|
Post by mjohn143 on Feb 9, 2010 17:41:33 GMT -5
Now that I have switched back to chicken Beatrice has def been eating more. I think they all like the chicken better. Beatrice and Pudding eat the soup one their own but I am still feeding Badger. How long can it sit in their bowl before throwing it out? I'm gone all day on Mon and Wed.
Earlier today I let them out and put a little bowl of Meat Mush on the ground for Beatrice and had to run next door to my parent's house to get something...mistake. I came home and pudding had picked up the bowl and ran with it across the room, dumping nasty meat mush all over the carpet! I wanted to scream! It took forever to clean up. He is lucky he is so cute.
I have noticed too that his coat seems to be more brittle. Do you think that this is a transition he is going through? Some kind of process to him changing to better food? I know Beatrice and Badger have soft luscious fur now thanks to their food.
|
|
|
Post by cristina on Feb 10, 2010 10:05:41 GMT -5
One thing about their coats....boys coats are always courser and dryer than the girls, Its the same with my guys too, my boy has a rough coat and the girls are fluffy and soft, its just a guy thing lol....but switching will help it a little also!
My Mimi drags soups under couches and across the room too! you can use a "pen" during feeding if you like, it may be more "clean" haha
The mush/kibble can be left out for Id say no longer than 8 hrs....when I was going through my switch Id be gone all day so Id make one batch in the morning and leave it out then a next after work or school, and leave it out all night until the next morning feeding...and this seemed to work for me
|
|
|
Post by mjohn143 on Feb 10, 2010 15:29:29 GMT -5
That kinda makes sense about girls being softer and fluffier. I have noticed both genders have their "pros"... Badger has the softest fur and daintiest ways about her. I don't have favorites but something about her is sooo idk tender? Like I can tell she gets her feelings hurt easily compared to the other two. She isn't necessarily the cuddliest thing, but she needs attention and likes to follow me around. Beatrice is a little more independent... and Pudding is just too wild to tell.
I've had much more success with the ground chicken so that makes me happy. It is SO much easier and A LOT less messy than trying to cut the chicken off the bone and put it in the blender and all that hassle. I'm just soaking the kibble in warm water, and then mixing it with the chicken. It has def saved some time and hours.
|
|
|
Post by cristina on Feb 11, 2010 11:52:33 GMT -5
good, keep up with that then, trying to get Badger to eat it on her own
|
|
|
Post by cristina on Feb 19, 2010 14:03:01 GMT -5
So hows the ground meat and kibble going, any new progress? if so we can move up to the next step and add a bit more ground! If not dont fret we will stay on this path until they develop a stonger liking to it
|
|
|
Post by mjohn143 on Feb 23, 2010 8:21:58 GMT -5
Everything is going well with Beatrice and Pudding Head (I may change his name to Seamus idk lol). But Badger is being STUUUUUUBBBBORN! She'll eat some soup mush but still only when I feed it to her. I could be wrong but I think she is mad at me about it. I will put some food in front of her and she just looks at me a walks off. I catch her eating pieces of kibble that fall out of the bowl (or have been dug out) and she picks around it but I can tell she is not happy about it.
|
|
|
Post by cristina on Feb 23, 2010 12:09:20 GMT -5
Its ok, she is probably eating it and you dont notice it.....if shes losing weight then she isnt eating it so pay close attention to this, but Im thinking shes probably eating it behind your back lol
Just keep up with the same routine unless you see any negative effects for badger
|
|
|
Post by mjohn143 on Mar 1, 2010 11:27:26 GMT -5
Ok thanks, will do. I did a post about Mega-Weasel's teeth (aka Pudding Head), but he is getting so bad about chewing and pulling on the bars of the cage and I am worried he is gonna break his teeth... Do you have any suggestions?
