My kids going Raw

[Jaycee]

Have you tried adding the broth to it and warming the mix slightly? Mine loved warm chicken mix...but don't "cook" the meat because the nutrients will be lost. 15 or 20 sec should do it.

[silverphoenix69]

I did try that lol...though I didn't warm it. I'll try that as well...give them a mixture, see if they like either one of them *nod*

[Jaycee]

Good luck! With mine I had to make my mixture more of a soup and less solid at first. They really enjoyed that...and slightly warmed. They are spoiled buggers!

[Forum Administrator]

Wanted to add, you can check out Jacyee and Meli's "switching threads" below. See what they went through and feel free to steal any tips or tricks they were given (and used) to switch their babies

Jaycee's Journey:
holisticferret.proboards80.com/index.cgi?board=newbiearchive&action=display&thread=1494&page=1

Meli's Journey:
holisticferret.proboards80.com/index.cgi?board=newbiearchive&action=display&thread=595&page=1

[silverphoenix69]

Ok! Poops are all back to normal, so I felt comfortable doing something tonight. I took away their kibble at 10pm and cut up all these little chicken pieces, boy they better love me LOL I HATE cutting meat, and dusted them in kibble. Gloria I tried first and no surprise, she ate two pieces no problem, Bandit took a piece from me and ran off to eat it. Laura again thought I was poisning her, took the SMALLEST little licks then turned her head. Drake gave a lick and walked off. So I gave Gloria and Bandit some more. Tried Laura again and she took it and ran off, dropped it so I picked it up, healed her and she ate it! Did that twice. Tried Drake again and he ate one as well! Yay!

From hand Gloria ate 3 pieces, Bandit 3 or 4, Laura 2-3 and Drake 2. Oh and my kitten had 0.5 LOL he sneaked into the ferrets cage *sigh*

So that means that if they're hungry enough they will eat it on their own, right? If they take it from hand? Gloria was funny, she took the first piece and one second later was looking at me for another.

I'll see how this work, if they don't eat any after tonight I'll try the soup soupies *nod*

LOL Jaycee, my kids are spoiled as well...They're free roam cuz I couldn't stand looking at their eyes when they were in their cage. Looking at them at night while I'm switches (at least at first so I can monitor poops) is gonna be hard on all of us. Come to think of it...they get almost what ever they want with that "look" they give!

Thanks Giuli I looked at both quickly and I've already read some of Jaycee's from before lol.

[silverphoenix69]

I have a question...

How do I defrost the chicken? I don't eat or cook meat (at least not often, if I lived alone, I'll probably end up a vegetarian for sure) so I really don't know...I'd ask my mom but she already thinks I'm nuts LOL. And my dad thinks I'm gonna make the ferrets more "aggressive" to the cats..I told him "I'm not feeding them CAT...I'm feeding them chicken" *shudders at the thought* He fine with it now

And how do I know if their getting enough food? How much chicken should they be getting a day? And (sorry I'm thinking of this as I type) should I be adding crushed eggshells to their chicken? Do crush it on my own or is there somewhere that I can buy crushed eggshells?

[Jaycee]

How to defrost chicken: I would leave mine sit out for a few hours (checking often of course). This seemed to work ok for me. When I got impatient, I would run cool water on it or let it sit in cool water to kind of speed the process up without cooking the chicken.

As far as becomming aggressive, no. I think it actually calms them down. It gives them a....creative outlet so to speak. In any case, if they were out in the wild they sure wouldn't be hunting down wild kibble.


Do you have a digital scale? I weighed my guys often at first using a digital postal scale. Works great! You just put a container on the scale and zero the weight out. Put the ferret in the container and that is it. That is how I knew mine were eating enough by monitoring for weight loss. If they are still pooping regularly, and you haven't noticed weight loss or decrease in energy, they are fine.

Egg shells are great to add to the diet now, especially until they are eating bone. Eggs shells are an excellent source of calcium....as are bones. I think you can buy whole egg shells attatched to whole eggs (ok, sorry. It is early, and I couldn't help myself). I am not sure if you can buy crushed egg shell. Maybe someone else will know.

I don't measure my ferrets food at all. I am not sure how much each of mine are eating as an individual. I refresh their food plates during the day from time to time when empty, and I weigh them once a month to monitor weight change.

As for your comment about touching the meat, I was the same way. I am not veggitarian, but the thought of touching meat repulsed me in so many ways. I guess I should be thankful for my ferrets....they got me past the fear of touching meat!

It sounds like you are making good progress with your guys! you are doing great!

