The Cocoa, Jack and Bear Chronicles

[torrent85]

1. How many ferrets do you currently have? What are their names, ages, genders, and do they have any health problems? I have 3 ferrets. Cocoa is a female and is 2 years old. Jack and Bear are brothers and are almost a year old. All are healthy.

2. What are your ferrets currently eating? What Kind of diet do you want to switch to? Currently my Ferrets are eating chicken and turkey full bones and all. I want to go to a full whole prey diet.

3. Please list the current weight for your ferret(s). Do they appear overweight? Underweight? How is there muscle tone? Not knowing what their weight are exactly my best guess is Cocoa is under a pound she is very small around a foot long nose to tip of tail and has no fat (I blame this to her being out in the wild when we found her) she does have a good build of muscle however. Jack is 18 inch is over all length and a little under 3 pounds he is solid muscle and very powerful. Bear is our biggest boy measuring 24 inches and 3 to 4 pounds.

4. What is the condition of your ferret's teeth/gums? (can you get a picture?)Everyone teeth are very white and gums pink. they are very healthy and clean

5. Describe the texture/color of your ferrets coat. Cocoa's coat is perfect smooth, silky, and shiny. She is a black sable. Bear's Coat is very fluffy with a thick thick undercoat and its long too, its on the dry side I think. Jack has thick short hair with little undercoat, less fluffy, he's coat is also not as oily. Cocoa is my standard on shine. Her coat is so nice

6. How often does your ferret go to the bathroom?All go around 3 to 4 times.

7. Does your ferret's feces and/or urine smell? No

8. Smell your ferret. How strong is their odor? All have a peasant musk to them nothing overpowering

9. On a scale of 1-10, 1 being completely lethargic and 10 being "through the roof!" what is your ferret's energy level?Cocoa is civilized around a 5 she is up when everyone else is up. Bear is around a 7, he has his moments of bounding around chewing and stealing stuff. Jack is a 9, I am sure most would call him a devil, when he is up he jump on the dogs back and rides them cowboy style. He steals everything he can get his mouth on and can be up a total of 8 hours none stop, this can be daily too. other than Jack bear and Cocoa sleep 17 to 18 hours

10. How excited is your ferret about meal time (when fed kibble)? I am already in raw meaty and bone. They are very excited

11. Have you attempted to switch from kibble to a natural diet in the past? If so, what methods have you tried. Be specific.They eat raw already. I however did try to give a Whole chick which only Cocoa tried she ate a toe and quit. I did slit its belly and cover it in ferretone, but that only got licking.

12. What other information about your ferret(s) would you like to share? I love cooking. So cutting meats and finding deals I am good at. I'm also in very good standing with my vet, my mom was a tech for 20 years, so tech questions I can relay to a vet that has owned several ferrets of her own.


Now I have said I'm in a raw and meaty diet. They get Turkey one day and Chicken the next. The turkey is turkey necks sliced with bone in the middle, yes its hard and takes a big knife and hammer, they do not eat this bone. The Chicken is chopped with bones in the meat and dark meat is mixed with the white. I buy a whole chicken and cut it up. They also get chicken gizzards, hearts and livers every Tuesday and Friday. I have never measured the amount of food I give but I would say they get around a big cup split between them a day.

[mangekyousharingan]

It's nice to see that all of your ferrets are young, healthy, and eating raw meat. This gives you a HUGE leg up on starting up a whole prey diet. I'll go through my first plan step-by-step for you.

1. Fast the ferrets for 12 hours. Since all of your ferrets are young and healthy, there shouldn't be any problems with fasting.

2. During this fasting period, thaw out some prey. Mice are better for ferrets, but chicks are sometimes considered "candy" by many ferret owners. This means that many ferrets seem to enjoy chicks more, but these should not be fed more than once a week after the diet has been established. Regular feeding of chicks (more than once a week) can cause calcium deficiency.

3. After the prey is thawed, put it in a plastic bag and run warm water over it. This not only serves to raise the prey's body temperature to a more "natural" range, but it also makes the prey give off a stronger aroma. Both of these factors should trigger your ferrets' consumption instinct.

4. Once the prey is warmed, split it down the middle and pour a little ferretone on it (be aware that ferretone has some unfavorable ingredients in it, but since this is temporary, it's alright. A good alternative is fish oil).

5. Place this prey, along with ALL of the ferrets, in whatever area you use to feed them, if you have one. This ensures that there is a stronger association between the prey and food. Also, by putting the ferrets together, they are more likely to eat it. When one ferret goes up to try the prey, the others will often, though not always, follow suit. Fighting is excellent and should not be discouraged, since discouragement sends the message that the food is not worth fighting over. Fighting SHOULD be stopped if there is any bleeding, SEVERE screaming (you'll know), or pooping (indicating terror). Extreme fighting like this tends to happen more with kits, and very little even then.

