Animalfarm2006's Switching Thread

[Heather]

No, but it's ok for a start. That's what I meant in that you should be trying to replace the baby food with meat but do it gradually,, let them get used to it first. Both gizzards and heart are muscle meat so you're not going to get into any trouble feeding just that and you're feeding ground egg shell right? for the calcium?. I don't think that gizzards have a huge nutritional value though (they're certainly good for cleaning teeth though, almost better than bone ) You've got some of your guys eating mice. Are they eating adult mice yet? If they are that's a balanced nutritional package.
ciao

[AnimalFarm2006]

Three of them will eat middle sized mice. I try not to keep mice long enough to get pregnant as I just have one cage.

I'll make a better mix after this one goes, but it's a start. Everyone will lick the mix, even Dingo, who surprisingly enjoys it without a fuss. The mix also has chunks which is eaten with some funny face's.

What also is a good taren supplement for ferrets?

Today was a weird day, I started to think about ferret foods + cat foods and how even the best ones are still not completely healthy. I guess just thinking about it gave me a second wave of enthusiasm to go completely raw.

[Heather]

I don't normally supplement but there are those on board who supplement with capsules that you can break over their food. You can find it anywhere in health food stores, drug stores or even grocery stores.. I use hearts and I use a fair number of them so I'm not overly concerned. I also give them treats of pork and beef hearts too.
Like I said, keep going with what you're feeding it's a good starter food. Everyone's eating it and enjoying it. They're eating chunked meat out of it so it's a great starter. The thing with starters is that you always have to be prepared to keep moving on. So, your next position is to add more meat to your mix....really simple
Great stuff, always keep moving forward. Thinking about kibbles in a health food manner and you will always go back to raw
ciao

[AnimalFarm2006]

My head hurts from all this thinking. Monster's health issues Vs Dingo.

Jack Jack threw up on my tonight. I gave them a mouse, Lelloo & Jack. I heard jack coughing so I opened the cage and picked him up. He than threw up some bile, foam, a few bits of mouse on me & the cage. He most likely ate too fast, but I will keep an eye on him. Let's hope he isn't sick.

Do you think the oppurtunity for pixie to switch fairly easy has already passed? She was apparently born in august or september. I can't force food in her as she grits her teeth, but she will lick, sniff, and try mice. She does eat soup & loves it.

[Heather]

Pixie should switch fairly easy. She's decided on her food but it's not ingrained. She should switch with a little work if you're consistent.
Sounds to me as though Jack may have got something caught in his throat and gagged himself. He could indeed have eaten too fast, or just swallowed a piece that was too big.
Keep me posted
ciao

[AnimalFarm2006]

I made the new all chicken cooked to death batch of ferret foup. ^.^ I will have two types to give them at night. My dad kept saying he wanted to just spoon into the slow cooker and eat some chicken.

Everyone had the raw giblets and hearts version of meat tonight, and shared two hopper mice. I did split monster & Dingo in order to figure out who's doing some realy gunky poops.

[Heather]

Tell him to watch for bones
How did it go down? Everyone eat it? Good luck with finding who's got the horrible poops
ciao

[AnimalFarm2006]

The food finding is confussing. I found out the boy's poops are sort of normal. One poop looked a little mucusy in the boys cage. But in the bottom cage with lelloo, jack, Ripply & Dakota, One poop was black. I left them in the the seperate cages so I can check them when i get home today.

I have yet to let them eat the new soup as I had to freeze it into blocks last night. I will tonight durring yummy feedings. I had lelloo, jack,monster, and ripply eating the heart soup last night, but everyone else threw a hissy fit.

My next step is going to be split into different approachs.
Lelloo & Jack will be started mainly on chunks of chicken.
Ripply will be in a lingo between chunks and soup.
Dakota and Pixie will be on soup.
Dingo I have no idea what to do with him yet. He picked up soup realy quick, but last night he was one of thoes that threw a hissy fit.

Is the spring shed upon us yet? Dakota has been realy itchy, and lelloo is starting to itch.

[Heather]

I know that my guys are started to shed a couple of weeks ago and everyone's down an oz or two so that usually means the winter flub is coming off too.
The black poop is undigested blood. Look at what they're eating but if you can't find that check the health of your guys. I would think that it's probably the heart that your feeding, if it's raw.
Keep working it. Switching multiple ferts is never easy but well worth it in the long run. Good luck
ciao

[AnimalFarm2006]

Hey again

So every night I make a bowl of soup. Jack Jack ate most of last nights bowl hanging out of a hammock, but it is sitting for everyone.

Today I went to let everyone out, and I noticed that monster has long fur. I know i have not been using the heater a lot, but that is because the weather is warmer. Could the ulcer meds helping him eat give him the missing nutrients to give him a better coat? His fur is also softer instead of spiky.

He did ground his teeth today while eating, but it was the first time in a while & I had not administered the meds for the day.

[Heather]

You have to consistently get their meds into them. That ulcer won't get better if you don't.
Yes, with the meds Monster's now better utilizing his food and he's eating the amounts that he needs, so he will be putting on a nicer, softer coat. That's good news
ciao

[AnimalFarm2006]

I give him his meds every day! I just hadn't done it at that moment. I give them meds after i get home and let them out for the day mon-thursday & before i go to bed and put them up for the night. Fridays I give him his meds before school + let them out, and than when I get ready for bed or put them back up for the night. Sat & sun depends on my work schedule.

Food wise. Lelloo & Jack had a hopper last night. Ding was realy interested in it, but after sniffing it for a while, he snuffed at it and walked away. I did not have time for soup. But I will get food tonight.

[Heather]

Sounds good. Is your little one only supposed to get his meds once a day? My little Nico gets his 2x per day. Perhaps your little one might benefit from getting his 2x per day, but always ask your vet not all meds are given in the same manner but it might help him keep his tummy settled better.
Have you tried drizzling some oil on the hopper to see if Ding would like it better? or maybe cutting it open so that he's aware that it's indeed food. My Captain Jack thought that mice were like his stuffy (he carries this stuffy around and snuggles it). That's what he did to the mice to begin with.
ciao

[AnimalFarm2006]

Monster gets his med's twice a day except for one pill. His energy has seemed to pick up a little. He plays with everyone more.

I am worried about dingo. He plays some, but goes to sleep soon. One really cute thing he did recently was that while I was doing a video of the ferrets, I kept turning around and dingo would be watching me. He was on the bed, the ground, the end tables. He was my little stalker.

Update on food-

I got chicken today to try to feed them some.

Lelloo- ate a few pieces freely. Was more interested in wandering.
Jack- Same as Lelloo. He wasn't that interested.
Monster- surprisingly, He chowed down into the meat with gusto. My little trouper is looking better.
Ripply- Licked, tried a piece, and than disappeared until I brought the soup out for everyone to eat.
Dakota- Ignored totally, but I did get her to lick some soup.
Pixie- I made the little brat eat two pieces of chicken and her still only licks the soup from my fingers.
Dingo- He doesn't seem to have a big appetite. He licked the soup from a med Siring, but would not do much else.

[Heather]

Sounds to me like you are making headway. Good work. Keep working away at it. Persistance is the key I'm glad to hear that Monster's starting to feel better. Keep up the meds. I hate those ulcers. I've had a number of ferrets look like they're getting better only have them slide as soon as the meds are removed Dingo really needs a medical work up....you don't know what's wrong if anything (adrenal from the looks of things). Finding out exactly what you're dealing with will make things so much better.
Keep up the good work
ciao