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Post by Forum Administrator on Oct 31, 2008 0:30:20 GMT -5
What if you blended up the ground raw and every day added 1 tsp of blended raw into their soupy (while subtracting 1tsp of cooked soupy). That way you could go SUPER slow and and wean them onto raw. Even if you have to make it 1/2 a tsp per day, its STILL progress. Slow and steady wins the race.  |
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Post by tink80 on Oct 31, 2008 0:49:05 GMT -5
that sounds good, i made some tonight with egg and tone and let em try it just to see. baby bear took a few licks, monkey was interested but kept getting put off if got a chunk of the gooey fat type stuff. i honestly don't know what is wrong with me or my blender but i can't get those out. i tried a strainer and got something that looked like blood soup and then got the fatty parts and added more water and tried to blend again which was an improvement but still had the goo part monkey runs away and stashes because he hates that part. although they would eventually get used to it b/c my cooked soup sometimes has little chunks of heart and baby bear will eat that now. but in the beginning i'm not sure.
i went ahead and made it and thought if anything i'll add it to the cooked which looks like what i'm going to have to do. either that or i could add some in some once a week pumpkin and egg deal since they are enthusiastic about that too.
another thing, how do you manage to defrost it without getting that slightly brown on the outside deal? i feel like it's defeating the purpose when i pull it out of the microwave. all my appliances suck or i am just overlooking something, LOL.
i guess i could put one serving in a ziplock in the fridge the night before...hmmm, don't know.
thanks for your help!
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Post by tink80 on Oct 31, 2008 1:11:56 GMT -5
p.s. i'm somewhat impatient in waiting so i tried 50/50...they are lapping it up as i speak...woo hoo! (enthusiastically too, moreso than when i tried the raw chicken snuck into cooked). is it possible for some ferrets to take to trying or accepting or not noticing one type of meat over another? hmmm... anyway i just had to tell you, i'm jumping up and down right now..woo hoo! *edit* plate is licked clean |
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Post by tink80 on Oct 31, 2008 18:07:25 GMT -5
okay scratch that.
i really do believe now monkey has an allergy to beef. he vomited for the second time after it today (first time was a few weeks back when i tried). can't be a bad batch as these are different and in the fridge or freezer as necessary.
gonna cut out beef in the future. a bit demotivated again and holding off till i can come up with new game plan ..and get em to trust me again, LOL.
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Post by Forum Administrator on Nov 1, 2008 0:20:00 GMT -5
I am sorry to hear he got sick again. He very well could have a beef allergy BUT I honestly think that the most likely cause of the vommitting is that he ate too much, too fast.
Here is what I want you do do next time:
1. Use raw, blended TURKEY and add that to the soup
2. Add 25% raw, instead of 50%. This way its not too much new food all at once
3. Give them just a SMALL amount of soup. About 1/4-1/3 of the amount you'd normally give.
I have a feeling that if you follow the tips above he wont get sick next time. The key is to slowly add in the raw, and to not let him eat like a big, only to puke up all his soupy. I know you are getting discouraged, but I really, really do think that limiting the soupy and trying a different percentage (and meat) of raw will help to correct the problems you have been having.
Let me know what happens.
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Post by tink80 on Nov 1, 2008 3:03:48 GMT -5
okay. i will pick up turkey on the 7th when i get my food allowance. you might be right since i have added a jar or two of beef baby food to the soup..but to be safe, i'll get turkey..i can't do much till payday though so if i'm not updating that's why. i do still have some raw chicken but meh..i'd rather wait. (i know i'm a pain in the butt, LOL..i get traumatized easily :-) ) probably get braver once i see for myself nothings gonna happen  |
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Post by tink80 on Nov 7, 2008 16:02:35 GMT -5
fyi, i'm off to buy turkey today..think i'll look for ground as it sounds easier..
