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Post by caicaixprincess on Jul 9, 2011 20:00:35 GMT -5
i started with a very thin, now very thick. Im feeding them chicken tenders today, they eat about 3 Tbsp a serving. they take it from a spoon. Ringo still needs kibble, but now hes starting to not take the soupie like before. Momo now accepts it with out the kibble . Casper is a bit slow and still needs kibble, and still thinks its going to kill him. Im sorry im not an extremely thourough person at times
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Post by Sherry on Jul 9, 2011 22:28:26 GMT -5
That's ok, but your mentor really needs to know exactly what they are taking to be able to help you and your fuzz to the next step By "very thick" I assume you mean the consistency of wet ground meat? And I'll bow out now, so katt can have her thread back ;D Thanks caicaixprincess
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Post by katt on Jul 11, 2011 4:52:42 GMT -5
i started with a very thin, now very thick. Im feeding them chicken tenders today, they eat about 3 Tbsp a serving.Chicken tenders? Are you trying chunks, or chicken tenders blended into soup? they take it from a spoon. Ringo still needs kibble, but now hes starting to not take the soupie like before. So he is refusing the soupies? Try taking the kibble away at night, then offering him some soup in the morning when he is good and hungry. (It is not going to hurt them to miss a meal here and there, and has actualy been shown to be healthy as it more closely mimics their natural eating patterns in the wild where dinner is not always assured). Hunger is a good motivator. If he is refusing the soup, make it a little thinner again and see if he will take it. He might just need you to move a little slower with him. Some ferrets are just more stubborn than others. Momo now accepts it with out the kibble . Good! Keep feeding it without the kibble then. Casper is a bit slow and still needs kibble, and still thinks its going to kill him.As with Ringo, try thinning the soup out a bit (blend in more water). Also you say they will eat it out of a spoon. Have you tried pouring it over their kibbles like gravy? Give that a shot. Im sorry im not an extremely thorough person at times The more information and details that you give me, the better I can help. I can't do much good if I don't know what is going on with all 3 of them. If you have not already, try pouring the soup over the kibble. see how Ringo and Casper like that. Do this after removing All food for the night (or remove food in the morning and offer them soup covered kibble at night) so they are hungry and thus more motivated to eat it. Let me know how it goes!
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Post by caicaixprincess on Jul 12, 2011 11:18:55 GMT -5
its slowly starting to work on Ringo, Casper is still lagging but will actually swallow now. Momo is still doing great, I guess she was just stubborn at first?
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Post by katt on Jul 12, 2011 13:32:07 GMT -5
its slowly starting to work on Ringo, Casper is still lagging but will actually swallow now. Momo is still doing great, I guess she was just stubborn at first? I'm really sorry but I really need a lot more information than this. I can't really be of much help with "doing great" and "stubborn." I need details or I have no clue what kind of advice to give you on the next steps. The more info you give me, the more info I can give you!
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Post by katt on Jul 12, 2011 14:06:17 GMT -5
its slowly starting to work on Ringo, Is Ringo eating the soupies? If so, is it on his kibble, from a spoon, etc? Have you tried removing the kibble from the cage the night before? Casper is still lagging but will actually swallow now.How are you feeding it to him? Are you scruffing and stuffing? Try putting a little bit of kibble in the soup. How many times a day and when are you feeding them the soup? Are you removing the kibble for a few hours beforehand so that they are hungry? Momo is still doing great, I guess she was just stubborn at first? Most ferrets are stubborn, but some more so than others. Again, I need details for Momo too. How much soup is she eating? How are you feeding it and when? etc etc! I need details every time, or I can't be of much help.
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Post by caicaixprincess on Jul 12, 2011 21:03:42 GMT -5
i did remove the kibble the night before, and Casper is hand fed, i tried pooring it over the kibble and he dug the soupie part of it out, and ate the normal bits, Ringo is doing better, he is eating the soupie bits that Casper dug out. Momo all I have to do is put a small bowl of soupie (about a half cup) on the floor, and she will eat it.
Im going to start writing details down in a notebook so I wont forget. They are fed about 7:00 am, then at 12:00pm , and 9:00 or 10:00 pm
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Post by katt on Jul 14, 2011 18:17:09 GMT -5
I did remove the kibble the night before, and Casper is hand fed, i tried pooring it over the kibble and he dug the soupie part of it out, and ate the normal bits, lol silly boy! Keep hand feeding, and try mixing the soupies into the kibble so that he can't be naughty and dig it out. Ringo is doing better, he is eating the soupie bits that Casper dug out. Good boy! Keep giving him soupie covered kibble then. Let's try and get all 3 of them caught up and on the same page, then we'll make the next big leap. Momo all I have to do is put a small bowl of soupie (about a half cup) on the floor, and she will eat it. Great! Keep doing this. As soon as the other 2 will eat soupie a little better we will begin to remove the kibble from their diet entirely. Try offering Momo a little chunk and see what she thinks of it. To make things a little easier on you I want to try to catch the other 2 up first, but it never hurts to keep pushing them. Might as well see what the other 2 think of chunks too. You never know. Some prefer chunks over the soup. Im going to start writing details down in a notebook so I wont forget. They are fed about 7:00 am, then at 12:00pm , and 9:00 or 10:00 pm A notebook is a great idea. I recommend keeping one all of the time. Then when health issues pop up, you can look back and see if there were any subtle signs leading up to it, if there is a particular food they don't do as well on, etc. Tracking weight in the log is a good idea too, as well as making general health notes (esp poop tracking!). In regards to your feeding times, you might consider feeding only twice a day. Unless you have a baby who is showing potential signs of insulinoma, 3x a day feedings are really not necessary. The soup will stay good for about 8 hours typically, so you can leave it in there to give them more chances to eat it over the day. By having longer spans between meals as well it will also make them a little hungrier and more eager for their next meal. It is much easier too as you get to whole meats. I feed my boys in the am before I leave for work, and in the pm before bed. I leave the food in there so they can eat whenever they are hungry and it stays good. Typically soupies last about 8-12 hours, ground raw 10-12, chunks of raw 12-24, raw meaty bones 12-24 or even longer (depending on the meat, the bone thickness, etc), and whole prey can last upwards of 48 hours. Just something to consider. When you feed them, are you doing 3 meal times (ie. each time you feed them they only get one hour to eat and then the food is taken away until the next meal) or do you just refill/refresh the food and leave it in the cage all day?
