|
|
Post by amymelissa on Dec 7, 2008 6:58:16 GMT -5
I just thought of something. The only thing that Taz is getting is her soup. Should I be giving her anything else? What about ferrotone? I don't think she was given it before by her previous owner. The only thing she came with was a small cage, 1 hammock, bag of Marshall's food, litter (yesterdays news) treats, and a spray bottle of that "smell good" stuff.
She didn't come with toys, supplements or bedding!
|
|
|
|
Post by tsslilsis on Dec 7, 2008 13:20:00 GMT -5
Ferretone is nasty, nasty stuff. Ingredients: Soybean oil, cod liver oil, lecithin, wheat germ oil, vitamin a supplement, vitamin d3 supplement, vitamin e supplement, pyridoxine hydrochloride, biotin, mono and diglycerides, bht and propyl paraben (as preservatives) It has too much vitamin A in it, and a raw diet will naturally supply the correct amount. It only has one usable ingredient in it (Cod liver oil) but the cod liver oil in itself has a lot of vitamin A in it. And check this out: BHA & BHT are widely used as preservatives, stabilizers and antioxidants. BHA is known to cause cancer in humans. Both BHA and BHT are toxic to the liver and kidneys. BHT may react with other ingested substances to cause the formation of carcinogens. BHT is banned in England. Found at: www.healthyeatingadvisor.com/9cancer-causingchemicals.html BHT is used in lower end products. Fish oil is highly reccomended. It offers omega fatty acids and it will help make super soft coats. Most people use Nature Made brand.. Their fish oil comes from the skin of wild caught anchovies. In the long run it will be much better to use than Ferretone and possibly cheaper, too. What you do is poke a hole in the end of the capsule and squeeze it out into the food. My ferrets go insane over the stuff, It actually might help her to like the raw food. That is really the only supplement needed. I'm suprised that they were using a decent litter for her. Most new ferret owners use clay litter and it is very bad for ferrets. -~Ketlin |
|
|
|
Post by amymelissa on Dec 7, 2008 22:41:39 GMT -5
What about for hairballs? I'll get the fish oil cap's I used (human grade) for the dogs. How much oil? If I wouldn't use it I rarely give it to my furkids...although I wouldn't eat chicken hearts/liver, etc. Raw or not  |
|
|
|
Post by tsslilsis on Dec 8, 2008 12:51:16 GMT -5
For hairballs you can give her caster oil.. It's used as a laxative for people. But literally only give her two or three drops, twice a week during shedding season. You can give her a capsule per day of the fish oil. What kind are you going to be using? I suggested Nature Made as it also has vitamin E in it which helps it be absorbed.. Any progress with the diet?  -~Ketlin |
|
|
|
Post by amymelissa on Dec 8, 2008 13:13:55 GMT -5
I don't remember the brand name I used with the dogs but I did get if from GNC and I did know about needing the Vit E. She LOVES the chicken soup. No prompting at all for her to eat it. She runs to the towel where we feed her looking for her food. I think we've figured out why she rubs her face. Michael noticed she gets the soup on her whiskers. We think she's trying to wipe them off. I'm going to try the beef soup in a couple of hours. Last time she didn't care for it. She will eat it but I have to feed it to her. The first couple of days we had her she wasn't as active. But now she's all over the place. She'll let you hold her for a minute but then she's all wiggles till you put her down. She keeps trying to get in the crate with Bo lol I think it's his cookies she wants!  |
|
|
|
Post by amymelissa on Dec 9, 2008 15:07:26 GMT -5
Well I tried the beef soup and Taz was not a happy girl. She hissed at me. In the end I had to scruff her to get her to eat it. She did eat it but she wont take it on her own and runs away if I let her go.
The beef soup is slow going but she loves the chicken!
I might just stick with the chicken and add meat chunks to it, or should I keep pushing the beef?
|
|
|
|
Post by tsslilsis on Dec 9, 2008 15:52:42 GMT -5
You might try the chicken soup with a bit of liver in it.. She may not like beef in general.. It is an irony meat. You can hold off on the beef for awhile, but its no biggy if she completely refuses it. In the wild they wouldn't eat things like that, they would be eating smaller prey, but the more variety the better. You can make the liver into mush along with some of the chicken and then just add some chicken meat bits and see how that goes.
-~Ketlin
|
|
|
|
Post by amymelissa on Dec 9, 2008 16:03:21 GMT -5
Add beef liver to the chicken soup?
|
|
|
|
Post by tsslilsis on Dec 9, 2008 16:12:59 GMT -5
Oops. I meant to say chicken liver, seeing as she may have a disliking for beef.
