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Post by Forum Administrator on Nov 4, 2009 11:06:39 GMT -5
HF Forum Username: Willowwynd
1. Where did you first learn about natural diets for ferrets?
Researching on the web
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 would like to do whole prey but I know there will be times that I can't, but would be able to raw. Right now it is kind of urgent to get going on it.
3. Why are you interested in switching your ferrets to a natural diet?
I know it is much healthier for ferrets. That it is a natural diet for them and not full of chemicals, dyes, preservatives, additives, and poisons. I feel strongly about this because my family also is allergic to a lot of those same things I have mentioned.
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!!!!!!!!!!!! (not meaning to yell.. just urgent)
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 ferret, actually I just got him today. His name is snowball, he is 4 years old (he has been alone his whole life), I will find out Monday when I can call his vet to find out if he had any problems back in June and to make an appointment for him even if it is just for piece of mind. I feel he is underweight because his back end is not as thick as it should be. His hair is course, looks like it is thin too, and is not looking the best. His last vet appt. was in June. Not to mention he has diarrhea.
6. What diet do you currently feed your ferrets? (Please include all treats, supplements, etc)
They were feeding him 8 - 1 ultra blend, plus fruit loops, pears, bananas, and peaches. (they said he won't eat meat - they tried raw and cooked but he wouldn't touch it)
7. Have you ever tried to switch your ferrets to a natural diet in the past? If yes, what happened?
No, I haven't, this is a first time.
8. What additional information about yourself or your ferrets would you like to share?
This is my first ferret and my first day with him. I am a stay at home mom with 3 boys and other critters too.
9. How often during the week do you have access to a computer?
Every day, and I check email a number of times throughout the day.
10. Please post a picture of each of your ferrets (if possible).
When I can get one taken. He is sleeping now.
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Post by tss on Nov 4, 2009 15:40:58 GMT -5
Hi!
My name is Maria and I will be your mentor.
I have been raw feeding dogs since October '05. And Ferrets since October '07. I currently have four ferrets, I feed them a variety of things. Including ground meats, whole prey (chicks, mice, month old chickens and turkey, dove, squirrel and rabbit), as well as cuts of chicken, beef, rabbit, deer, lamb, pork and probably other things that I can't currently remember.
Have you ever tried giving him a mouse?? Or a pinkie?
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Post by willowwynd on Nov 4, 2009 19:38:59 GMT -5
Hello Maria,
Since I just got him last Saturday, I was waiting to hear from someone as to what to do. He is my very first ferret, and I feel like I rescued him since he is nothing but skin and bones right now (very emaciated). I tried to make the duck soup recipe I found on here and he wouldn't touch it. So I put some on his lips and he licked it. Then when I tried to put it on his gums he just rubbed his face on his blankets to get it off. The previous owner said she tried both cooked and raw meat and he wouldn't touch it.
But then again... she said he wasn't leash trained and he does very nicely with it not to mention he is potty trained very nicely too, oh and he don't know how to play either.
He does have alot of get up and go. Stools right now are more of a birdseed (I looked at a chart with pictures).
I can go and get some pinkies tomorrow to try. He is almost out of his 8-1 Ultra and I am wondering what to do because I don't want to buy any more of it.
Thanks Willowwynd
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Post by tss on Nov 5, 2009 14:12:21 GMT -5
I would try the pinkies, maybe cut one in half. Or into slices, it is easy to do when frozen with a sharp knife.
Just keep trying with the soup, and you will eventually be able to get him to eat it. But as far as the 8-1 ultra. Buy more, at this point due to him being so thin you cannot risk him not eating. Switching takes time, and due to his health you can't switch cold turkey without risking his life.
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Post by willowwynd on Nov 6, 2009 10:32:33 GMT -5
Well last night we tried a pinkie mouse. I cut it into slices and he smelled it but wouldn't have anything to do with it. I made sure to give it to him after he had been up and playing for awhile to help build up some hunger. But as I said that didn't work. If I am going to be giving him mouse on a regular basis I will have to start breeding them. I have raised mice before but not breed them. I didn't realize how expensive the pinkies are, where I live they are $1.80 plus tax for one.
I do understand how picky ferrets can be and mine was neglected a lot by his previous owners for the last year or so. So I know this wont happen overnight by any means. I also have picky kids, and I do know for kids it can take up to 30 times being introduced to new foods before they will try/like them. I figure this goes for ferrets too.
We also picked up some ZuPreem to mix a little with his 8 - 1 Ultra but he just throws the Zupreem out of his cage. I figured if I could mix a little of that with the Ultra then it might help. I only put a few pieces in with this 8 - 1.
Oh, how many times a day should I be giving him tastes of the soup? Once a day, twice just not sure.
I had one other question. The previous owners gave him hairball remedy as a treat. Do I give him a vitamin supplement as a treat or not. The reason I ask is because of his addiction to sugar and I know there is a little bit in there, but he is not had any sweets of any kind since I got him.
How do I post a pic of him on here. I haven't figured that out yet. (This is my first forum).
I weighed Snowball last night and is is 33 ounces or 2.06 pounds and very boney.
