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Post by Deleted on Jan 28, 2012 17:31:33 GMT -5
So, tried something a little different -- scooped the marrow out from the marrow bones (weight-bearing bones so too dense I believe you told me), mashed it up into little pieces, added a teeny bit of freeze-dried (for a scent/taste they would recognize as food) and some warm water, then mashed/mixed into soupies. Freya is less than convinced that it is food and not poison, but ate some of the liquid mixture then dragged a chunk ("chunk" here = "sliver-sized chunk") off under my moms desk (they are downstairs playing instead of up in my room), licked it, and left it Marley ate a few sliver-sized chunks, but mostly stuck to the liquid -- but ate all liquidy parts! Soxx did the best! He ate most of the sliver-sized chunks in his, and drank all the liquid up....then went and ate half of what Freya left I know this is rather an improv and not something we talked about - I hope its okay! I have a bunch more marrow -- would it be beneficial to add some in to their regular soupies? Also, believe it or not, I have to make more raw meatcubes! is that ridiculous or what...after doing matht here was 83oz of chicken that I pureed with corresponding amounts of liver and heart Anything I should do differently this time? Update -- After chowing through TWO BOWLS of raw soupies/freeze dried (each bowl has probably 1 to 1.5 tablespoons of raw & freeze-dried, equal proportions) I gave Marley some straight-up raw...which, with encouragement via spoon-feeding occasionally, went right down as well! I'm not going to go to straight raw, but I think I may cut back on the freeze-dried in his soupies (Freya is not so sure).... What a good booger
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Post by Heather on Jan 28, 2012 22:56:11 GMT -5
The marrow is good for them, it will put weight on but don't be surprised if their stool is a bit runny....that's a lot of fat...so don't be overly concerned (unless it's really bad ) Pumpkin That is fantastic...great news. I would definitely let him eat the raw. Yes, when they get a handle on the raw, they're going to eat and eat and eat. Their little bodies demand that they do this because for the first it's getting what it really needs. Most people aren't aware how little kibbles fills their needs, until they do the switch. Ferrets eat two times sometimes 3x what they would normally eat at the beginning just making up for lost time. Let them eat it ;D Yes, at first it's difficult because it's so hard to know how much they will eat. You're moving them along nicely. There is no right or wrong way to do this..just so you know The only way is the ferret way ciao
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Post by Deleted on Jan 29, 2012 11:22:37 GMT -5
Just went and bought another chicken (seems to be the most cost-effective way and the only way to get all the bits organic), they didn't have chicken or pig liver but they did have calf liver so I got some of that. I'll be off to another store later today to find some hearts. I was going to put off making more raw til tomorrow...but I don't think I have enough to last me that long! I know we are just about out of freezedried except for a bit that is mixed with ground kibble
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Post by Deleted on Jan 29, 2012 12:06:19 GMT -5
I dont know what is up with the little bratlings None of them will eat their soupies this morning!! And they didnt eat what my mom fed them (mixed up by me) last night (I was at my boyfriend's house). It's been frozen, so I can't imagine it's gone bad?! And my petstore that sells their S&C is closed on Sundays I thought they were open and I finished the freeze-dried on their morning soupies WHICH THEY WILL NOT EAT. What is wrong with them/me?! I am at my wits end just last night Marley was eating the raw by itself for crying out loud I am having a bad morning my mom just keeps complaining about how she doesnt like raw and is not supportive in this endeavor at all. The kids are hungry, I can tell, but they wont eat what I give them!! What am I supposed to do?! I am so stressed I am literally crying. Can I use some groundup Epigen90? I know its kibble but I thought the petstore was open today UPDATE: with much coaxing & only through spoon-feeding, Freya & Soxx have eaten probably half as much as they normally do. Marley is still staunchly refusing to eat though Maybe I should try straight raw with him again? Since he ate it last night maybe he's all "WTF is this other taste!" I don't get it! I am worried they aren't getting enough food.. Also...Soxx is up and kicking Marley's butt again
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Post by Deleted on Jan 29, 2012 13:39:12 GMT -5