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Post by tink80 on Nov 7, 2008 20:38:56 GMT -5
so i made a batch of soup with 25% raw ground turkey. i added a slightly boiled frozen mouse to it too that i had left over from a snake that went to the bridge that i wanted to get rid of and some giblets (different from gizzards?) since i used the last of my hearts today and threw in a few gizzards too (all those are cooked except the turkey). didn't use as many gizzards and other parts this time b/c i didn't find any at the store and also as a pawn or bribe to eat the raw (they like chicken breast better than organs of course, ugh). i have a few cubes of their last batch left so i'm gonna go super slow and try one cube of that to one cube of the 25% raw (okay maybe it was around 30ish not sure). then i'll try to do two cubes of the new batch after i run out of the totally cooked supply which will only be a few days from now. hopefully nothing happens as each time i make a new batch even though most ingredient ratios are same i'm eyeballing it and sometimes i have to go to the good ol handy syringe and/or ferretone route to get em to realize it's the same just a new batch (they are that crazy). then i'll have a 25% fairly big batch and can add more raw just to the cubes defrosted. (and i will get them to eat that 25 even if i have to *cook* more soup to add in ) also for baby bear's evening soup (monkey likes his in morning, baby bear pm) i added a *tiny* pinch of the raw turkey (i didn't even have to blend it it was so mushy), maybe not even ten percent just out of curiosity... i am totally gonna go the slow and steady wins the race route now :-) *edit* well monkey ate baby bears soup with the pinch of raw LOL...bb was sleepy...i had a ton from my batch leftover (new one with the 25 so i put it out on a plate to see if it's touched). bb did lick some off my finger cuz he was too lazy to stand then ran back to bed. he's lazy today..maybe when he's hungry. it's okay if they don't eat that, i'll give it to the dogs. starting tomorrow is gonna be half old/ half new anyway. |
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Post by tink80 on Nov 7, 2008 23:28:11 GMT -5
baby bear ate 3/4 new soup just now and monkey ate the other 1/4. man that boy was into soup today, LOL. treat for him i guess...(hmm wonder if it's possibly bad to eat too much mostly cooked soup). oh well it was making soup day so they always get extra on that day... *note* baby bear pooped quite liquidy after...there's gonna be a higher ratio of old soup to new tomorrow , you think only 25% raw would make him that loose? i'm not too worried, it at least looked like he had absorbed it all (no birdseed or funky colors)...i'm just wondering...  |
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Post by tink80 on Nov 8, 2008 18:43:39 GMT -5
update (sorry for all the posts ..kinda using this as a raw diary): today tried my half old/half new 25% mixture..they ate a bit but mostly wanted it off my fingers...not sure if i should resort to syringe yet or continue to sit on the floor and "hand feed" them so to speak... will try another small dose tonight as i had some leftover that went into a tupperware in the fridge and wanna get rid of it by end of weekend before it goes rancid or starts tasting funny...leftovers will go to dogs :-) tonight: baby bear eating old/new mix "with gusto"! :-) monkey sucking it outta the syring like a newborn baby nursing  |
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Post by tink80 on Nov 9, 2008 17:29:53 GMT -5
monkey slurped up his soup this morning. i'll have the old out by tuesday so starting wednesday it'll only be the 25% mix soup. i have a good feeling about starting with turkey for my odd duo.
on a side note i picked up merrick 100% lamb lung chews (trying to get em to chew w/o resorting to nbones, i don't feel good afterwards about giving it to them) and monkey is crazy for it if i break it into kibble size pieces...baby bear not so much..i added a few tiny bits to kibble cuz i'd love for him to recognize it as food. my cats like it too. saw some vitalife chews in petsmart but not too sure about trying those. anyway, thought the lamb lung might be a nice treat to add to things once in a while..for monkey at least.
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Post by Forum Administrator on Nov 9, 2008 23:27:29 GMT -5
Sounds like you are doing great Use this thread however you like, don't apologize for posting frequently, we LIKE that Lung chews are good. My guys go BONKERS for the vitalife. We use the duck jerkey. Its a nice addition to their diet because: a.) duck is too expensive to buy, but these treats are affordable and are 100% duck b.) it cleans their teeth c.) It doesnt have all the extra crap that n-bones have. Its just pure meat. Loose poopies are fine, and to be expected, even birdseedie poops are okay during the initial switch to more raw soup. If they have the runs for too long, give them pedialyte, but I'd say keep doing what you are doing, it seems to be working |
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Post by tink80 on Nov 10, 2008 3:19:57 GMT -5
great, thanks! darnit, i shoulda bought the vitalife, LOL! *looks at empty wallet*
so mon and tues will still be half/half and then wednesday will be 25% raw completely. baby bear ate all his up tonight (i wish they preferred the same soup times, LOL) and monkey decided to *help*..hahaha. then BB had a loose poop again, normal color and all, just liquidy but he is drinking and i think it's not a biggie..i have pedialyte in my freezer anyway :-)
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Post by tink80 on Nov 10, 2008 20:56:00 GMT -5
sidenote about texture..the kids are starting to like chunks in their soup which is very exciting for me!!
even though i am serving a minimal amount raw now it came out chunkier for some reason and i thought "oh great they're not gonna eat it". well never have i seen these kids nom down on chunks like they did tonight..i'm starting to have fantasies of raw chunks but one day..i MUST be patient this time. (i'm more the problem than them i suspect!) LOL
but anyway, this is promising! might make life easier... :-)
okay, i admit i added some tone just in case but even when i used to before with chunks they REFUSED to eat it...so some progress right? i feel pretty good about it and feel on track finallly :-)
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Post by tink80 on Nov 11, 2008 17:46:46 GMT -5
sidenote: found a butcher 20 mins away..yet to check out in person. good for future buying :-)
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