6. If they do not eat the prey at first, don't worry. Leave the food in the cage with them all night, giving all of them access to it. Start thawing some meat overnight lest they don't eat anything (or very little that night).

7. If morning comes and they are still being stubborn, throw away the prey from last night.

8. Next, give them HALF of what they would normally eat when giving them the raw meat.

9. Rinse and repeat.

Try this for a few days (two to three), and if you see no progress, put them on their normal raw diet again and we will try a different method. Licking and nibbling is GREAT progress. This means that they are curious, but nervous (ironic considering a ferret's usual dangerous curosity ).

[torrent85]

Ok day one. Doing what was instructed I waited 12 hours and then gave them food. I did not get time to get mice I will get them tomorrow, however I did have a chick from the last time I tried. Cocoa was the first to bite and pull it away from me. She was able to chew for awhile till Bear took it from her and chewed it too. Bear and Cocoa took it away from each other a few times until it was gone, other than the head they just played keep away with that. Jack was a no although he was in there sniffing and curious he didn't touch it.

Jack will get some chicken and bones in place of what he missed out on.

Tomorrow I will go to the local pet store to pick up some mice. What should I pick up? They have everything. Once I am in a full routine I will place a order in to RodentPro, but I don't mind spending a little more till that time comes.

[mangekyousharingan]

Congratulations, two out of three is fantastic. The fact that Jack was sniffing is a good sign. Just keep them all together when feeding whole prey, and Jack will most likely catch on. Keep me posted and we'll figure it out together.

As far as the mice go, it would be best to get large adults, since these will eventually make up the bulk of the diet, and you won't have to worry about imbalance while switching them like you would with chicks. My one year old eats around three adults a day, plus some younger snacks (pinkies, fuzzies, chicks, quail, etc.)

It is important to note that the males will PROBABLY eat more than the female. Also, anytime they act starved, have prey available to them. Once they are set on the diet and you have ordered from RodentPro, they will have a feeding schedule. Until such time, just feed them prey like crazy if they will eat it. This will reinforce the image of prey as food.

When it is time to order from RodentPro, I will be more than happy to assist you in selecting prey.

[torrent85]

Well I got the mice. I had a accident with Cocoa and she is not feeling well so she is on dook soup. I am not worried about her catching up she will. Cocoa is always the first to try new stuff. Bear however woofed down a mouse by himself in only a few minutes. I will give him another every couple hours or so. I am still having trouble with Jack he would not touch the mouse. He is not getting much chicken so hunger is not making him curious.

So to get him to eat would it be ok to cut up the mice or skin them. I was already slitting there bellies.

[mangekyousharingan]

Well, you have a couple of options as far as Jack goes. Your first option is the one you mentioned. If you are not adding ferretone, go ahead and do so just for Jack. Your second option is to, if you have the means, blend up the mouse with a food processor. This second option is how Giuli and me got our cat to eat mice. If neither of those work in the next few days, I would say we are looking at mixing the prey with raw to make it more enticing.

As far as Bear goes, try not putting ferretone on (if you are). You could also stop slitting the stomach to see how that goes; after all, the closer he is to eating WHOLE prey, the better. It's nice to hear that Bear took to it so well.

I wish Cocoa a swift convalescence, and your ferrets an equally expedient switch .

[torrent85]

Jack has finally taken a mouse. He has only nibbled at it but its a start. I had to skin it to get him to bite guess he doesn't like fur, yet. Bear is being a pig and eating around 4 a day. Cocoa is trying so hard to eat on one but she is very weak right now so dook soup is still her diet with alittle raw chicken chunks mix in. I may start chopping up a mouse and throw it in her soup. I think we are great now. All we need to do now is regroup our ferret fundage and place in a order to Rodentpro because the pet store is loving my ferrets right now.

[mangekyousharingan]

Sept 12, 2008 15:32:30 GMT -5 @torrent85 said:

All we need to do now is regroup our ferret fundage and place in a order to Rodentpro because the pet store is loving my ferrets right now.

I'll bet they are at those prices . I'm sure Jack will get the hang of it as long as you continue to skin the mice. As soon as he eats it, just work your way back until he's eating whole mice. Congratulations on Bear, that sounds like a real success.

As far as RodentPro goes, just make sure the majority of what you order is large adult mice (50%-70% of the whole order). Chicks are very cheap and the ferrets seem to like them, but they shouldn't be fed more than once a week. Other prey you can try: small to medium rats, smallest sized guinea pigs (if you aren't uncomfortable with that), small quail. Definitely get one bag of pinkies. Your ferrets will love them, though, much like the chicks, these are snacks that should be fed sparingly.

Keep me posted and I hope Cocoa feels better soon.

[torrent85]

Well there really is not anything new. Jack still will not eat fur. Cocoa is felling a ton better and actually ventured out of the ferret room and played a little. Bear however is being a bully and is now getting locked up while Cocoa and Jack are eating he will steal their mouse and being the biggest walks off with no contest and eats their mouse. So other than Jack everyone is eating fur and loving it.

