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Post by hazelrah on Aug 30, 2011 10:01:29 GMT -5
And the liver is a huuuuge success!!!!! Helo didn't need any convincing whatsoever, and the other two just needed me to put a touch on their respective noses And they all happily went for it after that Well, the boys did. Oryx was still looking at me suspiciously near the end, lol.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 31, 2011 4:32:53 GMT -5
Hahaha, Helo's really getting on board with the raw now, isn't he? How are you working with him now? Is he fully just eating soup now? Or is he still getting kibble too?
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Post by hazelrah on Sept 2, 2011 22:57:47 GMT -5
He's fully eating soup during the day, and kibble at night. I had assumed that I shouldn't leave raw soup out over night, but, now that I think about it, I never heard anything either way. How should I handle over night feeding? But yes, I've been feeding him soup personally twice a day while the other are isolated with wings, and then portioning out pureed chicken (not quite soup) every couple hours for the rest of the day that they all share. He really doesn't show much interest in kibble anymore, which makes me happy
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Post by Deleted on Sept 3, 2011 15:03:21 GMT -5
How about thickening the soup so that it's slush? If he's already eating pureed chicken that's not really soup, thickening up the soup you make him shouldn't be that hard for him to handle. See how he does with that for a day, okay?
As for the soup - a completely raw soup can last up to 6 hours out, so you could leave it out overnight (if he finishes it, that's fine. A couple of hours wait before the next meal isn't a big deal, and may leave him ready to eat new stuff in the morning).
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Post by hazelrah on Sept 4, 2011 12:23:02 GMT -5
I did as you suggested about the slush and he went right for it with no problem What's the next step I should take with him? How long are they ok to go without food? I've been concerned about the possible effects of not having it available, so I've been turning myself inside out to make sure they always do
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Post by Deleted on Sept 4, 2011 19:51:46 GMT -5
The next step would be to add in diced meat to the soup. Start small, about [--] big at first, and see how he does Healthy ferrets can go 24 hours with eating, no problem, so a few hours' lapse between meals is no issue, as long as you KNOW the health of your pet. Generally a new, older ferret that you've had less than a year shouldn't go beyond 4 hours without access to food (don't know what fasting will bring out, if you don't know their history)
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Post by hazelrah on Sept 8, 2011 8:08:21 GMT -5
Ok, good to know, thank you I don't think either of the babies have gone that long without eating since I got them I added varying sized of the diced meat for the last four meals, and, unless they're tine, Helo keeps picking them out and piling them up next to the bowl Just keep persisting, or is there anything I can try?
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Post by Deleted on Sept 8, 2011 16:27:13 GMT -5
You're adding the pieces to soup? You might want to try going back to the teeny tiny pieces he prefers (I know, it's a major hassle dicing a bunch of chicken. I always >:\ that part if I'm honest) but add a substantial amount of the pieces to a slightly reduced amount of soup. I'd say start the meal at 50% soup, 50% meat (these ratios are for a sized meal he can eat right away - so by the time he's done with the soup, he's STILL hungry and will more than likely eat the chunks), and gradually increase the amount of the tiny bits of meat and decrease soup until it's out of there or is just gravy
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Post by hazelrah on Sept 10, 2011 1:07:46 GMT -5
Kk, how do I work the timing so he's hungry enough when I offer the food? I think that's the problem, I'm so worried about him going too long without eating that he's full before he gets past the "hmmm..... I think I prefer the soup to the chunks" And no kidding, the chicken dicing is a pain!!!!
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Post by hazelrah on Sept 11, 2011 12:22:55 GMT -5
Yesterday I took up his food about an hour and a half before each meal, and he was MUCH better about eating the diced chicken I did that twice, morning and evening, and he cleared his plate both times
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Post by Deleted on Sept 11, 2011 18:04:49 GMT -5
You can generally go up to about 2-3 hours, if you're unsure about his health with fasting. Nothing over 4, though.
It seems, though, that an 1.5 is his ideal, but if he starts balking at the bigger chunks, you might try 2 hours or so and see what he does.
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Post by hazelrah on Sept 14, 2011 23:16:10 GMT -5
I'm increased it to 2 hours due to his reluctance to chew his food, the lazy butt Everything else is going really well though; they had some more liver the day before yesterday and seemed to really enjoy it, and I gave them an egg yesterday which they all ADORE Except for dragging the bones everywhere, both Oryx and Falcor have perfected the art of chicken wing eating I want to apologize for my lack of updates, and let you know that I have been having problems with aggression between my dog and my roommate's dog, which led to mine being injured this weekend This has resulted in them having to be separated at all times, and therefore limited my computer access(as well as time and sanity) severely I just wanted to let you know what's going on, and apologize in advance if computer access continues to be an issue Luckily, this has NOT affected the ferrets, and they have been doing their best to cheer me up by eating all their meals enthusiastically with minimal convincing
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Post by Deleted on Sept 15, 2011 17:11:07 GMT -5
It's okay about the updates, but thank you for letting me know! I can totally sympathize, because I have the same situation with my dog and our other 4 (plus his neurotic tendencies. We're up to a regimen of behavioral therapy, prozac, Thundershirt, DAP collar [pheromone collar], and music therapy, and he's still destroying the house!]
I'm really glad to hear everyone's cooperating with their meals, at least that's one good point in all this!
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Post by hazelrah on Sept 16, 2011 13:10:11 GMT -5
Wow, that is an impressive list of therapies I hate owning destructive animals; I still love them just as much, but then end up blaming myself for the inconveniences they cause to the rest of the household We've all been feeling at a huge loss of what to do as we have four people and four dogs in a average sized house. We have to keep my dog completely alone at least until his neck heals, so I have the rest of the week to sit with him in our corner of the house and figure out what to do next, lol. Again on the bright side, Helo finished his whole diced meal today, and then stole Oryx's chicken wing He only lightly gnawed on it while I got him some more food and then wasn't sure what to do, but at least he now seems to recognize meat on the bone as food
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Post by Deleted on Sept 17, 2011 12:20:43 GMT -5
That's great! We're getting to the point where we're going to have to start increasing the size of those chunks with him. Start gradual, make them just a little bigger than they are now for a day or two, and if he does better slowly increase their size every day (or every other).
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