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Post by wmella85 on Jun 28, 2008 23:33:33 GMT -5
so, i have decided that i want my babies to go natural. i need a list, or someone to just tell me what to do. point me in the right direction oh mighty mentors!!!
Warning: I'm pretty sure 3/4 are going to be picky and turn their spoiled little noses in the air.
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Post by wmella85 on Jun 29, 2008 20:02:20 GMT -5
 yay!!!!!! so tonight i took some advice from someone elses blog to cut really thin slices of chicken and try giving it to the kids. well that didnt go over well. lol surpise surprise. that didnt go over well. with 3/4 like i predicted. matilda, baxter, and oliver wanted nothing of it. but penelope chewed on it for a moment and swallowed most of the tiny probably inch long strip. so then all defeated i walked back into the kitchen and thought about what i was going to do with the two chicken breasts i had defrosted. so i got down my food processor and ground them up.! i added two teaspoons of the marshall's UNCLE JIM'S DUK SOUP MIX and some amount of water and blended it together. WELL, the sound brought matilda (the oldest), running to investigate. i put her on my shoulder to observe the making of the food. as i was scooping it into a bowl she started getting excited!!! i gave her the spatula i was using to lick and she did!!!!!! she cleaned it til it sparkled!!! im so excited!!! she ate alot of ground raw chicken. and for her alot was like maybe a 1/4th os a tsp. the others sorta licked at it. what i imagined was a shrug, "i guess thats not too bad mom," and walked off. SUCCESSUNFORTUNATLY, i made a boat load. so i portioned it off into 3.5oz servings and im freezing them. how long are they good for???
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Post by wmella85 on Jun 30, 2008 0:07:55 GMT -5
i think i am blessed with easy-ish fuzzies. they ran around for a few hours this evening with no kibble out for them to knibble on. when they passed out in their hidey holes around the house i went and collected them and placed them still in a sleepy haze into the cage with the bowl of raw chicken soupie. i woke them up at 12:30am and offered them their new diet. i supposed they were famished from all the running around and gobbled down good portions!! my difficult ferret fraction has changed from 3/4 to 1/4. so far penny is refusing, but seems interested in what her brothers and sister are chowing down on.  i am going to leave the bowl in the cage over night. since noone has told me how long it can be left. my house is kept at 68 degrees because of the humidity in my part of VA. and their cage is under one of the better air vents. so i think it will be fine. i stuck my finger in it and it was cold. im so excited. i made a chart to document how often i see them eating. there is almost always someone at the house. i have three roomies who love the babies. so they are going to help me. if they see someone eating they are going to write the time and initial by it. i am a lucky ferty owner.  |
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Post by Forum Administrator on Jun 30, 2008 9:30:13 GMT -5
Yay! Wow that was FAST! I would let Penny watch her siblings. She might just pick it up on her own. If you havent coated the chicken with kibble, you can do that. Might entice her to try it. If she doesnt eat anything after 24 hours you will have to give her SOMETHING. I wouldnt recommend giving her kibble, but instead give her pureed raw chicken, or some chicken babyfood, then go right back to trying to get her to eat the chicken. You can cut it up smaller, warm it slightly, add ferretone, or play "tug-of-war" with her and the chicken. All these things might entice her to give it a shot. I like the idea of the food log. Thats good and it lets you keep an eye on them all as you switch. When switching multiple ferrets its easy for one to "slip through the cracks" its important to moniter the kiddos and make sure that they are all eating. As for how long the 3.5 oz servings are. As long as they are frozen I would say a while. Not sure EXACTLY how long. Maybe 6 months, or something like that? Keep us posted! Feel free to ask any questions you may have!!! Im so excited for you! Yay!   |
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Post by wmella85 on Jun 30, 2008 21:32:27 GMT -5
just to make sure we are on the same page.... i have not begun feeding chunks yet. my clan is still on raw ground chicken soupie. i am off tomorrow so i am going to play with them and their food. we will see how it goes. penny is still not eating on her own. so i tried the spoon thing like was done with jaycee. but she was having none of it. i am reeeeeeeealllllllly tired tonight. to i force fed her with a syringe. she did well. no hissing like i expected. i think that she was really hungry but didnt know what to do. so she has had some soupie. maybe now that she has had a taste and knows that it wont kill her she will eat like the others. HERES HOPING!!  |
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Post by Forum Administrator on Jun 30, 2008 21:35:11 GMT -5
Ah I see, well raw soupie is still great progress! You'll get to chunks eventually. Hang in there! Its tough to have a fuzzy refuse, but you'll make it work (if you are patient). Syringe feeding was a good idea. If you syringe feed her a few times you might be able to get her onto the spoon, then on to the bowl from the spoon. Make sense?
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Post by wmella85 on Jun 30, 2008 21:37:58 GMT -5
totally. i am going to keep doing it. like i said we are going to work on it all day tomorrow. we will get this. i am excited for them. they all ready seem to have more energy!!!!