-~Ketlin
|
|
|
|
Post by amymelissa on Dec 10, 2008 0:58:31 GMT -5
Funny thing is Taz eats the beef for the girls much better than she does from me. We went ahead and made her more chicken just thicker with chunks (small) of chicken.
I know that kibble is hard to break but I have the funniest pictures of Bo and Taz from today. She can fit between the bars on his crate and I looked away for a minute and when I looked back she was in the crate eating Bo's kibble!!! Thankfully she only had one piece and I took away from her what I could.
She's got this thing about waking around this time for about 30 min to run around, eat and then back to bed.
|
|
|
|
Post by amymelissa on Dec 10, 2008 3:35:09 GMT -5
We made the chicken soup again but chunkier. At first she would sniff and run. This time we didn't put egg in it only the eggshell and it had more raw meat. It had 1 thigh,1 breast, 1 leg, one heart and 1/2 liver and 1 eggshell. I put her nose in it and once she realized it was her beloved chicken she started eating it up. She even ate the chunks, which were pretty good size. I'd say she ate a couple that were the size of my thumbnail and a bit bigger.
I think we'll stick with the chicken for a bit and then try other birds like cornish game hens.
When I make the soup (the recipe in the first post) she goes through it in about 3 days. I don't freeze it because she is going through it so fast. I'm also concerned about it not being a balanced diet because we didn't follow the recipe exactly.
So my question is we should put the organ meat in there every time we make the soup, right?
Also when she first starts to eat her back leg thumps, almost like she's itchy but she just keeps on eating. After she's been eating for a minute or so she stops and she only does it with the chicken. Is that a happy thump? If not why does she thump her leg?
|
|
|
|
Post by tsslilsis on Dec 10, 2008 15:16:44 GMT -5
Aww! Stealing her brothers food, huh? We have a treat drawer that is at times filled with up to 15 pounds of dog food samples (I don't think we'll be doing that now that the dogs are raw fed) but Lily figured out how to open the door on the front of the cabinet and then climb up three drawers and go in there and eat her fill.. I *fixed* it so it could be tied shut but she's somehow managed to find ways to open it! If possible, I would try some other type of bird. Cornish game hens are actually very young chickens that have a fancy name put on the package.. They aren't game birds a all. I don't recall, have you tried pork or turkey? Either of those would be good choices. The minumum for organ is ounce a week, But there is nothing wrong with feeding it daily (That is what would happen in the wild). Its up to you. But for instance, if your out of liver when it comes time to make a new batch you don't have to panick and run to the store to get any. I've never heard of a ferret thumping their feet. I know rabbits do that as a warning to the others that there is trouble. Since I personally have never had that happen, I would suggest posting in the General Discussion section of the forum and asking out in the open. -~Ketlin |
|
|
|
Post by amymelissa on Dec 11, 2008 0:48:42 GMT -5
I would say Taz has a dislike for beef. She loves chicken though.
I haven't tried pork or turkey yet but the next batch of soup I'll replace the chicken with turkey.
I'm having a problem finding chicken hearts. Livers are no problem though. I also can get fresh gibbets, well they come in the plastic wrap like the meat does. The livers come in plastic tubs. Would adding the giblets be a good thing or just stick with the livers?
I should only use an entire egg once a week, right? Eggshell every time I make the soup though, right?
As far as her stealing her brothers food she is so bad. I have to lock her in her cage while Bo's eating his dinner in his crate. She can fit through the bars on Bo's crate and she is so very persistent in getting in there that locking her up is the only option!
|
|
|
|
Post by tsslilsis on Dec 11, 2008 10:40:58 GMT -5
The chicken hearts aren't absolutely nessisary.. But what does the package that the giblets come in say? A lot of times hearts are packaged with giblets or gizzards.. Gizzards are meaty meat but if you find them packages that way it will basically be a two for one. Giblets are also great, so its up to you which you add to the food. If she's bone now the ratios would be 80% meat, 10% bone and 10% organ.. If she's not eating bone it would be 90% meat, 10% organ. They don't have to have egg, but if you want to feed it, do not feed it more than once a week. And yes, egg shell each time you make the soup. Well, kibble isn't a habit that can be broken. I guess it just smells better than meat. But then again maybe it can be broken.. The other day I got some Evo so I could stock up for when I go out of town (I had a coupon).. I gave the fuzzies a meal of it and Ravi flat out refused it til I rubbed it on his gums and tongue. -~Ketlin |
|
|
|
Post by tsslilsis on Dec 12, 2008 14:39:10 GMT -5
Just wanted to drop in and tell you that I'll be out of town for the weekend. I am going to try to get on and check in on ya though.
-~Ketlin
|
|
