|
Post by spiritualtramp on Oct 18, 2009 9:30:44 GMT -5
That's great! I'm happy to hear they're all starting to try it on their own, that will certainly make things easier!
The carrier would work if it turns out JayJay is showing resistance. And he may backtrack still, sometimes they do well in the beginning and then suddenly stop their progress and go backwards. So I wouldn't put that idea out of your head just yet, and if they are hungry they won't try to get out, they'll eat. I never had any issues when feeding inside of a carrier, or den.
Gizzards are a huge favorite so I'm not surprised they took to them, I guess they're very tasty (could've fooled me!) None of my kids ever needed direction when it came to the first gizzard meal.
You may want to think about getting them accustomed to eating a soup. Generally it's not needed but if for some reason one of them becomes ill and stops eating solid food, if they are used to soup, it can make force feeding so much easier. I've found they also make great treats when trying to boost weights (my adrenal girl Pilot gets soups four times a week, and it's helped her gain weight to where my vet and I are comfortable bringing her in for surgery.) And, if someone ever needs medications, mixing it into soups takes the stress off of medicating. So I'd rethink that if I were you and maybe try to introduce some sort of soup recipe into their diets while the switching is good.
What's on the menu for today?
|
|
|
Post by gnarlysalamander on Oct 20, 2009 0:45:25 GMT -5
sorry it took so long to respond. it's been a stressful day.
yesterday we did gizzard again since everyone seemed to agree it was edible. jayjay still had to be given a little assistance, but he didn't spit anything out. bandit and sammy moved up to slightly larger pieces, because i figured if they we willing to make progress i wasn't going to stop them just because mickey and jayjay weren't. mickey was still as willing as he was the other night. he ate about the same amount but didn't show as much "huh?" when i put the dish out.
today. ugh. the dog i've had since i was 4 years old died today. so when i found that out i pretty much filled up the dish with their normal mix + slightly larger amount of evo, and went to sleep off my depression. when i got up the gizzard i had thawed in the fridge smelled kind of... off. i'm not really sure what it's SUPPOSED to smell like, but I didn't trust it. if i froze everything about 4 days before it's date, how long is it good for thawed in the fridge?
|
|
|
Post by spiritualtramp on Oct 20, 2009 10:24:50 GMT -5
I'm so sorry to hear about your dog. What happened? Losing a pet is devastating and I understand if you need to take a few days off to adjust fully and accept his passing.
Generally speaking, even meats that smell a little... rank... can be fed without problem. Ferrets have very adept digestive systems and sometimes even prefer the stinkier things! They'll cache meats to let them 'ripen' a bit before eating, if given the chance! But in the early stages of a switch, I wouldn't offer even slightly off meats because their bellies and taste buds are not quite up to the challenge yet, and it can make them vomit or not want to eat. I actually do not have a sense of smell (long story!) so I don't really know specifics on smells of different meats, but I do know that many meats especially offal and gamy things tend to smell ripe even if they are perfectly fresh. Lamb, duck, pheasant, etc can be potent especially.
If you have more gizzards left, keep up with feeding that. Maybe try adding some very tiny chunks of chicken into the mix to see if they'll eat that. Let me know how today goes, if you try anything. I completely understand if you need the next few days to recoup, though, so no pressure.
Hugs for your loss <3
|
|
|
Post by gnarlysalamander on Oct 20, 2009 12:06:10 GMT -5
Thank you so much for your sympathy. She was the best doggie ever... She had been limping a little lately but no one thought anything of it because she was 15 and had been pretty stiff for the last few years. My dad noticed yesterday the leg she had been limping on was swollen so he took her to the vet and they said she had advanced cancer. I hadn't actually seen her myself since June and even then I was surprised she was still going. Anywho, he decided to put her down because she was obviously suffering and there wasn't anything at that point that could be done =/
I have plenty of gizzards left so we're just going to stick with that for today I think. Also, we made pancakes last night for dinner and I decided to save the eggshells to crush up. They're pretty much powder now... Can I maybe mix some with the cut up gizzards or should I save them for when I attempt a soup?... Can eggshells go bad?
|
|
|
Post by Heather on Oct 22, 2009 12:43:03 GMT -5
I keep my powdered eggshells in the freezer. If they're a really fine powder you can add a little to your gizzards (I find my guys get upset if there are shards of egg shells in their food) You use about 1/2 tsp to 8 oz of meat. I'm sorry to hear about your dog, it is difficult to loose such a furfriend. I will light a candle for her, to aid her on her travels. Just popped in to see how things were going, good luck ciao
|
|
|
Post by spiritualtramp on Oct 22, 2009 14:12:44 GMT -5
Hi Heather Thanks for popping in! I don't freeze my eggshell powder, I just keep it in a jar in the cupboard. Mine is a really fine powder and you can definitely sprinkle it over the gizzards to add calcium to the meal. Like Heather said, half a teaspoon to eight oz of meat, which I'm sure you are serving far less than 8 oz of meat, so adjust accordingly. How have things been going?
|
|
|
Post by gnarlysalamander on Oct 24, 2009 23:02:47 GMT -5
Gah. SO sorry it's taken so long to get back here again.