Now all I need is to get a new camera so I can get pics of everyone eating. I also just plain need to get pics of Bear and Jack.

[torrent85]

Yeah Jack ate fur. Now they are all done and eating mice and my wallet up. Oh well money is what it takes to make them have a happier and healthier life.

Oh A few people on another forum of mine and I were wondering about bugs. I know you can give ferrets bugs from what I have read on here. I just don't know were in the diet bugs should be. I know also not to go outside with my net and go catching butterflies and grasshoppers. But I know my local pet store has good prices on mealworms and crickets. On top of all this if bugs are a good treat they are definably cheaper than regular nasty ferret treats.

Also we took a trip over to my Dad's and everyone had a snack of deer meat. I thought that was kind of neat since deer has a very gamey smell to it and is a completly different texture of meat that they have never had.

[mangekyousharingan]

Sorry about not posting, I have been busy with school. Congratulations on the switch. You can rest assured that your ferrets are now eating what I believe to be the best diet out there.

As far as bugs are concerned, 2-5% of the diet is a fair number. Some ferrets love them, others don't. I think it would be prudent to purchase one bug per ferret, so you don't waste any money. Any feeder bug should be fine.

Be careful about venison, especially if it is raw. Chronic Wasting Disease is spreading in the deer population, which is a degenerative brain disease that is always fatal. Before you get too worried, however, be aware that it is not known if this can be passed to humans through consumption. No reports of human transmission have surface in 20 years, so it is rather unlikely. This disease is caused by prions, which are abnormal protein molecules that aren't destroyed by cooking, freezing, or usual methods of disinfection. I don't know if this could be transmitted to your ferrets, since little research is ever done with ferrets, so just be careful.

Sorry to scare you, I just want to relay some information. If you wish to follow the CWD topic, I will be starting a thread in the raw section. I was unaware people were feeding venison. If I had known, I would have brought this up sooner.

[torrent85]

a.) Do you understand that by starting this thread you commit to posting updates on the progress of your ferret(s) diet switch atleast every other day?**

b.) Do you understand that if you will be away from your computer for an extended period of time you will need to exchange phone numbers (or email addresses if you don't feel comfortable exchanging numbers) via private message with your assigned mentor, so that we can monitor your progress and ensure your ferret's saftey during the switch? (Please post below letting us know that you and your mentor have exchanged phone numbers or emails)

c.) Do you understand that any threads that have not been updated in for more then a week (with no explaination as to why you are absent) will result in the deletion of the thread?***

I understand everything and will keep posting.

[torrent85]

Its my thread and I can keep double posting!!!

Well the deer meat was only a test and it looks like the meat is not effected by the disease. But they are not getting more deer, I'll just have more for jerky yum.

On the mice front everyone is now comfortable to eat while sitting in my lap. Bear still is wanting more and more food. He is getting mice to stash,which I don't like but understand its what they do, but will steal mice out of other stashes that are not his. I do believe that Cocoa and Jack are getting their mice back when Bear goes to sleep. At least they have food wars to keep them occupied in their room.

And I completely understand the school thing. I got a Powerplant test next Friday that I've been studying for 3 months now. Also (/crosses fingers) I will be getting a new job with in the next month, but neither will keep me from at least updating.

[mangekyousharingan]

It sounds like you have a happy ferret home now...food wars and all. Once you get your Rodent Pro order, post your daily feeding schedule. I will review this schedule and, barring any "errors" in the schedule, you will graduate and be finished with the switch. You will, of course, still be able to post on the forum. In fact, you are encouraged to.

P.S. What is a 'Powerplant test'?

[torrent85]

Lets see I got three ferrets one girl that is two who will definably not eat nearly as much as the bigger boys.


Sunday-6 large adult mice
Monday-12 large pinky mice
Tuesday-3 1 week old quail
Wednesday-1 large rat
Thursday-3 small chicks
Friday- 1 small rabbit
Saturday- 1 large rat

I don't know about food portions because I haven't seen how big a large rat or what small rabbit looks like. But I do like the way this looks compared to some of the schedules I've seen here.

Anyway a I am studying to be a aircraft mechanic. I have 5 more test to take before November to get my complete license to work on them. Right now I'm taking my powerplant CATS (computer assisted test system) test that is 100 multiple choice questions but I get a study guide and I have a practice program that has 90% of the questions that are on the real test. But there are a total of 1000 different questions that could be asked and the best way is to memorize as much as you can. So I'm taking 3 practice tests in the morning and the 5 to 6 in the evening. After this test, which is the easiest, I have to take the oral and practical test were I am asked 10 questions by a testing director then am taken out into the schools hanger and have to preform different tasks. I'm not worried about turn wrenches and that stuff but filling out the government forms I haven't done in a loooong time. After all this I will be a government certified and able to change light bulbs on aircraft.