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Post by blf1234 on Jan 10, 2009 18:56:51 GMT -5
people keep saying that i need a mentor to help me out. Iwant my baby to eat RAW meat. is this what im suppose ot do? im so confused! i need help!
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Post by suds on Jan 11, 2009 14:58:01 GMT -5
Hi so we can help you please first read and fill out this survey and paste here in this thread .
To help our mentors "keep tabs" on all our newbies essential info, this list of questions has been drawn up. Anyone who is about to switch their ferrets to a natural diet needs to copy/paste this questionare (and fill it out) into the FIRST post of your update thread in this section. Once you make this post continue to post updates/questions/concearns about the switch in your update thread.
PLEASE try to update your thread ATLEAST every other day with how your ferrets are doing with the switch. PLEASE do not go "missing" in the middle of switching your ferrets without updating us or without explaination. It takes valuable time and effort to "track people down" and make sure a.) their ferrets are SAFELY making the switch to a natural diet and b.) that the switch is going well.
Holistic Ferret provides switching assistance free of charge to anyone that is interested. All of our mentors are volunteer only. Please be courteous and keep your update thread current. Any threads that have not been updated in a week or more (without explaination of absence) will be deleted.
If you will be absent from your computer for a period of time you will need to exchange phone numbers with your assigned mentor (via private message) so that we can continue to monitor you during the switch. This is to ensure the saftey of your ferrets. The switch to a natural diet can be potentially dangerous if done incorrectly. This is why we stress the importance of contact and updates as you make the switch. Not to mention I (and all the mentors) tend to worry about our "newbies" if we don't hear from them. Its just because we care!
Alrighty, down to business. Copy and paste the following into the first post of your update thread. Fill it out and continue to post all updates on your "furkid(s)" progress in that thread:
1. How many ferrets do you currently have? What are their names, ages, genders, and do they have any health problems (this is VERY important)?
2. What are your ferrets currently eating? Include their main diet, plus any treats or supplements (such as duk soup).
3. What kind of diet do you want to switch to?
4. Why do you want to switch to this more natural diet?
5. Where/what/who got you interested in natural diets?
6. Please list the current weight for your ferret(s). Do they appear overweight? Underweight? How is there muscle tone?
7. What is the condition of your ferret's teeth/gums? (can you get a picture?)
8. Describe the texture/color of your ferrets coat.
9. How often does your ferret go to the bathroom?
10. Does your ferret's feces and/or urine smell?
11. Smell your ferret. How strong is their odor?
12. On a scale of 1-10, 1 being completely lethargic and 10 being "through the roof!" what is your ferret's energy level?
13. How excited is your ferret about meal time (when fed kibble)?
14. Have you attempted to switch from kibble to a natural diet in the past? If so, what methods have you tried. Be specific.
15. What other information about your ferret(s) would you like to share?
16. If you can, please post a clear photograph of EACH of your ferrets directly below:
17.
a.) Do you understand that by starting this thread you commit to posting updates on the progress of your ferret(s) diet switch atleast every other day?**
b.) Do you understand that if you will be away from your computer for an extended period of time you will need to exchange phone numbers (or email addresses if you don't feel comfortable exchanging numbers)via private message with your assigned mentor, so that we can monitor your progress and ensure your ferret's saftey during the switch?
c.) Do you understand that any threads that have not been updated in for more then a week (with no explaination as to why you are absent) will result in the deletion of the thread?***
**Note 1: If you are unable to make it to a computer (such as on weekends) please indicate below so we know whether you just dont have computer access or if you have gone MIA.
***Note 2: If you would like to try the switch again and you are committed to making regular updates you ARE welcome to restart your thread. Failure to provide regular updates will result in the deletion of your thread.