Update 2: Finally the other meatcubes thawed out. I tried Mar on some straight raw that was mixed with water...after much coaxing & spoon-feeding he ate probably between 1 and 2 tablespoons *phew* but still much much less than he has been eating So...maybe hes just saying..."HURRY UP WITH THE SWITCH MOMMMMM"
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Post by Deleted on Jan 29, 2012 16:38:04 GMT -5
Update 3 (sorry for the multitude!): Found a bag of canine S&C hidden in the cupboard. Mixed it in with their soupies and...VOILA....eating like pigs again I don't think they liked that there was even just the tiniest bit of kibble ground up in their soups this morning!!! picky lil buggers *eyeroll*
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Post by Heather on Jan 29, 2012 17:31:29 GMT -5
It's all about change. Be prepared there is going to be times like today where nothing appears to have changed and they go on strike. Take a step back, look at what's going on and re-evaluate. Chances are there was some small change that you didn't even think about. Sometimes it has nothing to do with the meat. Ferret switching can be very frustrating and it gets worse when you don't get support. There are also going to be days where they eat you out of house and home and others where they eat very little. They may not have been prepared with how full they felt last night after being such little piggies ;D. Just a word of warning, like small children the more upset you get the more they will misbehave or in this case not eat. Soxx is probably beating up Marley because he's hungry and in a bad mood. Ferrets are like that Have you got them eating now? ciao
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Post by Deleted on Jan 31, 2012 13:49:15 GMT -5
They have been eating like wee lil piggies It must have been because I changed the freeze dried..wow Guess they told me eh!! NO MORE OF THAT NASTY KIBBLES STUFF AGAIN MOM! (guess I will be extra sure to not run out this time!!!) Soxx is feeling better. He has been playing with the other two and actually getting into trouble...Right now he and Marley are playing and dooking...loudly :-*Although Marley and Freya get the prize for escaping from the parlor last night...my dad didn't get the door shut all the way Soxx slept through it but they found Freya in the living room then I found Marley upstairs in our cats litter box looked very content with himself as well, lil bugger! Anyway, I am finishing up freezing the soupies this evening...been a bit of a shortage of hearts around here. My dad is going about 45min away for a meeting tonight so I called the grocery stores there til I found one that sold them...everywhere around me is out oy! I'm being more particular this time and each meatcube is measured out to 1 tbsp. And I remembered to put the eggshell in this time It will be part chicken hearts and part turkey hearts since that's what I could find yesterday, and the liver this time is calves liver. Since they aren't eating the bone-in meat yet and I still have multiple bags of bone-in meat frozen from last week I de-boned the meat so as to make more soupies! At least I'm using more icecube trays than before
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Post by Heather on Jan 31, 2012 15:57:48 GMT -5
escapees got to love them ;D Wee little brats I'm so glad that Mr Soxx is starting to live the life of a ferret. It's always wonderful to see. Little piggies....hmm...sounds like maybe we should try something different....now. Up to you because you know your little ones. Do you want to try a different protein (turkey, pork, beef) or do you want to start adding little pieces to the soupy?? or thickening up your soupy. It's up to you but those are some of the possibilities. I think it sounds like your little ones have settled into their soupies very well. ciao
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Post by Deleted on Feb 1, 2012 14:41:49 GMT -5
What about weaning out the freeze-dried? My wallet would appreciate it ;D Or would it make more sense to introduce some sliver chunks into their soupies or thickening them before cutting back the fd? I have stopped adding quite as much water into Marley & Soxx's soups. Freya is being picky so I haven't messed with hers too much. Right now Marley gets probably 1.5 - 2 tablespoons raw to maybe .5-1 tbsp freeze-dried (he often gets seconds). Soxx gets about a 1 to 1 ratio. Freya gets a bit more freeze dried than raw (lil miss picky!!). Marley & Soxx require no spoon feeding but Freya won't chow down til she gets a taste from a spoon (or my finger)..then she licks the bowl clean! Their raw includes some pieces of skin that didn't get completely pureed, which seem to be going over pretty well. I just got really sick out of the blue...again...so I will probably wait to make any more changes 'til I'm feeling better. Darn stomach bug...and darn my lack of immune system!!!
