|
Post by kelseyjosine on Jul 15, 2008 22:24:18 GMT -5
Ok well I'm doing some research on switchin my babies to a raw diet. Right now the duck soup I feed them is just raw ground up turkey with turkeys in water. No extras. And my oldest and my youngest love it but my middle one won't touch it. I'm just concerned that my oldest boy won't ever be able to tear apart the raw meat. He has adrenal and insulinoma. I did read on a post that for their adrenal ferret they just feed the meat grind. I was wondering how much he should get a day? Should I just feed him until he quits eating and then go from there? I'm going to try and do the raw diet but he really needs to get off his kibble ASAP because he has food allergies and his poop smells rank lol. The good thing is they sell turkey grind made by Primal Pet Foods at this natural pet food center here and it includes the organs and bones. So if anyone could help me with my older guy I don't want to stress him out too much but he's super skinny he really needs some meat on his bones.
|
|
|
Post by Heather on Jul 16, 2008 0:14:29 GMT -5
Just let him eat as much as he wants. My guys are fed on demand. They're allowed to eat as much as they like. Please remember if you're going to be feeding kibble and raw that they do digest at a different rate and that you're guy might smell a little until he eats nothing but raw (if that is indeed possible). I had a little girl, Little Zena and she was a skinny little thing (older ferret too, 7 or 8). When she came to me she weighed next to nothing and the foster home where she was at couldn't seem to get her to put on weight at all (despite feeding as much kibble as she would and could eat). Here she was fed as much raw diet as her little heart desired and within 6 months she was putting on weight and developed quite a comfortable layer of fat. Now, my understanding that with an insulinoma ferret you may have to continue to feed kibbles to keep a level blood sugar. I never had to with little Zena but she passed away (brain tumour) before her disease progressed to the point that I couldn't control her episodes with diet. She ate a mixture of whole meat and ground raw. She enjoyed her wing tips, quail pieces and chicken necks but would be better about eating her ground meats and wouldn't suffer crashes if she had access to ground. ciao
|
|
|
Post by Forum Administrator on Jul 16, 2008 16:26:47 GMT -5
Ok well I'm doing some research on switchin my babies to a raw diet. Excellent! Im happy to hear this! Right now the duck soup I feed them is just raw ground up turkey with turkeys in water. No extras. And my oldest and my youngest love it but my middle one won't touch it. Well you are already a few steps ahead if they already eat a raw soup! Good! Dont worry, we can help your middle child eat it I'm just concerned that my oldest boy won't ever be able to tear apart the raw meat. He has adrenal and insulinoma. I did read on a post that for their adrenal ferret they just feed the meat grind. I was wondering how much he should get a day? Should I just feed him until he quits eating and then go from there? De my oldest is 8 and adrenal. She has trouble eating huge chunks of raw, so she mainly eats ground foods (with some raw chunks thrown in). The key with an insulinomic ferret is to be sure they CONSTANTLY have access to food. NEVER fast an insulinomic ferret or withhold food because it can cause a crash. I'm going to try and do the raw diet but he really needs to get off his kibble ASAP because he has food allergies and his poop smells rank lol. Dont even get me started on how much I DESPISE kibble The good thing is they sell turkey grind made by Primal Pet Foods at this natural pet food center here and it includes the organs and bones. Excellent! So if anyone could help me with my older guy I don't want to stress him out too much but he's super skinny he really needs some meat on his bonesA raw diet can help him do just that! Go get that turkey from Primal and replace the soup with that (that is your first step). We will continue from there.
|
|
|
Post by buzzonesbirdie on Jul 16, 2008 20:11:33 GMT -5
My Freedom is adrenal and she has no problems eating any of the food that i feed from chunked chicken to whole rabbit.
My Zues has insulinoma and we have been able to keep his blood sugar up with making sure that there is some kind of raw or whole prey avail to him at all times. So far we do not need to feed him any kibble and i am hoping that we can keep his blood sugar up without ever having to give kibble again.
|
|
|
Post by kelseyjosine on Jul 17, 2008 15:55:30 GMT -5
Ok yeah I was just a little worried about Willy, who has insulinoma. Tonight I'm going to try and work on Punk again and try to get him to eat the ground meat with a little water in it. He licked some off my finger the other day but he wouldn't have anymore of it lol. Tomorrow I'll be buying some more of the ground meat, organs, and bones and some frozen chicken breasts and we'll start with that and see how it goes! It was so funny I took all 3 to the vet yesterday and I asked my vet what she thought of a raw diet and she was like ohh I don't recommend that...there is so much bacteria they can get from it. I just wanted to scream and be like you're so stupid! You went to vet school and I still know more about their nutrition than you! But I didn't of course haha. There's no really reliable vets in ND for ferrets and I can't afford to drive 4 hours to get to one. I trust them with medicine and things like that but nutrition not so much. Anyway that's my rant, thanks for all the advice guys. I'll start a new thread over in that other part after I attempt to feed them some chicken. Wish me luck!
