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Post by Deleted on Nov 23, 2011 12:58:57 GMT -5
Ok, that is reassuring! I didn't account for the moisture in the raw!
Thanks!
~Kelli
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Post by Deleted on Nov 26, 2011 13:22:23 GMT -5
Complete set back Loki will barely eat any soup now, for the last day he refused all raw or freeze dried food. He ate 1 spoonful of soup tops when I offered it to him in the AM and the PM, no interest any other time of day. Can I give him some of his kibble because he isn't eating? It is the last thing I want to do but I don't want him starving himself. Activity level is normal. Poops yesterday were normal. His belly is still squishy and soft, nothing feels weird in there. Pee is normal, and he's drinking like normal. None of his toys are missing parts. He hasn't gotten into anything unusual or into a non-ferret proofed part of the house. Respirations and heart beat seem normal, sleep patterns normal. There is a very very remote possibility he stashed food in the sofa and ate that yesterday but it's weird he left everything in his bowl alone. I'm going to go try rehydrated FD again right now. Is this a normal stubborn hiccup? ~Kelli
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Post by Sherry on Nov 26, 2011 14:52:32 GMT -5
You are going to run into setbacks along the way. It happens. Maybe try him with a different protein. He might just be bored. If that doesn't work, then yes, give him the kibble back at night, but keep doing raw in the day time.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 27, 2011 23:13:53 GMT -5
Ok we're coming back now. He out and out refused lamb so I tried the chicken again. He will eat soup but I have to scruff n stuff to get him started. I blended in his liver for this week and put small bits of chopped giblet in there and once I got him started he ate quite a bit (I forgot to take before weights both times). My processor does not like chicken skin, I thought I had it chopped up well enough but it didn't break down at all. He was chewing away on a piece and I thought it must be a giblet chunk. I thought, wow, those ARE rubbery! but no, it was a chicken strip sized piece of skin and he ate the whole thing. Took him forever tho, poor guy!
I will weigh him tomorrow, I totally forgot today.
I've been reading a lot of the archived threads for the mentor program and see the menu's everyone puts together and I had a question. Can I just batch up the soup, make one big batch full of everything Loki needs in a week; with 3+ proteins in it, bone pieces, and organs (incl heart) and serve that? Or do you guys recommend the different types of meals every day?
Gonna try video him eating his soups tonight, once you get him started he really seems to love it.
~Kelli
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Post by Sherry on Nov 27, 2011 23:20:54 GMT -5
With lamb, it seems to be either they love it, or they hate it. Not saying he'll always hate it though. You can either put it up until later on, or you can mix in a tiny bit of the lamb with his chicken(and I do mean just a pinch), and gradually up it til he's eating it. Some have to be lured in that way. Generally I feed a variety on a daily basis, since mine are spoiled they get bored pretty quickly once they start having a variety, and will suddenly refuse to eat it if they think they've had it too often Since he's now chewing skin and giblet bits, why not try him with a meal of meat bits topped with the soup, sort of like a gravy poured on it. See what he does. Make sure the slivers are tiny- maybe the size of cresent on your pinkie nail. That way, it's not too much of a challenge for him, and hopefully the soup will lure him into eating it. If he doesn't, you can always just toss that into the blender for the next meal ;D
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Post by Deleted on Nov 28, 2011 23:15:50 GMT -5
He ate about 2 oz of soup with small bits in it last night and again today. Weight is still 3.25lbs and activity is great ~Kelli
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Post by Sherry on Nov 29, 2011 0:32:49 GMT -5
Excellent!!! Ok, now, let's start adding in more small bits, and less soup. Let me know how he does. If he takes to it, increase the bits every 2nd or 3rd meal, and reduce the soup accordingly. When you feed him, does he eat it all in one sitting? Or does he leave a bit? Because if he's eating it all at once, you'll likely have to start upping the amount he's getting
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Post by Deleted on Dec 2, 2011 13:26:26 GMT -5
So far so good on the small bits n soup part. He eats everything if the soup base is rehydrated FD with nothing left over. He eats 90% of it if its a chicken based soup with chicken bits. He's still getting kibble or FD pieces overnight but doesn't eat much of it (the kibble, he snacks on the FD chunks) He's eating about 3oz of soup in a sitting (BFast & Dinner)
The chicken bits vary from pea sized to marble sized. I tried a bottle cap sized chunk and he ate around it so we'll keep moving that direction and I will stick with the FD soup base since he prefers it and I know he's getting more complete nutrition that way. The FD I used is only chicken with bones and organs, no beet pulp or anything else.
