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Post by Deleted on Sept 6, 2011 22:49:54 GMT -5
It's very possible your ferrets just don't like to eat much overnight, but keep offering the food overnight anyways that way if they're hungry, it's there. Mine actually LOVE the freeze-dried. Took to it right away and most do. You can either feed it re-hydrated (soaked in water) or dry. Some only like it one way but mine like it both. Definitely something you want to have on hand for hurricanes! For Dids and Cici I'd say you can definitely try some bigger chunks and the chicken wings again at this point if they don't take to the bigger pieces or bone, we just keep trying until they do - like we did with baby legs and the raw soup Yay Baby Legs! I am so proud! Keep doing exactly that - and then once he seems like he's eating enough soup during the day we can replace the kibble with soup one night and see what happens. I just don't want him to starve, but if he eats enough soup during the day then even if he doesn't touch it overnight he'll be fine for the one night. But you know him best so keep it up and when you think he's eating enough on his own, let me know and we'll try taking away the kibble Let me know how Dids and Cici do with the chicken wings!
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Post by Deleted on Sept 8, 2011 7:42:33 GMT -5
We didn't leave any soup overnight just the ground chicken leg quarters rolled into sticky balls for them to take and hide. Most of it was gone but alot was hidden. Cici and Dids appear to be much more interested in that than the soup. We are going to try a chicken wing cut up this afternoon.
Baby Legs gave us a little fight last night, no pee though, eventually he started to eat off my finger then the spoon then ate off the spoon which was on the plate.
This morning he was a bit more cooperative and actually left as if he was done eating then came back to eat off the plate and actually hid some food!!!!! He is moving forward at a reasonable pace at this point.
Tomorrow we might try a cut up heart and maybe a liver. If they aren't eating the soup then they goin need those. Not super worried about the bone because of the ground chunks i'm feeding them does have bone in it.
My girlfriend might buy a Cornish game hen, you said those are good for rib cage bones and stuff so we can try that one of these days as an alternative for chicken.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 9, 2011 0:52:19 GMT -5
We didn't leave any soup overnight just the ground chicken leg quarters rolled into sticky balls for them to take and hide. Most of it was gone but alot was hidden. Cici and Dids appear to be much more interested in that than the soup. We are going to try a chicken wing cut up this afternoon. If they seem to be taking to the whole foods more than the soup, by all means offer them the bigger chunks / chicken wings / etc. I think at this point they've been eating the soup regularily enough and the bigger chunks/slivers regularily enough that they are ready to start trying bigger pieces and building up their jaw strength Baby Legs gave us a little fight last night, no pee though, eventually he started to eat off my finger then the spoon then ate off the spoon which was on the plate. Good work It is normal for them to have stubborn days, and it sounds like you handled it well This morning he was a bit more cooperative and actually left as if he was done eating then came back to eat off the plate and actually hid some food!!!!! He is moving forward at a reasonable pace at this point. That's excellent Keep it up. I would say at this point if you wanted to sneak just the tiniest sliver or two of meat into his soup just to see if he would give it a try and taste it, go for it. If not, we can very slowly make the soup a teeny tiny bit thicker. He still has the kibble in his cage at night right? I think it might be time to give removing the kibble one night a try too, if you feel he is up to it (ferrets can go overnight without food with no issue as long as they are healthy - which baby legs is). So see if one day you can get him to eat as much soup as he will, then right before you go to sleep remove the kibble, and leave soup in the cage. Then spoon feed baby legs first thing in the morning and if he hasn't touched the soup overnight he should be hungry enough to really eat on his own that day. Let me know how he does though, because if he doesn't eat a lot, we can always put the kibble back in the next night and then try again later Tomorrow we might try a cut up heart and maybe a liver. If they aren't eating the soup then they goin need those. Not super worried about the bone because of the ground chunks i'm feeding them does have bone in it. Sounds like a perfect plan to me. We want to work on getting them a taste for the hearts and organs as eventually one meal per week will consist of just organs and at least one of just hearts, so we need to make sure they will eat them up My girlfriend might buy a Cornish game hen, you said those are good for rib cage bones and stuff so we can try that one of these days as an alternative for chicken. Sounds like a plan to me Just keep keeping me updated daily, and we should have them moving along with the switch in no time now that they all are on the right track and picking up momentum
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Post by Deleted on Sept 9, 2011 11:15:54 GMT -5
I was thinking about removing him from the kibble tonight. I'm going to make sure he eats quite a bit of raw soup today so if he doesn't eat any over night he will still have eaten during the day. Last night they all fell asleep together outside of the cage, this hardly ever happens. Once we put them away Baby Legs was throwing a fit, so we gave him about 8 pieces of kibble, let him eat then he started again. So we ended up putting him in with the rest of them and he went right to sleep. Its time for them to all get on the same path.
