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Post by Deleted on Nov 21, 2011 11:03:47 GMT -5
In switching my five (1 that will be 2 years old in January, 2 that are a year and a half and 2 that will be a year in January). All but one would hold out for kibble when I started with soupy. They knew they would eventually go back in their cage and have what they wanted. I finally just took all kibble away. Two would still hold out. One figured out where the bag of kibble was hidden and broke into it. So I just went right to chucks and strips of chicken and a chicken wing. They all started eating without issue. Sometimes I guess it works to just progress anyway. Cara (WitchyWoman)
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Post by Heather on Nov 21, 2011 13:20:45 GMT -5
So all 5 of your wee ones are eating raw now? That's great. Switching whole businesses at one shot can be quite difficult. Some ferrets are more "open minded" about their food...though it does seem that you had one little kibble addict that was more ingenious than the rest ;D ;D I find that the kibbles that the ferrets that are turned into me are usually donated to the local shelter as soon as I know they're willing to eat their mush. Are they eating their bones meats and organs too? What type of meats are you using? Just a word of caution, the "let them go hungry" factor should be applied with caution and only if you know your ferret's history. It's a horrible way to find out that you have a ferret with borderline insulinoma. With these horrible diseases showing up in younger and younger ferrets (no longer ruling out a genetic factor here) letting them go hungry could be just enough to set a borderline ferret up for a full insulinoma attack. I also have a ferret that was turned into me, Yuri, who would sooner die than eat just about anything. I'm still switching him to raw...we work at it daily but progress is guarded at best. We've been working this for over 18 months now. We did get on raw for a few months and got up to eating 2 proteins. He then came down with an ulcer and associated his food with his pain and the meds. Just today, was the first time I've ever seen him go willingly and on his own to the food bowl and eat. ciao
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Post by Deleted on Nov 22, 2011 13:50:14 GMT -5
I can only think that they were easier to switch because they had been fed many different varieties of kibble. They also got different versions of duck soup a few times per week. Only one of them was interested in raw soup. I just figured I would try larger pieces to see if they might like that better.
The first day I coated the strips of chicken with crushed kibble. I assure you that nobody was starving. I was watching closely to make sure that I saw everybody eat at least some. I only had one that I wasn't sure about. I kept an extra close eye on him. This morning he grabbed a big piece of chicken and went under the desk to eat it.
I started with just chicken thigh meat cut into strips. They seem to like strips instead of chunks. They have had some gizzards and hearts (chicken), some chicken wings, some beef liver (that's all I could find). Not sure if they ate the liver. Put some in their bowl just before I left the house today. They went for the chicken first.
Next week I will try some kind of new meat.
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Post by Heather on Nov 22, 2011 16:15:07 GMT -5
You might try pork or turkey next they're both a mild flavoured meat and seem to go over quite well. Keep a close eye on the organ meat feedings...I've got some who love it (inhale the stuff which results in disgusting poops) and others who won't touch it. I've had a couple of people resolve this issue by putting the organ meats into their soupies (after all, liver is a liquid, especially when introduced to a blender ). I've found that kidneys are even more risky as they're quite strong flavoured and smells. Very small amounts can be again introduced into the soupy but make sure that it's very small amounts until they get used to the smell and flavour. Sounds like things are moving along nicely...great work ciao
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Post by Deleted on Nov 30, 2011 13:14:25 GMT -5
One sure way to know thay are all eating their liver, is that they all have the nasty black goopy poops. Ah, progress. LOL.
All five are eating Chicken, Turkey and Pork now. And yes, they did eat the beef liver in small amounts. They have also had chicken gizzards and hearts. We have been noticing how awesome their coats are looking. Not sure if it's just the raw diet, or if it's partially their winter coats. I have never seen them look this good. I am so excited and pleased about this switch.
Oh yeah, I love the crazy looks I get when I tell people about it. ;D
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Post by Heather on Nov 30, 2011 14:46:35 GMT -5
It might be partially their winter coats but a lot of that is their new diet. It's amazing. I've got some really sick little ones and my vet can't get over how good they look. The condition of their coats, their skin is great despite the heavy drug load that they're getting. Captain Jack has been on heavy doses of lasix and that will cause serious issues in a kibble fed ferret. His coat is beautiful, thick and soft, he's well hydrated and despite his health issues is a very happy fuzz. She claims that on kibble she would have been granting him a release with the levels of lasix he's presently on. She says she spends more time trying to balance the drug, so that the ferret doesn't need sub-q fluids vs the amount that's needed to make him comfortable. With Captain Jack, she only has to work to make him comfortable rather than trying to keep him hydrated as well (his diet allows him despite the lasix to stay hydrated) ciao
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Post by Deleted on Dec 1, 2011 13:11:11 GMT -5
Poor little guy. So sad when one of the babies is sick.
I have definitely noticed that they drink maybe a quarter of what they were drinking before, and they pee a lot more than I would expect.
They hiss and run with their meat, run like the wind to try and get somebody else's piece. I am soo happy that I made the switch.
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