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Post by blf1234 on Jan 11, 2009 15:24:05 GMT -5
1. i have 1 ferret. Name: Duke Age: 11 months Gender: Male he has NO healthe problems whats so ever 2. What are your ferrets currently eating? Include their main diet, plus any treats or supplements (such as duk soup). EVO ferret kibble, and the supplements are: duk soup, and ferretone 3. RAW meat, and frozen mice/quail 4. Why do you want to switch to this more natural diet? Answer: because it is much more healthier then kibble, and i want him to have a healthy life 5. Where/what/who got you interested in natural diets? This Forum, and this girl named "Renee". 6. Please list the current weight for your ferret(s). Do they appear overweight? Underweight? How is there muscle tone? Answer: i do not know, last i checked he was four pounds 7. What is the condition of your ferret's teeth/gums? (can you get a picture?) 8. Describe the texture/color of your ferrets coat. Answer: All white with red eyes 9. How often does your ferret go to the bathroom? Answer: like every 2-3 hours? 10. Does your ferret's feces and/or urine smell? Answer: sometimes 11. Smell your ferret. How strong is their odor? Answer: not very noticable 12. On a scale of 1-10, 1 being completely lethargic and 10 being "through the roof!" what is your ferret's energy level? Answer: i would say 7 13. How excited is your ferret about meal time (when fed kibble)? answer: he doesn't care, when he sees i when hes hungry, he just eats it. 14. Have you attempted to switch from kibble to a natural diet in the past? If so, what methods have you tried. Be specific. Answer: Nope. But today i put i tiny pieace of raw beed in his duk soup 15. What other information about your ferret(s) would you like to share? Answer: hes cute, and fluffy :3 16. If you can, please post a clear photograph of EACH of your ferrets directly below: Duke  isn't he handsome 17. a.) Do you understand that by starting this thread you commit to posting updates on the progress of your ferret(s) diet switch atleast every other day?** Answer: yes i do b.) Do you understand that if you will be away from your computer for an extended period of time you will need to exchange phone numbers (or email addresses if you don't feel comfortable exchanging numbers)via private message with your assigned mentor, so that we can monitor your progress and ensure your ferret's saftey during the switch? yes c.) Do you understand that any threads that have not been updated in for more then a week (with no explaination as to why you are absent) will result in the deletion of the thread?*** Answer: yes **Note 1: If you are unable to make it to a computer (such as on weekends) please indicate below so we know whether you just dont have computer access or if you have gone MIA. ***Note 2: If you would like to try the switch again and you are committed to making regular updates you ARE welcome to restart your thread. Failure to provide regular updates will result in the deletion of your thread. |
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Post by suds on Jan 11, 2009 17:27:42 GMT -5
he is cute  And welcome to the mentor program soon guili will assign you a mentor to help you . for now you will see me and a few other's help you get started . so did he eat the raw meat in his duck soup ? How often do you feed him duck soup ? have you tried to give him any meat plain ? to start Since he already likes duck soup continue to put tiney peaces of raw meat in it for a few days then slowly increase the size of the meats make them a little bigger every 3rd or fourth feeding. goodluck and let us know how it goes  Frank |
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Post by blf1234 on Jan 11, 2009 19:56:01 GMT -5
he is cute And welcome to the mentor program soon guili will assign you a mentor to help you . for now you will see me and a few other's help you get started . so did he eat the raw meat in his duck soup ? How often do you feed him duck soup ? have you tried to give him any meat plain ? to start Since he already likes duck soup continue to put tiney peaces of raw meat in it for a few days then slowly increase the size of the meats make them a little bigger every 3rd or fourth feeding. goodluck and let us know how it goes Frank 1. no he didn't eat the raw pieace of meat, he just licked it. 2. i feed him duk soup once or twice a day, noon and night 3. no i havn't yet, what do u mean by MEAT plain? |
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Post by Heather on Jan 12, 2009 0:43:27 GMT -5