Cici or Dids didn't really respond to the chicken wing pieces. They used to eat it and now they dont so i hope they aren't too into the soup that they aren't going to wanna make the switch to whole foods.
I'm scared because i got careless this morning and the babies go into some sugary hard candy, when i left for school. My girlfriend found half eaten candies on the floor. I dont know how much exactly but is this super terrible? Should i wait and see if they are ok or take them to the vet soon?
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Post by Sherry on Sept 9, 2011 13:49:10 GMT -5
Don't mean to interrupt here, but give them some pumpkin, and watch for a blockage. They may have stashed it as well, so check the usual spots. If they get super hyper from the sugar you may have to take them in, but unlikely. Blockage isthe biggest risk
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Post by Deleted on Sept 9, 2011 17:29:28 GMT -5
THANK YOU!!!!
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Post by Deleted on Sept 10, 2011 23:40:08 GMT -5
Thank you Sherry for stepping in - I'm Sorry I did not reply sooner have been out all day and my phone app wasn't working As Sherry said - definitely treat it as a possible blockage. They should all be getting pumpkin (1/2 tsp - 1 tsp) every hour or so until you see nice orange poops - which you should then be checking for pieces of candy. Keep track of how many are missing and see if you can tell if they've all passed. Giving Vaseline is a good idea too (or tonic lax) especially if you don't find them stashed or if you start to see pieces passing in the stools. If they do pass pieces you will have to ensure all pieces have been passed. They can get "floating" blockages where they will seem fine but some pieces are still there floating around and can get stuck at any time. If anyone shows any signs of distress - straining to poop and not pooping, running in and out of the litter box, spaghetti thin poops, diarrhea, pawing at the mouth, vomitting, face rubbing (a sign of nausea) etc. Take them to the vet right away! And get a barium X-ray. Please do keep me updated how they are doing. Raw soup is the best to feed right now because it won't get caught up on a blockage. Skip the chunks until you know for sure they are okay. I will keep my fingers crossed they are all okay!
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Post by Deleted on Sept 11, 2011 7:24:42 GMT -5
Everything appears to be fine for now. They have been having orange poops but i haven't been really looking for the pieces but i will!!!
Cici does this really weird thing, since we got her, she paws at the air with her two front ones together. Its really adorable but i don't think its a problem.
Baby Legs has been off kibble for umm ... two days now. I dont know how much or if he is eating on his own at all but we have been spoon feeding him atleast twice a day. Sometimes they only get up in the morning and night. If he wakes up three times we are usually here to feed him. He appears to have the normal ridiculous amount of energy so i'm thinking he is ok.
I'm not a biologist and very new to ferrets but they all seem fine. Dids actually is doing better than his has in months the weight lose has been great for him so far. Not sure if he is losing anymore weight but he should start to put some muscle mass on once the fat is gone from the carbs and sugar.
Dids seems to wanna take the chunks of food into the litter box, i'm usually there to guide him to the paper bags but not always. It doesn't seem like it would be TOO much of a problem and its normally far away from poop. Its still not very sanitary so i try to not let him but i do find some food in there every now and again.
