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Post by Deleted on Nov 25, 2012 22:22:45 GMT -5
So we are REALLY eating a ton now and have been all week - like, the 4 boys are eating about 35oz a day this week . At this rate they are REALLY gonna eat us outta house and home!!! If they keep eating at this rate we will have to buy 10 rabbits and 4 packs of pork organs a week for about $90 a week! We are def trying some ground turkey soup this week to see how Bandit takes to it.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 30, 2012 22:51:59 GMT -5
Have you done the turkey yet?
How comfortable would you be with maybe fasting your boys? Or restricting their soup for a day, giving them only a certain amount to try to encourage them to eat some slivers. Hunger is a great motivator.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 1, 2012 3:55:24 GMT -5
I'm getting more confident in holding food back for my boys (mostly because sometimes my BF and I simply work long hours so sometimes the boys have to go 10 hours or so without eating (and putting soupie in their cage is pointless as I always feed them before I leave so the soupie would go bad before they'd even attempt it I think). As for fasting them for a full day - don't know how I feel about this. IF their weren't any health issues involved I'd be on board, but there are 2 issues: Bandit - he is a sickie and there is the potential for insulinoma (he BG is rather low) so fasting him for a day scares me.....Tak - his health is unknown (and we haven't had him long enough yet to detect any possible issues) and as he is an adrenal baby there is always the possibility for insulinoma. Honestly, I think Tak would be OK as he is a light eater and grazer anyhow, but Bandit scares me. Before I'd be willing to do something like this I'd like to know how other insulinomic ferts do with fasting, or if it is even possible. As for the turkey - I have some but I've been busy this week and sick the other part of the week, so I've been a bit of a slacker I did just make another batch of soupie (should last us about 5 days I think) and I made it chunkier/less smooth. Honestly, do you think ferts would be more willing to eat thick soup or slivers? A couple of my boys won't really eat the chunkier soup - they eat all the liquid they can and leave the chunkier/meatier bits in the bowl (the lil weenies). Gotta say - gettin a little tired of my boys not wantin to get outta the soupie stage. I need to work harder at getting slivers in, I know, but I've got to get my BF to help out too (which is just about as difficult as it is to get my boys to eat chunks right now ). UPDATE: The boys are eating a ton this week, though they have their lighter days (like today at only 28oz). Bandit is the same. Pogo has finally put on some winter pudge and fluff and is super soft. Mischief still hasn't gained any weight nor a winter jacket. Tak looks about the same as he did when we brought him home (maybe a bit whiter).
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Post by Deleted on Dec 1, 2012 7:24:54 GMT -5
For me, I didn't have a lot of success with chunky soup. My girls like smooth soup.
Would it be possible to begin hand feeding slivers on a daily basis? Maybe before their breakfast or before they've had their biggest meal? Cover the slivers with soup and or oil something yummy. Scruff ferret and let them sit with their but on your lap (get a towel too) and gently push the piece into their mouth. I did this for a while but eventually my girls switched over.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 1, 2012 7:26:17 GMT -5
Also, I can have one of the more experienced mentors pop in if that isn't successful.
Maybe you could fast everyone except Bandit and Tak? And it also doesn't have to be a full on fast, but can just be a light day where you know they will be hungry when you attempt to feed slivers.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 2, 2012 2:43:45 GMT -5
Okie dokie - I know they are gonna give me a crazy hard time, but I'll try the hand-feeding of the slivers as soon as we go get some more rabbit (in the next couple of days). We have actually attempted this many times before, though we haven't actually *forced* the slivers in, but of course my boys will take the slivers and stash them somewhere (though they never go back to eat them). I know they recognize it as food but they simply won't chew it up. The lil weenies! As for the fasting, after attempting the slivers, on the next day I have off (so I can watch the boys) I'll try making them extra hungry and see if this helps with the slivers. I'll keep you posted! Paws crossed!
