Boris, Vincent, Lucrezia and Sinnead go raw!

[Forum Administrator]

Since Boris is taking about an ounce per feeding(as long as it's with duck soup ), how much should I syringe-feed him?

10-15 mLs (ccs) every 3-4 hours Feed more if he still seems hungry and less if his abdomen seems bloated (with food).

Oh, and by the way-liver is a no-go!

Its funny, I find some ferrets LOVE liver (like mine) and other ferrets HATE it. Some ways to sneak liver into their diet include:

1. Blending it up and hiding it in other foods such as duck soup or ground meat (you only need to do this 1x per week). You can put 1 liver per ferret into the ground meat or soup OR if you want to be EXTRA sneaky you can cut the liver into 7 pieces and put 1 piece in your ferret's soup each day. This will help avoid nauseating a ferret, causing runny poop, AND it will make it easier to sneak it past them

2. Try freeze-dried liver treats for dogs (make sure they are PLAIN liver).

3. Try a different type of liver: beef liver and veal liver are other common types.

I'm going to a local pet store who has frozen raw tomorrow, so they can have a little more variety. As for the liver, I'm sticking to slicing small amounts into their regular meals
![/quote]

Excellent. Sounds like a plan

[sherrylynne]

Thanks, Guili! I'll do the liver treats. They really like those. But syringing every 3-4 hours is not feasible. I leave about 7:30am for work, and don't get home until anywhere between 3-6pm. I have my own housecleaning business, and can't neglect this either, or I would have 4 hungry fuzzes . Should I syringe him after a raw feeding in the am, or wait til I get home?

[mustelidmusk]

Hi,
I'm back, and posting again. The trip was awsome, but tiring!

If you plan to syringe feed Boris once a day, I recommend syringe feeding him in the evening since all the ferrets I've had seem to be hungriest in the morning.

In the evening feed Boris whatever you can get him to eat without the syringe first. Then try syringe feeding.

And yes, you can feed Lucrezia real bones - the part of the wing that has the two slender bones side-by-side would provide a good progression.

I hope the wysong has been delivered to the pet store. I think that will help Boris out a lot, which will take a lot of pressure off of you.

Boris may also simply prefer other types of meat to chicken - or he may like a bit of variety. Mty one girl is not a big fan of chicken, so she simply eats less on those days.

Let me know how the syringe feeding goes. It can be a pain at times.

-jennifer

[sherrylynne]

Actually, I have been trying to give variety. Chicken one day, turkey, pork, beef. I tried to get to the store for fresh frozen, but the store was closed by the time I got off work. The Wysong's is "supposed" to be delivered this week. I hope so. If not, I will have to order on-line. It was the only store in the city who even recognized what I was talking about!

[mustelidmusk]

At the Buckeye Bash, Bob Church gave a presentation on his research project- and one of thethings he mentioned was that the ferrets overcome the imprinting on foods because they they have taste buds for protien. If you feed a ferret meat long enough, the ferret will develop a taste for meat. Bob feels that putting meat on their tongues (which may mean force feeding) on a regular basis will get them to accept meat. I actually made each of my brats eat 1/4 oznce of raw per ferret, two times per day. I hand/force fed then 2 x per day for a couple of months while they were on the wysong/kibble mix. Of course, the enrichment helped as well since it got them interested in their environments.

-jennifer

[sherrylynne]

Ok, mine,including Boris is definitely eating more than a quarter ounce 2X per day. But his still has to be pureed, or he won't touch it. And I am happy- he ate on the floor, out of the dish for part of it this morning. Mind you, I was sitting there, hand on his back, but he did most of it by himself. I picked him up to finish as he was leaving, because I didn't think he ate enough, and he did take more.
I do have one question, though. I understand that the idea is to get them eating 2 meals of fresh per day, but since they generally won't eat much at one sitting, should I be leaving the dish in the cage for the day, or leave it out in the hopes they will start getting used to the idea of only eating at certain times? I know the other 3 are old enough, but Lucrezia is only 4 m. old. However, she is the only one who keeps coming back for more until she is full ! I also read the post on feeding dens for each of them. Should I wait until they are on chunks before really pushing this, or put small dishes of the minced foods in for each of them. I really would like to get to dens at some point in time! Ground raw is interesting to try to get out of carpet, and they insist on running to the living room with every mouthful !
All in all though, it's not nearly as frustrating as it was. And they are all doing better!
With the chicken wings, I section them, cut the middle one in half lengthwise, and put them in the cage for them. The tips are usually eaten, today one of them actually ate two of the cut up middle sections, but they still will not touch the drumettes. I guess in time...
And by the way-thanks for all the help and advice. I think I would have given up, at least with Boris, without it!!!

[mustelidmusk]

Oh, I love helping - I love to read the stories and watch the progress....it's fun for me too.

About leaving eating twice a day...I think babies should have access to food during the day. You can leave the raw wet food out, but some of this may end up being stashed somewhere . The Freeze-dried raw food is good to leave out -(IF that store can ever get the Wysong's - there must be some similar product sold in Canada!!!) Or some kibble can be left out . Just don't leave out LOTS of kibble so Boris and the others can't fill up on it. If they are caged during the day, I'd leave some wet raw and some kibble.