[Forum Administrator]

Ferrets usually eat about 2-4oz of food per day BUT like Jaycee I dont measure their food, and many "ferrents' dont either. We just feed them as much as they will eat, ferrets are great little self-regulators. When they first make the switch they will eat less, just because they are still unsure of this new "food" and they are learning HOW to eat it. Once they get into the swing of things they'll usually eat more food (as in "omg I FINALLY have REAL food!" and they'll pig out hardcore, once they get used to the food they tend to eat less. Just monitor them, make sure they are eating, and if anyone starts to look like they are losing weight, get some extra food into them.

[silverphoenix69]

Thanks for the defrosting tip Will do! Yay

Lol, I do have a scale, I usually weigh them once a week. But I'm thinking of weighing them ever 3-5 days for know. And I've noticed an increase in energy...Don't no if that's cuz they think I'm poisoning them LOL or if its the new food that's making them more happy

LOL You can buy egg shells attached to eggs? hehehe...I only asked cuz we don't really eat eggs in my house. But I'll go and buy some today.

Meat freaks me out...I can deal with mice no problem, but give me parts of chicken or other meat and its like *ick!*

WELL last night was better then the other day.

I woke Bandit up just before I went to sleep (5am) and he had 3 more pieces from my hand. When I woke up, there was chicken pieces all buy the bowl. I think they're getting the idea Poops look alright. I think I'll buy enough chicken now for a while, and see if I can get them all to eat the chunks on their own with no kibble breaks. *Woot*

Thanks for all the help Its great.

[silverphoenix69]

Thanks Giuli ( I just missed your post)

I just worry over every little thing with my kidis. I'll be fine once I know they are

[charmantpapillon]

glad to see things are working out for you!

[silverphoenix69]

Well...Now they're not touching the chicken, though Bandit still chows down on it IF I give it to them...They won't touch it from the bowl. Gloria ate a piece and Laura ate two. Drake ate about half a small piece. But I know that they all have eaten it from my hand. Should I just take away the kibble for now and keep feeding them pieces by hand every few hours until I see them all eating out of the bowl?

The only problem with that is my guys like their privacy. They barely ever eat when I'm watching and I don't want to starve them by accident.

Also, for weights, the girls gained a few grams (Gloria went from 791g to 794g, and Laura 825g to 829g) But the boy's lost some. Bandit went from 1221g to 1208g, and Drake went from 1474g to 1447g. I don't no much about grams, but this is the time that they should be gaining, not loosing . Their acting normal, and are very playful though I haven't looked at poops today.

[Jaycee]

Hmmm......for the boys and the weight loss, could you make them some chicken/kibble/broth soupie for them? They might eat that, and I would like to see them gain their weight back. A little weight loss in the beginning is normal, but I wouldn't like them to loose too much. I know nothing about grams either

For the ones that are eating some, how about only putting like 5 or six small pieces in a bowl, and giving them an eating den (a container with a hole cut in it so they can eat in privacy. This way, you will know if they have eaten based on how much chicken is left in the bowl.

[silverphoenix69]

I found a converter to pounds LOL. Bandit was 2.7lb to 2.6lb, and Drake went from 3.2lb to 3.1lb. Not bad really if looking at it that way, but its still loosing weight.

They honestly only take it and eat it from my hand. If I let them run off, they stash it. I don't think they would eat it in a den.

And they funny thing is, is Bandit is the one that's eating the food from my hand! I don't no why he's loosing weight :S . Drake isn't, not really, so I can see why he would be. Laura isn't eating from my hand really either, she will if I catch her in the right mood.

Also, I had a question about the "eating dens". Is it possible to teach them to only eat in it? I can't have my cat's eating the chicken if they leave it laying around, and I don't think waking up to a chicken wing next to me would be very nice LOL.

Ok. Forget everything I've said. Or at least most of it, I'm starting fresh. I don't really want to give them a liquid diet, I do want to start with a little more of a "solid" approach. I will if I really need to, but I really really don't want to do that. Any idea's? I've given them the kibble back for now until I have a better course of action *nod*. Sorry if I'm being insane

[buzzonesbirdie]

Hello,

Im sorry that you have been having some problems with them eating. I understand that you might want to keep them on a more solid diet, so before you go the soupie way (which is the way that all of mine have switched and its not that bad of a diet as its not really liquid more mush ). Do you know if yours like eggs?? If they do (or if you dont know mix together an egg and put it in a plate and see if they eat it) try letting the chicken chunks marinate in the egg for about an 1/2 hour before feeding them. If they like the egg better then the chicken right now this might get them to eat some more. Or try marinating the chunks in olive oil (i have not meet a ferret that did not like olive oil). See if doing either one of these helps. And hang in there I had a ferret that I thought would never switch and now he is the first one in line for food when its feeding time. Let me know how it goes.