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Post by Forum Administrator on Oct 10, 2009 2:19:40 GMT -5
Name: Stacey HF Forum Username: Erosmom 1. Where did you first learn about natural diets for ferrets?the internet 2. Please describe the type of diet you would like assistance in switching your ferret(s) to. Be sure to include if you are interested in feeding whole prey (live or frozen-thawed) and if you are wanting to FULLY switch to a natural diet or PARTIALLY. If you are unsure what kind of diet you want to put your ferrets on, please express that and we can help you find the best type of natural diet for your ferret.I am thinking whole prey/raw would be the best fit so if we don't have any whole prey I can go to the freezer and still feed him good food . so I want him to eat both 3. Why are you interested in switching your ferrets to a natural diet?I want him to be as healthy as can be 4. Do you understand that switching your ferret to a natural diet can be a lengthy, arduous process? Its not an overnight switch. It can be a commitment of several weeks or even months. Your HF Mentor will be more then happy to assist you in switchng your ferret(s) to a natural diet, but you need to be equally as commited. If you aren't willing to tough out a potentially lengthy switching process, or if you have major life changes approaching (baby on the way, moving, starting school, getting married/divorced, etc) then it might be a better idea to wait on switching your ferret's diet until you have more time. Are you willing to make the commitment?Yes I am and yes I understand 5. How many ferrets do you currently have? What are their names? Ages? Genders? Do they have any health problems? Are they overweight? Underweight? I have one at this time his name is Eros a little over 3 months no health issues at this point weight is good 6. What diet do you currently feed your ferrets? (Please include all treats, supplements, etc) Kibble and cooked meat and ferret tone 7. Have you ever tried to switch your ferrets to a natural diet in the past? If yes, what happened?Yes. I gave him a raw chicken leg and he was not interested he does however seem very interested in eating our pet rats 8. What additional information about yourself or your ferrets would you like to share?N/A 9. How often during the week do you have access to a computer? I am a stay at home mom I am off and on all day everyday 10. Please post a picture of each of your ferrets (if possible). I hope to upload better pics
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Post by Forum Administrator on Oct 10, 2009 2:27:42 GMT -5
Hi Stacey! My name is Giuliana and I am going to be your official Holistic Ferret Mentor. I am the person who will be responsible for guiding you and your little one towards a more natural diet. I've been owned by ferrets since 2006 and I've been feeding my animals a natural diet since January 2007. I have watched all the positive ways that this diet has affected my pets and I can't imagine ever feeding kibble again. I am "mamma" to a dog, a cat, and two ferrets. All were raised on natural diets and they continue to eat those diets. I have experience with all kinds of natural diets whole prey (frozen-thawed or live), homemade raw diet based on the prey model, and commercial raw (frozen and freeze-dried). You say your little one has tried and liked cooked meat? He also likes ferretone? That is great because I have a plan for how to switch your little guy. Eros is young so he souldn't be too hard to switch. What foods have you tried offering him?
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Post by erosmom on Oct 10, 2009 19:05:56 GMT -5
First off let me say it is an honor and privilage that I get to work one on one with you, I am so thrilled!
Hello, OH yes he loves that stinky crud lol. I have tried raw chicken and pork cut up. I am thinking I need to hit the food processer with it today, thinking I would mix a little ferretone in it so it will be harder to lick off? He is showing no interest at this point lol typical kid don't want whats best for him. Then again we are only on day 4 so he will come around. My dog on the other hand is like where have you been hidding these delectable morsles lol.
I am fixing to get some frozen mice, thought I might start out with pinkies and hoppers and if he takes to them well then get pinkies for "treats" and bigger mice and chicks and such for meals. Now my question is. How will I know if I am giving him enough? How much would I feed a hyper little guy like him? Like I said I want to do whole prey/raw so if I do not have whole prey for whatever reason he will still happily eat what I can pull from the freezer. I don't remember if I saw it in any threads or not but do they eat fish?
