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Post by moonlightsedge on Feb 16, 2009 11:48:29 GMT -5
Well, I am still sick, the antibiotics did nothing....well nothing good anyways so I go back to the doctor this week. I went to a pet expo yesterday and there is a llittle pet spa place that carries ground raw with bone and all the extras in it, so I got some samples to try. They also had a type of ground from a different line she said has been pasterized how does that work does it keep it at a low enough temperature that it saves the nutrients? Well I am going to get them to try the ground today and what ever they won't eat I will make into soup...if they won't eat it like that then I will slowly add a tiny bit of kibble to their mix and keep trying that way to. so heres my update, sorry I have been out so long. Oh and Diesels cough has settled down and the vet is still booked up so I still have him on the waiting list for cancelations. I'll be back on maybe tonight.
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Post by Heather on Feb 16, 2009 13:37:27 GMT -5
I'm sorry to hear that you're still ill. Sounds like you've picked up an aggressive virus . That's great that you've found a supplier who can get you ground meat with bone in it. It makes things so much easier for you. It has a tendency to be a little more expensive but sometimes paying that little extra for convenience is well worth it. Chances are the reaction that you will get is bleck!!! we're not going to eat that. That is my prediction on that as it's so normal. I would suggest making it into a soupy ( a little gravy or water, maybe a raw egg) to make it a consistency of thick soup. You will probably have to get them to lick it off your finger to start. Very few people have the luck to have them stick their face in the bowl and just chow down. Pasterized....I would seriously be concerned with this. Bone becomes brittle and dangerous in high heats...nutrients are lost and protein molecules actually change their structure. If it's not done with heat then it's done with chemicals and that in my opinion is even worse. Personally, I would avoid the product. Your furbabies should be able to handle any bacterial load created by the raw food. I'm glad that Diesel is starting to feel better and isn't coughing as much. I will check in with you later tonight to see how things went. ciao
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Post by moonlightsedge on Feb 17, 2009 13:50:34 GMT -5
Well they didn't eat the chunks of ground, all I got for my time was a wicked deep bite on the tip of my finger. So I decided scruffing and putting the meat in their mouths would be a trial for another day. They did however eat it when made into soup and the spoon can take a lot more biting than my fingers did. Trouble and Jack ate the most, about 7 spoonfuls each the rest ate a few each. So for now that will be that, I have a new blend for soupie.... Ground complete with bones and stuff, water and tone. (Diesel wouldn't take it until I drizzled extra tone on each spoon then he just ate it so he could get at the dot of tone in the middle of the spoon) Anyways, I'll try a little more soup tonight and see if they take it from the bowl.
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Post by Heather on Feb 18, 2009 1:29:11 GMT -5
I'm so sorry for your finger... I know the feelings of those sharp little teeth on tender digits It looks to me that soupies is indeed the power of the day. Your guys did very well with several spoonfuls each. Well done I will check in with you tomorrow and see how tonights feeding went. Good luck, talk at you tomorrow. ciao
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Post by moonlightsedge on Feb 19, 2009 11:26:35 GMT -5
Well it didn't go over as well when they were all together. So today I will do the one on one again and see if that's the big difference. My finger is ok today, it was pretty deep though, I was a little worried that I was handling raw meat when it got bit though but it seems not infected at all. Let you know how the one on one goes today.
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Post by Heather on Feb 20, 2009 1:34:03 GMT -5
I've found that when I'm switching feeding that one on one attention appears to be the power of the day. Once they're eating from a bowl on their own, then it's less important. For all the times I've handled meat and either cut my hand with the knife or been nabbed by an overexuberant furbrat, I've not had an infection caused by the meat. Even when Mayhem bit my hand so badly (5 hard bites all went to the bone, 2 were in the meat of my hand, so very deep bites) I didn't get an infection. Mayhem had just been eating not a few minutes before, so his mouth had to be full of meat type bacteria. I just cleaned it up with peroxide and applied bandaids where I could. I did apply some tea tree oil to it the next day but other than that I did nothing to it. Let me know if your guys were more aminable to eating one on one with momma rather than sharing their dinner time with each other. Talk at you later. ciao
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Post by moonlightsedge on Feb 22, 2009 2:20:41 GMT -5
well I think one on one is the way to go for now. I am not going to take their kibble away for even short periods of time the couple times I tried they acted quite strange and it set them back quite a bit. I did notice they responded better to me removing them during their sleep time in the morning rather than in the middle or end of play time they were just a little more able to focus on eating. So I will keep up with the soup, I have to buy some more of the bone in meat(that was beef, not sure if I mentioned that already or not) they also have bison and chicken and one other meat from that line. Though I think I might be a wee bit before I can buy more of that(they are fairly pricey), we found out yesterday we are officially unemployed so things will be a little tight for a while. I have a turkey to cook tomorrow I think I will steal a leg first and see if they like that(in soup of course...hehe) I will just for the next little while take some of our meat out before we cook it and make soup for them day by day instead of making slightly larger batches. I have to do a little homework to see where I can find the best prices and still get a good variation. anyways I might not make it on here tomorrow but I will try in the evening.
