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Post by Deleted on Mar 11, 2012 17:29:43 GMT -5
I made my first attempt at convincing Bode that eating pinkies was okay. He looked at me like I was nuts at first, then I put ferretvite on the pinkie (came with him..I hate the stuff, but he thinks it is good and I figured giving it once wouldn't hurt if it got him eating mice) and he licked it off. OVER AND OVER. I finally gave up and stuffed it in his mouth, but he spat it at me. By that point the pinkie had ruptured and I figured he might eat it... no go. I even tried hiding it in kibble. So I gave it to the dog, who also thought I was nuts at first. She isn't one to reject a treat, though, and after a few attempts figured out how to chew the texture of it and ate it, then looked on the floor for another one. During said epic fail, I did get this picture-  |
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Post by Deleted on Mar 11, 2012 17:31:43 GMT -5
Oh my! Picky little fuzz butt.
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Post by lumene on Mar 11, 2012 17:33:05 GMT -5
Penne won't eat mice either, I've been blending pinkies in her soup...
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Post by Deleted on Mar 11, 2012 17:36:21 GMT -5
He didn't care when I added a new kind of kibble, he ate it right away. But god forbid I try to feed him meat that isn't in little nuggets!
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Post by Heather on Mar 11, 2012 18:00:34 GMT -5
I've heard of people having to put the mice in the blender and making it into a soupy before the little bums will taste them. My brat, Minion has taken to eating only the heads off the mice  ciao |
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Post by Deleted on Mar 11, 2012 18:02:38 GMT -5
I haven't even tried giving Bode any kind of duck soup yet, so I bet he would turn up his nose at me.
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Post by Heather on Mar 11, 2012 18:06:05 GMT -5
Did you try "breading" the mouse (I've never had any success with this but others have)
ciao
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Post by Deleted on Mar 11, 2012 18:11:38 GMT -5
Breading? I'm not sure what that is.
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Post by Heather on Mar 11, 2012 18:13:19 GMT -5
Grind up kibbles, dip the rodent and then roll the rodent in the ground kibbles....as in "breading" chicken parts only you're breading the rodent  ciao |
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Post by Deleted on Mar 11, 2012 18:31:01 GMT -5
I will try that next time. I did try sticking kibble to the pinkie. Didn't help. It wasn't fully covered though.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 11, 2012 19:56:54 GMT -5
Having grown up with a mother that forced me to eat things that were not appealing, I come from the perspective that forcing an animal to eat something new will only enforce their resolve to NOT eat the item. Some ferrets do switch in one bite, others take creativity, lots of patience, many wasted offerings. But in the end it HAS to be their decision to begin eating it. I still have a physical aversion to many of those awful "good for you" items!
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Post by Sherry on Mar 11, 2012 20:50:45 GMT -5
Mine didn't touch mice until they'd been in raw for quite a while. Only way I could get them to start was chopping up pinkies and mixing the bits in with their meat.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 11, 2012 21:51:27 GMT -5
I wasn't trying to force him or upset him, I just stuck it in there when he opened his mouth (he was licking off some ferretvite). I read elsewhere that putting soupie on the gums of a ferret can convince them to eat it because they like the taste.. the goal was to make him taste it.
He didn't approve though, I guess. I will keep trying different foods and am definitely switching to at least a better kibble (EVO and epigen mix).
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Post by Heather on Mar 11, 2012 22:03:50 GMT -5
I knew of one lady who tied a string to the frozen mouse and had her wee one chase the silly mouse on the string. He eventually ate it after totally mutilating it (now remember it was frozen and very dead). Just saying that for where there's a will there's a way...it's just finding it   ciao |
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Post by Deleted on Mar 11, 2012 22:06:29 GMT -5
I will find it then! Haha. He's a good little guy and I bet eventually he'll be eating most of what I offer him. He was fed nothing but kibble before I got him (although he sure seems to be a good cheerio vaccum! I have to follow him around at my mom's to take any cereal he finds away before he eats it) and probably has very little exposure to meat in any form. Maybe he will like cooked meat. Worth a try, my mom usually has cooked chicken around so I will try to get some for him soon. Then he could get used to a new food.
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