Post by luci on Sept 27, 2008 2:22:20 GMT -5
1. How many ferrets do you currently have? What are their names, ages, genders, and do they have any health problems (this is VERY important)?
Fierra, female, 2 1/2 yrs, no health issues
Ghia, female, 2 yrs, no health issues
2. What are your ferrets currently eating? Include their main diet, plus any treats or supplements (such as duk soup).
The girls have been completely off kibble since Sept. 22, 2008. Their diet consists of chunks of pork, turkey and chicken blanched for about 5 seconds. I supplement with a mash of raw turkey dark meat, egg yolk, egg shell, chicken heart, chicken liver and chicken baby food. They will grudgingly eat small pieces of completely raw meat, but seem to greatly prefer it slightly blanched. It's not a temperature issue because they are perfectly happy to eat previously blanched meat straight out of the fridge and not so much with raw chunks either cold or warmed.
3. What kind of diet do you want to switch to?
Since I have access to a wonderful source of organic, free range, pasture fed meat at low to no cost I think a prey model is best for me although I'm not opposed to whole prey and will probably offer that eventually as a part of their diet.
4. Why do you want to switch to this more natural diet?
Because they deserve to get the best nutrition possible. If they could shop for themselves they never would have started on the junk their previous owner fed them. *shakes fist at sky*
5. Where/what/who got you interested in natural diets?
Common sense and reading commercial pet food labels.
6. Please list the current weight for your ferret(s). Do they appear overweight? Underweight? How is there muscle tone?
I don't know their exact weight, but I would say Fierra is 1 1/2 - 2 lbs and Ghia is 1 - 1 1/2 lbs. They are both slender. No excess fat, but Fierra has a little more of a belly than Ghia and is just more dense. Ghia is a fluffy little princess.
I think their muscle tone is good. I've been amazed on numerous occasions about their strength and speed. They do a lot of running up and down stairs and Fierra loves chasing the cats and would do it for much longer than the cats have the patience for. Ghia loves to chase and be chased by us and likes fetching balls.
7. What is the condition of your ferret's teeth/gums? (can you get a picture?)
The girls had their teeth cleaned at the vet's just this past July. They were pretty yucky then. I had noticed that they were quickly discoloring after the cleaning, but I'm happy to say that they now look really good! No plaque build up and the gums are nice and pink. I'll see if I can manage a photo later.
8. Describe the texture/color of your ferrets coat.
Both of the girls are mostly white with darker tails. (I will post photos later. I'm using my SO's computer.)
Fierra's fur is slightly more coarse than Ghia's and turned a little yellow this summer. It is MUCH softer than when we first got her. I had originally described their fur as wiry like a terrier's fur. Not any more. They are both very soft. Ghia is a big puffball of fur.
9. How often does your ferret go to the bathroom?
They each go probably 5-6 times a day.
10. Does your ferret's feces and/or urine smell?
Their feces definitely have an odor, but it seems to be better than it used to be. Their urine is definitely less strong smelling.
11. Smell your ferret. How strong is their odor?
Not very strong. I can really only notice that "ferret smell" after they've been hunkered down napping in a sack for a few hours.
12. On a scale of 1-10, 1 being completely lethargic and 10 being "through the roof!" what is your ferret's energy level?
Probably a 6 or a 7. When they play, they play hard. I think they're bored with all of my games and toys though. Smart creatures are such a challenge to keep entertained.
13. How excited is your ferret about meal time (when fed kibble)?
While they were being fed kibble they were mostly concerned about kibble being available to them, but not necessarily so that they could eat it right away. They are definitely more excited about getting meat.
14. Have you attempted to switch from kibble to a natural diet in the past? If so, what methods have you tried. Be specific.
This is my first try at switching and it will be the last because this is going to be their diet for the rest of their lives.
15. What other information about your ferret(s) would you like to share?
We adopted the girls through a rescue. They were being kept in a small bedroom away from the rest of the household. The carpet was full of poop and obviously hadn't been cleaned in quite some time. Because of this I've kind of given up hope that Fierra will ever be perfectly litter box trained. She doesn't have problems in the cage, but throughout the rest of the house she poops near the boxes, but not in them. Ghia uses the boxes pretty consistently with only occasional mistakes.
16. If you can, please post a clear photograph of EACH of your ferrets directly below:
(will add once I can access my own computer)
17.
a.) Do you understand that by starting this thread you commit to posting updates on the progress of your ferret(s) diet switch at least every other day?**
yes
b.) Do you understand that if you will be away from your computer for an extended period of time you will need to exchange phone numbers (or email addresses if you don't feel comfortable exchanging numbers)via private message with your assigned mentor, so that we can monitor your progress and ensure your ferret's saftey during the switch?
yes
c.) Do you understand that any threads that have not been updated in for more then a week (with no explaination as to why you are absent) will result in the deletion of the thread?***
yes
Fierra, female, 2 1/2 yrs, no health issues
Ghia, female, 2 yrs, no health issues
2. What are your ferrets currently eating? Include their main diet, plus any treats or supplements (such as duk soup).
The girls have been completely off kibble since Sept. 22, 2008. Their diet consists of chunks of pork, turkey and chicken blanched for about 5 seconds. I supplement with a mash of raw turkey dark meat, egg yolk, egg shell, chicken heart, chicken liver and chicken baby food. They will grudgingly eat small pieces of completely raw meat, but seem to greatly prefer it slightly blanched. It's not a temperature issue because they are perfectly happy to eat previously blanched meat straight out of the fridge and not so much with raw chunks either cold or warmed.