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Post by Heather on Feb 22, 2009 9:13:12 GMT -5
I"m sorry to hear that you're unemployed, that is so the sign of the times. I hope that you're soon able to find employment and that things work out ok. Yes, prefab meats do cost more, but I've found that I will use them just for the variety if nothing else. That's great that you've figured out what works best for you and your business. Everyone's different, in fact sometimes it even varies between ferrets much less the different dynamics that others experience with their own businesses. I rarely try to feed my guys when they first get up and are busy trying to see if I've changed anything around the house. I find the easiest time is just after hard play. Each one is different Turkey is a good meat, most of my guys like it. Rabbit is another that is well received. I got a treat for my cats which was a mix of raw fish and all the guys love it. I was rather surprised, even my two recently switched newbies love it. They'll only get it once in awhile because as you said prefab are a bit pricey Check around and see if you can find some raw feeding coops in your area. I make tremendous use of them, in fact without them I would be hard pressed to be able to feed my business of 16, 2 cats and an Irish wolfhound puppy the variety that they need. As they buy in bulk (truckloads sometimes) they can often get some of the best deals and sometimes have access to hard to get items like hearts and stuff. I just bought 50 lbs of beef heart the other day, so well worth the contact. That's an excellent idea, feeding fresh every day from the meat that you use for your family. A bit more work for you but well worth the effort when trying to keep variety in the package. I will check in with you tonight, got to go to work today....nothing real strenuous....working the gallery today, the joys of being a resident artist ciao
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Post by moonlightsedge on Feb 24, 2009 12:17:57 GMT -5
They had turkey again yesterday and I have enough left for today, which is good because we are still working on the turkey I cooked, it was huge. (I have to admit I did sneak a few cooked pieces to them only a tiny bit each enough for a taste) I have some hamburger in the fridge so I will mix up a tiny bit of that for tomorrow. I hope we manage something soon, I make jewelry so I am planning on posting some and trying to sell some online. I will be doing the farmers market here in the summer but that isn't soon enough to help us now. I am glad I bought so much food before my husband started classes and with us switching them to a mostly raw diet the kibble I have will last quite a while. I have a question about that though...I know you don't do kibble but I am going to try to get a FN cage and have all my guys in that cage, I am a little worried about my boy who has IBS. If I am feeding more raw than anything else will him getting smaller amounts of kibble with chicken in it be ok for him? Right now him and his cage mate are on a mix of Orijen fish and Evo red bites, he seems to be ok with that but his cage mate has lost some weight, might be the weather but it still worries me so I want him on the other food just as much as the IBS boy. Did that make sense? The mix the others are on is a little more well rounded.
How many meals a day do you feed your guys? If I pull them out and feed them more then they won't hardly eat the kibble anyways(wow I might have enough for like a year....lol)...when I feed them soup my IBS boy is the most willing to eat it so even if I feed him an extra bit every day maybe that will work. I am just sorting through my ideas as I type.
I am a little worried about a couple of my little ones weights and I read a few ideas for quick weight gain but I would rather a healthy weight gain and I don't think quick would e healthy, and I know again some of it might be just the season but I don't want to take chances. I did get a short clip of one of my guys eating soup, I'll try to find somewhere to post it. I am excited to get them all eating more raw, and looking forward to the whole prey. um, I think that's it for now I'll be back on later, I go to the doctors today again and then its a major cage overhaul(I absolutely HATE the super pet type cage I have cleaning it is a huge issue)
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Post by Heather on Feb 24, 2009 14:02:57 GMT -5
Slipping them the odd cooked piece while your cooking isn't a bad thing. It allows them to realize that there are different textures involved with food. I'm having a problem with my tiny Calypso in that even though she's eating raw, she's looking for the kibbles type crunchies. She will eat all the tiny bone shards in the bowl rather than the meat because she's looking for that texture. Unfortunately, that also falls under the catagory of eating the crinkle and plastic tunnels and a few other inedible objects that I've never had ferrets eat before. Each new ferret is an adventure....she scares me, I can see a surgery in her future to remove a blockage or two. Silly little weasel. If your guy has shown either allergies or chicken is his trigger I certainly wouldn't feed chicken kibble to him. I find fuzzies who can't tolerate chicken kibble can sometimes tolerate raw chicken(there seems to be something other than the chicken protein that triggers their tummy upsets) but if they cannot tolerate raw chicken they're definitely susceptible to the kibble. I don't know why that is but it just seems to be. Now, I can't tell you that for sure...there is trial and error but it could cost you more than what you would save in the long run. My guys have food available to them all day. There is always a communal food bowl available in the kitchen and in the ferret room. Tonight when they go to bed, it's chicken necks and beef heart on the menu. So, they usually have some type of food available to them 24/7...even if it's to raid a stash that I haven't found . Most of my guys are presently loosing weight too. It's coming into spring. They usually start loosing weight and shedding coat about one or two months before the actual season starts. I noticed that Odin, Mad Max, Ghenghis, Fun-go all have spring coats on and have lost most of their winter flub. Odin (he's a very late alter) is getting a little greasy and smelly suggesting he's getting ready for season. Though he doesn't go into full rut, he develops attitude and is a little more ....how would you say....odourous in the spring. Napoleon is starting to put on his spring coat but has yet to loose any winter flub. Silly Nicodemus, is presently putting on weight and getting a thick beautiful winter coat (he thinks he's an Aussie fert ) He never gets it right You have my sympathies cleaning those super pet cages. I love the ferret nation and if I ever win a lottery, all my furbabies are going to have ferret nation cages and I'm going to throw out the super pet ones. My guys free roam but are placed in cages at night as there's too much petty bickering and personality clashes for any of us to get a good nights sleep Your farmer's market doesn't run during the winter? I sell some of my art work at the farmer's market here and they're open all year round. We go outside starting May 1, but right now we're inside. There's a buy and sell place at the bottom of the listing here. I don't know what the rules are but if you ask Giuli she could tell you if you could post some of your stuff there. I will check in on you tonight and see how the hamburg went over. ciao
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Post by moonlightsedge on Feb 26, 2009 11:20:44 GMT -5
Grumble grumble....my meat looked so bad I didn't give it to anyone, I am taking it back today.