Your little guy is adorable I have an albino too, his name is Odin. He was my first contact with an intact male ferret He's no longer intact  If your little one won't touch the chunked meats (this is slivered, like the tip of your fingernail) try some ground. Chicken is our usual standby for starting. Put in just the tinyest bit. Mix it well in your soupy (so that he really can't see it or find it) and have him eat it. Do you just let him eat his soupy or do you hand feed it? My guys all get their soupys fed to them by spoons, that way if they're ill then they know how to eat from a spoon. My guys also do a lot of public work and people seem to think that a ferret eating of a spoon is rather unique, where a ferret eating raw meat on their own people just think it's grosse. It usually starts conversations about raw feeding and ferrets and all the whys and wherefores. It's great public awareness. If he eats that without much trouble add a tiny, tiny bit more. Each day that he eats what's in the soupy add a little more. You can continue that way until it's the same consistency as what you would use for making hamburgers (human type ) or you can start adding chunks to your soupy mix depending on how receptive your little guy is to the whole process. We will continue to pop in and help you until Giuli pops in and give you a proper mentor Good luck, we're here to help. ciao |
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Post by blf1234 on Jan 12, 2009 10:44:27 GMT -5
Your little guy is adorable I have an albino too, his name is Odin. He was my first contact with an intact male ferret He's no longer intact If your little one won't touch the chunked meats (this is slivered, like the tip of your fingernail) try some ground. Chicken is our usual standby for starting. Put in just the tinyest bit. Mix it well in your soupy (so that he really can't see it or find it) and have him eat it. Do you just let him eat his soupy or do you hand feed it? My guys all get their soupys fed to them by spoons, that way if they're ill then they know how to eat from a spoon. My guys also do a lot of public work and people seem to think that a ferret eating of a spoon is rather unique, where a ferret eating raw meat on their own people just think it's grosse. It usually starts conversations about raw feeding and ferrets and all the whys and wherefores. It's great public awareness. If he eats that without much trouble add a tiny, tiny bit more. Each day that he eats what's in the soupy add a little more. You can continue that way until it's the same consistency as what you would use for making hamburgers (human type ) or you can start adding chunks to your soupy mix depending on how receptive your little guy is to the whole process. We will continue to pop in and help you until Giuli pops in and give you a proper mentor Good luck, we're here to help. ciao oh! thank ya. today, abouyt a few min ago, i fed duke some duk soup with a peace of beef he didn't eat it  , he didn't even eat much of his duk soup, i spoon feed him. i just got him to eating duk soup. ;D. but of course he ate half of it. i need to get soem raw chicken. i do got a Q. how long can raw meat can stay in the freezer? please let me know and thanks ;D |
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Post by sherrylynne on Jan 12, 2009 12:14:21 GMT -5
It can stay for quite awhile! I get a lot of meat from friends and neighbors that is slightly freezer burned(meaning it's probably been in there for at least a year), and they have no problems with it. I just cut off the burned bits, and it's great  . And the price is right, too! |
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Post by blf1234 on Jan 12, 2009 22:22:39 GMT -5
It can stay for quite awhile! I get a lot of meat from friends and neighbors that is slightly freezer burned(meaning it's probably been in there for at least a year), and they have no problems with it. I just cut off the burned bits, and it's great . And the price is right, too! ok why thank you. i have deer meat, beef and othe rtypes of meat in here. lol umm i got another Q. the whole mentor program, am i assighned to a mentor yet, or am i still on the waiting list?? |
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Post by Heather on Jan 13, 2009 1:28:58 GMT -5
Giuli's computer is on the fritz....she will indeed get you one. You are still working with all of us When you're assigned one they will come on board and introduce themselves and then you will work one on one with them The rest of us will become background noise only popping in when invited You can feed any of those meats, and all of them But you have to convince your little one that it's in her to eat them. So you have to take little bites Do you have any of that meat in ground? Try adding a very little to her soupy, it's never easy, but if you persevere you won't be sorry How far do you want to take your raw feeding? whole prey? frankenprey (whole meats)? This will help her choose one of us Good luck, I will keep popping in until you've been assigned someone on a full time basis ciao |
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Post by blf1234 on Jan 13, 2009 17:56:56 GMT -5
