Desertram's Business of 10 goes raw!!!

[desertram]

Well lastnite i gave the kids a chicken egg and omg it was funny i have pixs i just need to download them it was a kick to stand there and watch them roll that egg around in the bowl but in the end when everyone else left wolf was the one who never gave up on it he got it out of the bowl and it took about 20 mins and they had that egg all gone never broke the shell. today i gave them a wing and wolf took off with all of it lol then i put some beef stew meat thet didnt last at all even oso had his nose in that one then while i was cutting up some beef hearts for them to freeze i gave them some and fang ran off with some. and her coat sure has changed my god. pixs soon

[mustelidmusk]

Whether or not you feed raw, there's an extremely ggod chance your ferrets will go after your bids...Just like cats, ferrets are hunters - it's instinctive behavior.

Sounds lik you're making really good progress on the switch. Keep offering variety. Monitor the weights of your ferrets closely to make sure all are eating well.

Kep up the good work, and let usknow if tou have any qiestions.
-jennifer

[desertram]

they are all doing well omg they have big ol guts now doe has always been really small if she is a pound we are lucky they rest are really big and sassy lol

[mustelidmusk]

I've got my fingers crossed hoping that Ollie will go for the turkey meat. You should be thinking about introducing some more types of meats - perhaps some beef, lamb, pork, more mice and organ meats??? Have you tried egg yolk???- Ollie might like the yolk. Also you can grind the shells as a source of calcium.

Another thing to try for ollie is to cut up some meat into small pieces (smaller than kibble). crush some kibble and coat the meat bits with it. press the kibble into the meat so the end result is more ike a dry nugget than a slimy peice of chicken.

You may need to reduce the amount of kibble left out - the bowl should be empty in the morning and evening. Otherwise, if Ollie has kibble all the time, he may noy be interested in trying something new. If a smaller amount of kibble is left out, your kids won't be without food for a long time... maybe 3 hours without food might be enough to get Ollie a littl more interested in something new. Ths is when you want to offer the ferret-styled "Chicken McNuggets" !!!

Perhaps Ollie might like some beef....hmmm- maybe some kibble-coated meatballs would be fun for him to chase!!! You may need to introduce foods during playtime. If ollie like to play tug-of-war. get him all worked up in "play mode" aand tease him up with a strip of raw meat!!!

Have fun!!!
-jennifer

[desertram]

thanks with oille i will try duck soup and the turkey meat and hope that works he is the old man of the group he is a good boy i have tryed other types of meat and the egg he walked away lol he is the hard one to get to try and get to try and get to eat eat raw lol

[mustelidmusk]

That's great news that Olie at somme too - that's really great. I'll be curious to see if he tries the chicken next time you serve it. If found that ferrets LIKE to eat a variety once they get used to it. Olie may have just wanted a change in tastes!!!

Keep up the good work!
-jennifer

[desertram]

well i did give ollie some of the duck soup& ground turkey tonire and he ate that woohoo and then i gave it to KAT and she ran away lmao the rest are eatting it now ollie had his fill of it lest it was a start now i will do this for awhile and slowly take the duck soup out of the mix keep your fingers crossed need that

[mustelidmusk]

YAY!!! Ollie ate the turkey soup!!!! The funny thing is that the first couple of times a ferret is exposed to something, he may walk awy from it. But the third or fourth time h. he maty eat it! try changing the mix of meat a little every other day.

Add little bits of organ meats, a little finely ground egg shell, a little lamb meat, etc. rotate the different tidbits - it's healthier for them, it generates more interest in the food bowl ( even if they don't like it - it's still something that enriches their senses). Also, by introducing something new, the stuff that used to be new will now seem familar - like comfort food!!!

Does that make sense???

Keep up te good work, and I'll keep my fingers crossed.
-jennifer

[desertram]

yes it does make alot of sense i will try doing that these week they can have there chicken liver,hearts and kidenys i know they can only have that once a week i also have beef and they didnt like that at all so i will try mixing that in the soup mix lol and as i do shopping every week i will pick up new meat for them

[desertram]

well they have been doing really good on getting there mice or should i say wolf fang and badger have my god they are eatting adults and i give them hoppers and a fuzzie once in a while just to change it up a little here is the list of what there eatting

Wolf Adult, fuzzie, hopper mice, beef stew meat, chicken wing, chicken hearts liver and kidenys, some duck soup mix left over from ollie and kibble oh yea freezed crickets and worms

Fang, same as wolf lol

Badger, same as above

Oso, some chicken wing, some beef stew meat, few freezed crickets kibble

Doe, little of the duck soup from ollie, freezed crickets, worms, little beef stew, kibble

Kat, freezed crickets, kibble turns her nose up at the meat lol

Clude, anything he get in his mouth everything as above

Ollie, duck soup with raw turkey in it alsp with a little can of wellness cat food to change it up some kibble its a start with him

[mustelidmusk]

Here's an idea.....Oso and Doe are probably going to be a little easier to nudge forward. (Right now it seems like you have three groups of eaters, which is a pain!!!! If you make soup with turkey meat for your slower group, offer a few tidbits of finely chopped organ meats "as is" to Oso and Doe. If they don't go for the plain organ meats, add them into the left over soup from your slower group.

Work on enriching your slow kids (and all your other kids too) by constantly introducing them to new smells - dirty socks, citrus fruits, herbs from the kitchen, stinky cheeses, your dinner, anything that smells different. This will develop flexibility in your ferrets' acceptance of new things - even foo. Plus they'll start looking to you for interesting exeriences...even food Experience has taught me that this enrichment really does help with switching tubborn babies.

Have fun!!!!
-jennifer

[desertram]

mmmm ok i will do that and since there cage is in the kitchen it will be easy to do and i like the idea of adding small chunks of organ meat to the slower gourps soup will try that this weekend as when the packet will thaw out oso and doe like the beef but not to sure on the organ meat lol in time they will i really thought that kat would try some but she is the little miss princess that turns that nose up at every meat i put in there lol think i'll change here name to princess

[desertram]

man little wolf is a pig with frozen mice my god lol put a hopper in the playpen and it was half gone then fang ran off with it havent seen it since we got back home i need to get more tomorrow thank god for pay days i cash my checks and most of it goes right back into my store how sad is that? lol

[Forum Administrator]

You should really invest in a purchase from rodentpro.com

[desertram]

yea i will one of these days i also found another dealer i just need to find out the shipping cost lol and will post that info up. but i really do need to place an order just the shipping cost just gets me lol