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Post by Forum Administrator on Jun 30, 2008 21:40:37 GMT -5
Its crazy huh? More energy is usually the #1 change people notice (atleast at first) but get ready to see: 1. Softer, more luxurious fur (just wait until after shedding season this fall/winter) 2. Smaller, less frequent, less smelly poop 3. Less body odor 4. Cleaner teeth! (take a look at your ferrets teeth NOW and then after they've been on whole raw (including bone) for a bit. If they have redish gums or plauque, that should disappear. 5. Better hydration levels And more! Ah! Im excited! I can wait for you to see the changes! |
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Post by wmella85 on Jun 30, 2008 21:46:29 GMT -5
me too! i was thinking back to when i got matilda. i remember saying that i refused to feed them mice. and now thats all i want them to do!!!! i cant wait!!! i watched one of your home videos last night where your kids were tearing apart a game hen i think??? i got so excited!! they look healthy and so happy! i cant wait! on a side note, i bought a kitchen scale today. i think i am going to call the vet and see if i can bring them in just to get weighed. them make sure that my scale is similar. I AM SET, EXCITED, AND READY TO FEED RAW/WHOLE PREY!!!!!!!!!! |
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Post by Forum Administrator on Jun 30, 2008 21:48:49 GMT -5
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Post by wmella85 on Jun 30, 2008 21:57:32 GMT -5
okay now i have a few questions.
1) i have a FN142, so the top apt is where they sleep and eat. the bottom is where i have two large litter boxes. i had to take out both of the shelfs, my girls were pooping on them with out fail. so...... at the moment soup in a tip proof bowl is going semi well. at 4am this morning i went to the potty and checked on the kids as i walked by. we someone had covered the bowl of soup with their blankts. gross! so i changed the blanket at 9am when they were awake.
okay so the question is..... when feeding whole or even slabs of meat how and where do i do it? will i only feed them twice a day? and take out everything in the top apt? how do most with a 142 handle this??
and now i have forgotten my second question so i will post it when i remember. lol.
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Post by Forum Administrator on Jun 30, 2008 23:14:59 GMT -5
I feed in my FN142. I also will feed in the bathtub, in a seperate small superpet cage ( www.westcoastpetsupply.com/2/Super-Pet-My-First-Home-Large/ ), or I take paper bags (from the grocery store) and I put them in my living room (I will give the boys there chicken wings and they'll dart to their bags and eat in there. You just gotta find a method that works for you. Feel free to try any of these suggestions, or make one up on your own. |
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Post by wmella85 on Jul 1, 2008 14:06:13 GMT -5
i was thinking that i could block off the kitchen for them to eat in. its tiled and really small.
how many times a day do they need to be fed? once in the morning. once in the evening?
they are eating like crazy right now. the novelty of soupie has not worn off yet.
i put chicken chunks in their food this morning.
not luck on eating the chunks yet though. lol little buggers. they tricked me into thinkin that this was gonna be easy.
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Post by Forum Administrator on Jul 1, 2008 14:20:02 GMT -5
How old is each of your ferrets? Ferrets over 6 months old can (usually) get by with eating 2x per day. Ferrets under 6 months old are garbage disposals and literally eat you out of house and home until they hit 6-7 months! Feeding in the kitchen sounds good. When you get to whole raw though they WILL try and stash, so be prepared for that (thats why its a good idea to give them empty soda boxes, brown paper bags, or some type of "feeding den" in their food area. If they are dragging raw meat around the floor (once you get off soupie) be sure to sanitize before and after each meal (and make sure there are no crumbs of bread, etc on the ground. You can use Clorox Anywhere Hardsurface Daily Sanitizing Spray or spritz the feeding area with some vinegar. Wipe up. Then spritz with hydrogen peroxide. Wipe up. Dont worry, they might take a bit to switch, but you'll get there, just give it time. |
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Post by wmella85 on Jul 1, 2008 18:06:24 GMT -5
i like the idea of the brown paper bags. do you only use them once each? could i get some sort of plastic bin thing to cut a door out of the side and turn over or something? do you have to wash the ferrets after they eat? or do they clean themselves well enough that you dont have to? i dont want any of my roomies picking up one of the babies giving them kisses and then getting sick. it wouldnt go over well . lol. on a good note: i called my vets office and asked if i could bring the kids in to get weighed. they said yes. and that i could do this often if i wanted to. they are pro raw diet and are interested in my switching my business. Their weights as of today: Matilda: 1lb 7 1/2oz. Baxter: 2lb 10oz. Oliver: 2lb 11 1/2oz. Penny: 1lb 12oz. The tech kep remarking how good looking my kids were. she then told me that she has two. made me wonder what hers were looking like. mine look rough right now. they are in need of a spa day. lol bath time is tonight. they have all got bits of soupies in unfortunate places. mostly the boys, they are always dragging themselves through something dirty. usually my potted plants. now they are face deep into soup. |
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