Giuli's computer is on the fritz....she will indeed get you one. You are still working with all of us When you're assigned one they will come on board and introduce themselves and then you will work one on one with them The rest of us will become background noise only popping in when invited You can feed any of those meats, and all of them But you have to convince your little one that it's in her to eat them. So you have to take little bites Do you have any of that meat in ground? Try adding a very little to her soupy, it's never easy, but if you persevere you won't be sorry How far do you want to take your raw feeding? whole prey? frankenprey (whole meats)? This will help her choose one of us Good luck, I will keep popping in until you've been assigned someone on a full time basis ciao sorry about that i was at school. i currently don't have anything ground yet. For how far do i want to take my raw feeding i want him to eat Raw meat, and i want him to eat whole prey frozen. like monday- Raw chicken and RAw beef tueday-frozen Quail and frozen mice. and it keep going on, i want him to eat RAw meat some days and i want him to eat whole prey some other days i can buy frozen mice/ rats at teh pet store and i can buy ground rabbit and frozen quail online lol what do u think? |
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Post by Heather on Jan 14, 2009 0:00:45 GMT -5
That sounds great to me, in fact how I feed my guys. For my guys: Sunday was a mouse slaughter day (I do live prey, raise my own) Monday was whole quail, ground chicken, ground beef Tues was gibblets, ground chicken, ground turkey and left over quail Wed is going to be a whole 2 lbs rabbit fur and all....there's always ground chicken as I have one cat (age 21) who has a really finicky tummy. I figure at his age he's allowed to keep his protein sources as limited as he chooses Thurs is going to be whole rats Friday is going to be quail and so it goes. Now, I'm feeding 16 ferrets a raw diet but this week will give you an idea. Next week there is probably going to be some whole dressed rabbit, quail, rats and I noticed some turkey backs on sale so I will probably pick some up and they can have turkey. I won't have any more mice ready until the end of the month so they won't be getting any more mice until then. This is your goal (not the live mice that's ok, I feed frozen rats and mice too). So, first we work at getting your little one to recogize raw as food. Your little one is still young, switching shouldn't be too difficult if you're persistent I'm presently switching a pair of 3 yrs olds who were turned in to me just before Christmas. Captain Jack, is fully raw fed now (I'm in process to convince him that whole meats are good, he eats ground at the moment). Calypso, his tiny little girl friend, is not so sure. She's spoiled...she likes to sit on my knee to eat her dinner. She will actually bite my feet to pick her up to feed her. Now it's just a matter of convincing her that she can eat on her own . So our first goal will be to get your little boy to eat raw meat. You don't have to feed ground, it's just easier. You can start with slivered meat and add it to your soupy mix, but it should be really small. See if you can actually get him to put it in his mouth (this may mean that you have to put it there). Don't be surprise that he chokes and gags and pretends that you're trying to poison him I've had more than a few that have given me that reaction. We just stop for a few minutes and go back to trying again. Switching ferrets is more about patience and persistence than anything else. I will check in with you tomorrow and see how things are going. Good luck ciao |
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Post by blf1234 on Jan 14, 2009 21:50:35 GMT -5
That sounds great to me, in fact how I feed my guys. For my guys: Sunday was a mouse slaughter day (I do live prey, raise my own) Monday was whole quail, ground chicken, ground beef Tues was gibblets, ground chicken, ground turkey and left over quail Wed is going to be a whole 2 lbs rabbit fur and all....there's always ground chicken as I have one cat (age 21) who has a really finicky tummy. I figure at his age he's allowed to keep his protein sources as limited as he chooses Thurs is going to be whole rats Friday is going to be quail and so it goes. Now, I'm feeding 16 ferrets a raw diet but this week will give you an idea. Next week there is probably going to be some whole dressed rabbit, quail, rats and I noticed some turkey backs on sale so I will probably pick some up and they can have turkey. I won't have any more mice ready until the end of the month so they won't be getting any more mice until then. This is your goal (not the live mice that's ok, I feed frozen rats and mice too). So, first we work at getting your little one to recogize raw as food. Your little one is still young, switching shouldn't be too difficult if you're persistent I'm presently switching a pair of 3 yrs olds who were turned in to me just before Christmas. Captain Jack, is fully raw fed now (I'm in process to convince him that whole meats are good, he eats ground at the moment). Calypso, his tiny little girl friend, is not so sure. She's spoiled...she likes to sit on my knee to eat her dinner. She will actually bite my feet to pick her up to feed