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Post by tss on Apr 10, 2009 16:34:34 GMT -5
Sounds good!
How'd the CGH go??
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Post by mayhemkb on Apr 14, 2009 12:20:21 GMT -5
Well the CGH went over like a fart in church for Garrison. He ate one piece and he rejected his soupie all together-so we just got him back up to speed on beef chunks again. (Still sneaking the occasion piece of CGH in but he eats around it.)
CGH was going well for Twig. He ate all the large deboned chunks I gave him over the weekend . (Not into the bone thing yet) But we had a set back yesterday as I thought Garrison was having a IBD flare up after finding pure pink and yellow jelly mucous poops. Turns out it was Twig. (Caught in the act) I noted he had been a hair flat on Sunday but was not sick. He is still not sick and at normal activity level but he rejected his CGH this morning, but ate his soupie and the beef chunks he had. He is eating less offered kibble too yesterday and today. So I am watching him like a hawk. I'll back off the CGH and see if he perks back up in the next 24 hours or we are into the vet as it could be more than a tummy disturbance caused by new food. . .
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Post by tss on Apr 15, 2009 16:26:53 GMT -5
I had that issue with someone else I mentored, starting out they had to marinate chicken in beef juice or package beef and chicken together before the ferret would even touch it.
Hopefully Garrison is feeling better now.
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Post by mayhemkb on Apr 16, 2009 9:53:21 GMT -5
Twig was the one who it gave issues to but he is doing better but has developed quite the flavor aversion to poultry. I am increasing the size of beef chunks he is eating and we are up to a hair smaller than the thumb knuckle for now. He will not touch it if left out without soupie yet. I need to figure out how to get bone in there now. Mice and rats are just out of my price range because they get shipped from so far away. I do not have the time or room to raise my own so I am stuck on small mammals that are not poultry for the time being for bones.
Garrison just does not want to move up in size or try new things. But I am willing to take time to get his little butt to the goal. I may have to pick up some Natures Variety or AFS frozen to find a type of protien he'll eat and go from there. We only have the NV dealers here-no Primal or others just yet.
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Post by tss on Apr 19, 2009 11:02:09 GMT -5
Sorry for getting them mixed up. Knuckle sized it really good, I'm glad Twig is letting you increase the size. As for mice, do you ever have reptile shows in your area?? Those are always good places to get them cheap. The way I was able to find REALLLLY cheap mice was by contacting a local reptile rescue. Here is the profile for one close to you, just email or call and ask where you can get cheap feeders. www.petfinder.com/shelters/MI383.htmlAs for bones, rabbit would be good. The only other things I can think of is squirrel, guinea pigs and piglets. Just a thought, but were the CGH's and chickens enhanced with broth? The broth could be what irritates them. You are doing what is right for Garrison, he needs his time. Ferrets vary a lot by their switching times.
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Post by mayhemkb on Apr 20, 2009 13:31:51 GMT -5
Don't worry about mixing them up. Garrison is the one with GI issues normally Nope the cornish game hen had no broth or added sodium. I'll give it a shot again in the future but right now I am trying to find a meat they can really sink their teeth into and enjoy so they can get comfy first. The beef has been the favorite so far-but gets mediocre reveiws at best. (I am using some beef we got for ourself that has a real sharp flavor to it so I am open to that being the issue.) I have a very promising prospect for the boys-I used some left over venison stew meat we were making chili with yesterday and both boys ate their venison chunks without protest and snubbed the beef. Twig even asked for more. So I'll keep the fingers crossed here. The local herp club has no dealers (I checked, they were all reccommending Rodent Pro). We also have very crabby local poultry people who refuse to let me pick up some day olds from them. I found a rabbitry nearby www.larsonrabbitry.com/products but we have a freind who is starting up breeding meat rabbits so that I'll hold on for a short period. . .I may just try to start them with a grind of raw bone (alone) to get the flavor imprinted. I know the goal is to get them chewing the bone and eating it but could the addition of bone paste as a starter be helpful?
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Post by mayhemkb on Apr 20, 2009 15:23:54 GMT -5
BTW- Congrats on the new little one. She looks to be a real spitfire.
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Post by tss on Apr 20, 2009 17:55:29 GMT -5
Oh, yes!!! Ferrets LOVE deer meat (well, except Lakota), they go crazy over the stuff.
If you have a local herp club you could try goig in on a order, find two or three people who will be ordering together and go in on it. That way you just pay for your mice and 1/3 or 1/4 shipping.
As for bone, you can get bone meal from the saw at the butchers.. That will give them the same nutrients as bone, just without the chew benifit so for the time being it would be perfectly fine to give it to them.. You can also make your own paste if you have a really strong blender.
And thanks for the congrats, Lakota is really a little monster. She's just 3 months and 9 days old and already weighs 1 pound 10 ounces!!
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Post by mayhemkb on Apr 23, 2009 14:55:56 GMT -5
Lol. Those Babies!
Today is Twig's 1st birthday! Yay Twig!
Venison is the meat of choice. Even Garrison will eat spaghetti's now and is happy to chew them. So he is up in his meat ratio. Yay! The only thing they really, REALLY, dislike is the occasional chunk with silver skin on. So more trimmings to do when butchering. Oh well. Now we can really focus on bone consumption.
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Post by tss on Apr 26, 2009 21:22:12 GMT -5
Sorry for not replying sooner, with Lakota being introduced and me trying to multi-task, plus going out of town I haven't had much time to sit down long enough to check my threads and reply.. I should be settled now.
How are they doing???
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Post by mayhemkb on Apr 27, 2009 12:49:32 GMT -5
Well, Twig is happy as a clam on the venison. He eating finger knuckle sized pieces happily. He will not eat them without soupie, and we are trying to adjust to his seasonal slow down in food intake. Garrison is not up to a large size but is willing to chew the venison and eat small chunks.
Garrison's tummy is upset today and he has golden liquid mucous poop. He has been waaayy down in his kibble intake but not losing any weight. Rotten IBD. . .The boys have had more energy lately-and Garrison has been begging for more play time-so all's good on that front.
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Post by tss on Apr 27, 2009 13:02:59 GMT -5
It sounds like they are doing pretty well!! Aside from the IBD.
It's good to know that their energy is up, I'm sure they are getting into the swing of things for a nice active summer :-)
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Post by mayhemkb on Apr 28, 2009 9:03:02 GMT -5
Well Garrison is over the golden jelly poo, now it is just brown, loose, and seedy. Now Twig has the golden Jelly poos, meh. . .
HE was just nuts this morning. Twig dug all the water out of the bowl 4 times (then I switched to a bottle). He took down all the towels in the house, and hid all my shoes. I'll Chalk his Jelly poo up to a virus or food change. I have totally forgotten what young ferrets are like. . .
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Post by tss on Apr 30, 2009 20:20:17 GMT -5
Hmm, sounds like they're bowles are going through mood swings.
Lakota was my first kit, she can be wild at times but she doesn't go too crazy since she's got 3 play mates.. She's brought some spunk back to the group, it used to be that if one ferret was awake the others would be sleeping but Lakota is ALWAYS ready to play.
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Post by mayhemkb on May 4, 2009 9:42:41 GMT -5
Yep we are holding the line here. No changes, lots of wild play and dancies though.
Garrison and Twig are pretty equally matched size and energy wise. They usually are together doing everything. Rarely do we have the lone wandering ferret anymore that always occured with 3 ferrets. Poor Garrison Bear, he was a great fit with our first 3 some and then he was the odd man out with the second 3some even though there was only one different ferret. Now he has a best buddy again.
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