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Post by Kerit on Dec 23, 2008 9:52:03 GMT -5
This is more of a rant than anything, since I know I just need more patience...  Trouble, my ~7 adrenal girl, will just not take the initiative to CHEW. I've been cutting up whatever I give the boys into tiny, tiny pieces, which she absolutely loves... to LICK. Lick lick lick, let fall, look for the next one. Even when I drop it directly into her mouth she scampers off to a corner like she's finally going to swallow it, and then leaves it there and comes back for another. She's not saving it for later, either... it'll be there the next morning. I've covered the bits in kibble gravy, baby food, ferretone... warmed them... and she just wants to lap up the liquid. She's been spoiled on soup for too long. I know it's positive that she likes the raw bits at all, it's just been a really long couple weeks of snipping off itty chicken pieces that won't get eaten. It can't be any harder to swallow them than it is to crunch up a piece of kibble! And she loves Archetype, and the dried lung pieces, and those take work to eat... she obviously likes the taste of raw chicken and NV, so what's the problem here?  Maybe it wouldn't be so frustrating if the boys weren't so accomodating! They eat everything and anything. |
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Post by animalsgetrevenge on Dec 23, 2008 10:42:15 GMT -5
I KNOW how frustrating that is... she sounds just like my Ernie was! It took about three and a half months before he would chew his food. I REALLY wish I could tell you my secret to getting him to chew chunks but unfortunately.... after months of struggling with him, we were feeding him NV mush separated from our other two ferrets; he somehow got into the other ferret's part of the ferret nation, picked up a chunk of chicken neck, and went to town! It was TOTALLY unexpected, but we were so thankful! I hope you have the same soon! Just know that your frustration is understood and I sympathize with you!   Best of luck |
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Post by sherrylynne on Dec 23, 2008 11:30:37 GMT -5
Believe me, I understand your frustrations only too well! Boris was like that- would only eat the raw soupies. Then one day- bang! He was actually chewing on a piece I'd tried to feed him. And he's never looked back  . Now, none of them will even look at ground meats! They want their chunks. |
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Post by animalsgetrevenge on Dec 23, 2008 16:52:35 GMT -5
Hahah, sounds like we have the same story SherryLynne!
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Post by sherrylynne on Dec 23, 2008 21:40:29 GMT -5
The thing to remember, though- one day Trouble will one day surprise you, too!
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Post by spiritualtramp on Dec 27, 2008 12:28:30 GMT -5
I'm with the others, my Ranger HATED the texture of meats and then one day BAM I caught him gnawing on a bone, and I said, 'well, sir, I am not going to accomodate your lazy whims any longer!'
And that was that!
Just be patient, she will come around. She likes the flavor so that's a positive sign!
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Post by suds on Dec 27, 2008 19:49:16 GMT -5
hey she is 7 and adrenal she is allowed to be a bit of a brat lol , but realy we all have felt your frustrations just hang in there she will surprise you one day out of the blue and start eating it , your half way there .more then likely She just needs to get used to the texture
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Post by Kerit on Dec 27, 2008 22:43:49 GMT -5
Thanks everybody... I hope that magic day is soon! I've started feeding the boys in the playpen with her so that she watches them eat. Tonight was a wingette, which she licked and licked and occasionally picked up and shook like it wasn't dead enough. So she still has that little bit of killer instinct in there, I guess... she has absolutely no interest in a thawed mouse, though. That would probably be too much to ask right off.
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Post by sherrylynne on Dec 28, 2008 10:55:12 GMT -5
I could only get mine interested in the mice by starting out with the smallest variety of chopped up pinkies! Now, they actually enjoy their weekly hoppers. At the end of January, we move to the next size up!
