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Post by Sherry on Sept 20, 2012 8:31:51 GMT -5
They really are very good at it! I'm glad the prep H is working for her, and hopefully the added eggshell is just what she needs
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Post by bitbyter on Sept 21, 2012 8:28:01 GMT -5
It continues to amaze me how intelligent ferrets are:
First day of Prep H application = struggling, fear, clawing and general distrust of the whole process.
Day 2 = very little stuggling, a bit of whimpering during application.
Day 3 = No hesitation to me applying it and she actually clentched to push out her hemeroids so that I can apply the Prep H more throughly.
For an animal with a skull and brain the size of a ferrets to catch onto the fact that something that unusual and initially painfull is benificial to them, that quickly just astondes me.
Bottomeline (no pun intended), the Prep H and added eggshell have done their job. I'd say she is 90% back to normal (for her at least).
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Post by Sherry on Sept 21, 2012 8:58:59 GMT -5
Good, I'm glad they are helping her And yes- they are VERY bright!
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Post by bitbyter on Sept 22, 2012 19:45:27 GMT -5
We are now officially onto slivers, 90% ground & 10% soup. I just witnessed Socks eating slivers of chicken thigh. Most of the plate is gone so I am assuming Wilma has been eating them as well.
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Post by Sherry on Sept 22, 2012 20:23:37 GMT -5
That is excellent Keep pushing them right now. They've finally accepted slivers are actually food, so keep increasing the size every couple of meals.
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Post by bitbyter on Sept 23, 2012 7:22:38 GMT -5
Wilma is currently chowing down on a mix of slivers and ground. No soup at all in this meal and she had no hesitation in eating it. Socks is currently sleeping but I have no worries that she will eat whatever Wilma leaves behind.
So...next steps? How do I make the transition from ground / slivers to bone in meats?
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Post by Sherry on Sept 23, 2012 11:13:00 GMT -5
It sounds like they've turned a corner! Okay- next step is to increase the size of slivers, phase out the ground, and get them chewing They'll need to exercise their jaws to be able to crunch bone. Kind if like if the only fitness program you had was walking or cycling and then tried weight lifting. If you started with 200lbs you'd not be able to, so you work up to it. But with ferrets it doesn't take as long.
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Post by bitbyter on Sept 23, 2012 16:55:21 GMT -5
Ok, I'll start weaning them off the ground and up the slivers. I'm going to start introducing Chicken Gizzard slivers as well since I have a ton of them in the freezer and they should help with their jaw strength. Maybe I'll start them on a mouse / rat soup as well as I want to make sure their getting their organs and I need to introduce them to these protein sources since I have them in the freezer.
Current Weights:
Wilma = 1lb 12.5oz (down 1/2 ounce)
Socks = 1lb 8oz (no change)
To me it looks like they have settled into the amounts that they want to eat. The plate of ground and slivers from this morning was completely empty just now. Going to feed them again in a few hours for the evening. Since we started the switch to raw, Socks seems to be perminantly up 2 oz and Wilma seems to be hovering around the same intial weight although she did spike at one point.
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Post by Sherry on Sept 23, 2012 17:11:53 GMT -5
Mine adore their gizzards ;D It would definitely be a good way to use them up. And the gizzards have some dental benefits as well, once they start chewing. While increasing the slivers you can also try hand feeding larger bits as well to see if they'll accept them yet.
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Post by bitbyter on Sept 24, 2012 8:44:15 GMT -5
So I put a half a finely chopped quail (retail, so no feathers or organs) into their ground last night but they only ate a tiny amount. I think the smell might have been to different for them. This morning I switched to 1 chopped gizzard with the ground and someone was chowing down on it when I walked by a little later so I think that may be a better option at this stage.
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Post by Sherry on Sept 24, 2012 9:26:05 GMT -5
Yeah, the quail is too different right now. You can, however, start adding in a good bit less than what you added last night to get them used to different flavours at the same time And that's great about the gizzard!
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Post by bitbyter on Sept 25, 2012 8:29:18 GMT -5
They are making really great progress at the moment. Last night was ground chicken / turkey & 1 chopped gizzard with just a bit of soup to make it wet, a sprinkling of eggshell and 1/2 tsp of pumpkin. About 2.5 to 3 oz and nothing was left this morning.
Wilma will bang the plate about if the mix is a little dried out in protest but if I ignore her she will eat it (picky little bugger).
This morning they got 1 gizzard, 1 quarter of chopped quail & 1 oz of ground chicken / turkey with just a touch of soup and water to make it wet. They immediately chowed down and I could even hear them chewing the bones in the quail!! They also no longer have any reservations about taking larger pieces off the plate and working on them with their back teeth.
I think tonight I may offer a baby chick and see what happens (I may chop it a bit to encourage them).
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Post by Sherry on Sept 25, 2012 9:21:35 GMT -5
It does sound like they are ready to ditch the ground for straight chunks now! Once they are accepting if that you can start adding in mice, etc.
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Post by bitbyter on Sept 25, 2012 10:57:51 GMT -5
I'm a little nervous about the jump to chunks as the soups and ground have everything they need in it (organs, muscle meat and simulated bone). Should I try them on straight organ slivers first to see if they will eat them?
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Post by Sherry on Sept 25, 2012 22:17:39 GMT -5
Go for it You are going to need to get them on separate liver/organ and heart anyway. Just keep in mind a ferret can go for up to about 6 months before dietary deficiencies show up!
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