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Post by Forum Administrator on Oct 10, 2009 4:50:46 GMT -5
HF Forum Username: nibblesandspazz 1. Where did you first learn about natural diets for ferrets? This website 2. What kind of natural diet are you looking to feed?No live prey, anything i could find at my local grocery store, occasionally frozen raw bought online. 3. Why are you interested in switching your ferrets to a natural diet? My big girl's coat is always dry and not very soft, i heard a raw diet will help with that. i have also heard raw is better for them and for something so unhealthy their kibble sure is expensive. if I'm going to be paying that much for something i want it to be good for them 4. Are you willing to make the commitment? Yes. ive been having to give one of my ferrets meds 3X a day, and syringe feed her water every 2 hours. i dont mind a bit 5. How many ferrets do you currently have? 3 What are their names? nibbles, spazz, and tigger Ages? nibbles and spazz are 2 year old marshall's, tigger is 3 years old most likely from a breeder Genders? nibbles and tigger are female, spazz is male Do they have any health problems? tigger went to the vet yesterday. was diagnosed with stomach ulcers Are they overweight? nibbles is a bit chubbier than when i first bought her, possibly from winter Underweight? tigger isnt underweight but prettty close 6. What diet do you currently feed your ferrets? (Please include all treats, supplements, etc) nibbles and spazz are on 8 in 1 moist, nibbles treats are bandits/ marshall premium ferret treats bacon flavor. tiggers kibble is marshalls premium ferret diet her treats are sheppard and greene chicken, bacon, ranch flavor 7. Have you ever tried to switch your ferrets to a natural diet in the past? If yes, what happened? i didnt try very hard. i gave nibbles and spazz some heart and gizzrds. nibbles ate the heart but not the gizzards, spazz wouldnt touch any of it ( he is picky) 8. What additional information about yourself or your ferrets would you like to share? i ve tried and tried but tigger wont eat anything other than her kibble. she wont even eat if if its in soup form. spazz doesnt like treats and will lick raw stuff but wont eat it. nibbles is a bottomless pit. she will eat just about anything 9. How often during the week do you have access to a computer? 24/7 10. this is tigger this is nibbles ( the dark one) and spazz (the tan one)
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Post by sherrylynne on Oct 10, 2009 10:45:29 GMT -5
Hello there! I'm Sherrylynne, and I'll be your mentor for their switch First, a little about me. I'm 51, and have my own housecleaning business here in Calgary Alberta. I have 4 cats, ranging in age from 4yrs, to 15(only one would eat raw, unfortunately ). I also have 8 ferrets. Boris and Vincent came first, two brothers, a sable and albino. Then Sinnead. I got her when she was 2. She's now 3, and adrenal. She's on lupron, and having her surgery at a later date. After that came my first deaf ferret, Lucrezia. A marked DEW. Then two foster ferrets, whom we fell in love with and adopted- Zeus and Athena, both two years old. After that, a little abused ferret we called Willow. She was the worst fear biter I've had, although now she's becoming a sweetie . Lastly, Emily. 1 month younger than Willow, and those two have bonded strongly. She's the only one Willow wasn't terrified of. While transitioning the first four, Boris was my hold out. EVERYTHING I gave him was poison, in his mind . Worst little drama queen I've seen yet . Twisting to get away, gagging, retching- he did all of it! Then one day- he ate it! Every single piece on the plate ! Those four haven't looked back. Although Boris would still be a kibble head if I let him. The next two for transitioning were the fosters. Until we adopted them, I could only supplement with raw. So in order not to cause unnecessary tummy upsets(mixing kibble and raw too closely can cause some problems- more about that later), I'd give them raw one day, and kibble on a different day. So, by the time we adopted, they had no problem with 100% raw diet. With Willow, I brought her home, and she flatly refused to eat the totally ferret kibble, so I went back to the pet store and got her a small bag of the crap they were feeding them there, and brought it home. I tried to give her some, but she just upset the dish. So- I tried her with some chicken breast. She ate it up! Hasn't had kibble since . Emily came to us as a raw fed ferret, so no issues there. That's me and mine in a nutshell The reason I started looking a raw feeding was something my vet said to me. I was, at the time, giving them small pieces of fruit for treats. She told me that was VERY bad for them, and in fact, some studies have started to link early feeding of sugars with insulinoma later in life. So- I started thinking. Kibbles are full of carbs. It's all those grains/veg/fruits in them. Those are converted to sugars by the body. To me then, sugar= potential insulinoma. So, I started checking out various diets. I had no idea what an obligate carnivore was at the time. I found out! Not much wonder there was soooo much poop in the box! I may as well have been tossing my money in there. They can't process anything that's not meat based! So I feed meat Their fur is softer, their energy levels are amazing- no mad rushes then crashing. Even my three year old's teeth are amazing. No plaque whatsoever Healing is faster, and if they do get ill, they have more reserves to rely on than when they were just kibble fed! And there is a LOT LESS POOP!!!! Yay! Since Nibbles has already tasted some raw, she may wind up pulling ahead of the others, if you choose to let her. Do you feed any form of soup? That's the way mine had originally started their switch, and I found it really helpful for the more...stubborn ones I'm really looking forward to getting your crew on their way to a healthier diet and lifestyle!
