jon
Going Natural
RAW FEEDER
Posts: 109
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Post by jon on Aug 13, 2009 23:21:44 GMT -5
Good and bad.
The good is that Pippin is starting to eat the chicken - so is Meri, but less enthusiastically.
The bad is that Londo became quite ill today - threw up multiple times. He hasn't been eating, so he's been allowed to cheat and get small amounts of kibble a couple of times per day. He really inhaled it, and between that, and his chewing on his stuffed animals, he may have a bowel obstruction. We have a vet appointment first thing in the morning. We think he thew up most of what was blocking, but we want to be sure.
Bella is also a chicken-boot-camp failure at this time. She refuses even wet kibble, has never liked any kind of treat, and has lost weight. G'Kar is in the same boat. Refuses to eat, and has lost weight. So, three failures, two successes, and 4 that are in progress with wet kibble and chicken puree. Fortunately, we have enough levels to separate them for feeding.
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Post by sherrylynne on Aug 14, 2009 1:12:42 GMT -5
Jon- I will get back to you tomorrow. We've had a crisis with one of ours. A bowel obstruction(she's fine). Keep on with what you're doing for now.Talk to you tomorrow.
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Post by sherrylynne on Aug 14, 2009 19:57:16 GMT -5
Sorry about that! I hope your little one is going to be ok. It's really scary when that happens. I actually haven't slept a lot since, trying to think where on earth mine could have gotten teh foam rubber! Anyway, you've got two going well so far, and we'll get all the others there. The 4 that are doing well on the wet kibble/puree mix, very slowly increase the puree to kibble ratio. Say, a tsp worth every couple of days. Do yours eat any kind of soup? It would be a good idea to get them on it if they're not. You can hide meds, etc in it, usually quite successfully. It's also great if you have a sick ferret who can't/won't eat their regular food. If you do, try to mix just a wee bit of the chicken puree into that instead of the wet kibble.Just enough of it so they go "huh?" and carry on eating.
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jon
Going Natural
RAW FEEDER
Posts: 109
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Post by jon on Aug 15, 2009 9:47:20 GMT -5
We took Londo to the vet yesterday, and she gave him a clean bill of health. Whatever was stuck in his gut (probably stuffing from one of his stuffed animals), he was able to throw up himself. He was kind of miserable that night, but was fine the next morning.
Last night was a breakthrough. Both Meri and Pippin are bona fide meat eaters. Between them, and Midas, they polished off almost all of the chicken I set out for them - chunks with bone (wings). One of the things that seemed to work best for them was to marinate the chicken in a little warm water, and Ferrovite - Ferret BBQ! Anyway, they're doing great.
I have been adding a little Duck Soup to the kibble mash. Most of them know the taste (every few days I used to sprinkle a bit over their dry kibble). Most of them have had our version of Sick-Ferret-Soup - warm water, dry Duck Soup mix, and chicken baby food.
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Post by sherrylynne on Aug 15, 2009 11:09:16 GMT -5
That is excellent news! Good for Midas, Meri, and Pippin . Getting them to eat bone can be one of the major hurdles. Since mine refused wet kibble in any way, shape, or form, I found the soup was my way in. If they eat the kibble mash with the soup mixed in, that's great! You may find that you'll have to use different tricks with the various ferrets. I gather you are still adding the chicken puree into the mash? If you can get any/all of them eating that, then you can look at upping the amount of puree, and decreasing the kibble.
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jon
Going Natural
RAW FEEDER
Posts: 109
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Post by jon on Aug 16, 2009 10:55:40 GMT -5
Mini breakthrough with Inara. We were able to get her to take pureed chicken with a little Ferrovite by hand feeding her. It was quite amusing. She really wanted to resist, and spent the whole time squirming to escape, but when we put the chicken in front of her mouth, she ate it. No, no, don't make me like this stuff!
Here's a question: Eggs. I had over easy eggs for breakfast, and decided to let her taste the egg yolk. She likes it! I realize that's not proper raw food, but what about mixing in some mixed up egg (either raw or cooked) as a supplement or treat. Aren't weasels notorious egg thieves?
Moriarty seems to be eating the mix, but not enough, so I allowed him a minnie buffet of dry kibble this morning. He's the IBD boy, so I have to keep close watch on his weight.
Sherrylynn - I'm glad your fuzzy made it through the obstruction - foam rubber should be banned!
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Post by sherrylynne on Aug 16, 2009 12:02:13 GMT -5
I'm with you on that one! Mine love eggs. Raw, cooked, you name it! I wouldn't give them more than 1 or 2 whole raw eggs a week each, but they can have as much yolk, or cooked, as you want to give them. As long as it doesn't make up a major part of their diet, of course . Not a problem mixing the yolk in with the food as a lure, either. If you don't mind the mess, you could also give them a whole egg to play with! They'll roll it around, and when it cracks open, they've got goodies. That's good news about Inara as well. Once she gets accustomed to the taste and texture, it won't be as much of a fight. Sometimes, I swear they just put up a resistance for the show of the thing The really good part of a raw diet is that a lot of people have noticed an improvement in their fuzzies IBD once they've completely switched. Not all IBD is worsened by grains or chicken, but those that have episodes triggered by either really do improve. Keep up the good work! You're doing great, and your ferrets will appreciate the improved health!