|
|
|
Post by Forum Administrator on Jul 17, 2008 16:07:49 GMT -5
It can be frustrating dealing with vets that dont know about nutrition, but its not really because they are stupid, its just that most of the info they have recieved on animal nutrition has come from kibble companies. I blame the kibble companies and vet schools more so then the vets themselves. Your vet was just taught incorrectly and doesnt know better. Many wont recomend the diet because of x,y,z but mostly these reasons are silly. Unfourtunately the vet doesnt realize this. As Holistic Ferret grows we plan to implement a program to help inform vets across the country about natural diets. Its still in the planning phase, but hopefully with the help of the US Raw Meaty Bones Action Group, and experienced "raw knowledgable vets" we can get a good program going to help with education You'll definitly have to keep an eye on Willy during the switch, but all in all things should go smoothly. Keep us posted and remember NEVER withold food, and always be sure he is eating! You dont want a blood sugar crash.
|
|
|
Post by kelseyjosine on Jul 17, 2008 18:04:37 GMT -5
I only have one other concern. Since he is insulinomic and I should be leaving food out for him all the time, what should I leave out? Whatever they're eating that day? I don't even have a cage for them anymore, they just get the run of my apartment because it's so tiny and I'm not as home as much as I'd like to be. So I take them out for walks, when they're willing haha, and stuff like that. But they're all little hoarders with their food so I'm worried about leaving a piece of meat out for them to stash under my dresser, which is their usual stash. Can I just leave out the ground up meat for him because they won't stash that obviously so that'd make it a little easier. I still can't get Punk to eat it and now Shiza seems to not want it anymore either, a step backwards ahh.
|
|
|
Post by Heather on Jul 17, 2008 23:50:15 GMT -5
Ahhh vets. I think that it's a "raw" nerve with most of us who feed raw, at least until you find a vet who supports natural feeding. I'm lucky my vet does approve and in fact supports it. I hate to tell you ( but your little furbabies will show you) stashing ground raw is very possible too If you know where they commonly stash you just go there and clean it up. I don't cage either, though they do have their own room when I'm not at home. Hmmm, the I'm a raw fed ferret, no I'm not and I hate the food you serve. It seems to be a common complaint with people who are switching their furbabies. The little monsters will start out eating and then stop for no particular reason. My little Pooka (one of my new senior rescues), started eating raw food entirely on her own the second day after being turned in. I thought, fantastic, there at least is a little one that I'm not going to have to worry about. Then she stopped. Wouldn't touch any of it. Gagged, spat, did the snakey head thing whenever I tried to feed her. Not ground, not whole not even wing tips. One month later both she and Babushka are eating an entirely raw diet and even some whole meats. Keep offering, keep on them. I took the kibble away entirely ( I wasn't getting anywhere, as long as I kept it available to them) I hand fed them, their meaty soup and kept at them. Babushka was the first to cave and start eating on her own. Pooka followed shortly after. Now they both have soft coats, sweet breath, cleaner teeth and little fat bellies and they don't smell like kibbles any more eather. It's a matter of perserverance. Good luck, you will succeed, I have faith in you and your furbabies. ciao
|
|
|
Post by Forum Administrator on Jul 18, 2008 6:31:06 GMT -5
I would leave out whatever they are eating that day (like Heather said you'll need to check their "stash areas". A way to avoid them stashing food in inappropriate spots is to get them used to eating in "feeding caves" a cardboard box, a brown paper bag, anything that provides privacy and is fairly easy to clean (or toss) will do. The idea is to encourage them to eat in their "feeding cave" so cleanup is easy. Another thing you can do (so that you know your insulinomic has 24/7 access to food, is to leave out some freeze dried raw foods. Wysong Archetypal, AFS food sprinkles, Stella and Chewies Freeze Dried Raw Patties. All of these things can be left out for your little insulinomic (they are meat only, but since they are freeze-dried they dont spoil as quickly as fresh raw meat). PM mustelidmusk (aka Jennifer) and ask her about these products. She has experience with them and can assist you with how to best use these. I would recommend buying them from Stinkweasels.com. The price is right and John is kick a** with the customer service
|
|