Thank you so much, Stacey
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Post by Forum Administrator on Oct 11, 2009 2:23:24 GMT -5
First off let me say it is an honor and privilage that I get to work one on one with you, I am so thrilled!Aww, I'm truely flattered! I'm happy to be working with you and your little munchkin as well. OH yes he loves that stinky crud lol. I have tried raw chicken and pork cut up. I am thinking I need to hit the food processer with it today, thinking I would mix a little ferretone in it so it will be harder to lick off? He's young so he shouldn't bee too too imprinted on the kibble. I think the best way to start him would be to do this. Remove all kibble from his cage for 12 hours. Then, offer him a slurry of kibble, teeny tiny chunks of raw meat (like 1/4 the size of your pinky fingernail), meat based baby food, and ferretone. Sprinkle crushed kibble all over the top of the mix. Only offer a little bit of food at a time as it will spoil after about 3 hours. So remove the kibble for 12 hours, plenty of water but NO food or treats. Then offer the kibble/meat/babyfood/ferretone slurry. I'd say put about 2 tablespoons into his cage bowl. Try putting a little blob on his nose so he'll be forced to lick it off and taste it. Most ferrets have trouble trying a new food, but once its in their mouth they realize "Hey! This isn't half bad!". Try to encourage him to eat the mixture. You can do the nose trick or put some of the mix onto his gums using your index finger. If he absolutely doesn't want the food, I'd wait another 6 hours and then use a spoon or a syringe to squirt atleast 2 tablespoons into his belly. He is showing no interest at this point lol typical kid don't want whats best for him. Then again we are only on day 4 so he will come around. My dog on the other hand is like where have you been hidding these delectable morsles lol. Ferrets are stubborn and they do things in their own time, but I have no doubt that he'll be a fairly easy switch. He's young, so he's not totally set on processed food. opening up his taste pallete to new foods won't bee too too hard, you'll see. I am fixing to get some frozen mice, thought I might start out with pinkies and hoppers and if he takes to them well then get pinkies for "treats" and bigger mice and chicks and such for meals.I would wait on the mice for now. Usually the best way to get them to switch is to start out by switching them to raw and then once they are totally off kibble and eating only raw you gradually slip in the whole prey food. Now my question is. How will I know if I am giving him enough? How much would I feed a hyper little guy like him? With kits (ferrets under the age of 1 year) I would offer him as much as he will eat. Ferrets are good self-regulators. He'll eat ALOT as a baby and then when he hits about 7 months and beyond you'll see him slow down in the amount and frequency of his meals. You really can't overfeed a kit. Like I said I want to do whole prey/raw so if I do not have whole prey for whatever reason he will still happily eat what I can pull from the freezer.Sounds like a sound plan. I myself rotate my ferrets between prey model raw (October-January), Whole Prey (February-May), and Premade commercial raw---Nature's Variety Raw Medallions (June-September). The more vareity in a ferret's diet, the better. I don't remember if I saw it in any threads or not but do they eat fish?Ferrets are believed to be related to the european polecat. On this forum we base a domestic ferret's natural diet on the diet of the european polecat. In the wild, the polecat's diet isn't primarily fish, but they will eat fish if they can get it. In your ferret's diet I wouldn't feed fish more then 1-2 meals per week. Although FISH OIL (not cod liver oil) is a good daily addition to a ferret's diet. I myself use Nature Made Omega 3 Fish Oil Capsules. Thank you so much, StaceyAnytime. I am excited to be working with you guys. Give that meat/babyfood/kibble slurry a whirl and let me know how it goes. Don't let your fuzzy go without eating for more then 24 hours. Be sure to let me know what happens. Depending on what happens we'll adjust our plan accordingly. The goal is to get your kiddo off dry kibble and onto this slurry. Then we'll slowly phase out the kibble and babyfood until your fuzzbutt is eating just small chunks of meat. Then we'll go from there.
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Post by erosmom on Oct 14, 2009 10:14:45 GMT -5
Ok we did the slurry. He looked at it sniffed it like what are you giving me lol he avoided it for almost an hour then gave in. He thinks it is wonderful now lol. It wac raw pork, pork babyfood and kibble ground up.I will give him this for a day or so and make micro chunks and less kibble. Thanks.