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nibblesandspazz
Going Natural
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Posts: 165
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Post by nibblesandspazz on Oct 14, 2009 0:37:33 GMT -5
Yippee!! I was hoping i would get you as my mentor. You seem to know so much. I can certainly understand how someone could accumulate so many ferrets. Every time I see one I want to take them home with me. Its hard but I resist because I know I need to learn how to take care of the little guys I already have before i can add to the family. I did however convince my fiance that the house we will have built must have a bedroom for the ferrets (and possibly future ferrety family members) Nibbles is the only one who will eat soup, though her and Spazz both love raw egg. Watching them eat it is cute and gross at the same time. I've only given it to them twice and both times they gobbled it up right away. I'm not sure if raw egg is safe for them, but i heard it helps with dry fur. Nibbles' fur is usually dry and not very soft. The egg did help a bit but i decided not to give them any more til i was sure about it I think now that Tigger is feeling better she might be willing to try some new things. She attempted to eat a piece of Nibbles and Spazz's kibble during playtime last night. She started jerking her head and making odd noises so i grabbed her. She was choking on it. i dislodged it and gave her a crushed piece which she wouldn't touch. How does this all work? Do I ask you the thousands of questions running through my mind or do I wait for your instruction? One thing I would like to know soon is, Would cooked bacon be safe to give Nibbles? Her treats are bacon flavor but horrible for her. I just noticed Spazz' name is spelled wrong on the topic subject but I wont nag about it. I just had to mention it so it wouldnt bother me lol
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Post by sherrylynne on Oct 14, 2009 9:32:34 GMT -5
Not a problem! Glad you told me about Spazz's name spelling, otherwise, I'd always refer to him as "Spaz" And ask away! The only silly question is the unasked one Ok- let's get started! First- no bacon, raw or otherwise. Same goes for any other cured meats. Too much salt for their systems to handle. And yeah, choking on kibbles especially does happen. I've also had one choke on raw ground, but at least with that it's soft and mushy enough to actually finally go down. Soups. It's a really good idea to get them all accepting some form of soup. When a ferret gets sick, they frequently refuse their normal food, but will take a more liquid form, so they still get nutrition without the stress of syringe feedings. So if you can get them all eating that, it would be great. For raw eggs, they probably shouldn't have both the white and yolk together more than once or twice a week per ferret. The avidin binds to the biotin in the egg, and can trigger a biotin deficiency, but a whole egg once or twice a week won't hurt them at all To start, try dicing some chicken breast the same size as the kibble, and offering it. If they aren't interested at all, pulverize some kibble, and "bread" the chicken, see if they'll take it. If not, no big deal, we'll just step back a bit, and use the soup as an intro. Let me know how they take to it! Almost forgot to ask- what do you put in your soup?
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nibblesandspazz
Going Natural
Forum Artist Extraordinaire[/color]
Posts: 165
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Post by nibblesandspazz on Oct 14, 2009 13:29:29 GMT -5
For soup the only thing I've tried so far is liver, heart, chicken, water and kibble. Nibbles took a few licks then wouldn't touch it. Spazz and Tigger wont try it at all. when Tigger got sick I made her some soup of just kibble and water. she wouldn't even eat that warm or cold. They sometimes like a tiny bit of water added to their kibble to moisten it. Do you have any soup suggestions?
Now for the questions...
I heard ground bone is good for them, how do I grind it without a grinder? could i just dry it out in the oven for a bit then scrape it with a knife?
Is cooked meat like boiled chicken ok for them to eat on occasion? I think Spazz might be willing to try meat if it werent so slimy.
What is something safe to give them that has a strong smell? They tend to sniff stuff like crazy before they even lick it and most things they wont try unless it has a strong odor.
