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Post by Deleted on Feb 11, 2012 14:29:20 GMT -5
As far as I'm aware he's pooping like the others, I've seen him poop occasionally, but he's kinda of funny- he doesn't like it if me or another ferret is watching, he'll keep backing up into corners to go, but as soon as he clocks someone nearby, he stops and goes somewhere else ;D Think it's litter box training gone ott!
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Post by Deleted on Feb 14, 2012 11:49:57 GMT -5
Okay, so now they are all eating everything properly, I've decided that I'm going to throw a spanner into the works (though hopefully not into their bellies), and change things around a little bit. Though rabbit itself is quite cheap, I'm having to order it online and the delivery cost is £10 a week, making my food bill ridiculously high, so I'm going to try and trade some of the rabbit for other stuff. If I cut out the whole prey altogether, and replace with frankenprey, is that much less beneficial than whole prey, or if done properly, is it okay?
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Post by Sherry on Feb 14, 2012 14:51:59 GMT -5
Whole prey is obviously the "ideal" when it comes to feeding ferrets. That, however, is not practical for most. And yes, you can do it all just fine with no prey animals at all just add about 1/2 tsp of pumpkin or some sort of squash to replace the nondigetibles like fur every couple of days you can even use iceberg lettuce instead. Toss it in the freezer to break down the cell walls and add about the same amount of that instead!
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Post by Deleted on Feb 14, 2012 17:46:45 GMT -5
I might do the iceberg lettuce thing, as pumpkin in a can doesn't seem to exist over here really. How many bone-in, boneless, organ and heart meals do they need a week? I'll go away and work out what works out best value and best nutrition I think, and then come back to you with a new proposed menu to check if it's all okay. I had a phone call earlier from the rescue- they're coming to inspect tomorrow, and references pending I should be able to go and collect the newest addition to my fur family Thursday And then start all over again with the raw on her. Hopefully she'll pick it up quite quick as she's very thin, and apparently is eating wet cat food, biscuits and raw egg quite happily.
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Post by Sherry on Feb 14, 2012 20:16:58 GMT -5
Good rule of thumb for frankenprey diets are 4days consumable bone, 2 days muscle meat, of which at least one MUST be heart, one meal of approx 2 oz of liver and 2oz another organ. Last meal can be whatever you like(other than organ) And add in about 1/2 tsp of the wilted lettuce every couple of days and you're good!
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Post by Deleted on Feb 15, 2012 4:54:52 GMT -5
Okay, I'll try and work out something today when I go to the pet store and get back to you. I've heard that you shouldn't feed pork, but I have no idea why- is this true?
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Post by Sherry on Feb 15, 2012 9:05:29 GMT -5
At one time, raw pork ran the risk of transmitting the parasite trichonosis. Since the way the pigs are reared has been cleared up, that's disappeared. However, all you'd have to do is deep freeze the meat for a couple of weeks, even if it DID have it. That destroys most parasites My guys adore their pork ;D They'd probably revolt if I quit feeding it
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Post by Deleted on Feb 15, 2012 14:00:53 GMT -5
Okay, that's good to know about the pork then.
I have a couple of questions:
1) They won't eat any medium sized or big bones, they chow down on whole mice, but mostly pick the meat off of the rabbit thighs and stuff they've been getting. I know that long-term this is bad because they aren't getting enough bone in their diet, but if it takes a few weeks to get them to eat it all properly, will that do them much harm, and should I give them a supplement of something else too?
2) The little girl (still not named her yet) that I'm going to pick up tomorrow is eating kibble, but don't know how she's going to be with raw. She's very underweight, and I'm a bit worried that she might lose more weight if I try and switch her to raw right away. What would you recommend? Try her first and see how she does, or keep feeding her the kibble until she gains weight?
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Post by Deleted on Feb 20, 2012 11:23:14 GMT -5
Well Penny has started herself on the raw, so that was no worry really. She sniffed at their bowl for the first meal, and then went back to her kibble, the second day was the same but she tried licking some of the blood off it, and then went back to her kibble. On the third day it was a whole prey day, and she decided that mice were tastier than nasty kibble and ran off with one and hasn't touched her kibble since They still aren't really eating the bone on the bone in days with the chicken or rabbit, they just knaw the meat off. I keep keep feeding them ground bone-in mince, but then they won't get the benefits of cleaner teeth, will they? Or will they? Bit worried after reading Kpaz's story with Goomba that IF a calcium defiency was the cause of his bad reaction (but her vet sounds like an idiot), then my little ones might start suffering quite quickly too? Also, is there anything I can add to their food to help Penny gain weight as she's really skinny from being a rescue?
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Post by Sherry on Feb 20, 2012 11:27:58 GMT -5
With the bone, try smashing it up for them. That's what I had to do with mine. I used a cleaver and chopped it up. Still do that with chicken legs/thighs. Congrats on the new girl picking it up so fast That's fantastic! To get some weight on her quickly, make sure she gets some fatty cuts. Chicken with skin, duck and lamb are quite fatty. Rabbit is actually a fairly lean meat.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 20, 2012 12:12:39 GMT -5
I have some lamb mince designed for dogs, but it's 100% meat (chicken and lamb), but they won't touch it, don't know why. I have some chicken legs and wings in the freezer, and I'll keep an eye out for duck, what about fatty for their boneless days? And can/Should I be rubbing oil into her belly to eat or anything?
She seems to be extra sneezy compared to the others too, one the first day I brought her home in about 15 minutes she'd had about ten sneezing fits, with about 7 or 8 sneezes each time. In the rescue they were covering the floor of their beds with straw, which I know makes my littlest sneeze like mad and get red-rimmed, water eyes, so I think this might be why, and I know ferrets are prone to being sneezy because they spend half their life with their noses in places they shouldn't be, but this seems extreme. She seems to be doing it less now though, and I haven't seen her do it today, do you think I should be concerned, or just give her a few more days to see if she gets any better or worse? She would have been neutered about a week before I got her, so the vet would have picked up any bad chest infections or pnuemonia I'm sure, so I doubt it's the tail end of anything serious.
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Post by Sherry on Feb 20, 2012 15:02:43 GMT -5
Odds are it was the dust from the straw causing some respiratory issues for her. Some are more sensitive to it than others. The vet likely wouldn't have picked up pneumonia, since it can only be diagnosed with an X-ray. Since it's slowing down, I'd just keep an eye on her for now.
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Post by Sherry on Feb 20, 2012 15:06:44 GMT -5
You could try mixing some of the mince with a bit if water and warming it slightly, see if they like that better. But with lamb, it seems they either live it or hate it. I frequently trim the skin and fat of meats we are having for dinner, and give those to the ferrets also. Adds a bit more for them. You can also see if she likes extra virgin olive oil. Fish oils are good as well.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 20, 2012 15:16:19 GMT -5
I frequently trim the skin and fat of meats we are having for dinner, and give those to the ferrets also I'm vegan so there's nothing to trim the fat off for them ;D I'll try adding a bit of oliver oil to their meals give her some vitaferret daily too. I'll try putting some warm water in with the mince, but I also brought a rabbit&chicken version of that brand and they haven't really eaten much of that either, though they eat the whole minced rabbit I get from a different place :/ The new stuff's not very bloody- maybe it doesn't smell right to them?
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Post by Sherry on Feb 20, 2012 18:45:17 GMT -5
That's what I was thinking with the water and warming it a bit. It will bring the odour out more for them. Oh- and by the way? Sometimes just changing brands is enough to put them off it
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