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Post by Forum Administrator on Oct 16, 2009 11:02:16 GMT -5
Wonderful news! I am so glad he took to it so willingly. Definitly keep offering the slurry. Now is the time to get him started on the feeding schedule you'd like to keep him on once he's switched. I feed my ferrest 2x per day, every 12 hours. If you'd like to do this feeding schedule, or if you want to feed 3 meals per day, or if you prefer to free feed, then get him started now. You can leave the slurry out for about an hour but then withdraw it from the cage. It doesnt last too long at room temp. It will take a few days or perhaps even a week but eventually he'll adjust from free feeding to meal feeding (if you choose to go this route). Since he's younger I'd prefer you feed him 3x per day and then when he hits 1 year old you can switch to 2x per day. You'll have to work with your schedule though. Your plan above is sound. I'd work on doing ONE switch at a time. As in slowly work out the kibble THEN increase chunk size. Or slowly increase chunk size then work out the kibble. Going slowly seems to yield the highest success rate. Good luck and let me know how it goes.
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Post by erosmom on Oct 21, 2009 6:38:16 GMT -5
Well good and frustrating news, Eros was doing awesome seemed to love it and would just avoid a bit when I would change the meat but taste it and decide it was just as wonderful. Then.... duh duh duuuuuuh. I took on another Ferret. A girl needed some one to care for her two babies while she finishes her school year because she could not keep them where she was. I thought great I would let us know if more than one fur baby would be to much to handle (we feel Eros should have a buddy, But did not want to adopt and find out we could not handle more than one.) Well one passed away before she got them here Poor Weezie may he R.I.P. He had a tumor. Which left Hammie oh he is soooooo cute. He is 2 1/2 years old. Ok the issue, he is a cat food eater. So when he is out I like to keep their cages open so they can go in and out when they want to. So Eros would go in and steal the cat food . Well before the girl left the other day after dropping off her baby I was telling her about the benefits of raw/ whole prey and without batting an eyelash asked if I would mind getting started on switching him over YAAAAYYYYYY. But being older and used to kitty kibble how can I do this and keep Eros on track when Hammie has been a free feeding kitty kibble eater for over 2 years and still let them keep their freedom in wansering in and out of their cages at will the biggest part of the day?? And off topic How do I help Hammie adjust better with the recent loss of his forever older buddy and then the loss of his mommy. Although it is just till june it is a long time and he plays with Eros and toys but generally looks sad when he is not playing.
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Post by Forum Administrator on Oct 21, 2009 10:40:13 GMT -5
Well before the girl left the other day after dropping off her baby I was telling her about the benefits of raw/ whole prey and without batting an eyelash asked if I would mind getting started on switching him over YAAAAYYYYYY. That is wonderful news! But being older and used to kitty kibble how can I do this and keep Eros on track when Hammie has been a free feeding kitty kibble eater for over 2 years and still let them keep their freedom in wansering in and out of their cages at will the biggest part of the day?? Just do the same thing you are doing now with Eros. You may have to go a few steps back for this new baby though. Dab some chicken babyfood on Hammie's nose. He'll have to lick it off. Usually, ferrets will like babyfood once they taste it. Once he's eating the babyfood as a treat, you'll need to take the babyfood and mix it with some crushed kibble as well as teeny tiny chunks of chicken (we are talking 1/4 the size of your pinky nail). Use the same methods you used to get Eros to try the chunky slurry. This guy may put up more a fight because he is older. With time and patience he'll take to the slurry though. I would take a step back with Eros and feed them BOTH the same kibble/meat/slurry mixture. If you have to reduce the size of the chunks that Eros is eating or if you have to reintroduce the powedered kibble (if Eros was already off it). That is fine. Trust me, it will be alot easier to feed them the same stuff then to try and feed them different foods. DO NOT leave any cat food out because both he and Eros will cheat and try to eat that instead. ONLY feed the slurry. Wait to replace the kibble with the slurry until Hammie is willingly