When kibble is the primary food, the carbs burn out of their system faster, so they get hungry sooner. Protien/meats take longer to convert into energy, so it has more staying power. This is why ferrets on raw diet can eat twice a day while kibble fed ferret need access to food. But i usually takes time to get ferrets eating larger meals since they're used to nibbling all day long.

Yes, I was chuckling when reading about keeping one hand on Boris while he eats - been there, done that!!!

The dens can work at any time. The believe hand on the back is actually security thing - like a den....plus, running into the living room relates to eating in isolation. A lot of prey that ferrets catch is actually caught by the ferret in a den. The ferret will commonly then set up house in that den, and eat on larger prey over the course of several days. The den may also keep some of the food off of the carpet. A friend of mine was going nuts with the food ending up all over - she got a den, and she said that it solved the problem completely. Most ferrets will still try to stash food someplace else once in a while.

Keep up the good work... I'm glad you feel as though you've made significant progress because you really have done well with your kids. This does take time, and there are times when it feels like we're not making progress. I can't wait until your ferrets grow their winter coats - they should be a little softer this winter from the raw diet.

Keep up the hard work!!! You're doing GREAT!!!
-jennifer

[Forum Administrator]

Good work! I'm glad you've stuck it through. Your persistance is finally paying off! Can you see the light at the end of the tunnel yet?

[sherrylynne]

Most days, yes. Some days, I wonder ! I know that sooner or later, everything will click. You want to hear some irony? The Wysong's has FINALLY come in, and they tell me it is the correct one, but I'm down with a G.I. bug! I won't be going anywhere for a few days!

[sherrylynne]

I'm so excited, I had to post in and tell you . Boris has now taken the last few feedings willingly, and tonight, he even stole a piece of ground pork from the dish, all on his own, and took it to stash! No idea if he ate it or not, as he took it behind the sofa, but he took it ! That's the first time he's ever done that!

[Forum Administrator]

Awesome!

Go Boris!!!

[sherrylynne]

I'm proud of my girls this morning, especially Sinnead. I am teaching them to tear meat from the bone, using a drumstick. Teased them with it before breakfast. They couldn't seem to get through the skin, so I pulled it back, and played tug. Sinnead realized she could tear off small pieces, and ran to eat them. For Lucrezia,I had to pull a small piece almost loose, and she got the idea. She gave up after a few small pieces, so I let Sinnead have the leg, and cut some thigh up for the others. Lucrezia and Vincent enjoyed those, and Sinnead is at present behind the computer desk eating the drumstick!!!

[Forum Administrator]

Sounds like they are on the right track!

[sherrylynne]

A couple of interesting and noteworthy things. Yesterday, after I posted, when Sinnead was eating her drumstick, Lucrezia found her, and wanted it, so she tried to steal it from Sinnead. Talk about squealing and screaming ! From BOTH of them. First, there was a major tug of war, with neither giving in. I think Sinnead was squealing, because if she tried to chatter, she have to let go . Lucrezia finally tore off a chunk, and ran off to eat it, quite happy, while Sinnead ran behind the sofa with the rest of the leg, and boy, did I ever hear the chattering then ! She was some ticked as she ate the rest of it!
Secondly, I got the frozen raw, and tried the rabbit this morning(I got the MBO variety for all of it). Sinnead and Lucrezia think they like it, but act like they're not sure yet. Vincent would only eat it with water and oil mixed in. Boris absolutely hates it. I tried 3X. Nothing. He fought to prevent my giving it to him far more than he has with anything to date! I then tried it mixed with softened kibble in his kibble dish(deep ceramic), and he ate it! Is it possible for a ferret to imprint on a paticular dish? It is the one he's had since we got him. Maybe I'll try giving him all his raw meals in it. I went to a larger flat dish, because I remember reading most ferts prefer to eat from that.

[Forum Administrator]

A couple of interesting and noteworthy things. Yesterday, after I posted, when Sinnead was eating her drumstick, Lucrezia found her, and wanted it, so she tried to steal it from Sinnead. Talk about squealing and screaming ! From BOTH of them. First, there was a major tug of war, with neither giving in. I think Sinnead was squealing, because if she tried to chatter, she have to let go . Lucrezia finally tore off a chunk, and ran off to eat it, quite happy, while Sinnead ran behind the sofa with the rest of the leg, and boy, did I ever hear the chattering then ! She was some ticked as she ate the rest of it!

Never seen a ferret flip out that way over kibble, huh? Isnt it funny how much they love raw? Its food that is actually worth fighting over! Its okay to let them squabble (enrichment) as long as there is no blood or poop released. Many ferrets WILL calm down a bit once they realize that the raw food is here to stay, and that there is plenty for everyone.

It would be like if all you ever ate was spam and one day you got to eat filet mingon every day! You better darn well believe I'd be fighting if someone tried to take my filet mingon!

Is it possible for a ferret to imprint on a paticular dish?

Yes Some do, but not all.

It is the one he's had since we got him. Maybe I'll try giving him all his raw meals in it. I went to a larger flat dish, because I remember reading most ferts prefer to eat from that.

Sounds like a good idea. Not all ferrets imprint on their bowls, and some prefer to eat their raw on a plate, and not it a bowl, but it looks like he prefers the bowl (and that's totally fine) so just roll with it