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jon
Going Natural
RAW FEEDER
Posts: 109
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Post by jon on Aug 17, 2009 22:35:23 GMT -5
More good news!
Kaylee ate chicken tonight! I did the usual treatment that we use for Meri, and she started sniffing, then tasting, and finally took a piece of chicken wing for herself.
Londo also made some progress (he's one of the dry kibble revertees. Since wet kibble with chicken kids get fed first, he wanted to see what the fuss was about. He actually started eating the mix. Eventually, Tommy and Moriarty pushed him out of the way though. So, we put him in the dry-kibble cage, but with a small bowl of pureed chicken with Ferretone topping, and he started to chow down on it. So, now we are down to two dry-kibble only folks - G'Kar and Bella. For the rest, we're decreasing the amount of kibble, and increasing the pureed chicken. I'm also adding a little Prozyme. So, the current wet mix is: 2 parts kibble 1 part chicken puree 1 part water 1/4 tsp Duck soup 1/8 tsp Prozyme
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Post by sherrylynne on Aug 18, 2009 10:45:16 GMT -5
Oh, that is excellent!!! They are definitely on the right track I can't remember- have you tried the "scruff and stuff" method with G'kar and Bella yet ? By that I mean scruff, and dab some of the mix on lips/nose so they have to lick it off.
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jon
Going Natural
RAW FEEDER
Posts: 109
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Post by jon on Aug 18, 2009 18:00:03 GMT -5
No, we haven't tried that yet. G'Kar might be convinced. Bella is very strongly imprinted on dry kibble only - doesn't like soup, Ferrevite, treats (we've tried lots of flavors). She's going to be the toughest. I may try the scruffing with G'Kar tonight.
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Post by sherrylynne on Aug 18, 2009 19:50:35 GMT -5
That was quite literally the only way I could get Boris to try anything! I just kept scruffing and dabbing for several days in a row, every meal time, until he started to take it from my finger willingly. Still do have to do that with him for anything new ! One thing I kept in mind at all times was "If they have to taste it often enough, sooner or later they'll develop a taste for it". And it's true
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jon
Going Natural
RAW FEEDER
Posts: 109
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Post by jon on Aug 20, 2009 22:20:33 GMT -5
Things are pretty much the same. I'm decreasing the kibble, and increasing the pureed chicken. Londo actually decided to taste a little of the soup tonight. We tried offering a tiny piece of chicken coated with Ferrevite to Inara - she gave me a dirty look and ran away.
Kaylee is eating only chicken now - even stands her ground against the boys.
Converted: Midas, Pippin, Meri, Kaylee
Loving the soup-mush: Mori and Tommy
Grudgingly eating the mush: Zoey, Inara, Otis, and sometimes Londo
Nothing to do with that poison: Bella, G'Kar
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Post by sherrylynne on Aug 21, 2009 19:14:18 GMT -5
That's good! Ok, with Kaylee, maybe it's time to start introducing other meats. You don't want her to imprint only on chicken. When you give her the pieces, slip in two or three smaller pieces of something else. Your choice as to what it is. Mori and Tommy: start to add some very tiny pieces of meat, ground would be perfect, to see what they do when they hit some texture. Zoey, Inara, Otis, Londo: just keep on with what they are comfortable with right now. Bella, Gkar: I think you'll have to start the scruff and stuff method. If you have the time, try to make a game of it. Grab one of them when they run by, dab on the nose, a tickle or cuddle, and down they go.
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jon
Going Natural
RAW FEEDER
Posts: 109
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Post by jon on Aug 22, 2009 7:47:06 GMT -5
We'll pick up some new meats for tonight. Any suggestions in particular? Our local grocery store carries lamb at reasonable prices, and rabbit at very UNreasonable prices. I have heard that pork is not a good idea - is that true, or hearsay? Right now we're trying to do organ meat (heart and liver) once per week - is that enough? What about gizzards?
Thanks for all the help.
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Post by sherrylynne on Aug 22, 2009 14:17:20 GMT -5
I can't believe that old tale about pork is still making the rounds! Mine love it. What it was, was pork can carry the trichenosis parasite. Freezing it for even a couple of days utterly destroys it. So it's not a problem at all. Plus, farms are generally a lot better about treating ill animals now. So, go ahead and feed the pork if you like I'm willing to bet they'll enjoy it! For organ meat, livers, lungs, spleen, etc. Hearts and gizzards are muscle meats. Heart is especially good for taurine! I don't think anyone is quite sure just how much ferrets need of taurine, but all agree they do need some. For other meats, pork is a good second one, as is lamb. So it's up to you!
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