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Post by Deleted on Aug 28, 2011 15:55:50 GMT -5
Okay yeah, the first pic looks like liver.
The diet is going to need more heart & maybe more liver (depending on how much is there). That should be fine for now, but definitely work on getting larger quantities of liver, other organs and hearts.
Generally, 2 oz of liver per ferret per week. Then they should have 2 oz of another organ (like brains, spleen, kidney, etc). If you don't have a scale, I think that 1 chicken liver is about 1-2 oz. So each ferret should get 1 whole liver a week. They should also get 2 oz of another organ. IF you cannot get ahold of another organ, than feed each ferret 2 livers a week until you can get more organ meats.
Heart you cannot really overdo. I feed maybe....8-10 chicken hearts per ferret per week. I give hearts almost every boneless meal to make sure they get enough taurine. I also feed it with organ meats.
Guidelines: A one square inch of beef heart is two ounces, because it's so dense. A chicken wing is on average, 3 oz. A chicken liver, 2 oz.
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Post by cubsfanhaynes on Aug 28, 2011 21:04:08 GMT -5
As Corri has been saying all afternoon we've succumbed to Ferret math. We were already planning on getting another, and we went to look today and PETCO started their $79.99 sale a week early, and she fell for a female light sable. So now we have three.
We're leaving her in the cage with a chicken wing tonight, which is what we did with the boys on their first night and they ate it up awesomely.
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Post by corrij on Aug 28, 2011 21:10:54 GMT -5
Yep so even with how well the boys are doing you'll be stuck with us just a little bit longer. And yes we are posting pictures.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 29, 2011 9:00:06 GMT -5
Yay congrats!!!
Let me know how she does with the wing - if she doesn't eat it you might need to make her some soup
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Post by cubsfanhaynes on Aug 29, 2011 9:33:48 GMT -5
We're planning on soup tonight. She didn't take to the wing the way the boys did.
Right now I'm getting a kick out of the boys being worn out to death like sleep and she's flitting around the cage trying to figure out why they aren't playing.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 29, 2011 10:06:42 GMT -5
Definitely make her some soup then - once she gets some raw in her system you can try a crushed wing again. Don't let her go too long without food either - babies need to eat a TON ;D When I first got Dixie she ate close to 8 oz in one day I couldn't believe it - between my 3 I went through almost a lb of meat that day. *luckily they don't eat that much anymore ;D* Good luck with the soup! Keep me posted. If she seems reluctant to try the soup, get some on your finger and dab some on her nose or lips and see how she reacts.
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Post by corrij on Aug 29, 2011 11:14:04 GMT -5
Last night might have been a little much for her too. New place, new ferrets to investigate, new cage to sleep in, new food. Maybe just a little too much new.
But yes I am going to do the soup tonight if she won't eat it I'll try the grab and dab. And if that doesn't get her interest I suppose I can try putting some on kibble. (ugh I hate kibble. I'm just so glad we haven't needed to buy any. Free samples for the win)
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Post by Deleted on Aug 29, 2011 12:43:05 GMT -5
Sounds like a plan
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Post by corrij on Aug 29, 2011 18:10:19 GMT -5
I blended up a chunk of breast with a little bit of water and a tiny bit of olive oil (helped keep the meat from sticking to the blender and the blades). It ended up being less a soup and more a paste. The second I sat down in their room Draco decided that what ever mom made for Babydoll was way way better then the beef him and his brother were eating. So he hopped up to help 'teach' her. It was a little difficult to get her to eat. If I scooped a bit on my finger she would sniff it and move on, but if I scruffed her and then put it in front of her she'd eat it all. Weird huh. She ate a good bit of it. I'm giving it a small break then I'll see if I can get her to eat some more.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 29, 2011 18:18:58 GMT -5
Haha, typical ferret, always thinking someone else has something better The good thing is is that she ate. She is taking in a lot of new stuff, smells, sounds, and probably thinks there are better things to do than eat The fact that she ate it willingly is really good - hopefully she'll go to chunks easily. If I remember, Dixie didn't want chunks the first night or two home. She ate soup, and after a bit decided chunks were yummy. Go figure
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Post by corrij on Aug 29, 2011 18:34:39 GMT -5
I'm going to blend up the rest of the breast the same way for Steven to give to her tomorrow. I'll be out of town until Thursday afternoon/evening. And really the thought of being gone is giving me a stomach ache. I'm going to miss my family. I blended up about a 1/4 of a breast (the one that was in the picture actually ) she ate, about half of it maybe. And I think before bed I can coax her to eat the rest. Should I still put kibble in her cage for overnight? I'm a little unsure about leaving her with out food.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 29, 2011 19:16:26 GMT -5
I would leave her with kibble just to be safe. Is she separate from the boys? I don't want them to back track on kibble
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Post by corrij on Aug 29, 2011 19:33:21 GMT -5
Yep she's separate, I was concerned about putting her in overnight with the boys anyways. Our room is opposite end of the house and both of us are heavy sleepers so if they got into a bad tiff I wasn't sure we'd wake up to hear it. The boys currently have one level of the ferret nation, and they have earned a shelf back (next is a hammock in another week if they keep using the litter box. We were going to go hammock then shelf but they'd need a shelf to climb into the hammock). Babydoll is in the cage the boys first used. It's small for two big boy ferrets but perfect for one small girl ferret I keep her cage closed up when they are all out playing so the boys can't get to her kibble, but I leave their cage open so they all can get to the meat and water. Babydoll sniffed at the beef when the boys were eating it but no interest other then that. They are going to stay separate for a minimum of a week (if things keep going well with play time), after that she'll room with them when she's eating what they eat.
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Post by cubsfanhaynes on Aug 29, 2011 19:49:52 GMT -5
I honestly think the boys would eat just about whatever you put in front of them anymore.
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Post by corrij on Aug 29, 2011 19:58:45 GMT -5
Another reason not to leave Babydoll in there overnight ;D At least until she's big enough not to be a snack.
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