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Post by Sherry on Dec 3, 2012 18:36:53 GMT -5
Jackie is going to be away from the mentoring program for a while. I'll get you fitted up with an interim mentor tomorrow.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 3, 2012 22:55:05 GMT -5
OK. Is everything OK???
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Post by Sherry on Dec 3, 2012 23:09:54 GMT -5
Yeah, she just needs a bit of time away
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Post by Sherry on Dec 5, 2012 19:21:48 GMT -5
Sorry! Meant to post in here last night I'll take over your switch Give me a day to read through everything and then we can get moving!
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Post by Deleted on Dec 6, 2012 0:56:21 GMT -5
Not a problem Talk to you soon!
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Post by Sherry on Dec 7, 2012 11:04:32 GMT -5
Okay, had a quick look. May have to have you refresh me from time to time though ;D For now, pick ONE ferret to start progressing him onto slivers, etc. Take that one, and instead of letting him have the regular soup, hand feed a few slivers. No larger than the cresent on your pinkie nail. Do this every time before giving the soup. Also, can you slowly bring your soup to the consistency of a very wet ground meat? Not sure if you can access commercial raw, but that's what I've found most convenient for doing this. You start by mixing a very small amount into their regular soup and very slowly increasing the ratio of ground to puree.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 8, 2012 3:03:12 GMT -5
Will do on the slivers. I set some rabbit aside yesterday when I made their soupie and I cut it all up kinda small, so I'll be trying it out. My question here is - how long will these slivers stay good for in the fridge? Will they stay good for a week or only a couple of days?
As for the commercial grinds - I actually do have access to commercial raw, but the brands and types I've found locally aren't very well balanced and seem to have a lot of bad things added. I did find one kind (sorry, it has been a couple of months so I have forgotten what brand - and the store is about 40 minutes away) that seemed to be OK but it was CRAZY expensive - like a small 8oz tub for about $20. What kind of commercial raw do you use? Do you know of a good brand that can be found here in the States?
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Post by Sherry on Dec 11, 2012 20:06:57 GMT -5
Don't know why I just saw this now! So sorry Okay, the smaller meat is cut, the shorter a time it will keep. I tend to sliver the meat either for the day, or as I need it. I believe some good ones you can get there are Nature's Variety, Stella and Chewy's frozen raw, and Radcat to name three of them. The ones I use are either local, or strictly Canadian.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 12, 2012 0:51:57 GMT -5
Is OK, everyone is a bit busy this time of year As for the slivers, cutting them daily will be a problem as we buy whole (cleaned) rabbits and after they thaw we butcher them and make them into soup. Due to limited freezer space and time issues we make soup in bulk, usually 7 batches at a time, and freeze them in small containers. We do this about 1-2 times a week. I could keep a couple of the *filet* strips in the fridge to sliver up if the *filets* will keep until our next butchering time (usually 4-7 days), but I don't know if they will last any longer this way. We are wanting to switch our boys over to another protein as our rabbit/pork soup is rather pricey, but we thought doing slivers first might be a better route. Should we switch proteins first you think? If so, I was thinking turkey, but I will be taking it slow with Bandit as he has a chicken allergy. I've heard raw fowl isn't as hard on an allergy prone fert, but I still worry about him with all his issues. As for the slivers themselves, the boys aren't absolutely opposed to them, especially if they are as small as you mentioned. But heaven forbid they get a small chunk of meat in their soup, they take that chunk somewhere to stash it straight away (and leave it there). Scruffing isn't something any of my boys take well to, so we are going to have to work on that. As for the commercial raw you mentioned, I have actually seen each of these brands in a pet food warehouse about 45 min away from me. They are on the pricier side, but if my boys don't absolutely plow thru them I'm not opposed to buying them. But when I looked at the ingredients in them they didn't seem very balanced or really very healthy for ferrets. Am I looking at the wrong flavor maybe??? Should I get the dog version or the cat version?
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