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Post by plybybunny1130 on Aug 10, 2008 9:54:47 GMT -5
i heard it is best to start mixing ground chicken with their food now to try and switch them over, is that true? and if i start doing that and Frankie doesnt eat it right away how long is it safe to leave out? im sorry its probaly all on here i just cant find anything, but is there just a list of meats they can eat somewhere?
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Post by charmantpapillon on Aug 10, 2008 12:37:35 GMT -5
How old is mr frankie? and different methods work for different people.
I first started my baby boy on small chunks of chicken covered in a kibble dust.
and to make the kibble dust put a handfull of kibble in a plastic baggie and them pounded it with a marble rolling pin (anything hard and heavy will work) then put the pieces in a few at a time and shook them up like fried chicken.
Beast attacked that. (after a while since i did give it to him just after he had eaten bad move on my part)
But i did that for about 48 hours then moved him to chicken chunks (plain)
Then he moved onto chicken wings pork salmon cornish gamehen and beef like he was born eating meat.
Yours may not switch as fast to a totally raw diet but dont get discouraged there are SO many ways to switch them. Beast was young really young he just turned 3 months so he switched on a dime frankie might be a little pickier all ferrets are different.
So theres an option for a mentor program why dont you go get assigned a mentor whos gone through transitioning several ferrets to raw (even thereaaaaaaaaally picky ones) and they can help you step by step to get your little baby switched to raw in no time flat =)
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Post by mustelidmusk on Aug 11, 2008 16:14:53 GMT -5
Hi, There are many approaches, and the best will depend upon the health of your ferret, how well your ferret accepts diet changes, and how much time/patience/resources you have for switching diets.
SOme people who have younger, healthy ferrets have good luck switch quickly by limiting access to kkibble. The may be deadly for some ferrets, depending upon the ferret's age and health status. Other people prefer to switch more slowly.
The best thing to to is reveiw some of the threads. You'll find that people trying to switch larger groups of ferrets get into the situation where some accept the raw diet while others are still eating kibble. If you review the existing threads, you'll get more of a feel fro how you may want to start your switch.
Ultimately, your ferrets will control how fast the switch goes, but you have the option to try different approcahes.
-jennifer
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Post by josiesmom on Aug 11, 2008 20:51:18 GMT -5
Keep inmind that while feeding naturally means the ferrets DO eat raw meats, raw meat is only PART of the entire diet.
It is imperative that your ferrets get to eat bones, connective tissues, bone marrow, animal skin and fats! Offering them JUST meat will soon put them in a nutrient deficiency.
As for what kind of animal sources can they eat? Anything that belongs in the animal kingdom! Even come invertebrates!
Typically natural feeders offer carcasses and raw meaty bones of:
Cornish Game hen Chicken Turkey Pigeon Quail Chicks Sardines Salmon Tilapia Catfish Chicken necks Turkey necks Chicken Gizzards Chicken hearts Turkey Hearts Chicken Paws Chicken livers Duck Pheasant Ox tail bones Pork Neck Bones Lamb Neck Bones Ground Chicken Ground Beef Ground Veal Ground Pork Ground Turkey Turkey Wings Chicken wings Chicken Drumsticks Chicken Thighs Rabbit
Ground meats are pften used as intros to raw feeding but should NOT be offered as the major source of their raw diet! While high in fats, which is good- they seriously lack calcium and other nutrients as well as not being ideal to keep the teeth clean. Teeth cleaning ability can be increased if the ground meats are mixed and then freeze dried in ice cube trays. But still are only PART of the raw diet.
Whole prey (live or prekilled) sources include: Mice of all ages Rats usually from pups to medium size Rabbits Cavvies Squirrel Bait fish
Invertebrate sources include: Night crawlers Crickets Superworms
Hope this helps! Cheers, Kim
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Post by plybybunny1130 on Aug 15, 2008 22:49:11 GMT -5
thank you all so much! im not positive how old frankie is because we found him on the side of the road but the vet said he was probaly around 3 or 4 depending on his teeth. Is that an ok age to change him now? He absolutely hates diet changing. if i even change his dry food he wont eat it so i always make sure i get the same one. but thank you all so much for the input, i want to make the switch soon. All this information was very helpful thank you all
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Post by plybybunny1130 on Aug 15, 2008 22:52:25 GMT -5
Oh p.s i would love to join the mentor program i just dont feel like i would be able to contribute for as long as they would like you too. im afraid i wont be able to sign on here often for 6 months. Im still debating it but i dont want to sign up for it and then not be able to carry it out i would feel horrible then. thats why im still a little weary about changing his diet. im scared i wont do something right
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Post by plybybunny1130 on Aug 15, 2008 22:55:41 GMT -5
sry ps again lol i keep finding more stuff on here. i know that ground meat isnt the best but i heard it was good to start off. but i did not know anything about the bone and such. and where can you get access to the stuff on the list? can u get all that from a butcher? and do they usually keep that stuff or do i need to let them know beforehand?
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Post by charmantpapillon on Aug 17, 2008 17:55:03 GMT -5
i dont know about butchers because there arent any around where i live but you can order quail and chicks and mice off the internet and i get most of my muscle meat organs and raw meaty bones (rmb) from the grocerystore. you can also offer eggs. but you could probably get the harder to find meat parts from a butcher i just dont have access to a butcher *sigh*
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Post by Heather on Aug 17, 2008 20:51:51 GMT -5
Please don't apologize for asking more questions, that's what we're here for There are as many ways to switch a ferret as there are ferrets and ferret slaves . I would read through some of the mentoring programmes and see what they have done or used successfully. See what you would be most comfortable doing. I, personally use ground meat to switch my furbabies over (I have a particular recipe and method that I use to transition my furbabies, I've never been unsuccessful . I actually use a special mix that I get from my butcher. I usually have to order 1 week in advance. It consists of meat, bone and some trace offal ( I always add more as part of my recipe). You can also order on line a lot of the different meats and frozen meals, you just have to be careful that the company that you use doesn't add veggies to their mix (or at least a lot of veggies). Please remember feeding raw doesn't mean just throwing some ground meat at your ferret and expecting him to either to eat it or to stay healthy on it. There's a right way and a wrong way to do this and the wrong way can make your furbaby ill. Research is your safest and surest way to make sure that everything goes smoothly and without mishap. This was one of the reasons I started mentoring on this list. Does that mean that you need a mentor...no. It does make it easier for you as you have someone to bounce ideas off. Years ago, when I first started feeding raw I contribute a lot of the ease of transitionings to the patience and knowledge of my mentor. Can we still help you? Yes So keep asking questions and hopefully we will see you around ciao
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