eating the babyfood. As with Eros, you can fast Hammie if needed, but remember, don't let him go more then 24 hours without eating. If he refuses to eat, you'll need to spoon or syringe feed him some of the slurry every 6 hours or so. Once they are both eating the food reliably, I would feed them 3 meals a day. Once you've got them on a set feedings schedule, you can work towards upping the size of the chunks or decreasing the amoung of kibble in the mix. Take your time. It WILL be more difficult to switch an older ferret, but certainly not impossible. I switched an 8 year old ferret to raw with time and patience. Let me know how Hammie does with the babyfood. Keep me posted and I'll help to guide you through this, I promise. And off topic How do I help Hammie adjust better with the recent loss of his forever older buddy and then the loss of his mommy. Although it is just till june it is a long time and he plays with Eros and toys but generally looks sad when he is not playing. Give him plenty of love and attention. Keep a close eye on him. Make sure he keeps eating and drinking. Carry him around with you in a blanket. Wash his face gentely with a warm washcloth. Ask his mommy if you can have a blanket or article of clothing that smells like her and put it in the cage with Hammie. Syringe feeding hammie might be a good way to ensure that he keeps eating AND helps him bond with you. If you are interested in doing this just let me know, and I'll give you instruction on how to syringe feed a ferret.
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Post by Forum Administrator on Oct 28, 2009 20:56:36 GMT -5
How's everything going with Eros and Hammie?
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Post by Forum Administrator on Nov 4, 2009 11:12:23 GMT -5
Just wanted to check in and make sure you were doing okay. I haven't heard from you. Are you still interested in switching Eros and Hammie to a natural diet?
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Post by erosmom on Nov 5, 2009 20:42:57 GMT -5
UGH!! I am sorry I have been battling the flu in my house. My oldest daughter caught swine flu and then my middle daughter the youngest is fine and my hubby has I think a cold. I myself do not have the time with three kids now 3 ferrets (My mother got me I will post that story elsewhere) 3 rats 2 cats and a dog. So, so far I have been ok. But Eros acts like he has chills and feels warmer than usual this started today. I am sleep deprived grrrrr. Anyway the diet. Hammie has decided he wants no part of it what so ever. He has dropped weight so I had to cave with him.Since he is not mine I can not risk him getting sick over this. (Even if he was mine I wouldn't risk it) Eros does well he will eat his slurries and steal kibble. But he eats the slurry like it is fine caviar. So we are good. Anyway I have to make sick rounds I will be back to post my story of the new baby. .....Is this a result of that the Ferret math I keep hearing about? lol
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Post by erosmom on Nov 15, 2009 14:23:30 GMT -5
Ok Eros is doing much better. All three fur babies got the flu. All they ate for days was Duk Soup They would not eat or drink without assistance. They were on medications ugh. After almost 2 weeks I think we are finally over it. We are eating slurries and doing fine . Now you have tip on how to get weight back on hammie. He is so thin. He totally rejected the raw diet.
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Post by Forum Administrator on Nov 21, 2009 2:29:54 GMT -5
I'm sorry it took me so long to respond. I was without computer access for the last week and a half. For Hammie you want to make sure that he's not losing large amounts of weight when you attempt the switch. I think the best thing to do is see what he WILL eat. Will he eat kibble if you moisten it with low sodium chicken broth? That would be a good way to start him on the switch. Don't do too drastic of a change. Try him out on a subtle change to encourage him to keep eating. See if he'll take to moistened kibble, if he does that just fine, gradually start mixing in some chicken baby food. If you can get him eating a blend of wet kibble and chicken babyfood then we can progress from there. If at any point he stops eating, take it back a step and see if he'll eat that. I'm sorry they all got the flu, but I'm happy to hear everyone got over it. Hope you are all feeling better! Let me know how introducing the wet kibble goes.
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Post by Forum Administrator on Dec 3, 2009 14:28:31 GMT -5
Moved to the Vault December 3rd, 2009[/color]
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