Our market is an outside one so it goes from may long weekend until thanksgiving weekend. Calgary has an indoor year round but it's pricey. I have to take pictures today and tomorrow of the items I have done and then I will see about posting them. Anyways I am on my way out again shortly to see if they will replace my meat.
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Post by Heather on Feb 26, 2009 23:51:14 GMT -5
I"m sorry that your meat turned out to be bad, that is so frustrating. You should be able to at least exchange it, if not get your money back Good luck, I will check in with you later and see how it went ciao
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Post by moonlightsedge on Feb 28, 2009 18:53:22 GMT -5
So yeah I took the meat in and they exchanged it. I ended up with a package twice the size which was very nice of them. The hamburger is a go with the little guys but only if I add tone, they won't eat it otherwise picky little.... so maybe I should just keep them on that every morning and then try other meats every evening, I am running low on tone so I want to go easy on it. My daughter knocked it off the dresser and we lost over half the bottle, the ferrets were in heaven between the time she knocked it off and the time we managed to get it wiped up we ended up with streaks across the whole room, it was insane I never seen them lick something up so fast....I was worried they would all be sick from it(or at least end up with a sore tongue) I am usually fairly sparse with it, I don't give them as much as it says on the bottle. Anyways, so overall the soup is going good, I think I weigh in tomorrow, I hadn't settled on a specific day and I think Sundays would probably be best. They still refuse to take any meat chunks. I will try live again because they have been watching my mice tanks from time to time.... That's where we stand I guess, and I gotta run now. Have a good night.
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Post by Heather on Feb 28, 2009 20:05:18 GMT -5
Refunds with bonus, that can't hurt So everyone eats the raw hamburg with tone chasers That's great What else are you putting in the hamburg? Maybe, we can find something they like as much as the tone but might be a little cheaper and better for them . Keep being persistent with the meat chunks, but don't go wasting a lot of meat. Cut a couple of finger nail sized and maybe one larger chunk (I've had an equal number of ferts who like to start with tiny pieces and ones that like something they can sink their teeth into something....other than your toe ) Ouch, nothing like spilling the liquid gold and ferrets honestly think it's liquid gold Those little tongues can break the land speed record lapping that stuff up . I'm going to try and get Captain Jack to hunt some mice tomorrow. Last time I tried this he snuggled up with the mouse He really is just learning to be a ferret. His previous owners trained him to be a cross between a cat and a dog. He and his little girl friend Calypso are just learning how to play and rough around. Jack did his first weasel war dance a couple of days ago, he was turned in just before Christmas. Calypso is just now wandering around and getting nosy, I thought I was going to loose her (shelter shock). I may try her with a mouse hunt too. She's not much bigger than a mouse but she's starting to put on weight, now that she's eating the ground raw. Jack is starting to eat whole meats but she still doesn't really want to. It all takes time and lots of patience. I will talk at you tomorrow. ciao
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Post by moonlightsedge on Mar 3, 2009 15:29:20 GMT -5
I was just wondering do you have any other ideas for live prey feeding? I have been using my tub but 2 of my guys are more interested in digging in the drain than the mouse running around. And if I put the plug in they just attack the plug, I even tried putting a bit of water in and leaving it trickling. Jack likes to hide his prizes so he kills it and then spends the next 1/2 hour moving it from place to place, I even tried a box in there for him to go under but he used it to escape the tub with his prize. I also tried a feeding cage with a covered end, he spent more time trying to pull the towel in through the bars to cover the mouse with. They still won't take the chunks even dipped in tone... What other similar options are there for tone? I have read Olive oil but haven't tried it. Talk to you soon
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