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Post by ferretpalooza on Nov 9, 2008 21:49:49 GMT -5
Ill post some pics tomorrow. Some of them/mostly the raw and jerky eaters are huge!!!! Sully and Max have such big bellies they look unhealthy but I took Sully back to the vet twice and she doesnt see or feel anything suspect. Of course I think she is just waiting for one to get sick so we can have the "raw diet lecture"......LOL Anyway, Ill post pics and let you see what Im talking about tomorrow. Tues-thurs are going to be my busiest 12-13 hour days so I probably wont post those three days. I should have time for whatever else I want to do on the other days.
They were ALL AT THE SOUP BOWLS THIS MORNING!!!! I am making the soup extra thick. I did find pure bone meal at the health food store. I am making more ground tomorrow. Im going to add some extra bone meal and see if increased calcium will thicken up the stools a little. They arent as bad as they used to be, but shold have a little more substance.
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Post by Heather on Nov 10, 2008 1:05:33 GMT -5
Please remember that bone meal isn't bone....well not exactly. I don't like the stuff. It's cooked. I would sooner that you increased the use of bone in your raw grind mix. You can mix ground chicken with pork or any of those meats. That's what frankenprey is all about. Using little pieces here and there to balance the process. As long as you feed a mix of soaked kibbles, cooked and raw you're going to get sloppy poops. Sorry  All those different foods digest at different rates, this quite often upsets tummies just a little. It does sound like it's not bother a couple of your guys. Remember, it's the time of year for winter weights. My guys are really carrying extra pudge this year. I hope that's not an indication as to how cold it's supposed to be  I'm glad that your guys were all at the bowl today...Good stuff. Keep adding more and more raw with bone to thicken up your soupy. It would be great to get them all on the same page.. I will check in tomorrow and see how things are doing ciao |
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Post by ferretpalooza on Nov 10, 2008 23:45:44 GMT -5
Oooops, I read this too late. What is bone meal if its not bone??? It says pure bone calcium. Anyway, I didnt add a crapload and did add more bone. I smashed the bone with the meat pounder to crush it a little more and did add extra. There is a lot of dark chicken, pork chops and pork country ribs, gizzards, chicken livers and beef livers. I got a thumbs up from the ferrets. They all got back at the bowl and Boudreaux actually ate all the ground out of his little bowl. I am adding more ground and less soup so we'll see what happens.
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Post by Heather on Nov 11, 2008 0:10:24 GMT -5
I'm sorry that was not quite right...bone meal is just that but it's cooked until there's no nutritional value left in it so it has very little value. Your guys will do much better with the ground up, and hammered bones. Great news....you're doing fantastic. I would like to see them eating more of the boned ground and less soupy.. Give Boudreaux a great big hug from me...tell him he's a good boy and I love to hear that he's eating his dinner like a good boy  I will check with you later:) Keep up the good work. ciao |
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Post by ferretpalooza on Nov 21, 2008 0:04:01 GMT -5
Sorry its been a while. With both jobs and 2 hour chiropractic appts every week, Im stretched for time. My back is getting much better though. The ferrets only get playtime once a day for 3 days of the week but I am managing to get them on two playtimes the other days. They are fine, they have a pen area along with a lot of cage space but they dont have mom babying them and spoonfeeding them as much which is actually better. They will all come to the soup bowl now. I have not thrown any soup out in 3 days. If I cant take them out for playtime, they still get a fresh bowl of soup twice a day. It is getting thicker and thicker and they dont leave waste anymore. They are barely eating kibble, still eat a full bowl of jerky about every 5-7 days, but with 7 ferrets, I dont think that is significant. I did crush up bones in the last batch of ground but also added bone meal hoping for a little more fibrous content without grains. The poos did look a little better. All in all we are doing fine. Ill check in when I can. We will be out of town most of Thanksgiving week so I am holding at this pattern till after vacation as they are coming with me. Then I will continue to thicken the soup and see if we cant get them on just ground raw soon.
