|
Post by Sherry on Jul 29, 2012 13:07:08 GMT -5
I figured I'd document the switch for 7 month old Cody, and 2 yr old Judge, Indie, and Odin. By putting this here, people new to the world of raw feeding can access it easier than scrolling through all the material.
Day 1.
I mixed up some of the commercial raw I have on hand with enough warm water to make it really soupie. Cody first. Because he's only 7 months I felt comfortable in removing his kibble first thing this morning. I tried giving him the soup mix about 5 hrs later from the spoon on my lap first. He wanted nothing to do with it. I proceeded to scruff and rub a wee bit on his gums so he had to taste it 3 or 4 times then put him back on his feet on my lap and offered some from my finger. He licked it off, albeit reluctantly. We continued with this until he'd had about a tsp, still quite reluctant.
With the 3 older boys, I only removed the kibble for an hour ahead of time, to make sure the raw and kibble didn't mix.
Judge Again offering first from the spoon. No go. I was able to get him tasting the soup simply by dabbing some on his nose 2 or 3 times. He then had some offered from the finger, and finally took it from the spoon on my lap. He had about a tbsp.
Odin This lad put up a fight. It took about 5 minutes just to get him to taste it. I finally had to scruff and tuck his body under my arm. Silly lad- as soon as he tasted it he realized he liked it! I set him back in his feed in my lap and didn't even have to hold him as he willingly ate about 2tbsp worth ;D
Indie Again, only had to dab it on his nose a couple if times before he started reluctantly accepting the mix from my finger. As he took it more willingly we switched to the spoon. He ate about 2 tsp.
|
|
|
Post by Heather on Jul 29, 2012 18:31:53 GMT -5
You show them Odin ;D Typical reaction though for the rest. Good luck . ciao
|
|
|
Post by Sherry on Jul 30, 2012 9:07:57 GMT -5
Day 1- evening meal All ate well from the spoon. Cody at approx 1 tbsp. Judge and Indie had about 2 tbsp each. And Odin did best of all. He had about 3 tbsp and the last half from the dish itself, rather than from the spoon. All needed a reminder of what it was by a dab of it on the nose end, but that was it.
|
|
|
Post by Sherry on Jul 30, 2012 21:39:47 GMT -5
Day 2 am. All 4 boys have accepted the soup from the spoon with a bit of coaxing. They need to be "primed" with a taste, but I'm not getting the reluctance I had yesterday. For Cody, since he's so young I've made the decision to remove his kibble during the daytime and leave him with the raw. He'll get his kibble back at night time to be certain he's getting enough nutrition. With the 3 two yr old boys, I am still only removing their kibble maybe an hour before offering the raw. Since I don't know the background of these boys I don't want to risk a latent insulinoma coming to the forefront. They are all eating between one and 2 tbsp from a spoon on my lap.
|
|
|
Post by Sherry on Jul 31, 2012 8:53:08 GMT -5
All took the soup from a plate on my lap!!! Cody only had about a tsp then had to be spoon fed to a total of about 1 tbsp. Judge and Indie had to be started with the spoon, then had another tbsp+ from the dish. Odin, good boy, ate about 3 tbsp straight from the dish with no coaxing
|
|
|
Post by Sherry on Aug 1, 2012 9:19:58 GMT -5
day 3 am:
Had to work early today, so didn't have time to sit and hand feed. I gave them their kibble instead.
Day 3 pm: Fed all 4 boys, and all 4 ate very well from the dish! I'll do this for the next couple of days, then start them eating from the dish on the floor. This step will help them learn to eat on their own when the dish is put into the cage.
|
|
|
Post by bluephoenix416 on Aug 1, 2012 12:45:20 GMT -5
You make it look to easy! I tried the scruff & sample with one of our younger girls (about 2 years old), Snickerdoodle & she wanted nothing of it! I'll get her to switch though.
