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Post by saphire2815 on Oct 15, 2009 20:36:57 GMT -5
Yeah I have one of those manual cars that don't have cruise control I'll figure things out again. I haven't been sneaking other things into the raw dishes, but thats because I haven't had any. Just Chicken for the humans and the ferrets. I have been adding chicken wings and liver. I have been pretty consisitant on the size of meat pieces, I'll start adding larger pieces. But once I strip the meat off the thigh bones, and the drumette bones and just cutting the tips off of them so they can get to the marrow and giving those to them along with the rest of the wings and they seem to always dissapear. My current cut up batch will get me through Saturday, so I'll get the larger pieces started with the next batch of food I cut up. Thats all for now.
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Post by sherrylynne on Oct 16, 2009 20:00:22 GMT -5
And the next time you cut them up- start leaving the bone in as well. With the wings, segment them, then using a larger knife, cut them in half length wise for the drumette, to expose the marrow. And then you may have to cut those in half crosswise. With the middle section, just separate them, and chop them in half. The same with the tip. It's a good time to start introducing the bone. They may not eat it just yet, but they will at least be exposed to having to chew some of the meat off of it . For the thighs and drumsticks, just keep removing the meat for now, but you can chop the cartiledge off the ends and give it to them. I wouldn't worry too much just yet on only giving them the chicken. If a sick ferret can do well on only chicken baby food for 6 months or more, your guys should be fine for a bit!
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Post by saphire2815 on Oct 19, 2009 11:31:59 GMT -5
Ok, I cut up larger chunks last night. I have a bit of a cold going through my group, so they are eating less, but I am making sure everyone gets food and water. The cough has finally gone away, but we still have some weazing, and lots and lots of sneezes, poor things entire bodies leave the ground during the sneeze fits, and one even whines about it! LOL I read in Ferrets for Dummies that the common cold can't be transfered from human to ferret so I minimized contact, but I believe that to be wrong because after the cold wracked the humans, it hit the ferrets Some got it worste than other, and Bacon never got it, the poor guy is running around tackling everyone, just wanting to play, and no one wanted to play with the poor guy I'll let you know how things go with the bones in a day or so. Thanks.
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Post by sherrylynne on Oct 19, 2009 19:52:43 GMT -5
Poor babies! They can't get the rhinovirus(human cold), but they do catch influenza, which is probably what you've had. Keep a close eye on eating, drinking, etc, as well as any lethargy. They can develop pneumonia, and don't always show it right away. I hope they've done ok with the larger chunks. Should be interesting to see how they tackle the bone! If they have too many problems with a new step, don't be afraid to take a step back for a couple of days if you need to.
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Post by saphire2815 on Oct 21, 2009 19:01:14 GMT -5
All the meat is getting eaten, and the bone is getting picked up and cleaned off. I found some behind the couch, the soft nubby ends are gone. I don't have a cleaver to split the bones lengthwise, but I am able to cut the ends so they can find the marrow, hopefully that will work.
The cold has seemed to run it's course, I am down to just one that sneezes and sneezes and sneezes and whines and sneezes Poor guy. I haven't heard a weezed in about a day now, so I think we did good. Like I said, I just did all I can to make sure they stayed hydrated and fed and it worked.
Well off to do the online driving course to keep those nasty points off my record and keep my insurance rate the same.
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Post by sherrylynne on Oct 22, 2009 9:17:34 GMT -5
Do you have a hammer? Try whacking the bone inside the meat a bit. It can be a little messy, but should accomplish the same thing
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Post by saphire2815 on Oct 25, 2009 8:07:12 GMT -5
Hammer? Good Idea, I'll have to get one. I had one, I had to use it to hammer shut the trailer door I used to move from California to Florida LOL, but once I got into my apartment hammer mysteriously dissapeard, but a hammer is cheaper than a cleaver, so there you go!
Everything is going pretty good, energy levels are through the roof, I feel bad that I have to go to work in the morning anymore. Before I started this, an hour in the morning was more than enough time, we would have to find ALL the sleeping ferrets to put away. Now there might be two sleeping ferrets, I feel so bad.
The bigger chunks are getting eaten. I am find some of the bone pieces cleaned of meat and the soft ends, and some are gone! I think my biggest challenge at this point is being able to just throw a wing at them and it gets eaten, and variety. I do give them liver, but I mix it in with the meat, and it gets eaten.
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Post by sherrylynne on Oct 25, 2009 9:48:13 GMT -5
Wow! It sounds like they are really on their way Have you tried just segmenting the wing with a knife? I still have to do that with some of mine. Not a big deal- they are spoiled little brats Just cut it into three at the joints. I'd also maybe separate the middle section into two. Again- easy to do with a knife. For the drumette, simply score deeply across it a few times, then whack it with the hammer How are the other group doing? And please remind me who else has to be switched yet?