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Post by Heather on Nov 21, 2008 0:31:12 GMT -5
You sound tired.... Give yourself a pat on the back, you've come a long way. Your guys are taking responsibility for their diet that's great, everyone is doing well and you're making progress. I'm really proud of you  You've been through a lot, a lot of people would have quit. I'm truly impressed, my hat's off to you Keep up the great work, keep in touch and look after yourself. Your furbabies need you. I'm glad that your back is starting to heal. I will keep checking in to see how you're doing. ciao |
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Post by ferretpalooza on Dec 8, 2008 21:15:41 GMT -5
Well, we are still here. I like the extra money but doubt I can keep this up for long. Life is too short. 8-)Just cant figure out which job I like better.....LOL The ferrets are not impressed!!!! They actually are eating great now and not wasting any food. Maybe it was good that I dont have so much time to baby them as much......ha ha ha  I will either quit one job or cut both hours after the new year but am enjoying the extra $$ to get some bills paid off. All the ferrets are doing great, no weight loss or an other changes. Dont know if we will ever move off of soup and ground but they have soup twice a day. There are still a few that munch on kibble but they all eat raw soup and I have a few jerky munchers. We will see after the new year. Anyhow, wanted to drop in and let you know how we are and wish you all a great holiday season |
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Post by Heather on Dec 9, 2008 1:22:25 GMT -5
It's great to hear from you I'm glad that everyone is progressing and you've got them eating steadily. You're probably right about the spoiling thing I think we all do that. You're right, life it too short to be working all the time...I have to remind myself of that fact too Are you content with where you're at with your furbabies diet? Do you plan to progress further? only casually allowing it to happen if it does but are content at this point? Let me know as we can possibly move you to the next level and it requires less checking in on your part and just giving me updates once in awhile. Let me know what you think, and hopefully I will hear from you soon. If not, have a Merry Christmas, and give all your furbabies a big hug from me and my furkids. ciao |
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Post by ferretpalooza on Dec 9, 2008 16:47:48 GMT -5
Yes, I am content right now. They get a great mix of ground bone, organ and raw and the soup is at least 50% raw. I put a few chunks in but they were not touched. Until my schedule changes, I dont have to time to devote, and have also pushed the raw in many different ways only to have them not steadily eat it. Since I am working two jobs to catch up financially and put savings away, I cant support continuing to throw food away, or buy extra that they wont eat. So maybe something will change later, but for now, I think they are doing great and the diet is much better than plain kibble. Im for moving and opening up a newbie slot for you.
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Post by Heather on Dec 9, 2008 18:16:30 GMT -5
I will post to Giuli and see what she says:) I can certainly understand your press for time, it seems that there's never enough of it I meant to ask, how's your back doing? I know that you mentioned it getting better so I hope that it's healed or that you're well on your way. I can't imagine having a back pain, working 2 jobs and trying to get 7 furbabies eating a raw diet  . I will get back to you to let you know what to expect. ciao |
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Post by ferretpalooza on Dec 10, 2008 1:38:19 GMT -5
My back is great. The chiropractor has helped a lot. the second job is actually not as taxing on my back and if it works out well, in 6 months after I have caught up on bills and put some in savings, I will probably quit the hardest one and settle into the new job. This is only for a few months to catch up and get ahead a little. Im actually managing all this pretty well, but I just dont have much internet time.
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Post by Heather on Dec 10, 2008 11:25:27 GMT -5
I'm glad to hear that your back is feeling better. That can wear more than anything to be in pain all the time. Even the smallest task becomes monumental I haven't heard back from Giuli yet, but will get in touch with you when I do. Keep posting when you can, keep me updated and I will let you know where we go from here ciao |
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Post by ferretpalooza on Dec 16, 2008 1:42:06 GMT -5
OK, I put in my two weeks notice at Wal Mart today. Its horrible there.......LOL Ill be back on regular in a couple of weeks.
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Post by Heather on Dec 16, 2008 13:35:21 GMT -5
Looking forward to the updates and hearing about your furkids ciao |
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Post by ferretpalooza on Jan 18, 2009 0:08:20 GMT -5
Whew, its been a while!!!! I ended up working out my issues with Walmart and am giving up most of my cleaning jobs to hopefully work at WM full time. So I now have a bit more free time. The kids are all doing great, glad they are getting more time out of the cae now. they have continued to eat round raw/bone/organs mixed with soup twice daily. Still have some light kibble munchers and they also eat jerky. Everyone is healthy, fat and happy. Now, Itll take me a while to catch up on all the posts and new people I missed but I just wanted to check in. The good news is all the extra $$ I made over Christmas paid for braces and wisdom teeth for my kids.......LOL Hey, it all works out in the end. Hope you guys are all doing well.
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