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Post by sherrylynne on Oct 16, 2009 19:50:59 GMT -5
I really wouldn't be worried. Your best friend right now would be a kitchen scale! My females eat between 1-3 oz per day each, my males 2-4 oz per day. You will be surprised at how little this actually is I weighed a 1" square chunk of beef heart. Now remember, beef heart is very dense. That 1" square chunk weighed one ounce! So my smallest ferret would eat that chunk throughout the day. And that's all she needs. Other meats aren't as dense, so the ratio would be different. I was really worried during my guys switch about how little they were actually eating. Turns out(after I got the scale, and started weighing their meals, I was actually feeding about twice what they were capable of eating! I guess what I'm saying is I really think they are probably eating enough, but pick up a cheap scale, and weigh it!
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Jakk
Going Natural
Raw Feeder[/color]
Posts: 160
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Post by Jakk on Oct 18, 2009 21:09:05 GMT -5
Sorry for not updating I was having issues with my internet connection and I finally got it fixed this afternoon. I'll have to pick up a scale next time I am at the store. Friday was a forced kibble day My SO and I were in court all day dealing with car registration issues (got it all sorted out) Saturday Cooper and Polly got 1/2 inch chunks of chicken with no complaints. Kasrah ate the mush/soup mix but seemed to like playing in it more than eating it. She shoved her face all in the dish and rooted around, ate a little, then dug at liquid. Today was a shopping day, I scored a whole chicken and legs for $50 a pound. So everyone got the same meal as Saturday. Kasrah was less entertained and decided that she would only eat it is Polly was eating it too which was frustrating....if only she would eat the chunks using that mentality!
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Post by sherrylynne on Oct 19, 2009 8:42:18 GMT -5
She will- not to worry! Boris would only eat the soup for almost 6 weeks, or just tiny slivers of pork. One day when I was hand feeding him(only way he'd take the slivers), he actually picked out a larger piecs, sat on my lap and chewed/ate it! Then grabbed an even bigger piece, jumped down, ran to the corner, and chowed down. He hasn't looked back since Well, unless I'm making him try something he's not had before, then it's the old gag/wretch/spit again, until he actually TRIES some, then it's "Hey- this is good!"
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Jakk
Going Natural
Raw Feeder[/color]
Posts: 160
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Post by Jakk on Oct 20, 2009 20:31:17 GMT -5
Cooper and Polly ate everything but the bone of a chicken thigh today. I cut it up into the normal sized chunks and they were happy as can be during both breakfast and dinner. I didn't give Kasrah breakfast and although she was unhappy about it I sectioned her off into the bottom of the cage (a critter nation) and sat on the floor in front of the cage while she ate her mush/soup. If I left she would stop eating and if she is in my lap she just want to stash it, she is such a character.
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Post by sherrylynne on Oct 21, 2009 8:49:46 GMT -5
What a brat Kasrah is being ! She'll get there yet, don't worry! She is actually doing rather well. Will she take any tiny diced up pieces yet? With Cooper and Polly, I think I'd start to introduce some new meats. Those two are amazing! Most seem to love pork and lamb, so those may be good to try next. Once they've had a bit of time to build up their jaw strength, you can start with some wing tips!
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Jakk
Going Natural
Raw Feeder[/color]
Posts: 160
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Post by Jakk on Oct 22, 2009 0:18:12 GMT -5
Kasrah is quite the brat. She flat out refused to eat the soup today. I have no idea what changed her mind but even with putting the mushy parts in her moth she would gag and spit it out. I ended up giving up (I know I know) when she got snappy and so I just let her go off and be upset in her cage with the her bowl. Which she spilled all over the place...although I am convinced she lapped up a bit of it while I was out of the room. Polly and Cooper enjoyed a meal of chicken thigh and pork baby food. They ate a little more (about 1/4 cup total) than yesterday. The baby food was a surprise hit with Polly, although I am convinced she'll eat about anything without hesitation. Cooper was hesitant but seems to like the taste. I am going shopping again on Sunday and I can pick up some pork. Is there a specific cut or fat content that I should aim for? Or can I just pick up anything? Also, I have some chicken organ meats, should I give Cooper and Polly some in the next week or should I keep them in the freezer for now while I introduce them to pork? Also with jaw muscle, could Polly's age work against her progress at some point? I know her teeth might, as she is missing a few back molars and the ones she has left are not in great condition. On the other hand, Cooper has a shiny set of pearly whites and I know all to well that Kasrah will have no problem with jaw strength once she is ready.