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Post by saphire2815 on Oct 28, 2009 8:53:09 GMT -5
I have segmented the wing. They all seem to love having the bones. Too cute. So here is the stats. I have Barlee, Baylee, Biscuit, Bandit, Thyme, Bon Bon and Butter in ferret nation and have been just keeping a small amount of kibble and feeding them raw. This morning I was offering them all raw bits by hand and every single one of them ate pieces. I also had some pieces of steak that Barlee and Thyme would take, but no one else would.
In the smaller cage is Briar, Bacon and Blaze. Bacon and Blaze will lick the raw soup I make for Butter so it won't be long before they are ready to start getting chunks. Briar I think is the complete hold out, and I'm ok with that, I don't want to force it, he has finally become affectionate with me and just started giving kisses this week. He came to me as a scared neglegted guy who wanted nothing to do with people, so we have come a long way. He plays and gives kisses now. My next thing to help him overcome is his hatred of squeeky toys. He will draw blood on anyone who would squeeze them. So no squeeky toys in my home and I know ferrets love them!
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Post by sherrylynne on Oct 28, 2009 9:04:19 GMT -5
Wow! 7 out of 10 so far- you're definitely getting there (Sorry I have to ask- I'm helping switch 29 ferrets right now !). And Butter is also eating the chunks now, as well as the bone! That's great. How do they like their liver bits when they get them? Can you pick up some pork steak(or whatever is your cheapest cut of pork there)? Maybe try a bit of that. Beef has never been a hit here, except with a couple of them. If Briar has just started to come around now, I agree with taking it slow with him. Will he lick soupies from your finger? The others are pretty much switched, just have to get some different proteins in their diet, and set up a menu for them. Wow
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Post by saphire2815 on Nov 1, 2009 21:33:23 GMT -5
Butter won't eat the big chunks, and it seems they really like to have everything on one plate. I ran out of hearts and Liver on Wednesday and planned on going to the store Saturday so I figured for a couple of days they would be fine. They hardly touched any of the food until I finally added some heart and liver to it.
I don't mind cutting it up. I find when it's partially frozen it cuts real easy anyway.
Yeah 7 out of 10 are eating raw. I think only Biscuit is exclusively eating raw.
This weekend I found one of those plastic drawers hiding in my apartment and I hadn't used it in two years so I turned it into a feeding Den. I cut a hole big enough in the front of the drawer that I can easily place a plate in it and the ferrets have plenty of room. I zip tied it to the side of the cage so they can't move it, and voila! A place to eat that I can clean. Just pull the drawer out and wipe clean!
I also got a bunch of pork this weekend. So I'll be adding that to the mix.
Well thats all for now. Sorry for the infrequent posts. I haven't been too interested in logging onto the computer too much lately. I go through phases.
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Post by sherrylynne on Nov 1, 2009 22:42:05 GMT -5
That's fine- I do understand that . The feeding den is such a good thing to have. I just wish more of mine would use them And if adding heart and liver is what it takes- so be it! The important thing is that they are eating it!
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Post by Heather on Nov 3, 2009 0:28:53 GMT -5
Looks like things are moving along nicely here. Great work, 7 ferrets in less than 4 months. I'm impressed . Only one being a stick in the muck...that in itself isn't that bad either. Great idea about the feeding den, like sherrylynne, I wish my brats would eat out of a feeding den instead of running off with the bowl and making me try and find it somewhere in the house later When you're snuggling Briar, try putting some soupy on his nose and seeing if he will lick it off...or try snuggling him and feeding him with a spoon. I know that after the initial "ick" most of the little ones love the added attention of being hand fed . Looks like you're doing very well. Keep up the good work, you're so closed to being there. Keep us up to date . ciao
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Post by saphire2815 on Nov 6, 2009 16:08:28 GMT -5
Thanks all. I really I'm where I need to be right now. With my financial trouble that doesn't seem to be getting any better, I'm going to put the switch on pause or slow motion. I'm not going to stop, just I have been feeling overwhelmed a lot lately. I will continue to keep feeding raw, I have seen such a wonderful change in activity with my babes, I just can't push anymore right now.
Thanks everyone for all their support and advice and encouragement especially sherrylyne, your encouragment has been wonderful.
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Post by sherrylynne on Nov 6, 2009 20:43:54 GMT -5
I'm really glad you're going to continue with supplemental raw! That's really good. Maybe later you'll be able to continue with a full switch. Maybe not. Either way, their diet is so much better for them now than it was. Please continue to stay on the forum. There's always a load of info here, and a lot of really good brains to pick about various things
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