Weasel & Slinky's Diet Switch

[charmantpapillon]

Keep workin with them =P gotta love thos little piggies! you're doing great i know there may not be much progress all at once but the end result is so rewarding tis worth all the drudgery and waiting. =)

[Jen]

Yay! Yesterday Slinky ate some plain raw First he chewed on some boneless pork, then later I heard him crunching on a cgh wing Weasel's doing good as well. I cut the meat off of the beef necks, so they ate that meat earlier.

[charmantpapillon]

Whooo hoo! we're getting there! =D did you take slinkys kibbles away permanently then?

[Jen]

No, yesterday I didn't see him eat any of the beef, so at night, I mixed about 1/2 serving of kibble with warm water and 1-2 servings of beef. He ate that though. Guess I'll just do that if I don't see him eat during the day. Guess he just likes the flavor of his kibble.

[charmantpapillon]

Dumb ferrets... have you tried just crshing his kibble up and coating the meat for him? if he just likes the taste that might d the trick then when hes eating that regularly instead of coating it like fried chicken just sprinkle it on adding less and less until he eats the meat alone =D

[Jen]

Ah, yes I did that a few days ago. When I sprinkled crushed kibble on the raw, Weasel took off with the biggest piece and then Slinky dropped his piece in the litter box. After this, I threw away the litter box and locked Slinky in the cage so he could eat in peace, but he wouldn't eat any after all that. I'm getting the most success with Slinky with "soupy" mixes.. raw, kibble, and water.

[charmantpapillon]

Mmk well keep it up and modify it a little each day like less kible more meat less water if he stops eating back it up a step and try again. we'll get mr stubborn eating it.

[Jen]

Yesterday they shared a chicken wing and had their own chicken meaty bones.

Slinky likes chicken and cgh best. He ate the very tip of the wing and ate his meaty bone.

By next morning, all that's left is bones, so they're both eating

[charmantpapillon]

Whoo hoo bye bye kibble heeeeeeloo nummies.
Can you give a 3 day forcast of your feedign schedule, what they are eating wen and about how much you will give them?

[Jen]

Yup, we stopped with Slinky's kibble about 3 days ago.

**One serving per fert means that at every feeding, I give a little more than what they'll finish in one sitting. If they don't finish their meal, I'll wait until they finish it all and are awake looking for food before serving more**

Today, a chicken day-
morning: fatty/lean meat
lunch: gizzards and liver
dinner: meaty bones

Yesterday was also chicken day-
morning: meaty bone and fatty meat
lunch: lean meat (one serving per fert- if they finished all their breakfast)
late dinner: lean meat and meaty bone

Two days ago-
morning: meaty bones (cornish game hen)
lunch: boneless pork
dinner: lean/fatty meat (cgh)

[charmantpapillon]

good =) looks good to me i'll have giuli take a look at it too now can you tell me what meats theyve eaten so far? have you had them try mice yet?

[Jen]

Slinky and Weasel have eaten:
chicken (meat, bones, organs)
pork (meat)
cornish game hen (meat, bones, organs)
beef (meat)

I've only offered a mouse once (to Weasel). He killed it quickly but didn't eat it (mixed with chopped meat and a soupy- he ate around it; didn't eat the mouse at all). *vids below*

(meeting mouse)
www.youtube.com/watch?v=MSrDApcGK4I

(killing mouse)
www.youtube.com/watch?v=9MzYPvFzS2o

[charmantpapillon]

Alright hope you had a great thanksgiving, how'd the boys do?

[Jen]

Thanksgiving was good. We drove up to see my family for a few hours. Fuzzies stayed home.

I'm learning that two ferrets eat much more than one (all that meat from the freezer is almost gone). I think once Slinky got here, Weasel started pigging out so he'd be the same size. And then with his fluffy coat, he looks bigger too.

Also, before, sometimes I would give them different foods, like, I'd leave out one serving of lean/fatty meat and one meaty bone. Since they were eating at different times, they would take turns with the bone. This was a mistake, because two days ago there was one meaty bone and Slinky fought Weasel for it. From now on, they'll eat exactly the same thing at the same time.

Definitely no more kibble for Slinky (since I last mentioned). Both fuzzies eat their raw heartily. Slinky didn't like organs much, but they ate all their chicken organs today

[charmantpapillon]

Woohoo! Want Beast too? XD he's in the dog house right now