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Post by Deleted on Sept 2, 2011 16:00:46 GMT -5
Baby Legs kibble night - Check. -put in lap and spoon feed - check.
I have been giving them soup around 3 times a day but using a little bit bigger chunks so i will tone those down some. We got 4 lbs of chicken leg quarters all ground together (bone included) should i just use this for chunks in the soup, which might be a good fit for the slivers of meat you mentioned, or should i use it for the soup? If i use it in soup should i continue to put eggshell in it?
K, i will stop teasing Dids with the kibble in the soup : P
This all sounds good to me.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 2, 2011 19:59:03 GMT -5
Perfect Keep me updated how baby legs is doing (how much he's eating, how well he's eating it, whether he's trying food on his own or being handfed, etc.) If your putting ground bone (I assume it's very finely ground bone) in the soup then you're correct there's no need for egg shells Those sound good for slivers Also keep me updated on how Dids and Cici are doing and let me know each time you increase the chunks and how big they're getting and we should be on a roll
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Post by Deleted on Sept 3, 2011 7:31:12 GMT -5
After almost 30 mins in decent intervals of putting my finger in Baby Legs mouth he eventually licked some off my finger,twice!!! This is the first time he has remotely shown interest by licking it himself. So i quit for the time being because he gets super upset when i do it. I will do this again in a few hours when they wake up from their nap. They will all be in the same cage with only soup and a few pork rib tip bones. I found one this morning in the cage with no meat left on it and a few teeth marks so thats good K since i have so much of that chicken i will use it both for soup and chunks. Maybe i will just put small layer of it in there and pour water/heart/liver soup right over the ground chick. And yes, its really really ground, its hard to tell there is even bones in it. Advantages of my girl working at a specialty deli. Dids was reluctant this morning like usual and i had to spoon feed him but right after i put the spoon to his mouth he eats, then i slowly move away, he normally will sit and eat for a little, then i kinda have to put the spoon in his face again and repeat until he doesn't eat off the spoon. Cici isn't eating much this morning but i'm not too worried about her because i think she actually eats without being hand fed. I do hand feed her chunks from time to time. I have a feeling she is the one that ate the meat off the pork rib tip bone last night.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 3, 2011 18:23:37 GMT -5
That's great news all around Keep doing exactly that with baby legs and hopefully each time he will lick a few more times on his own. That's perfect with Dids - keep it up and eventually you won't need to spoon feed at all Good girl Cici! She is doing great That sounds perfect with the soup Feed it again the next couple days and then if You think both CiCi and Dids and eating the meat slivers from the soup you can increase the size of them just a little bit.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 4, 2011 13:55:12 GMT -5
Dids is doing well eating off the spoon still. we kind of lure him to the dish w the spoon and lower it until he eats out of the food bowl. same thing w cici when we distract her w the spoon. Baby Legs is doing much better. when hes scruffed and made to eat a little off a finger or spoon, he pisses himself as if hes so afraid to eat it . its not just this one time either. but as of yesterday, he still does urine himself, but eats off the spoon without us having to 'gum him some meat finger'. and like the spoon to dish lure, we slowly lower him until his front paws are on the ground (his back feet are usually always on the ground when scruffed or held to 'force feed' him) and he finishes all he wants off the spoon on his own. sometimes he'll finish a whole spoonful but usually a half.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 4, 2011 21:43:13 GMT -5
Spoon luring sounds like a brilliant plan to me keep it up and increase the chunk sizes a bit in the next batch and let me know how they do I know Cici is eating chunks/slivers but is Dids eating the chunks/slivers or just licking the soup off of them at this point? Hmm I can't say I've ever heard of a ferret urinating on themselves when being force fed raw, I will see what the other mentors think about that and let you know if there's anything you can do to prevent that
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Post by Heather on Sept 4, 2011 23:37:18 GMT -5
Hola guys....just popping in....I would suggest that Baby legs doesn't get scruffed when feeding... He's terrified. The others sound like they're progressing. Sounds to me like your wee one is going to be slower at picking things up. Slow down and make it a snuggle session rather than a force feeding. I think it will work better for you and him. It's just a thought. If you have to dab his nose a bit then do so, to get him started. If he's eating from the spoon then do so. I rarely scruff and stuff. It's hard on them and you. I know that this can be frustrating but the more you get stressed about him not eating the more stressed he gets about eating. Good luck, keep up the good job...great work ciao
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Post by Deleted on Sept 5, 2011 1:04:21 GMT -5
Exactly what Heather said. I definitely didn't realize that this whole time you were scruffing and forcing baby legs to eat the food to the point that he was wetting himself out of fear - this is definitely not what I Intended for you to be doing so I do apologize if there was a mis-communication there. Like Heather said, give the wee thing a bit of a break. Let him keep eating the kibble for now and start snuggling him a few times a day with the soup nearby (don't offer it at all). Give him some oil and pumpkin as treats and even some ferretone if you have some. We need to turn you taking him out back into a positive experience. i'm also going to say No more scruffing at all. Just holding gently in your lap, snuggling, and in a few days time, we'll offer the soup again (on a spoon or a finger gently placed on the nose/mouth).