her. Now it's just a matter of convincing her that she can eat on her own . So our first goal will be to get your little boy to eat raw meat. You don't have to feed ground, it's just easier. You can start with slivered meat and add it to your soupy mix, but it should be really small. See if you can actually get him to put it in his mouth (this may mean that you have to put it there). Don't be surprise that he chokes and gags and pretends that you're trying to poison him I've had more than a few that have given me that reaction. We just stop for a few minutes and go back to trying again. Switching ferrets is more about patience and persistence than anything else. I will check in with you tomorrow and see how things are going. Good luck ciao well i fed him some soup tonight, he ate some of the RAw beef peiaces, again! and ok, lets see how eats it tommarrow. now i got another Q my mom is concerebned. well the meat i have in the freezer are store bought, wouldn't all of teh preserves/chemicals in the meat bad for ferrets to eat? if not can soembody explain? ;D |
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Post by Heather on Jan 15, 2009 0:30:16 GMT -5
Congratulations!!! There's your first success. Yay, Duke...you go little dude. Raw food all the way Once he's eating the food a little better, add more little pieces of meat. Keep doing that until he's comfortably eating his little meat pieces. Ok, now I'm in Canada and some of our laws regarding food and preservatives are different but that being said here's my take on it. All foods must be identified with what has been placed in them. If you look the label will read flavour enhanced or salt added or some flavouring. If none of this is identified on the label then you should be ok. If you look at what your babies were eating as far as kibbles anything is better If your meat isn't identified as such then I would probably use it now and when you go to get your next batch of meats for Duke maybe pay a little closer attention to the labels or where the meats are coming from, depending on what you want to feed. Organic, farm fresh organic, butcher or grocery any of these are fine, what you believe in and what you can afford will probably dictate what you use. A lot of us feed meats that are bought in grocery stores and such just because that's what we can afford. It's all a matter of degrees and what you want. I've always fed a mix of organic, store bought, raw pet food, and prey and my guys are as healthy as any ferts and healthier than a lot. Now, all but one of my guys are rescues, so the damage that was done by previous care is beyond my control but I've had enough good results feeding in this manner that my vet went from being a skeptic to a true believer Clear as mud I will check in with you tomorrow and see how you and Duke are doing ciao |
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Post by blf1234 on Jan 16, 2009 8:35:48 GMT -5
Congratulations!!! There's your first success. Yay, Duke...you go little dude. Raw food all the way Once he's eating the food a little better, add more little pieces of meat. Keep doing that until he's comfortably eating his little meat pieces. Ok, now I'm in Canada and some of our laws regarding food and preservatives are different but that being said here's my take on it. All foods must be identified with what has been placed in them. If you look the label will read flavour enhanced or salt added or some flavouring. If none of this is identified on the label then you should be ok. If you look at what your babies were eating as far as kibbles anything is better If your meat isn't identified as such then I would probably use it now and when you go to get your next batch of meats for Duke maybe pay a little closer attention to the labels or where the meats are coming from, depending on what you want to feed. Organic, farm fresh organic, butcher or grocery any of these are fine, what you believe in and what you can afford will probably dictate what you use. A lot of us feed meats that are bought in grocery stores and such just because that's what we can afford. It's all a matter of degrees and what you want. I've always fed a mix of organic, store bought, raw pet food, and prey and my guys are as healthy as any ferts and healthier than a lot. Now, all but one of my guys are rescues, so the damage that was done by previous care is beyond my control but I've had enough good results feeding in this manner that my vet went from being a skeptic to a true believer Clear as mud I will check in with you tomorrow and see how you and Duke are doing ciao ok, well yesterday night, duke did a better job! he ate more of the RAW beef chunks! there were 2 tiny pieaces left, so this is going out pretty well! ok i got another Q. This weekend im going to go shopping for meats at the "Whole food Store" (which is a place with all organic products. which meat should i be getting and will it be the best choice to meat from a WHOLE food store? |
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