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Post by sherrylynne on Oct 14, 2009 19:26:03 GMT -5
Ok, since they don't have a regular soup they enjoy, take about 8 oz ground raw chicken(or same amount chunked), a couple hearts, a liver, about 1/2 tsp powdered eggshell(I use a coffee grinder for this, others use a mortar and pestle), and throw it all in the blender or food processor with enough water to make a soupie consistency, and puree. You can freeze the excess in ice cube trays, then pop the cubes out of the trays when frozen, and baggie them. One cube per ferret for a serving. For the eggshells, when you have eggs, just rinse the shells, and let them totally dry. Once they are completely dry, powder them, and put the bag in the fridge. For ground bone, since I don't have a heavy duty grinder, I buy raw bone meal. They cannot have cooked bone of any kind. It will splinter, and cause a lot of damage to their insides. What you can try if you like is to lightly sautee the meat in olive oil, and chop fine. If they take that, just sautee less and less, until they are taking it raw. Actually, you can do both- the raw soups, and the sautee. Double pronged attack, so to speak ! You could try them with raw fish. Although raw doesn't always have the strong smell of cooked, it may appeal to them. Here's a video of me convincing Boris he actually likes ground lamb. I call it the "scruff 'n' stuff" You don't have to do it that way, but you may have to scruff them, and dab their noses repeatedly to convince them. The reason they aren't accepting the soup you offered is that they don't recognize it as food yet. Your job is to convince them it is. One thing to try to keep in mind. If they have to taste meat often enough, sooner or later, they will develop a taste for meat
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nibblesandspazz
Going Natural
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Posts: 165
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Post by nibblesandspazz on Oct 15, 2009 15:22:37 GMT -5
Boris is so cute. My fiance and I are heading to the grocery store this evening. i'll be sure to get stuff to make the soup. It looks like I'll have to also pick up something to grind the eggs shell. I'll give them the soup tomorrow morning and let you know how it goes. I'm not sure if the scruff and stuff method will work with tigger. She is able to twist her body around until i can no longer holder her neck. If it doesnt work with her I think I will try to dab a bit on her nose or tongue when she is asleep. The weirdo sleeps with her tongue sticking out and shes a very soft sleeper.
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Post by sherrylynne on Oct 16, 2009 20:02:03 GMT -5
Hopefully you'll be able to scruff quickly, and just dab it on her nose Otherwise you'll have a very upset fuzzum when she wakes up! Let me know what happens!
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nibblesandspazz
Going Natural
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Posts: 165
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Post by nibblesandspazz on Oct 17, 2009 12:35:05 GMT -5
change in plans. i think i came down with the flue. its going to be at least another day before i switch the babies. i dont want to touch them to much while i'm sick. i dont want to be feeling miserable then having to take care of sick ferrets as well. my meds should be in my system pretty good by tonight but just to be sure im giving it an extra day. sorry for the delay
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Post by sherrylynne on Oct 17, 2009 17:25:48 GMT -5
If you've got the flu, you'll want to wait at least a few more days. You'll stay contagious for 5-6 days on average. Don't worry about the switch right now- you just get yourself better first! You've got babies depending on you
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nibblesandspazz
Going Natural
Forum Artist Extraordinaire[/color]
Posts: 165
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Post by nibblesandspazz on Oct 18, 2009 17:30:06 GMT -5
I'm taking your advice and not switching the little guys this week, I am however getting the eggshell ground up for them. I bought a mini mortar and pestal today. I just finished with the shell. I got it as fine as I could without losing my mind
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Post by sherrylynne on Oct 18, 2009 17:34:10 GMT -5
Good idea. You don't want them catching it from you! And yeah, get everything you need in the interim. You can also make the soup and freeze it for then if you like.
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Post by sherrylynne on Oct 26, 2009 10:51:21 GMT -5
Hi- how are you feeling? I know the flu can be a bit of a demon to beat!
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nibblesandspazz
Going Natural
Forum Artist Extraordinaire[/color]
Posts: 165
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Post by nibblesandspazz on Oct 29, 2009 21:01:35 GMT -5
Absolutely miserable. I'm going to the doctor next week to be checked for swine flu since 2 of my friends have it. I'm rather susceptible due to my other medical conditions. Tomorrow i'm going to the hospital to have my diabetes machine tweaked. that should help with me getting over the flu. In the meantime my fuzzies are going nuts with the 1 hr a day they get out. I usually let them out 2-3 hrs a day but my fiance is the only one handling them currently. being sick has come in handy as far as getting the forum buttons done. i've been stuck sitting around, I might as well make use of my time hence my volunteering
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Post by sherrylynne on Oct 30, 2009 10:12:59 GMT -5
Good luck! And I really hope you are feeling better soon. Good idea with him the only one handling them right now, though. And you did a great job with the forum, by the way!
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