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Post by Deleted on Sept 5, 2011 7:22:01 GMT -5
Dids does eat the chunks.
Good news on Baby Legs, last night and this morning i did not have to scruff feed him i just hold him and he wiggles a few times then he gets the idea. He is still eating out of the spoon but not more scuff feeding, YAY!
I haven't been doing it this whole time, really. I would hold him for a sec and stick my finger in his mouth. As of the other day when i removed him from kibble during the day i figured i would try and make him eat some but it was only about 3 times maybe 4 total.
We are definitely moving in the right direction now.
My next big question is how much soup should they be eating? i haven't really been forcing the soup. Cici eats on her own for the most part, Dids does on occasion but still looks for the kibble and every time he looks for it i place him in front of the soup and put a spoonful in his face sometimes he eats and other he walks away, Baby Legs is making great progress over the last 2-3 days and i'm super proud of him. They only one that i "force feed" is Baby Legs and i feel that this wont last much longer. Maybe by tuesday night i will leave him in with the other two and just feed him in the morning on soup.
They get about 2 ice cubes 3 times a day and even if they were to eat every single drop that is only about 6-7 oz. It seems that they never really eat the soup i leave overnight. I throw most of that away in the morning and they are hungry so i make more and they typically eat a decent amount (Baby Legs ate two large spoonfuls this morning already, I might make a run at another one before they nap but i dont wanna push him too hard).
I did not put chunks in the soup this morning(spaced out thawing some overnight). I'm still using the very small ground chunks of the chicken Leg quarters (bone included) and pouring the soup over the top of it. I know Cici and Dids eat the chunks, at this point i'm thinking they prefer it (Dids seems to try and "hide" even the smallest amount of soup in his mouth rather than just licking it up).
Can't think of much else. Thanks for all the help so far and for future assistance. Dids is losing some weight (he was kinda getting chubby in his old age) and is looking alot more white than usual and Cici looks absolutely amazing after just over two weeks, i couldn't imagine her fur getting any softer its like chinchilla fur!!!
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Post by Deleted on Sept 5, 2011 17:04:48 GMT -5
I am so happy baby legs is eating without being scruffed now keep it up just like that, we don't want to give into baby legs refusing to try the food - but we don't want to turn it Ito a negative experience either. So if baby legs has any more stubborn moments, just gently sit him on you lap and "dab" soup on his nose or gently rub it on his gums (no need to shove food in the mouth or anything like that) How many spoonfuls of soup is baby legs eating and how much kibble is he eating in a day now? When you say put baby legs in with the others to eat the soup in the morning - you will still be separating at night and feeding the kibble to baby legs? It sounds like Dids and Cici are doing really great. I think you can increase the chunk size now for sure As far as "how much" they should be eating. There really isn't a set amount. On a raw diet ferrets WILL self-regulate, so as long as fresh food is always available and there is always some leftover when you go to change it - they are eating enough. You say Dids has lost some weight - how much weight? Its definitely good if he was over weight that's he's trimmed up a bit and it makes sense that he's lost a bit now that he's off the carbs in the kibble. But I just want to make sure he hasn't lost too much too quickly. So the next step from here would be to keep increasing the chunk size for Dids and Cici and continue with the gentle spoon feeding for baby legs. Once baby legs is eating enough raw soup, we can decease the amount of kibble you offer over night and increase the amount of soup he gets in him during the day (he should do this on his own because he'll be more hungry from eating less kibble) and then eventually we'll have him just on the soup and can add in chunks. Keep up the good work
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Post by Deleted on Sept 5, 2011 18:29:00 GMT -5
Last night was the first time he ate of a spoon and about two-three tablespoons full. To be honest i'm really regulating how much kibble he eats at night but he only gets it at night and is separated from the other two all night. He ate about 5 tablespoons so far today and i plan to get another two or more before bed. I will weigh what we give him tonight and if there is leftovers we can give him less and so on.
I dont really cage them when they eat. I wake them up and let them run around while i clean the dish, put new food in the cage and show all of them there is fresh food. Cici normally eats right away, Dids will sometimes eat (really depends on how much of a kibble search he has performed, i think), The food in Baby Legs cage is removed so Dids or him can't eat it. Then typically before they fall asleep i will put them in front of it and maybe put a spoon full in front of em again.
