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Post by finnpiper09 on Jun 19, 2009 7:33:48 GMT -5
Okay, so I should expect them to lose a little weight then.
I feel a little more comfortable getting them off the Marshall's just because I wasn't sure how fast they'd take to the raw diet, if it would take months, then I figured the less they're on the Marshall's the better. Finn seems to really be the easier one to switch to new things as he seems to be seaking out the newer tastes of the new kibble and the raw rather than the Marshall's now.
I was supposed to make them more meat grinds to try, but I have a nasty cold and I'm switching my horses to a new barn so things have been a little hectic. This weekend I'm going to be getting some different meat things together to try throughout the week.
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Post by cristina on Jun 19, 2009 13:37:07 GMT -5
ok then if you want to switch (which I totally understand I did the same thing) kibble then actually this is a good thing since your quite busy this week/weekend I would leave out the meat just for a couple days and switch over to the other kibble (it will be much easier to switch kibble then continue with the raw switch.....so your not switching 3 things all together at once)
I would do a 50-50 mix of each with some water (I feel wetting down the kibble just a bit, helps with switching...but its up to you)...see how much they eat, if they eat half or quite a bit then the next day go to 60-40, and so on.....if they dont eat much of the 50-50 mix then maybe add in some duk soup or their favorite oil and see if this helps, if none of this is appealing for them I have another technique, so just let me know how it goes.
Good luck, keep me updated! I hope you feel better!
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Post by finnpiper09 on Jun 23, 2009 7:47:37 GMT -5
Finn is completely fine with the new kibble - in fact, I think he prefers it. Piper is not eating it, so I've been leaving a dish of watered down food mixed just for her.
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Post by cristina on Jun 23, 2009 13:29:39 GMT -5
thats ok....sometimes its hard to change kibbles for some ferrets..maybe if you want you can try to add some of their favorite treats (oil, duk soup...) to the mix and see if she will eat it then. If not dont worry, like I said before you can still start the switch on the "bad" food Just start out very slow for her so she has a chance to get use to what your offering her
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Post by finnpiper09 on Jun 24, 2009 8:20:13 GMT -5
Oh yes! Definitely slow.
We've added their favorite oils, but it's not really a big hit with Piper unless it's mushed and wet and then she just kind of deals because it's all mixed together. LOL
Is it okay to start adding the meat mix again, at least for Finn?
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Post by cristina on Jun 25, 2009 12:49:50 GMT -5
Yes, go ahead and start it in again, and see how he takes to it and let me know if he eats it, if not I have another idea to introduce it.
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Post by finnpiper09 on Jun 26, 2009 7:39:48 GMT -5
Okay! I'll start it up this weekend again and see how it goes.
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Post by finnpiper09 on Jul 1, 2009 7:33:56 GMT -5
Piper will not eat the new kibble unless it's mashed with her old kibble and she definitely won't touch it if there's any sort of raw meat. She doesn't mind egg, but she is not a fan of the ground meat. Finn doesn't have a problem with any of it. He is on the new kibble plain or he eats it with the ground up meat mashed in it.
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Post by cristina on Jul 1, 2009 15:15:40 GMT -5
It may be a while for her to get onto the new kibble, which is why I mentioned that you can stay with the old food, that she hopefully wont be on too long during her switch to raw....but its totally up to you Thats great that Finn is eating things well, he shouldnt be too hard to switch it seems!
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Post by finnpiper09 on Jul 2, 2009 7:02:22 GMT -5
Okay, I'll try her with just the Marshall's this weekend.
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Post by finnpiper09 on Jul 6, 2009 7:36:49 GMT -5
We had a big breakthrough this weekend! Finn is eating semi cooked chicken!!!! Yay!!!! Piper is eating the Marshall's with the meat mix, but not much. I'm a little worried about her not eating.
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Post by cristina on Jul 6, 2009 14:44:57 GMT -5
Put a little less raw in Pipers food, she may need a very slow start, which is ok...she just needs a little more time than Finn to get use to it. As for Finn, thats great hes opening his horizon to new foods! one thing to remember though, cooked meat (even semi cooked) really contains no nutritional value for ferrets...and theres no need to cook their meat because their bodies are designed to process raw not cooked (since their digestive systems are so short they take every bit of nutrients out of raw, but when cooked theres no nutrients to get out of it so it doesnt really do too much in terms of benefiting their health) , But if this is a way to get him to eat it and you plan on it getting more raw over time to get him use to it thats ok, but its not a good long term idea [just letting you know]
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Post by finnpiper09 on Jul 7, 2009 12:52:59 GMT -5
Yes, I know that cooking it takes all the nutrients, or most of the nutrients out for them, but it was something I tried because I was cooking and he was right there by my feet. It was only slightly cooked on the outside, so I figured it was a good start to a new healthier way! I'll try less with Piper...frustrating and slow, but the little progress with Finn made me see the light at the end of the tunnel ;D
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Post by cristina on Jul 7, 2009 15:49:16 GMT -5
Oh then yes thats fine to feed cooked table scraps every now and then....I just didnt want you to think it was the way to go (b/c then I know I wasnt doing my job right!) Yea, it seems we will have to take it very slow with her, but heres the thing....it took a very slow start with my little girl, but when she got used to it the pace picked up and she was around the rest of my group after that (it was just a slow start), so I hope its the same for you as well!!
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Post by cristina on Jul 12, 2009 15:45:16 GMT -5
So hows everything going? any further progress?
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