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Post by myfirebandit on Feb 24, 2010 18:34:26 GMT -5
Hey!
Sorry I don't update this that often... things are just staying about the same. Sprout wasn't too stoked to eat her food last night. I'm going to be pureeing some pork soup up for her soon here (as soon as the beef I thawed is gone ^_^)
I guess I'll just let you know what happens when I give her some pork and we can move on from there.
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Post by sherrylynne on Feb 25, 2010 10:24:18 GMT -5
Sounds good. It does take time, but we'll get her there As long as you can update me every 2-3 days, it's fine, even if it's just to say "status quo"!
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Post by myfirebandit on Feb 26, 2010 14:29:30 GMT -5
Bug doesn't smell like a ferret anymore! He's also turning into a pretty solid little boy! I took him in for her last distemper on Wednesday... he's 14 weeks and weighs 2 lbs 2 oz. I hope he keeps growing! I like big chubby cuddly boys. He should have a couple more months of growth ahead of him, right? Haha. Anyways, he's still eating kibble during the day, but gets a big meat meal that lasts him all night, and I noticed today that he doesn't smell AT ALL! It's crazy! I like the ferret smell... it's weird without it ^_^ I'm sure the roommates are happy though. Sprout is now the stinky one. Strange, a smelly girl and a not smelly boy. I'm trying to get a more balanced weekly diet for him. I have chicken hearts, gizzards, wings, beef, and pork. How many days a week should I feed him each? I'm also going to start giving him whole prey mice, maybe once a week or every other week. Any ideas? He LOVES his gizzards. Hearts come second
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Post by sherrylynne on Feb 26, 2010 17:33:26 GMT -5
I'm thinking he doesn't even need the kibble anymore! General rule of thumb is 4 days bone in meats, 2 days muscle meats, one meal a week of liver/organ, and other meal whatever you like(I normally give bone in or whole prey on this day, to counteract the effect of the liver/organ) Just give him the gizzard as a muscle meat, also the hearts. He'll need those at least once a week, more if you like. He probably likes the gizzards because of the rubber texture. It's why ferrets will chew rubber given a chance- the texture is pleasing to them for some reason. Also, if he's eating mainly, or just, raw, she's more likely to go with "monkey see, monkey do" Since they are caged together, just give him the raw before you put the kibble back in, so he fills up on it. It can stay in there all day, no problems. Is she still taking some soup, albeit unwillingly?
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Post by myfirebandit on Mar 2, 2010 0:50:05 GMT -5
I was sick for a few days and lagged on my soup-giving. I finally actually pureed up a bunch of pork (I dread the pureeing... it grosses me out and cleaning the cuisinart is quite a chore). Sprout took it surprisingly well! I pureed up just pork tenderloins and water. I added a little ground kibble and ferretone before I gave it to her, and she didn't even object. She got a bit of fat in her mouth, and chewed it for a second before she realized what she was doing and spat it out She still isn't eating much of it... and I still haven't figured out how to leave it in the cage overnight with Bug the porker in there. I gave Bug his first whole chicken wing (not chopped at all). He had no problem with it, and ate every single bone. I gave it to him last night, and half of it was left in the morning. He ate the rest of it part way through play time. Is that a nomal amount for a 2 lb male? One chicken wing? He may have eaten a little more later, but that seemed to be about ideal for two meals about 12 hs apart. On funner topics, Sprout is getting more and more into the dig box, and is now playing with the Derby eggs a bit. It's been really nice here the past few days so the ferts have been able to go with me to the park and to a fire at a friend's house. They're getting really good at walking at a quick pace to get somewhere, and then they can relax and explore at thei own pace. What champs! I need to take some pictures, since the ones I originally posted didn't show up in this thread. And Bug is way bigger than the last time I took pictures... haha. Oh ferret love... and oh the things I do for them... (as I walk back to the kitchen to clean up the pork mess)
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Post by sherrylynne on Mar 2, 2010 10:55:57 GMT -5
A wing for him sounds about right. Most wings average about 3 oz, so yeah. I guess with Sprout, just keep hand feeding her as often throughout the day as you can, and get her going with it that way. Have you tried giving him a wing, and her the soup, in separate parts of the cage? Hopefully she'll eat her fill while he's busy And just wait til you're making liver soups if you want a stinky mess to clean out of the blender
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Post by myfirebandit on Mar 2, 2010 13:24:18 GMT -5
I'm going to feed her more soup here in a minute now.
Sprout still isn't eating the soup on her own... I can try leaving a whole bunch of it in the cage, but Bug really likes it... I'm afraid he'll eat it all while she stares at it in disgust/contemplation.
How do you feel about taking her kibble out in the morning, feeding her soup throughout the day and evening, and then just giving her the kibble back at night? My only concern is that she lost a bunch of weight recently (I believe her winter weight... it's been really nice here. Her coat is a little scruffier too) and although she isn't scrawnie, she definitely doesn't have the mass she did just a month or so ago. I don't want her to get skinner.
I didn't notice her chunking up because she was young and I assumed it was normal growth. It freaked me out a bit when she lost the weight (and quickly), but she has definitely leveled out now and is maintaining her mass. She is definitely eating less too, hence assuming she's jumping the gun and getting ready for summer.
So gizzards don't count as organs... and hearts don't either? It makes sense that they count as muscle... but then what do I need to feed Bug to get his organ quota met? Liver? I thought too much liver wasn't good for them...