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Post by sherrylynne on Oct 22, 2009 9:13:10 GMT -5
If they'll take the organs, go for it! Just to let you know, heart and gizzard are muscle meats, not organ. That would be liver, thymus, kidney, pancreas, etc. Sounds like Kasrah's decided to rebel a bit. Perfectly normal. She'll get back with the program. And if she was getting snappy(biting), kennel her for a couple minutes. That way, she knows she can't get away with it When you pick up the pork, any cut will do. The more, the better. You'll want to introduce a variety of different cuts, ages, and types of meat. However- do leave a couple days between introducing different meats. That way, if they have a reaction you'll know which one caused it.
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Jakk
Going Natural
Raw Feeder[/color]
Posts: 160
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Post by Jakk on Oct 25, 2009 0:42:46 GMT -5
Sorry for being gone so suddenly without notice. I got sucked into a three day thing with some friends and haven't been able to get on my computer to even check my emails. All three are staying stable with eating, same old same old. Kasrah is eating without so much drama as of yesterday. Today she ate without me having to be by her side the whole time We are going shopping Monday for food products. So our guys get to try pork next week.
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Post by sherrylynne on Oct 25, 2009 9:57:35 GMT -5
Go Kasrah!!!! That's excellent news I'm glad to know everyone is still on track. And not to worry about getting caught up in things. Life happens And I forgot to mention it before- Polly's missing teeth may or may not cause her a problem. Just keep an eye when she eats. I remember reading a story about "Rex, the Wonder Cat" on rawcats forum. Rex was an elderly cat with only 3 teeth left in his head, but had always been fed premade raw. One day, Rex's owner fed the dogs their raw(RMB's). Turkey drumsticks in this case. One dog came back up shortly after, asking for more food, which he neither needed, nor got. Later on in the day, they noticed Rex's appetite was gone. Thinking he was nearing the end, they just loved on him, and didn't try to force the issue. On the second day of Rex not eating, they really started to worry. When he kept disappearing into the basement, they decided to follow. You guessed it. 17 year old toothless Rex had stolen the dog's drumstick, dragged it off to the basement, and proceeded to pick that leg clean. When they found him, he'd eaten ALL the meat off of it, and was trying to work on the end pieces So- maybe Polly's missing teeth will be a problem. Then again- maybe not
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Jakk
Going Natural
Raw Feeder[/color]
Posts: 160
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Post by Jakk on Oct 25, 2009 19:35:38 GMT -5
Today was a great day for the ferrets.
I connected the top and bottom sections of the cage so they could be together all the time. Dinner was hand shredded a chicken leg so there were different sized chunks, some were even still attached to the bone as well as 1 cup of soup with only 1 Tbsp. of kibble. Polly dove into the chicken and was eating the chunks off the bone while Cooper stashed and ate detached pieces in his den. The kicker was that Kasrah came down and ATE A CHUNK!!!! She just walked over and took a small chunk, ate it, then came back and stole a piece of skin from Cooper's stash pile and ate that too!!! The soup wasn't a hit with Cooper (he was a ferret on a mission with his stashing) but Polly and Kasrah lapped at it for a good few minutes.
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Post by sherrylynne on Oct 26, 2009 10:50:02 GMT -5
Oh, my! Looks like Kasrah may be turning a corner I'd like you to try giving her some small diced pieces with her instead of the soup for a meal, see how she does with it. Let me know how they take to the pork! If they have a problem with it, try cutting the pork pieces smaller than the chicken ones. Since ferrets can be very lazy in nature, they should go for the smaller pieces first, since they would be mixed together.
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Jakk
Going Natural
Raw Feeder[/color]
Posts: 160
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Post by Jakk on Oct 27, 2009 1:30:45 GMT -5
we couldn't pick up pork today as we ended up short on cash this month. But we get more money on the first so we will be able to pick up some pork then. We did chicken the same way yesterday, I took some good photo's of the girls munching down. Polly gnawing on a fatty bone end: Kasrah testing the waters (she eventually took it and ate it in her stash spot):
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Post by sherrylynne on Oct 27, 2009 9:50:58 GMT -5
Awww! Those are too cute I'm so glad Kasrah has decided maybe this stuff is actually good!
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Jakk
Going Natural
Raw Feeder[/color]
Posts: 160
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Post by Jakk on Oct 28, 2009 15:30:07 GMT -5
I was just about to hit reply why my computer died last night.
"Same old deal today(yesterday). I gave Kasrah little bits and she ate a table spoon or so, but wasn't super enthusiastic. I am going to try giving some organ meat tomorrow. I am super proud that Kasrah is finally eating the meat. Also, I was able to clean up Polly's back teeth to the point where they don't seem to bother her as much and she ate large chunks with a little less caution."
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Post by sherrylynne on Oct 28, 2009 21:20:02 GMT -5
That's wonderful about Polly's teeth. It really does make a difference if it's not so uncomfortable for her. I'd gather you are leaving out the kibble for several hours before feeding now?
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