~Kelli
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Post by Sherry on Dec 2, 2011 17:22:43 GMT -5
If he's snacking on the freeze dried on his own, I'd start removing the kibble entirely then It's also time to introduce new proteins! Pork or turkey would be good as they are also mild in flavour.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 5, 2011 20:16:17 GMT -5
Raw turkey was refused. I thought he'd love it since he moves rubbermaid bins to get his turkey steak patties. I'll keep trying (I have a freezer full so he had better eat it! ) Surprise surprise he still HATES lamb. I haven't had a change to pick up pork yet, what would be a good cut to start with? something fattier or leaner? This is our schedule so far: AM: FD soupies - 2-3 oz* FD available to snack on during day PM: FD soupies - 1-2 oz* bedtime: olive oil treat + a bit of ferretvite or 1/2 of a 8 in 1 vitamin treat (I hate these things but he loves em) FD & EVO available to snack on overnight (He's had the same small bowlful of EVO for the last 3 days now so its really more for my benefit.) *During the week his PM soupies have chicken bits included. During the weekend its in the AM & PM both. If the soup is mostly raw chicken he eats best if I sit with him for his meals but occasionally eats the bits and soups if I leave some in his cage. The package of FD I have says 1/3 cup of FD bits for a 6lb dog, doubled for puppies. Loki weighs just over 3.25 lbs and is a kit so I've been aiming for this same 1/3 cup as a guideline, more if he will eat it, plus the raw. As far as finding FD proteins he will eat - I'm struggling with the additives in a lot of them. I wanted off kibble because of the veggie and misc matter in them and it seems most FD foods have fruit and veggies too? ~Kelli
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Post by Sherry on Dec 5, 2011 20:53:08 GMT -5
Most do, but usually it's only about 5%, which is acceptable. Commercial frozen raw has the same. So does most of the meat I feed in fact, since I always add some pumpkin to it to imitate what they'd get in non digestibles in whole prey, like the fur, etc. AS for how much to give him- remember metabolism is really fast. My 2-3 lb ferrets will eat the same amount as my 10-12 lb cats So if he's finishing it all the time, definitely give him more
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Post by Deleted on Dec 7, 2011 15:57:26 GMT -5
HaHa! It was an excellent day shopping (Altho my son pouted because I wouldnt stop to get him a cappucino and Loki got all kinds of things) I got duck, rabbit, and venison FD thats only meat n bits, no veggies or whatnot. One of our locally owned pet stores has an amazing selection of cat & dog food that grain-free and they are starting to carry more raw.
So, question: Is bison close enough to beef to bother Loki since he reacted to the beef?
Right now I'm batching up the soup for the next few days (Chicken based with chicken chunks) with the intention of slipping in a bit of this or a bit of that so he will hopefully eat something other than chicken and turkey steaks.
Also, on our current regimen there is usually a spoonful left in his bowl after he's finished eating. I can offer it a third time a day if you think it would be good?
~Kelli
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Post by Sherry on Dec 7, 2011 19:46:32 GMT -5
If he's leaving a bit, he should be good. You can try offering more if you think he may eat it, but since you are leaving the dry FD in the cage, I really don't think he will. As for the bison- hard to say! Before Boris' full blown IBD occured, he tolerated chicken very poorly, but could eat cornish game hen just fine. In other words, you really won't know until you try. I've heard both sides about bison being too close to beef, or that it's a separate meat entirely ;D
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Post by Deleted on Dec 8, 2011 0:35:41 GMT -5
Duck mixed in chicken soup was not turned down Now to increase the amounts Muwhahahaha! ~Kelli
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Post by Sherry on Dec 8, 2011 9:57:26 GMT -5
Fantastic!!! The more proteins you can trick him into eating, the better ;D
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