Good news, while i was writing this. I tried to spoon feed Baby Legs and he got all loosey goosey on me and ran for the plate and ate right off it!!!! Got a feeling in a few days time he should be eating on his own. I just read the part you said about the chunks but i had already fed them this morning. He did eat a few chunks already. The soup is almost watery and i just pour it over the small chunks and it seems to be working for al of them.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 11, 2011 10:58:09 GMT -5
I am so glad they all seem fine I am out of the city right now volunteering at a spay/neuter clinic on a native reserve So the reception sucks - I will reply a longer post later today but just wanted to let you know that's awesome news! Baby legs is doing great And stashing in the litter box is normal and unavoidable so no worries there If they all seem fine and are pooping normal giving the chunks should be fine
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Post by Deleted on Sept 11, 2011 18:45:28 GMT -5
I actually don't have much more to add, just keep up the wonderful progress with baby legs, did you say baby legs ate some chunks? Not sure if I read that wrong - but if so that's wonderful! Also fantastic that's he eating on his own a bit too and that he's off the kibble very proud! How big of chunks would you say Dids and Cici are eating now? Now our main goal is to increase the chunks and get them eating some bone, heart and organs so we can wean them off using the soup eventually. Let's start with getting them to eat a little bone and then we'll work on hearts and organs. Just to let you know I am going back to school (university) tomorrow so I'm probably going to be pretty wiped out with my body adjusting to that (health issues). I will still check in once a day , probably in the evening, but if you ever have another emergency medical question - start a separate thread, that way you'll get answers quicker just in case I don't see it for a few hours
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Post by Deleted on Sept 11, 2011 18:46:46 GMT -5
Just to clarify by "increasing chunks" I meant increasing the size of the chunks
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Post by Deleted on Sept 12, 2011 20:29:09 GMT -5
Well ever since i put baby legs in with the other two this has been fantastic. Baby Legs and Dids eat right off the plate with no issues what so ever. I will add bigger and bigger chunks, took out some pork rib tips. I will try and break up those bones but they are tough. The next day i'm going to try some more chicken wing bones cut into small pieces.
Yes baby legs is already eating chunks and is just amazing, we are so happy!!!
good luck going back to school. I started calc 1 on Aug 28 and its pretty crazy already.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 12, 2011 23:01:46 GMT -5
Wow that is so great!! I think maybe what Baby legs needed after all was to watch his brother and sister eat raw and that he learned from them ;D Let me know how the bones go and we'll go from there I just wanted to ask you... what kind of candies did they get into - hard candies as in those hard sugar candies that can dissolve or hard candies as in hard candies with nuts in it? All I have to say about Calculus is yuck! Good Luck! I started a really awful statistics course today. I'm pretty good at math but I absolutely hate it ;D
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Post by Deleted on Sept 14, 2011 17:08:13 GMT -5
They aren't eating the bones very much, if at all. Except for the small ones that are already ground into the chicken i use for soupie.
They were hard sugar candies (root beer flavor : P) I felt so irresponsible when my girl told me they got into them after i left for school. She normally wakes up when i'm on my way out the door and i guess she woke up late. I left them on the table in the living room (i know it was baby legs cause he the only one that can get on the couch). That smart little butt face must have knocked em of the table so they could all eat em too.
They should dissolve atleast that is what i think. We have no found any traces in the poop yet. Cici's poops are a little green, even a bit red at times, and sorta runny. but no signs of candies.
I tried some pretty big chunks a few days ago without much luck and this morning i used the same pork but smaller and they ate it all so i will take it a bit slower with the size of chunks.
The soup is still very watery, is that ok? I have just really been using it to pour over the chunks to make them wanna eat the chunks more. If the soup should be thicker just let me know. I add very little water when i make it but i just put some water into the plastic bag when its thawing mostly to help thaw faster in the fridge.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 14, 2011 22:59:39 GMT -5
So with the bone - let's take the same sort of course that were taking with the meat chunk sizes. They will eat the tiny pieces of ground bone so what I'll have you do is smashed up some bone and offer them pieces just slightly bigger that what they will currently eat. Offer some of the bone chunks every day and once they are eating the slightly bigger size, slowly increase the size every 2-3 days. As for the hard sugar candy - they should dissolve I think. I'll let you know of the other mentors say any differently though. I actually choked on one when I was younger, it got stuck in my throat and because it wasnt completely blocking my airway I just had to wait for it to dissolve. It was scary but they do dissolve. For the green poops with some red - did they start just after this incident? How were her poops prior? Is it bright red blood? That's perfect what you did with the meat chunks, slowly and steadily increasing the size is best For the soup - let's keep it watery. Your ferrets did not react well to the thicker soup so let's keep it as is and use it as a gravy and increase the chunk sizes AS WELL AS decrease the amount of soup you use on the chunks. Once we have them eating more bone, and eating the meat chunks with very little soup, you can stop using the soup all together. Sound good? Also, try some more hearts this week (with soup on top) and let me know how those go.
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