3. What kind of diet do you want to switch to?
Since I have access to a wonderful source of organic, free range, pasture fed meat at low to no cost I think a prey model is best for me although I'm not opposed to whole prey and will probably offer that eventually as a part of their diet.
4. Why do you want to switch to this more natural diet?
Because they deserve to get the best nutrition possible. If they could shop for themselves they never would have started on the junk their previous owner fed them. *shakes fist at sky*
5. Where/what/who got you interested in natural diets?
Common sense and reading commercial pet food labels.
6. Please list the current weight for your ferret(s). Do they appear overweight? Underweight? How is there muscle tone?
I don't know their exact weight, but I would say Fierra is 1 1/2 - 2 lbs and Ghia is 1 - 1 1/2 lbs. They are both slender. No excess fat, but Fierra has a little more of a belly than Ghia and is just more dense. Ghia is a fluffy little princess.
I think their muscle tone is good. I've been amazed on numerous occasions about their strength and speed. They do a lot of running up and down stairs and Fierra loves chasing the cats and would do it for much longer than the cats have the patience for. Ghia loves to chase and be chased by us and likes fetching balls.
7. What is the condition of your ferret's teeth/gums? (can you get a picture?)
The girls had their teeth cleaned at the vet's just this past July. They were pretty yucky then. I had noticed that they were quickly discoloring after the cleaning, but I'm happy to say that they now look really good! No plaque build up and the gums are nice and pink. I'll see if I can manage a photo later.
8. Describe the texture/color of your ferrets coat.
Both of the girls are mostly white with darker tails. (I will post photos later. I'm using my SO's computer.)
Fierra's fur is slightly more coarse than Ghia's and turned a little yellow this summer. It is MUCH softer than when we first got her. I had originally described their fur as wiry like a terrier's fur. Not any more. They are both very soft. Ghia is a big puffball of fur.
9. How often does your ferret go to the bathroom?
They each go probably 5-6 times a day.
10. Does your ferret's feces and/or urine smell?
Their feces definitely have an odor, but it seems to be better than it used to be. Their urine is definitely less strong smelling.
11. Smell your ferret. How strong is their odor?
Not very strong. I can really only notice that "ferret smell" after they've been hunkered down napping in a sack for a few hours.
12. On a scale of 1-10, 1 being completely lethargic and 10 being "through the roof!" what is your ferret's energy level?
Probably a 6 or a 7. When they play, they play hard. I think they're bored with all of my games and toys though. Smart creatures are such a challenge to keep entertained.
13. How excited is your ferret about meal time (when fed kibble)?
While they were being fed kibble they were mostly concerned about kibble being available to them, but not necessarily so that they could eat it right away. They are definitely more excited about getting meat.
14. Have you attempted to switch from kibble to a natural diet in the past? If so, what methods have you tried. Be specific.
This is my first try at switching and it will be the last because this is going to be their diet for the rest of their lives.
15. What other information about your ferret(s) would you like to share?
We adopted the girls through a rescue. They were being kept in a small bedroom away from the rest of the household. The carpet was full of poop and obviously hadn't been cleaned in quite some time. Because of this I've kind of given up hope that Fierra will ever be perfectly litter box trained. She doesn't have problems in the cage, but throughout the rest of the house she poops near the boxes, but not in them. Ghia uses the boxes pretty consistently with only occasional mistakes.
16. If you can, please post a clear photograph of EACH of your ferrets directly below:
(will add once I can access my own computer)
17.
a.) Do you understand that by starting this thread you commit to posting updates on the progress of your ferret(s) diet switch at least every other day?**
yes
b.) Do you understand that if you will be away from your computer for an extended period of time you will need to exchange phone numbers (or email addresses if you don't feel comfortable exchanging numbers)via private message with your assigned mentor, so that we can monitor your progress and ensure your ferret's saftey during the switch?
yes
c.) Do you understand that any threads that have not been updated in for more then a week (with no explaination as to why you are absent) will result in the deletion of the thread?***
yes
) I put 2 ounces in their cage and locked them in. I was up at 6am to feed the cats and half of the pork was gone. Normally I would let them out if they're not already, but I decided to leave them in (they were sleeping) and see what would happen. When I came back down at 9am all the pork was gone. And now here it is 1pm and they've eaten another full ounce apiece. Should I continue to let them eat as much as they want? Will they self regulate or do I have to worry about them overeating? Fierra seems like she will eat until she's full to the gills in one sitting, but Ghia likes to eat a few bits, take a break, eat some more, etc. Oh the guilt I will have to endure if I don't feed them on demand though! Their little eyes bore into the back of my head if I don't hop to getting their food right away. Will I survive if I shift them to a schedule that works better for me or will I die from the ferret mind control? 
I recommend feeding no more then 1 chicken liver per ferret, per week. Too much liver can cause runny poopies and vitamin A toxicity (though you'd have to feed a fair amount of liver, each day to get to this point, so dont panic). If they arent eating bone yet, keep offering the eggshell. 
<--- me and my man at 6am some day in the distant future.
) Clutter control is a challenge, isn't it?