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Post by Heather on Jun 24, 2011 13:18:23 GMT -5
Name: Nicole HF Forum Username: CaiCaixprincess 1. Where did you first learn about natural diets for ferrets? on this site 2. Please describe the type of diet you would like assistance in switching your ferret(s) to. Be sure to include if you are interested in feeding whole prey (live or frozen-thawed) and if you are wanting to FULLY switch to a natural diet or PARTIALLY. If you are unsure what kind of diet you want to put your ferrets on, please express that and we can help you find the best type of natural diet for your ferret. I do want my ferrets to eat whole prey, and I want them fully switched.
3. Why are you interested in switching your ferrets to a natural diet? Its healthier, and bad stuff in the food.
4. Do you understand that switching your ferret to a natural diet can be a lengthy, arduous process? Its not an overnight switch. It can be a commitment of several weeks or even months. Your HF Mentor will be more then happy to assist you in switchng your ferret(s) to a natural diet, but you need to be equally as commited. If you aren't willing to tough out a potentially lengthy switching process, or if you have major life changes approaching (baby on the way, moving, starting school, getting married/divorced, etc) then it might be a better idea to wait on switching your ferret's diet until you have more time. Are you willing to make the commitment? Yes I have all the time in the world!
5. How many ferrets do you currently have? What are their names? Ages? Genders? Do they have any health problems? Are they overweight? Underweight? I have three ferrets Momo, Casper, and Ringo. Momo is a girl she is two, and perfectly healthy, and she is a bit underweight. Casper is 1 year old, and a boy. Casper is a overweight little guy, and is getting over an bacterial infection. Ringo is 1 year old and a boy. He is underweight, but no health problems.
6. What diet do you currently feed your ferrets? (Please include all treats, supplements, etc) As treats i feed my ferrets N-bones, and the kibble I feed them is Zupreem.
7. Have you ever tried to switch your ferrets to a natural diet in the past? If yes, what happened? Yes, I was going to start with my oldest Momo, and she was extremely stuborn, after weeks of no luck i gave up
8. What additional information about yourself or your ferrets would you like to share? My ferrets especailly my boys are very stuborn.
9. How often during the week do you have access to a computer? Everyday
10. Please post a picture of each of your ferrets (if possible).
Hi and welcome to the mentoring program. In a little while your mentor (Hurricanekatt) will introduce herself and you can get started on a new adventure in natural ferret care and diets. Please remember to post regularly (daily or as per arranged with your mentor) so that your mentor can assist you move along safely in this adventure. If you experience computer difficulties or are going to be away, please notify your mentor and most of all relax and have fun . Your mentor is here to help you on this journey. ciao
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Post by katt on Jun 24, 2011 14:45:08 GMT -5
Hi! Here's just a little about me... Name: Katt HF Screen Name: HurricaneKatt Location: Anchorage, Alaska About Me: My favorite hobby is... studying. Just kidding. I like to do different types of art including drawing and painting. I recently started making dream catchers too. I enjoy horseback riding, playing with my critters, and enjoying time with my boyfriend. And the critters of course! I just graduated in May with my Bachelor of Science in Biology. I’ll be taking a year off to enjoy myself, work on my application, and hopefully do some volunteer work in Africa before applying for Medical School in the next round. I became a mentor because...I really like helping people (hence the whole wanting to be a doctor thing ) and animals. I am a strong supporter of a natural diet and probably bore most people that I meet to death ranting about raw diet and why it is the best way to go…this way I can rant to someone who actually cares! About My Ferrets: Koda – male, Real Canadian, I got him when he was about 8 weeks old when I bought him in December 2009, Sable. I gave him raw the second he came home and neither of us has ever looked back. He is a real trouble maker and is pretty well known around the forums as such. He is my first ferret and he has forced me to learn and learn FAST! He has managed to eat several rubber objects (had to have surgery!), and is constantly finding new trouble to get into. Loves digging the carpet up, has a very serious oral fixation (if his mouth can stretch wide enough for his teeth to touch it – he will chew it), will rearrange the room to reach things, has learned how to levitate, and is an all around little monster. He is also very strongly bonded to my boyfriend and I, and can be a huge love bug. When the endless energy is finally burned off, he will curl up in our laps, give us kisses, and fall asleep. As you can tell, I have this problem where I can’t stop talking about him or taking pictures of him… He has IBD which we struggled to get control of (and finally succeeded!) with diet. Recently he started showing signs of juvenile adrenal disease and is currently getting Lupron shots while we wait for Des to arrive off of backorder. Kneai: I brought Kenai home towards the end of November. He is also eating 100% raw diet, whole prey, franken prey, meaty bones you name it! He was a tiny little bag of bones when I brought him home, but he eats like a pig and grows like a weed! He is now huge and rolly-polly! definitely a little porker - he can barely make it out of his rice box because he is so bottom heavy. lmao He finally started shedding some fur and a little winter weight in the last few weeks or so. He is a silver mitt/black roan mitt. haha He loves, LOVES toys and is a loveable, goofy little guy and has been helping to keep Koda company and burn off each others energy! He's definitely a little spaz - I thought Koda was until I got Kenai! He's a bit of a simpelton, but we love him just the same. About My Natural Feeding Experience: I've been feeding raw since December 2009 when I brought Koda home. Thanks to this forum, I was ready for a fuzzball to come home with my freezer stocked with meats! I gave him a raw chicken wing his first night home and that was the end of that! He is fed frankenprey, f/t roents, and live prey. Unfortunately, his diet is somewhat restricted because of his IBD, but we've finally got a bit of variety back in. I have been reading and learning since before I brought Koda home and learned a lot from the people here on the forum. I am always on the forum, and various websites trying to learn more about ferrets in general, and especially raw diet. My boys are healthy, energetic, have super soft fur, and smell so good that people regularly comment, asking me what perfume or spray I sprayed them (esp Koda) with! I love telling them: Thanks to a raw diet - he just smells that good naturally! When Kenai first came home he had been eating Marshall's kibble and his poop smelled...awful doesn't even come close to describing it! Now he smells much better and his scraggly coat has been replaced by a luxurious pile of fur. Type of Mentor: In Training! I feed frankenprey, raw meats, bone-in meats, ground meats, frozen/thawed rodents, live prey, and recently added (for treats and supplemental) freeze dried raw. I have never fed kibble so I can’t help a ton there on picking a good kibble… but hopefully we can get rid of it entirely anyways. My Specialty: Trouble makers! Especially only ferrets, and kits. I am excited to get to work with you and your crew!