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Post by Heather on Feb 1, 2012 14:45:21 GMT -5
That might be a good transition....lets try and wean out the Freeze dried stuff. I'd forgotten that was part of your mix. Get better, I've got a couple of friends who are immunity deprived, this is such a difficult time of year for them ciao
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Post by Deleted on Feb 1, 2012 22:06:36 GMT -5
Sounds like a plan. I'm going to keep things as-is until I start to feel better (hopefully tomorrow or the next day) because my mom has taken over feeding/caring for the ferts & I don't want to make it difficult on her.
Thanks!
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Post by Heather on Feb 1, 2012 23:31:24 GMT -5
Sounds good. Get better soon ciao
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Post by Deleted on Feb 2, 2012 13:46:37 GMT -5
They are all currently going to town on second helpings (even Freya!!) ...well, WERE going to town...Mar and Freya just finished, licked the bowls clean and sniffing for more! I can't hardly keep up...I am considering moving their fridge/freeze (yes, they have their own...mine from college hah) up to my room to save me the trips up and down the stairs! Of course now they're gonna hafta wait awhile for more...there's none defrosted!! Good thing I am feeling a wee bit better today Marley got about 2 tbsp raw to less than 1 tbsp freeze-dried..maybe .5 tbsp? (fd) both times -- licked bowl clean both times too! I have also decreased the amount of water that I mix into his and he gets more of a paste than soup now. Soxx got about 1.5-2 tbsp raw to 3/4 tbsp fd both times (only ate half of his seconds...Mar is now finishing them). Teeny bit less water, but still more soupies than paste. He has definitely been more active yesterday and today -- kickin butt (playfully), even played with me for once! Then this morning I caught him on top of one of their sleeping enclosures! (A new one for him, as he has always had more issues jumping up/climbing things than the other two.) ;D Still itching like crazy though. Should I try adding some EVOO to his soups? Freya had an increase in the amount of raw -- probably up to a bit more than 1 tbsp -- to about 3/4 tbsp FD. Same amount of water. Tomorrow I will probably start to cut back on her FD -- I don't have the patience for a hunger strike today I just realized -- I have been talking tablespoons while you live in Canada and don't use such measurements I believe? (Or maybe you do? I'm clueless...thanks US education system) Do you mind if I con't to use US measurements or do I need to switch to ounces, etc? I can eyeball a tbsp or tsp but def. cannot eyeball an oz. Hopefully more meatcubes will defrost soon...my little gluttons are sniffing their food bowls for more! How much can I defrost at one time? As much as I estimate I'll use in ~24hr?
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Post by Heather on Feb 2, 2012 14:34:44 GMT -5
;D ;D ;D Don't worry about the tbsps....I'm old, so I grew up cooking with those measurements. If you wanted to convert it would have to be in mls not oz. So don't bother Having to cover measurements from US measures (smaller than Canadian old measure) to Canada's metric system vs Australia's system and then there's the UK too. So no don't worry about it. I know what a tbsp is Sounds like your wee ones are doing just grand. When they first kick into this "real" food it's like they've never had food before. Watch as their coats get silky soft and their bellies get round and flubby ;D Their energy also goes for a boost too. It seems to happen in weeks. Another thing is they start looking for stimulation (trouble). I've had "dull" ferrets suddenly pick up and because very intelligent, problem solvers (not necessarily a good thing but fun to watch) It usually means that you have to re-look at your ferret proofing. You can defrost as much as you can use in 48 hrs if it's kept in the fridge. I package my foods in 2lb containers and thaw in the fridge (I too, have a delegated fridge for the wee ones (they have their own freezer too but they have to share it with the dog and the cats). You're probably going to find it difficult at the moment to keep up with the little ones appetites. ciao
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