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Post by myfirebandit on Mar 2, 2010 13:27:12 GMT -5
Also, what are some otherr good bone in meats? All I have for him now are the chicken wings.
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Post by sherrylynne on Mar 2, 2010 19:09:03 GMT -5
Giving her the soup throughout the day, and the kibble back at night is a good idea. That way you know she's getting something. For liver, no more than one chicken liver, or chicken sized piece of liver, per ferret per week. About the same amount of another organ, like kidney. A chicken liver weighs an average of about 2oz. Other bone in meats- turkey neck(you'll likely have to chop it up for him), rabbit, quail, ox tail, cornish hen, duck(not the leg bones- too dense. Same for the drumette of the wing), obviously whole prey. Also- any part of the chicken will do. Necks, ribs, backs, drumsticks. Although with those, I have to cut them in half lengthwise to expose the marrow. I think that's about it. Basically, and bone from animals rabbit/chicken sized or smaller, and non-weight bearing bones from others. One thing I can find here is something called pork rib tail ends. It's mainly heavy cartiledge, and they have no problem with those.
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Post by myfirebandit on Mar 2, 2010 20:10:25 GMT -5
I gave them a live mouse. I'm thinking of one day breeding them, and wanted to give Bug a start on killing them so I don't have to...
So... with my willing to euthanize roommate on hand, I gave them a young mouse (hopper-ish aged). And... Sprout killed it in a few seconds flat. I figured she would have sharper hunting instinct and skill than mellow bug, but had no idea she would be so quick and efficient the first time. Bug, on the othe hand, just sniffed and watched in amazment.
Sprout crunched on the skull and legs a little, but didn't actually eat any of it. She keeps going back to it and trying to stash it, more frantically than she has ever tried to stash anything before. I'm hoping she'll get some tastes of it. I put some ferretone on it, and in a bit I'm going to cut it open... and then cut it up... erg. Bug doesn't seem very interested but I'm sure he'll eat it later tonight if she doesn't.
And of course the guy at the reptile store said "oh no, you don't want to do that, it will make them aggressive."
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Post by myfirebandit on Mar 3, 2010 2:57:22 GMT -5
So, after hoarding the mouse, carrying it around, shaking it, biting it a bunch, and all around not knowing what to do with it, I took the mouse away from Sprout and cut it up. I cut all the legs off, and offered her one... she took it! Crunched it all up! I gave her the rest of the legs, one at a time... and she ate every one! Finally I gave her the head (not so much fun to cut off) and she ate that too Unfortunately she won't eat the body... she keeps grabbing pieces of it and trying to stash it, but can't really figure out what to do with them. Bug is still ignoring it, surprisingly. It's strange... he usually eats anything! Anyways, the mousey bits are being left in the cage overnight. We'll see what's there in the morning and then I'll have to deduce who ate what.... I'm REALLY HAPPY!!!! Sprout ate meat and bones!!! (And brains). Also found some chicken livers and will be trying those out tomorrow with Bug.
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Post by myfirebandit on Mar 3, 2010 14:56:51 GMT -5
All the mousey bits are gone
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Post by sherrylynne on Mar 3, 2010 17:51:57 GMT -5
Congratulations!!! A couple of mine only want the heads, legs, and tails, too. What I really hate is when they shake the guts out all over the place It's really a bit of a bugger if you don't notice them at the top of the cage bars before they've dried Since she's willing to eat them, it shouldn't take Bugs too long to catch on. Especially if she really defends it! And I still can't believe how many of those old wive's tales are still being bandied about
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Post by myfirebandit on Mar 5, 2010 1:56:57 GMT -5
Sprout loves her mice! She ate an ice cube of pork puree (staight up! No kibble or tone!) yesterday, and today I gave her some pinkies and an adult male. I fed alive again because I'm not sure she would go for the mice without the movement and hunting instinct kicking in. When she got a whiff of the mice in the little carrier, she went nuts! She was frantically trying to get in to get the mice.... When I finally gave them to her, she entirely ate the first pinky, killed the adult and carried around, and killed the second pinky. I fed her the adult legs, and chopped him up as well as the pinky. When I came back a few hours later, she was sitting next to he bowl eating the LAST PEICE! She didn't eat the guts, however. So, today Sprout ate one adult male and two pinky mice ^_^ Bug still smells them like "WTF?" so I'm pretty sure she was the one eating the peices the other night. I'm going to get her frozen mice next time, and see if she will take them. I assume she will, since she will eat a dead cut up mouse hours after she kills it.... I'm thinking of alternating between pork and mice. I want her to eat other meats, but hopefully the mice will open her up to them a bit more. Bug ate all his liver without any problem. I still find it really strange that he ignores the mice... I tried to get him interested in a live pinky, and a dead pinky, and mouse bits, and he ignores it all. He doesn't like ferretone either, so I'm going to have to chop a mouse up and make a soup for him at some point. I have the feeling that if I ever start a mouse colony Sprout is going to be the sole executioner. I'm so proud of my little girl! I feel we've moved forwards leaps and bounds in the past few days. Oh, and Bug is getting his first cornish hen bits tonight, but he still hasn't dug in yet.
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Post by sherrylynne on Mar 5, 2010 10:48:21 GMT -5
It sounds like they are all doing well. Once they are all on meat chunks(and I think you can get Sprout there now), you can just chop up the pinkies/hoppers, etc and mix them in the food for bugs.
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