Ok, they always have fresh food. Its changed 3 times a day, around 6-7am, 12-1pm and 7-8pm.
He has not lost an excessive amount of weight. My girlfriend doesn't notice but i can, its pretty subtle. He was very very skinny being fed cat food and we dont think he was kept very well. He has been on zupreem since we got him and we feeding him vitamins (sugary bad ones, like we now know is bad now but we thought it was good for him being so skinny)
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Post by Deleted on Sept 6, 2011 7:34:20 GMT -5
Only new thing to report is that Baby Legs ate right off the spoon with very very little resistance. About 4 tablespoon fulls. SO PROUD!!
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Post by Deleted on Sept 6, 2011 12:44:44 GMT -5
Last night was the first time he ate of a spoon and about two-three tablespoons full. To be honest i'm really regulating how much kibble he eats at night but he only gets it at night and is separated from the other two all night. He ate about 5 tablespoons so far today and i plan to get another two or more before bed. I will weigh what we give him tonight and if there is leftovers we can give him less and so on. This sounds perfect I dont really cage them when they eat. I wake them up and let them run around while i clean the dish, put new food in the cage and show all of them there is fresh food. Cici normally eats right away, Dids will sometimes eat (really depends on how much of a kibble search he has performed, i think), The food in Baby Legs cage is removed so Dids or him can't eat it. Then typically before they fall asleep i will put them in front of it and maybe put a spoon full in front of em again. Ok, they always have fresh food. Its changed 3 times a day, around 6-7am, 12-1pm and 7-8pm. That sounds fine to me. They don't have to be caged when they eat (they can't really stash soup around your house anyways) - you just might find once we graduate them to larger meat pieces or bones that you'll get some stashing around the house ;D I think you mentioned earlier that they aren't really eating the soup overnight? Is this loose soup or ice cubes? Are they eating any food overnight? He has not lost an excessive amount of weight. My girlfriend doesn't notice but i can, its pretty subtle. He was very very skinny being fed cat food and we dont think he was kept very well. He has been on zupreem since we got him and we feeding him vitamins (sugary bad ones, like we now know is bad now but we thought it was good for him being so skinny) Oh okay, that sounds fine to me then. And he is eating the chunks and soup (it's not like he refuses to eat them) so I am sure he's self-regulating. Ferrets won't starve themselves, generally, but if you find he's losing too much weight or seems like he isn't eating enough soup - this just means you might have to spoon feed him more during the day until he gets better at eating it on his own.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 6, 2011 12:49:51 GMT -5
Only new thing to report is that Baby Legs ate right off the spoon with very very little resistance. About 4 tablespoon fulls. SO PROUD!! YAY BABY LEGS!!!! Now the next step with Baby legs is to increase the amount of soup he's eating off the spoon and very slowly "teach" him to eat the soup off a plate. Sort of like you do with Dids, luring him to the plate with the spoon. Once we can teach baby legs to eat off the plate and have him eating enough soup during the day, what we can do is try replacing his kibble with raw soup one night and see if he'll eat that on his own. But first let's get him eating more spoonfuls during the day and off a plate As for dids and Cic - have you increased the size of the chunks in the soup yet? They both seem to be doing quite well so I'm going to say let's increase the chunk size every 3 days now and hopefully in a week or two we'll have them eating fairly large chunks.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 6, 2011 16:50:00 GMT -5
They are getting soup over night and chunks. Neither really seem to get eaten. Well that isn't true i think this morning the plate was pretty empty. Its not in cube, they didn't seem to respond to it but i can try again tonight for sure.
We are still babying Dids with the spoon feedings and some hand feeding of the chunks. Today he did appear to eat on his own a bit more than usual, he has prolly had 3 or 4 pieces of kibble (that he stole not from us giving it to him) in the last week or so. He might be feeling that the kibble is hopeless. With Baby Legs making progress we might be able to get rid of it all together very soon.
Do ferrets seem to like the freeze dried raw without much resistance? We are thinking of getting some just incase. We live in florida and may get hit by a hurricane at some point and it would be nice to have some food handy.
I got Baby Legs to eat off the plate today. I fed him in my lap and slowly put him on the ground and let go, and he stayed still so after refilling the spoon a few times i kept drawing him closer to the plate and viola he ate out of it.
I'm still leaving the soup kinda runny but i'm putting balls of the ground chicken around the outside of the plate with the soup in the middle and it seems to be working. Cici and Dids are eating both chunks of meat and the soup separate. I think Dids likes the whole food chunks more than the soup, Cici might as well. Maybe thursday i will put some chicken wing pieces in there and see what happens.
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