We've been getting gizzards every day since the skip day, and tomorrow the kibble ration should be 100% over to EVO. So far the progress we've made: Sammy and Bandit will eat anything up to the size of my thumbnail. Any bigger, and Sammy will stash it/Bandit will move to the smaller pieces. Mickey's stayed consistant with the size of pieces he eats, but he'll eat a bit more than he has been. JayJay is still about the same. I did catch him ONCE eating a piece that I hadn't hand fed him, but other than that it's just the tiny pieces when I'm holding him. The eggshells I had were a very fine powder, and they didn't seem to notice the difference when I added it in.
I've got to go shopping sometime between tomorrow and Wednesday, so I'm going to pick them up something... chicken or pork depending on what's on sale.
|
|
|
Post by spiritualtramp on Oct 25, 2009 20:17:24 GMT -5
That's great progress so far, even the small bits they are accepting from your hand is a great accomplishment! Keep it up, they're coming along just fine. I wouldn't jump up the size of the pieces just yet. Let's keep them all on something consistent for a week or so before trying any large pieces. Let me know what you pick up at the store!
|
|
|
Post by spiritualtramp on Oct 29, 2009 10:19:34 GMT -5
How have you been doing?
|
|
|
Post by gnarlysalamander on Oct 30, 2009 11:16:44 GMT -5
The shopping trip went a day late and I ended up buying some chicken breast... no one would touch it even Sammy acted like she wanted nothing to do with it. I didn't want them to backtrack any, so I mixed it up with some gizzard, and very clearly they ate around all of the chicken. A trick I had tried with other stuff at early phases was to put a drop or two of ferretone on the meat and after the initial lick they would gobble it up, but this time they just licked it all off and left the meat behind. Micky would chew and swallow if I tried the scruff and stuff but he clearly looked like he was thinking "this is the most ridiculous situation of my life". JEEZE YOU GUYS. Be a little grateful! I haven't eaten chicken breast in a month!
|
|
|
Post by spiritualtramp on Nov 1, 2009 11:46:26 GMT -5
Haha sometimes introducing new meats can be tough --- don't give up on it just yet. There are other methods (though the oil on teeny bits is a good one) that we can try and my guess is they'll start eating it soon enough. How big are you making the chunks?
|
|
|
Post by gnarlysalamander on Nov 3, 2009 10:59:11 GMT -5
the gizzard we're up to about the size of my pinkie nail for everyone now, the chicken i was just making the tiniest slivers that I could.
I'm a bit concerned, because last night they ate a whole gizzard [yay for no leftovers!] but when I went to check on everyone this morning, the majority of the poop in the litter box wasn't just like a pudding, it was more of like a soup. I know it's to be expected while they're adjusting, but I don't want them to get dehydrated or anything???
|
|
|
Post by spiritualtramp on Nov 5, 2009 10:04:53 GMT -5
It's because they aren't getting enough bone (calcium) to harden up the stools. Do you have a way to crush up eggshells to add to their meals? This might be a good time to add some, for the calcium and stool-hardening effect. Pumpkin can also do the same thing, but my guess is they need the calcium anyway.
|
|
|
Post by gnarlysalamander on Nov 8, 2009 4:07:06 GMT -5
well, we haven't had a very good few days. sammy's got a bit of a cold and isn't eating anything that's not kibble [thank god she's still eating that]. everyone else seems to think if she won't eat the meat, they aren't going to have anything to do with it either. i got bandit to eat a few TINY pieces with the ferretone on it, but everyone else has put their foot down. i don't want to push sammy too much until she's feeling better.
|
|
|
Post by spiritualtramp on Nov 8, 2009 13:49:15 GMT -5
It's okay to not push them until they are over the respiratory issues --- being sick makes them less willing to try new things, not to mention if they've got stuffy noses, they won't be able to smell their foods well enough and won't recognize meat as food --- this is why kibble and soups are good in illness because they tend to be 'smellier.'
Keep up the liquids and I hope Sammy feels better soon!
|
|