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Post by Sherry on Oct 14, 2011 14:02:37 GMT -5
Something to try thus weekend then. Remove the kibble for one hour before giving them their accepted soup, fill them up on that. When they go back in, put in some more soup along with the kibble. Keep an eye out to see what they eat if each And yes, by all means try some slivers in their regular soup for them!
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Post by lefty2026 on Oct 18, 2011 9:44:17 GMT -5
They choose soup over kibble for sure. Curi is still eating more of the soup that Crazy, but I think Crazy doesn't want to waste his out of the cage time eating, so I think he ate the same as Curi when they got the soup in their cage. They are perfect happy to eat 100% raw food.
I want to try the slivers, you said meat before livers? I have a chicken thigh in the freezer that I can thaw and mince, but I have all kinds of organ meat in there too. I can wait on the that or should I offer both and see if they take it?
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Post by Sherry on Oct 18, 2011 9:59:01 GMT -5
I'd offer the meat personally. But that's just because the liver is much stronger in taste. Your's might take to it right off.
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Post by lefty2026 on Oct 21, 2011 8:07:13 GMT -5
So last night I chopped up some chicken thigh and mixed it in their food and they ate all of it. This morning though, I was a little lazier and rushed and the chicken thigh bits were a little too big I think. I saw them chewing a little, so I think they ate some of them, but the bigger pieces they chewed a bit and then spit them out.
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Post by Sherry on Oct 21, 2011 8:21:54 GMT -5
It takes them a while. The muscle meat is also what helps them build up jaw strength to be able to eat bones, which is why we usually go a little slower with it. Think of them as mini body builders. We want to build up their strenght without making them overdo it and decide they want nothing to do with this new stuff
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Post by lefty2026 on Oct 22, 2011 14:10:34 GMT -5
They did a good job chewing the meat this morning! The must like it. How long can I keep a previously frozen chicken thigh in the fridge? They've only eaten about a quarter of it so far.
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Post by Sherry on Oct 22, 2011 15:28:49 GMT -5
Depends on how long it was sitting in the store! If it starts to smell "off", toss it. They won't eat it anyway. Perfectly fresh, I'd say 3-4 days at most. If they'll eat more at one sitting, let them. Their bodies are soon going to kick into overdrive with the appetites, and they'll start to eat you out of house and home ;D They'll calm down after a while though. Since they are doing well with the chunks you are giving, you can also try upping the size. If at some point you can just toss a wing or thigh in with some slashes made so they can get a grip on it to start ripping off the flesh, you've made it Mine never got there, spoiled monsters that they are
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Post by lefty2026 on Oct 24, 2011 9:34:13 GMT -5
Just tossing them a hunk of meat would be a lot nicer than trying to mince raw chicken in the morning. The thigh did smell a little, and I don't want them to get sick, so I tossed most of it. I'll have to pick up some smaller cuts of meat so I'm not so wasteful. The good news is that they seem to like everything. It's pretty surprising, as I always thought of them as very picky eaters. They both run right to the bowl now when I open the cage.
Curi is still more receptive than Crazy, but I can lure Crazy back if I dribble a little ferrettone on top. I do think he likes it, he's just too excited to get out of the cage and gets distracted from the food.
I'm still working out the portioning. They have both gained a little weight, which I think is ok. This morning I was out of meat, so they just got one primal nugget. I think one nugget plus some extra chicken/meat or whatever is the right size for a meal. If I have time, they like to eat before and after play time, so they eat more if I can squeeze in time for that.
I think the foster cat is going to her forever home soon, which is happy and sad, but having one less pet in the home will definitely help. I need to focus on my boys. Once their diet has become routine, I think we'll have time to take in another kitty, but for now it will be nice to only have the ferrets (well and the turtle, but he doesn't need much of my attention).
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Post by Sherry on Oct 24, 2011 9:38:33 GMT -5
It sounds like they are making some real progress. How is the kibble situation going for Crazy? Still nibbling on it? As for portion size, they should wind up eating 3-5 oz a day each, on average. Why not try buying your meat, chop it up into portion sizes(for now aim for 3 oz per meal), and freeze it? That way you aren't wasting, and you can always take more out as their appetites go up?
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Post by lefty2026 on Oct 26, 2011 9:14:55 GMT -5
They are both definitely still nibbling kibble during the day, but less of it at least. The last couple days, they have no been that into the food. I don't know what changed. They still ate most of it eventually, but I had to lure them with ferretone. I was not happy with the meat selection at the grocery store last night, so I just got some thighs again. I chopped up some of it and cooked the rest for myself, so we'll be good like that for this week. Next time I'll go to a better store and I will try and do what you suggested. Chopping it up and freezing it should be easy enough.
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Post by Sherry on Oct 26, 2011 11:37:22 GMT -5
You'll find as they get more and more into the raw, they are going to have days where they simply aren't that hungry. They moderate their intake themselves. When you go to the store, try getting heart, liver, and a new protein as well
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Post by lefty2026 on Oct 28, 2011 14:24:31 GMT -5
They have still been picking at their food. Maybe the chicken wasn't that good this time? I don't know. I ended up using one of the left over cooked soup cubes and mixed that with the raw. They didn't exactly gobble it up, but they did both eat at least.
I'm thawing a duck liver for them to try. Maybe they will like fois gras lol.
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Post by Sherry on Oct 28, 2011 18:49:39 GMT -5
Out of curiosity- did you pick up a different brand of chicken? That can actually make a difference, believe it or not! Good idea on supplementing with the soupie. Good luck with the liver Hopefully they'll take to it. If not, you can puree and add in a bit of heavy cream(whipping), no more than a tbsp per ferret for flavouring. Mine were on hand fed liver/organ soupies weekly, for a year before they started eating it on their own Let me know what they think of it!
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Post by lefty2026 on Nov 1, 2011 8:04:30 GMT -5
It was a different brand! They must have known.
They did ok with liver. It was easier to mince up really tiny. They left some of it over, but they did eat some. Mixing it with cream would probably make it way more tempting. That doesn't bother their tummies?
Today and yesterday, I'm just doing the plain primal. Now that they are gobbling it up again I can try adding something in. I have a duck heart, a chicken liver (and I think some other chicken organs) and then I have more frozen chicken thighs, but I don't know if I will bother with those, seeing as Crazy pretty much stopped eating when that got added in.
They are both doing really well. They look great. For the first time in awhile they both have almot all their hair (which may be more due to Curi's surgery than the diet, but still). They seem a little heavier and they are very active. There are no off days when they sleep through playtime now. I think maybe I should take crazy for another blood sugar reading, bc he seems so much better and maybe he doesn't need as much of the pred. anymore. I'm sure the tumors are still there, but all the protein is probably helping to stabalize his blood sugar.
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Post by Sherry on Nov 1, 2011 9:17:26 GMT -5
What brats! I had a feeling it was a different brand ;D and yes- they DO know! Mine will not eat any chicken from Costco. I'm guessing the farm they source their birds from feed them something different. I'm so glad they are doing so well! As for decreasing the pred, hold off on that for a while yet. You'll want him a little further along, just in case a glitch comes up where he goes on strike against a particular protein. Once they are essentially fully on raw, that's the time to look at decreasing it.
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