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Post by wienercat on Aug 10, 2008 0:54:49 GMT -5
Ok... by day, because of Raspy needing to eat as well, I have 2 food bowls in the cage... one is dry kibble...
and the other is the same kibble with warm water mixed with baby food... Sarsippy eats this all the time, Ana eats it sometimes, and Raspy wont touch it.
So Raspy gets kibble. Sarsippy RARELY eats dry kibble anymore.
At night, the bowls come out and i make Sarsippy and Ana their meat dinner... they hate chicken legs and wings... they LOVE cornish hens, pork chops, ground meat, and turkey.
I wish Raspy would eat raw because the other 2 are ready to be raw full time.
Can someone tell me what the proper mix is of raw for proper nutrition? How much liver, how much other organ, how much bone, how much whatever?
Is it ok to give liver more than once/week? I noticed the stuff i buy and dont freeze goes bad in 3 days in the fridge. SO, i cant defrost something, use it, re freeze the rest, defrost it, blah blah.... I want the guidance so i can take out what i need, and not waste the rest.
But most importantly i want a balanced diet for WHEN Raspy finally gives in and they all go raw 100% of the time.
Thanks!
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Post by weloveourweasels on Aug 10, 2008 2:32:59 GMT -5
As for raspy I know you have tried many things but have you tried putting a tiny bit of duk soup in with the kibble and making it drinkable without the baby food? Mine can't stand baby food even mixed into a soup. I know the ratio thing is covered somewhere in the forum how much to give. You are supposed to give liver and things like that once a week because it is too high in vitamin A. Here is a sample schedule copy and pasted from this thread. This is for one ferret so for 2 you need to double. Here is a sample schedule of one week on an all raw diet: MONDAY: 2/3-1 cup organic boneless beef chunks TUESDAY: 1/4 small Cornish game hen WEDNESDAY: 1 large raw (extra meaty) turkey neck THURSDAY: 1 segement of a raw pork neck and 1-5 whole raw anchovies and/or sardines FRIDAY: 2/3-1 cup boneless lamb chunks (sprinkled with eggshell powder*) SATURDAY: 1 whole small raw chicken thigh SUNDAY: 2 raw chicken gizzards, 1 raw organic chicken liver, 1 raw chicken heart, 1 raw egg yolk (with one crushed egg shell), ½ cup of boneless salmon chunks (the salmon is optional. Feed if your ferret is still hungry on this day after eating the organs) You may have to feed more or less food then what is listed. It all depends on your individual ferret. If there is constantly food being left over, you are probably feeding too much. holisticferret.proboards80.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=gen&thread=416&page=1 |
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Post by whipple on Aug 10, 2008 23:24:10 GMT -5
On the freezing issue, when I buy meats I put meals into little sandwhich baggies so I only have to defrost one per ferret per meal. Although I could do bigger ones now since I have more ferts. That way I'm not defrosting and refreezing.
Growing up with my dad has made me come to the conclusion that any healthy animal or person will eat the food in front of them if they are hungry. And so maybe I have become hardened to pleading looks, but I switched my ferts cold turkey. They got hungry and eventually ate.
The only time I would worry is if they flat out refused to eat small meat chunks after a few days of eating nothing (and I'm including possible stashes). Then I would go to a vet. Then again, if they eat kibble fine, then they're likely healthy and being stubborn. Don't give in! You can get Raspy on raw!
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Post by wienercat on Aug 11, 2008 12:05:09 GMT -5
thank u for the replies! i was giving liver too much... so 1x a week it is... the freezing portions is a great idea... so ill do that  as for transitioning raspy.. i sprinkle... without telling my bf since he hates the poop smell from duk soup (so do i but i have to deal with it) on her kibble to get her used to it. she loves duk soup... but once i make it moist she tastes it and turns away and wont go back to it. thats my frusration. tonight ill try the moist again of kibble and duk soup. |
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Post by Heather on Aug 11, 2008 22:21:21 GMT -5
What have you tried with Raspy? I've had to deal with a couple of ferrets who absolutely hate damp, or liquid kibbles. In that case they've created a soupy mix of raw egg, ground up meat, a bit of offal. At first you need to offer it off the end of your finger, just to get them to taste it. Then offer it on a spoon. Once they get comfortable with it then you just keep thickening it up until they're eating raw meat. It's really easy. Just a thought. I don't know what you've tried so far.
ciao
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Post by wienercat on Aug 12, 2008 20:59:49 GMT -5
I've tried to moisten her kibble, i've tried to put TINY pieces of meat in her dry kibble, i've tried covering it in her fave Vite or Lax on my hand, i've scruffed her and when she yawned put a piece of meat in her mouth (she will NOT yawn anymore when scruffed, she got smart), i've tried baby food, frozen meat.
Dry kibble? no problem
Dry kibble with duk soup? not a major problem, but she stopped eating that now. her food is untouched tonight, and it's been in there with her all day.
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Post by Heather on Aug 12, 2008 23:03:30 GMT -5
Ok, so now you've got a fuzzy who hasn't eaten at all today? Grab the kibble and feed. If she won't eat that then you're going to have to force her to eat something. I have resorted to feeding a soupy raw by using a spoon. I don't like using a syringe. What I do is bundle (I actually got a friend to make little sacks out of towels that make it easier to bundle), then you scruff and tuck the bundle under your arm, with their face up (that way they're not hanging). If you place a spoon at the side of their mouth, you will see that the mouth is easily opened (you syringe feed this way also, never from the front of the mouth, where you can accidentally squirt liquids too hard down the throat and cause them to aspirate) You then just gently pour or put the food in their mouth. You will wear some of it but you will find that you can get a lot of food in that way. We were shown how to administer drugs and duk soup this way at a seminar by Bob Church (at least I believe he was the one who demonstrated this, it may have been one of the vets) it's been awhile. I had to resort to this method to get my little Lady Babushka to even try raw food. She has to have been the most difficult ferret I've ever had to switch. At 9 yrs of age, she was truly a kibble addict and a real trial to get to switch, but she did and now bounces up and down as much as the rest of them for her quail pieces. ciao |
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