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Post by katt on Jun 24, 2011 14:48:51 GMT -5
Let's start with a detailed run down of your feeding schedule. What do you feed, how much, how often. Do you feed 1, 2, 3 times a day? Do you feed in meals (limiting the time they can eat) or do you let them free-range feed (access to food all day)? Also, you will need access to the following: boneless, skinless chicken (breasts or tenders tend to be the easiest to work with and to find in skinless/boneless form IME) canned pumpkin (not the pie filling), or squash baby food a good blender or food processor water! you may or may not need some olive oil, fish oil, or FerreTone/FerretVite for stubborn little fuzz
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Post by katt on Jun 28, 2011 15:45:10 GMT -5
Bump bump...
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Post by caicaixprincess on Jun 30, 2011 1:34:19 GMT -5
thanks the olive oil really helped with at least one (Ringo) the other two are spitting it back out
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Post by katt on Jun 30, 2011 3:25:38 GMT -5
Let's start with a detailed run down of your feeding schedule. What do you feed, how much, how often. Do you feed 1, 2, 3 times a day? Do you feed in meals (limiting the time they can eat) or do you let them free-range feed (access to food all day)? I can't be of much help if I don't know where you are at, what oyu are feeding, etc...
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Post by caicaixprincess on Jun 30, 2011 10:29:10 GMT -5
well i tried a soupie of raw chicken no skin, 1/2 teaspoon of olive oil, some crushed bone (took me forever to do), and some canned pumpkin.
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Post by katt on Jun 30, 2011 13:05:21 GMT -5
well i tried a soupie of raw chicken no skin, 1/2 teaspoon of olive oil, some crushed bone (took me forever to do), and some canned pumpkin. Ok. I need to know where you are, at every step. If I don't know what you are feeding and what you are trying (in detail) then I don't know how to direct and guide you through the switch. So keep me in the loop? How much of the soup are they eating? Will they eat it on it's own, or are you pouring it over their kibble? Will they take it freely, or do you have to hand-feed them? What is the consistency of the soup? As for the crushed bone, you really don't have to add that, though it certainly helps their poops. If you would like to continue adding it in an easier way, many grocery stores will sell bone meal powder - much much easier!
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Post by caicaixprincess on Jun 30, 2011 16:37:36 GMT -5
Sorry, I used some chicken from a local meat locker (i dont like big store brand chicken anyway) I pored it over their food, and Momo, and casper I had to hand feed Ringo will eat it by himself
Thanks I will keep my eyes open when i go to the store.
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Post by katt on Jul 1, 2011 14:22:52 GMT -5
Sorry, I used some chicken from a local meat locker (i dont like big store brand chicken anyway) I pored it over their food, and Momo, and casper I had to hand feed Ringo will eat it by himself Thanks I will keep my eyes open when i go to the store. Ok. Keep hand feeding them until they start to eat in on their own. Try to spoon feed, and lower the spoon closer to their bowl, then eventually remove the spoon and let them eat it from the bowl themselves. Pour the soupies over their kibble every day and as they learn to like it more start to remove the kibble and increase the soup until they will eat soup on it's own. And of course at any point along the way if they will eat the soup on it's own with no kibble in it, then remove the kibble at that point. Keep me updated.
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Post by katt on Jul 2, 2011 12:55:30 GMT -5
Just want to let you know I will be out of town for the weekend with no internet access. I will be back Monday night, so the only day I won't have access really is tomorrow (Sunday). I'll check back in here tonight too if you have any questions.
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Post by caicaixprincess on Jul 2, 2011 23:07:44 GMT -5
okay I dont really have questions since its been the same Ringo will eat by himself, and the others are just, or maybe a bit more stubborn
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Post by katt on Jul 5, 2011 15:29:11 GMT -5
Are you still hand feeding them the soupies? If so, try blending a little bit of kibble into the soup, and then mixing it into their kibble (like gravy) really well so that all of the kibble is covered in soup, and all of the soup is covered in kibble. Scruff and Stuff a few licks of soupies and see how they do. Some ferrets can make bigger leaps, some require a much more gradual transition.
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Post by caicaixprincess on Jul 6, 2011 1:29:34 GMT -5
Im still feeding them soupies. thanks that helped a little bit.
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Post by Sherry on Jul 8, 2011 9:19:18 GMT -5
Hello there, caicaixprincess I've been reading this thread(I read ALL of them ;D ), and I'm having some trouble understanding just what you are feeding when, and how much? Like, what's in the soup now, how thick or thin is it, are you feeding it over the kibble when hand feeding, how MUCH are they accepting(a tsp, a tbsp, 2,3?) Are they taking it from your finger, spoon? Does Ringo still need it on the kibble, or is he taking the soup on it's own? Some clarification will help your mentor decide which direction will be the best both for you and for Momo, Ringo, and Casper
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