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Post by katt on Jul 16, 2011 12:59:37 GMT -5
Any updates? I am going out of town for a few days, but I should have internet access. Probably won't have time to get on till tomorrow night though.
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Post by caicaixprincess on Jul 18, 2011 9:14:01 GMT -5
momo is still the same. Eating raw soupie willingly. from the bowl. Ringo is starting to eat it willingly out of the bowl with momo. Casper is the only one who isn't willing to eat the soupie. He digs at it only to see its all mixed in. then he sort of eats it then gives up.
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Post by katt on Jul 19, 2011 4:57:27 GMT -5
momo is still the same. Eating raw soupie willingly. from the bowl. Ringo is starting to eat it willingly out of the bowl with momo. Casper is the only one who isn't willing to eat the soupie. He digs at it only to see its all mixed in. then he sort of eats it then gives up. Sorry for the late reply. I am visiting the parents and didn't get their wireless password until tonight, and the phone internet receptions sucks. Oh he's a stubborn one. Ok try hand feeding him the soupies every day. You might even need to blend a little kibble into the soup for him so that the soup tastes more "kibbley." Hand feed it until he will eat if from your hand without too much of a fight. You may even start with having him lick it off of your finger (scruff and stuff until he'll lick it off on his own). Then when he starts to eat it off of your fingers, feed it with a spoon. When he'll eat it from the spoon, gradually lower the spoon to the bowl until he'll eat it out of a bowl. Don't worry - it's not unusual for them to be little brats about it! We'll get him there! If the other 2 are eating the soup covered kibble ok, try to put less kibble in it so that it's mostly soup. Just gradually decrease the amount of kibble and increase the amount of soup. I'd be sure to offer little Casper his hand fed meals, and then perhaps have a small dish of kibble available for him AFTER raw meals. Be sure to take all food away a few hours before raw meals though. So for example if you feed at 1pm (just using 1 as an example), take all food out in the morning. At 1 offer Momo and Ringo soupies and let them eat their fill while you hand feed Casper soupies. Then when they are all done eating and full of food, put a little kibble in the cage for an hour or two. Only do this until you are able to hand feed Casper enough food to fill his belly though. You don't want him to be come too dependent on that bowl of kibble afterwards, and you want him to be hungry enough to want to eat the raw soupies too. I hope I'm making sense here. Please ask questions if you have any. Post your progress!
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Post by caicaixprincess on Jul 21, 2011 16:04:04 GMT -5
Casper is starting to improve he is not longer trying to get away Momo, and Ringo are about the same as they were, but Ringo does what he did to the kibble trying to diging it out of the bowl, and then eating it.
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Post by katt on Jul 21, 2011 18:01:41 GMT -5
Good keep it up! Start to gradually increase the amount of soup that you are putting on the kibble. Give it a try with just a little more soup than you usually use and let me know how they do. Keep me updated.
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Post by caicaixprincess on Jul 24, 2011 23:38:09 GMT -5
today Casper licked the soup just a little i guess its a start. Momo, and Ringo eat it and Casper is still being hand fed. Not much has changed really except Casper licking the soup a little.
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Post by katt on Jul 27, 2011 1:48:12 GMT -5
Ok let's try a different approach. I don't know why I didn't think of this earlier. I guess I've had too many ferrets take to the raw soupie so quickly recently... We are going back to very basic basics. I'm doing with with another mentee who had her ferrets backslide due to stress of recent additions to the business. I think that you will both have better luck with this method. Try this. Take the kibble away a few hours (6-12) before feeding them the soup, but when you make the soup, put kibble in it. Start out with a fair amount of kibble and only a little bit of meat (so roughly 60:40 kibble to meat) Also, boil the meat (chicken breast is easiest) before mixing it in and add in a little bit of pumpkin to help with their poops. We're going back to super basics very gradual switch with these guys. I think you will have better results this way and probably see faster results believe it or not. Offer them all licks off of your fingers to begin with. If they don't take it off of your finger, scruff and stuff so they taste it until they will lick it off of your finger. Then put the soup in their cage for about 6 hours. IF they are all eating the kibble soup, then leave them with that. If a few are being stubborn though then go ahead and give them kibble back for the night. Start with that today or tomorrow and let me know how it goes as soon as you do. The earlier I get replies the better I can help you address any stubbornness or issues (or jumping ahead steps) as they arise and hopefully help nip them in the bud. We are basically starting over, but I think it will be good. Let me know how it goes as soon as you try it.
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