a couple who like this a lot during the summer. You're still progressing if each time you're getting your soupy a bit thicker. You might try the next time you make a soupy that you toss in a couple of meat pieces. Nothing large, not any bigger than your fingernail tip. Just to get him interested. Eating when they first switch is pure garboration. They just eat and eat and eat. I don't know if it's they can't get enough, in that their body can't seem to get the nutrients fast enough, or they think this stuff is going to suddenly disappear.... I don't know but I know that for a bout 6 months you probably won't be able to fill him...then suddenly it all stops and he starts eating the food the way he should ciao
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on May 5, 2011 23:08:01 GMT -5
The soup's been getting thicker and thicker - he's eating a few small cut up pieces now. Also, he is eating both ground chicken and a lot of ground turkey mixed with the soup or on the side.
|
|