Thanks
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Post by tss on Nov 6, 2009 15:04:25 GMT -5
Does he like ferretone? If so you could try giving him the pinky with that. For the kibble, take some of both and put them in a tupperware container for a few days. That is supposed to help when ferrets are introduced to a mix. As for the soup, try a little twice a day.. And the supplements, I wouldn't give him any.. Maybe a little ferretone to intice him, but that is about it. Normally I'd suggest a 4 or 5 hour fasting before an attemped meal of raw food. But since he is skinny he really needs to get his weight up before a fasting. To upload pictures go to this web site imageshack.us/?no_multi=1At the right of the screen click "Browse", find your photo then click "Host it". It will give you 3 link options, select the second link. Copy and paste on the forum
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Post by willowwynd on Nov 7, 2009 9:59:34 GMT -5
I hope this works. Here is a couple of pics of Snowball that we took yesterday. He does like ferretone a lot that is why I really don't give it to him much (just when trying to get pics or bribe him). I tried to put some on a pinky that I sliced up yesterday and he just didn't go for it at all. Tried it cold and warm (room temp) and he still turned up his nose at it. On the other hand he is no longer throwing out the Zupreeme and he still don't like the soup, but we will keep working on it. I have also mixed the two kibbles in a container like you said, at least if nothing else he will start getting a little better nutrition from that aspect alone. Do I need to keep trying the pinkys daily?
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Post by tss on Nov 7, 2009 11:13:42 GMT -5
His weight actually doesn't look too terrible. From what I can tell in the pictures anyways.
I'd hold off on trying the pinky again.. Just keep trying with the soup, and once you get a vet clearance on his weight we can try a 4 hour fasting.. Then soup.
What all do you have in your soup??
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Post by willowwynd on Nov 9, 2009 15:53:58 GMT -5
I got the recipe off this forum it is:
6oz of meat ( ground beef , liver ,chicken ,lamb duck what ever is available) 1 boiled egg 1 scoop of goats milk one ground egg shell 2 tsp of olive oil 1 1/2 cups of water I blend this together untill it is a smooth soup and serve this four times per day this amount makes four servings ( I also give this to sick or elderly ferrets as a top up food )
The only difference is I used ground turkey instead of chicken.
I have also called his former clinic and got two different stories from them, so I am calling around to find another vet.
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Post by Heather on Nov 10, 2009 0:15:07 GMT -5
Hi, your mentor has run into some difficulties and has requested some time off, I will be filling in for the time being . Your recipe doesn't sound bad. I wouldn't cook the egg (so you will have to adjust your liquid content but that shouldn't be too difficult). If you're going to freeze this in portions, don't add the oil, it will break down in the freezing and I would use marine fish oil instead but that's up to you. Olive oil isn't as easily digested as marine fish, that's all. It's not bad, just not the best Make sure your egg shell is raw and powdered. Half a tsp to 8 oz of meat. Other than that...go for it You can continue to post as you would with your regular mentor, hopefully your regular mentor will be back shortly. ciao
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Post by willowwynd on Nov 10, 2009 19:18:09 GMT -5
Hello Heather,
Thank you for letting me know and I appreciate that your stepping in for the meantime.
I will be making a new batch of Soup tomorrow, I have the substitutions you mentioned and I will try that with him, and see how that goes.
I do have some good news he is doing good switching to the Zupreem and now has normal poop. Yeah, no more birdseed poop. Now that his poop is normal I just weighed him again to see if he is gaining any weight and he is, its a small amount, but he has gone from 2.06 pounds to 2.12 pounds in a few days and I am going to weigh he again at the end of the week to see how he is doing again. I just worried so much because when I would feel him, his bones stick out so much, but things are looking good now. I hope he just keeps going on for the better.
I haven't found a good vet yet but I haven't finished calling everyone in the area either. Wish me luck.
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Post by Heather on Nov 11, 2009 0:24:46 GMT -5
Finding a good reputable vet before you need one is a very wise choice. Good luck, I know that this particular task is very difficult and I've switched a number of vets while trying to find a good vet who is also available in emergencies and is also affordable. No messy poopies is a wonderful thing. If you've had problems in the past when switching foods, you might also try adding some pumpkin to your raw mix. This helps him better absorb the new foods. It's great that he's showing signs of weight gains, but remember some of our ferrets are built more on the lean lines and less on the roly poly ones I have both. Mad Max, Fun-Go, Odin, are all on the long lean lines. They carry good weight but they're not round and tubby. Napoleon, Nicodemus, Boris are wiggly and jiggly especially in the winter. You will get to know which way Snowball plays his weight. His photos lend him to looking more on the lean and mobile. I found that most of my kibble to raw switches put on weight but maintained their natural body types. The weight came from muscle mass rather than just flub. Keep me posted as to what's going on, even if it's just a couple of lines. I will check in with you tomorrow ciao
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Post by willowwynd on Nov 13, 2009 20:07:28 GMT -5
I was able to get the stuff I needed to make the duck soup again with your suggestions, lets hope that it goes better with him. I will check in later tomorrow to let you know how it goes.
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Post by Heather on Nov 14, 2009 16:18:52 GMT -5
Sounds good, I will be looking for your post ciao
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Post by willowwynd on Nov 14, 2009 18:47:01 GMT -5
Well, sorry to say he still don't want anything to do with it. So not much to do except to keep giving him tastes and hopefully soon he will change his mind.
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