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Post by Forum Administrator on Jan 1, 2009 13:23:50 GMT -5
De, my 9 year old adrenal ferret WILL NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES eat meat chunks. So, I've conceded and I put her onto a ground raw diet (Nature's Variety Raw). She's doing wonderfully. I just make sure to brush her teeth regularly. I still try to get her to eat small chunsk of meat, but anything larger then HALF the size of my pinky nail and she'll go on hunger strike. Atleast on the ground raw De is getting better hydration and nutrition. With older ferrets I think that sometimes, its okay if they dont quite go "all the way". I think your best option is to put her onto the NV raw full time (with no kibble) and slowly work on slipping small chunks of chicken into the NV. If she takes to the chunks, great! If not, don't stress, atleast she is getting balanced nutrition from the NV raw. Sometimes older ferrets are set in their ways and stubborn. That doesnt mean you shouldnt try and switch their diet, but it does mean that sometimes you have to compromise with them  lol  Demanding little things! |
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Post by Heather on Jan 1, 2009 19:51:13 GMT -5
I second that Giuli and sometimes out of the blue....they'll go ahead and eat the whole meats. My little Babushka is a perfect example. She's now 10 yrs old. She will not under any circumstance eat anything other than ground chicken...unless it's a whole rat, giblets or quail....but....it meant finding this out picky little brat I found out the rat purely by accident when I watched this rat disappearing down the hall....backwards..... there pulling with all her might (she's the tiniest ferret I've ever had in house) using the tail as a handle was little bitchy Babushka. She took it to her hidey and then proceeded to eat the choice parts (the head). She basically slept with her prize. She'd wake up and eat some more and then curl up and sleep. Anyway, there is always hope ciao |
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glynus
Going Natural
RAW FEEDER
Posts: 143
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Post by glynus on Jan 1, 2009 22:08:54 GMT -5
You guys are giving me hope too!! my two are about to drive me crazy also. I finally found a pair of kitchen shears which make cutting the chicken a little easier but I would love to be able to just cut chunks and have them actually eat! |
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Post by Kerit on Jan 4, 2009 17:59:50 GMT -5
I loooove my poultry shears! I had a pair of rather inexpensive kitchen shears before, and am so glad I went out and got a decent poultry pair. I've noticed that while I've never been all that squeamish about things like innards, scissoring up bones and tendons and organs several times a week has gone from kinda icky to kinda fun!
As for NV, Trouble obviously loves the taste of that too, but even when I mush it she apparently considers it too chunky. I have to water it and personally spoon it into her mouth to get the bigger bits down. I don't mind at all when I have the time... she'll just sit on my lap in front of the TV, or in the playpen, but I really wish that when I'm running out the door in the morning I could leave a medallion and know it gets eaten.
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Post by mustelidmusk on Jan 5, 2009 1:12:05 GMT -5
There are a few tricks to this issue....BUT you ned to be VERY careful with and older ferret or a sick ferret....
I use the following approach to make the ferret receptive to variation:
** enrichment - play with meat chunks with your ferret and incorporate food into playtime.
** try rolling small chunks in crushed kibble
Now, here are the tricks....
1. hunger! use this VERY carefully with an older fert....once you know your fert understands the chunks are food, withdraw or feed LESS food at night to ensure your baby is hungry in the morning. Offer larger food chunks first thing in the morning in a small feeding cage. if you ferret will not eat the larger chunks, offer a small amount of tiny chunks, but not enough for the ferret to get full on the small bits/soup. Later (PM), offer more larger chunks. Do this on the weekend so you can watch your ferret throughout the day - a older ferret will need more monitoring since food deprivation could result in low blood sugar.
2. Time of year - Boris, Hershy and Ernie all started to really get into the raw thing in earlyor mid fall - which is when ferrets naturally tend to eat more. Your ferret may start eating raw food more in Spring, which would be great. It's also possible that she may ot respond until fall since she is 7.
The change will eventually happen once she knows that the stuff ids food and once her appatite exceeds her food ration.
Also, how are her teeth? she may have a dental problem (cracked/bad tooth) that is making her not want to handle larger food.
-jennifer
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Post by Kerit on Jan 5, 2009 11:26:15 GMT -5
Her teeth are okay. I had her in for a cleaning last fall, and while one of her canines looks pretty terrible, it's not hampering her ability to eat so far as we can tell. She attacks dried meat treats, and those take a lot of chew work, so I'm pretty sure that's not the problem. She's just stubborn and complacent, especially since whenever I leave her in the care of my Mother she babies her with all the soup she can eat, and I think undoes any progress my tough love made during the week...
On a happier note, she's regrowing hair on her tail and it looks like a little on her butt, which has been a big bald spot for months (she had a Lupron depot in the fall). And the boys have been changing coat markings like crazy! Dunno what season they think it is.
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