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Post by animalsgetrevenge on Jul 11, 2008 2:07:16 GMT -5
So…. Here is my plan for the transition. Please let me know if you think this is acceptable.
Saturday: Fast for 6 hours then feed watered down kibble with ferretone and ferrevite (to encourage them to eat it, they love the stuff). I’ll feed them around noon and take the food away around 4pm. If all three eat the kibble/water mix, around 6 I will feed watered down kibble with tiny bits of ground pet food mix from New Seasons (chicken meat and organs).
Then I will keep adding more “animal” and less kibble depending on how quickly they accept it, until they are eating only meat, then start on larger chunks of RMB (chicken) and slowly add in different types of flesh, RMB and organs.
Tonight I took away their kibble for about 3 hours then gave them watered down kibble mix and two out of three ate or at least tried it, which I will take as a good sign J I will be gone at the Oregon Country Fair (giant hippie fest!) tomorrow so they are eating kibble unttil Saturday.
QUESTIONS:
I know I shouldn’t feed kibble and raw at the same time because they go through the digestive tract at different paces, but how long is it okay to feed together for transitioning?
Say the transition takes a LONG TIME. How long can I feed them the chicken/organ mix without giving them bones/eggshells/etc?
My kids are 2-3, 3-4, and 3-4 years old. I know it depends on the ferret, but based on your experiences, how long would you guess it will take me to make the switch?
Suggestions? Comments? Please? Thanks again for the help guys!
Cassie
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Post by Heather on Jul 11, 2008 13:51:41 GMT -5
I may be the wrong person to answer this as I've never used this method before but if your guys already like the soupy kibble mix why fast? I never fast my fuzzbutts, but then I do rescue and though they're vet checked, I'm always worried about underlying health factors. I would just offer them the mix with a little of the raw or pet food mix added, even more so if you're going to fast them anyway (personally I would never fast beyond 4 hrs with a fuzzy, JMO . They will be hungry enough that they will eat the raw without realizing that they're eating it. Just my thoughts on it anyway. ;D As far as mixing, I would be prepared to possibly deal with some tummy upsets, runs and such. You will be able to tell if it's sitting ok. If you get runny stools you may have to add some slippery elm powder or pumkin (not pie filling) to the mix to help solid up their stools. Ages.....and switching. It so much depends on the ferrets. I've had 6 and 7 year olds switch in a weekend. The last 2 girls that I switched took a month before they were comfortable but the one is 9 and the younger one is 6 or 7 yrs old. Now the old girl is just getting comfortable eating whole meat (I always start with a raw soup mix). I had a 2 yr old give me whole grief and she should have switched without any problems so it all depends on the ferret and you're tolerance to stick with the task at hand. Good luck, keep asking questions, I will peek in later to see how you're doing ciao
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Post by Forum Administrator on Jul 11, 2008 18:05:12 GMT -5
Saturday: Fast for 6 hours then feed watered down kibble with ferretone and ferrevite (to encourage them to eat it, they love the stuff). I’ll feed them around noon and take the food away around 4pm. If all three eat the kibble/water mix, around 6 I will feed watered down kibble with tiny bits of ground pet food mix from New Seasons (chicken meat and organs). Honestly, you might not even need to fast them. I'd only fast if you offer them the watered down kibble and they refuse to eat it. Add a little water at first and then work up to adding more water until the food is like "canned cat food" consistancy. As for the tone AND the vite, I would only add the tone. If you add both you'll get some REALLY runny poop, PLUS ferrevite has too much sugar in it I know I shouldn’t feed kibble and raw at the same time because they go through the digestive tract at different paces, but how long is it okay to feed together for transitioning?Say the transition takes a LONG TIME. How long can I feed them the chicken/organ mix without giving them bones/eggshells/etc? My kids are 2-3, 3-4, and 3-4 years old. I know it depends on the ferret, but based on your experiences, how long would you guess it will take me to make the switch? Suggestions? Comments? Please? Thanks again for the help guys! Cassie [/quote]
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Post by Forum Administrator on Jul 11, 2008 18:08:59 GMT -5
Saturday: Fast for 6 hours then feed watered down kibble with ferretone and ferrevite (to encourage them to eat it, they love the stuff). I’ll feed them around noon and take the food away around 4pm. If all three eat the kibble/water mix, around 6 I will feed watered down kibble with tiny bits of ground pet food mix from New Seasons (chicken meat and organs). Honestly, you might not even need to fast them. I'd only fast if you offer them the watered down kibble and they refuse to eat it. Add a little water at first and then work up to adding more water until the food is like "canned cat food" consistancy. As for the tone AND the vite, I would only add the tone. If you add both you'll get some REALLY runny poop, PLUS ferrevite has too much sugar in it I know I shouldn’t feed kibble and raw at the same time because they go through the digestive tract at different paces, but how long is it okay to feed together for transitioning?I wouldnt do it longer then a week or so. Try and get them eating all raw as quickly as possible. In fact it might even be best to take some kibble and crush it and sprinkle it on the raw (to reduce the amount of kibble present in the food). Say the transition takes a LONG TIME. How long can I feed them the chicken/organ mix without giving them bones/eggshells/etc?Again if the switch goes past 1 week I would start adding eggshell. 1 tsp per cup of raw meat. My kids are 2-3, 3-4, and 3-4 years old. I know it depends on the ferret, but based on your experiences, how long would you guess it will take me to make the switch?It depends on the ferret and it depends on HOW you switch them. They probably wont be SUPER easy to switch (since they ARE a little older then say, a kit) but they arent so old that it will be a real struggle. Suggestions? Comments? Please? Thanks again for the help guys!Moniter your kids. Runny poop is normal. Use pedilatye (unflavored) if they have diarehha for more then 1 day. Stay calm, stay focused. Dont let them frustrate you. Stick with it. Its worth it. Keep us posted (start a thread in the "Natural Diet Newbies" section!) We are here to help
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Post by josiesmom on Jul 12, 2008 20:32:44 GMT -5
HI Cassie,
Your guys are pretty much the same age as my "new crew" I adopted last year. The longest hold out to completely leave kibble alone was Bugsy Malone the male. WHile he DID eat a significant amount of raw and whole prey he would still visit the kibble bowl I had to leave out for my Insulinomic ferret Fozzy.
AS for actually switching and venturing into eating the raw items the other three were eating it within days of arriving at my house! Within a couple weeks they were all getting the majority of nutrients from raw or whole prey.
I did not use a soup method or crushed kibble, just mixed pieces of raw Cornish Game Hen into the kibble dish.
I had a few bowls of kibble with raw set out for the 6 ferrets so no matter which bowl they went to they found the same ingredients. I also put in some pieces of dried meat (chicken, fish and duck).
Some of the ferrets picked out the dried meat items and switched to that first before the raw.
By the end of the first month I was down to only one bowl of mixed kibble with raw and the rest was either all raw or dried and raw and some freeze dried.
My fastest switch has Roman (less than a year old)- he switched the very first night I got him and hasn't touched a kibble since!
They ALL became more enthusiastic about raw meaty bones after learning about whole prey. They all would prefer a diet entirely of whole prey, but that is not likely to happen!
Once they show an interest in the raw, encourage that by offering morewith each subsequent feeding.
Cheers, Kim
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