|
|
|
Post by Sherry on Aug 1, 2012 14:03:02 GMT -5
It can take them a while to get the idea the most important thing is perseverance. I still say the biggest obstacle to getting your ferret eating a raw diet is your own mindset. If you are determined they ARE going to eat raw, then they WILL eat raw. You just have to do what is needed to get them there. And don't forget- I've switched(with these) 14 of my own, and helped countless others through the mentoring program
|
|
|
Post by Sherry on Aug 1, 2012 14:08:40 GMT -5
Day 4 am:
I thought I'd try a little experiment today and push Judge, Indie, and Odin a wee bit. I mixed up the meat mush, put it onto a plate and set it on the floor. I brought all 3 boys in that group to it and just showed them the dish without offering a taste first. They all sniffed at it a bit first, then dug in!!! So, since they now know for sure this is food, I've removed the kibble from the cage and set the remains of their breakfast in. Last I checked they were wandering up, eating a bit, then leaving. I'll see how much is left when I get home, but I have a feeling it won't be much ;D Little Cody on the other hand Had about a tsp or so from the dish on my lap then needed to be spoon fed some more. I put the remains of his meal in with him and will check to see if he's eaten when I get home.
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Aug 1, 2012 15:06:28 GMT -5
You're making some great headway Sherry! I have a question though and wanted to see what you'd recommend doing. All 6 of mine will eat raw grind soupy, but some of us would rather have kibble and will fill up on t if it's available and only eat a little soup. Others hold off waiting to see if there's going to be soup for dinner/breakfast and if not, they then go have some kibble. Should I pull out their kibble entirely during the day/night or just leave a little laying around for them? I want them to be hungry and accept that this is their food now and stop clinging to kibble. It may also help with some runny poops from tummy upset from eating kibble and raw too soon together. But I know they should have access to food constantly as well.
|
|
|
Post by bitbyter on Aug 1, 2012 15:24:28 GMT -5
From what I've read, the only real reason to have food constantly available are for those ferrets who have or have the chance of developing insulunoma. If the ferrets are healthy there should be no problems with them going hungry for a few hours. Several people on the forum who raw / whole prey feed only really feed in the morning and evening. Mind you if it's whole prey they tend to leave it in the cage until it's gone. No sure about leaving soupies or raw grinds / parts in the cage until eaten.
|
|
|
Post by Sherry on Aug 1, 2012 15:49:54 GMT -5
I leave the grind in for the day. Once it starts to get a crust they won't eat it, but I have removed that crust and fed the rest later in the day with my others. That, however, I'd hold off on doing until they've been on raw for a while. The longer they eat raw, the stronger the stomach acids become. With yours, try leaving the mince in the cage with them for the day as long as they will eat it on their own. If you still have to spoon feed to get enough into them, then give the kibble back after a couple hours.
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Aug 2, 2012 12:48:12 GMT -5
You're progressing really fast with all of your boys Sherry! It's kind of tempting me to try ground up soupies with Sushi. Lol.. May I ask what kind of commercial raw you're using? Is it the Wysong Archetypal 1 or something else? Once my new Wysong shipment arrives I believe I might try adding a little ground meat in, bit by bit, to see how she'll react to it. When I got her on the Wysong it really only took about 2 tries before she started eating it willingly, but then again she can be a bit more difficult with other things like chicken baby food or eggs. I don't think she likes the smell of chicken baby food at all, but seems to accept turkeya tiny bit more because it's less stinky. Lol
|
|
|
Post by Sherry on Aug 2, 2012 14:01:00 GMT -5
It's actually a raw mince. It's called "essentials" by Arusha. Canadian company.
|
|
|
Post by Sherry on Aug 3, 2012 8:43:10 GMT -5
Day 4 pm:
Again, Judge, Indie and Odin went to town on a dish of raw mince on their own. They are now eating approx. 6-7 oz together per meal. I left some kibble in overnight. Cody ate about 2 tbsp, mostly hand fed. Acted like he was starving when the dish of kibbles was put back into the cage.
Day 5:
I left the older 3 with just a dish of raw mince. They'd finished it on their own within about 6 hours!!! Again for the evening meal, same thing. This will have been the last night these three boys have kibble in their diet. On Saturday I'm going to start introducing slivers of real meat into their mince. Cody, stubborn boy, has basically stalled where he is at. He will eat a tbsp or two hand fed. For now, I'll keep him there until he's consuming more. He will continue to get his kibble at night to make sure he gets enough nutrition.
|
|