|
|
|
Post by cristina on Mar 2, 2010 11:38:01 GMT -5
You know my ferrets use to do that too and since then I have made my bedroom their "cage" they are free roaming now and my rooms completely ferret proof...but I mean I know many people dont have the luxury to do this...so my best suggestion is to get the "no chewing" stuff I think I got mine from drs foster and smith online, its all natural and you spray it on things so they wont put their mouths on it...and this stuff is really bitter tasting, I mean I by accident touched it to my mouth after I used it and the horrible taste lasted for like an hour! So I have had success with this when I spray it on their water bowl cord (its an automatic waterer) and it does the trick, so I would try this....if you want the exact name I can look it up
|
|
|
Post by mjohn143 on Mar 4, 2010 17:15:35 GMT -5
They are in my room but I think the only way to ferret-proof for him would be a jail cell. I leave Beatrice out all day but the other two I cannot trust with anything bc they climb up the TV and they are so many wires they get into! Plus our turtle tank...Beatrice is such a sweet little thing and won't get into anything. I have actually tried some stuff called time out spray and it doesn't phase him. I too got in my mouth bc it "spreads" (I guess that is the right word) so easily and I either touched the bars to the cage or him and later my mouth somehow and it was sooo awful! I think I'm just gonna have to keep telling him no! and hope he stops. I don't hit him but I will tap his nose with my finger when I say no and I think he may be getting the picture.
|
|
|
Post by cristina on Mar 6, 2010 22:16:03 GMT -5
Whenever my guys are doing something bad I always scruff them until I get a yawn and then if they do it again I scruff them and drag them away on the floor (since this is what thier moms would do in the "wild"). This works really well for getting your point across too! Yea that stuff does "spread", perfect word!
|
|
|
Post by mjohn143 on Mar 9, 2010 7:34:38 GMT -5
I swear Badger is never gonna change! I think she is mad at me. She is being very "quiet" compared to her usual self and standoffish. Idk what to do to switch her over. This may sound gross and I'd hafta do it outside but I was thinking... they really like to chase stuff on strings like cats, so I was wondering if I tied a chicken wing to a string and drug it around and they attacked it and got a taste for it if that would help?
|
|
|
Post by cristina on Mar 9, 2010 12:06:56 GMT -5
Yes you can do this....I actually do sometimes in my basement and my girls love it! The trick with her is to go very very slow...I dont think shes mad at you, I just think shes a little confused but she will come around when she realizes its what shes supposed to eat and once she gains a taste for it....when you think about it, its kinda like we'd rather have fast food, fried foods and high fatty foods b/c they taste better even though we know they are bad for us...thats how kibble is to them its their "fast food" we can try another approach if this isnt working for her, we can try a soup that has ground kibble and a little ground meat with water (and oil if desired), then you can use this either alone or mixed up with whole kibble......there are some other ways to switch as well so let me know what you want to do
|
|
|
Post by mjohn143 on Mar 10, 2010 11:06:37 GMT -5
She eats the ground kibble, meat, water, and oil soup a VERY tiny amount at a time (like a couple of licks off my finger) but she will only eat it off my finger. I'll keep trying this for a little while its just hard bc Mon & Wed I am gone from 6:30AM to 6:30PM so I don't put the meat out bc I don't want it to go bad. Do you think this may not be helping her since I am not consistent on those days? Maybe I should just put it out anyway? Let me know!
|
|
|
Post by cristina on Mar 10, 2010 20:52:36 GMT -5
ok stop with the finger...thats gonna end up driving you crazy plus shes being conditioned to eat only off your finger now, which is why theres not much progress Before a mon or wed where your gone all day....leave out your regular mix...watch her like a hawk, see if she eats it on her own...you can even put in more water too, this sometimes makes it more appealing...I dont know y but it did for my Penny Dont give her any treats or anything during this....we want her to get hungry enough so she will try it without your finger....if she doesnt and goes on a hunger strike all day then let me know You can leave the mix out that long, but I wouldnt do it everyday, but if its only mon and wed then go ahead, just make sure you make a new batch right when you get home
|
|