ferretfreke
Cageless and Roamin' Free
Raw and Whole Prey Feeder[/b]
Posts: 235
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Post by ferretfreke on May 28, 2009 23:47:14 GMT -5
My rodentpro order finally got here! I thawed out some of the baby chicks to offer the ferrets for dinner and they were very happy. So now it's going to be pinkie/mice soup once a day for a while to get the little buggers eating whole mice. This whole switching process can be soooooooooo frustrating at times I must say.  They never ate much of the turkey neck. Alitasha gnawed on one end and Unagi ate some fat and that was it. I offered them a chicken neck yesterday and they didn't touch it. They won't eat chicken thighs either. They've been letting the wings just rot lately also. They used to eat CGHs well and lately they've let most of it go to waste. They basically just want to eat gizzards and ckn breast and Bezoar likes to eat beef hearts as well. Do you think I should just not offer them any gizzards at all for awhile to help encourage them to eat other stuff? |
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Post by cristina on May 29, 2009 12:17:05 GMT -5
I know it can be so frustrating at times! Yea I would hold off on the gizzards to see if they start to eat thighs and such, but if they dont eat then start offering the gizzards again. When you feed the thighs, cut some pieces off and leave some on the bone as well, also maybe try rubbing some of their favorite oil on the meat and/or duk soup to see if this may help as well (kinda like a "ferret favorite" marinade lol  ) I actually had an issue like this quite recently, I have been giving my guys dehydrated duck strips as treats and my one little girl started only eating these and not eating her normal meats so I had to cut back on these snacks.....also I have realized some of my guys dont like raw juicy livers so I give them some dehydrated liver treats and have found they tend to like these more and will eat them whole. But I still do a soup once a week with some blended normal liver, since they will eat it in soup. |
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ferretfreke
Cageless and Roamin' Free
Raw and Whole Prey Feeder[/b]
Posts: 235
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Post by ferretfreke on May 31, 2009 0:46:55 GMT -5
We're making progress with the mice! I put some pinkie chunks in their soup tonight and they ate them! I've been keeping them a bit hungry for the past two days to get them to be more willing to eat the things they normally wont eat. It's working very well. They ate a chicken neck, thigh, and a NV rabbit medallion yesterday. The not giving them any gizzards has been helping too.
I'm so glad I have good days with the ferrets like the last two days. It helps keep me going. Helps with the frustration.
For breakfast tomorrow we're going to try a quail. I'll let ya know how it goes.
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Post by cristina on May 31, 2009 16:34:12 GMT -5
Thats great! its so nice to see them eating new things! Its sometimes just like getting young kids to eat vegetables! but Im glad they are making so much progress!!!  OHH quail.....I want to find some quail! Im jealous! Yes let me know how that goes, I am very interested to hear about their reaction and see if they take to it well! |
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ferretfreke
Cageless and Roamin' Free
Raw and Whole Prey Feeder[/b]
Posts: 235
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Post by ferretfreke on May 31, 2009 23:05:57 GMT -5
Most of them liked the quail. I didn't see Bezoar eat any, but I did see the other three eating it. Bezoar definately is my odd ball and not just because he's an angora. He seems to like the stuff that nobody else will eat and sometimes doesnt like the stuff that the others really like.
Where do you get your prey? You can get quail from rodentpro.
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Post by cristina on May 31, 2009 23:12:26 GMT -5
i do rodent pro occasionally but the shipping is so expensive for me, I just wish someone lived close by so I could split an order....plus if I get alot its hard to go through sometimes you know, also if I get something they dont like then Im stuck with a bunch of whatever that is.....oh well no big deal, I tend to pheasant and duck alot so at least I have those, actually come to think of it I have fed them quail before....very rarely do I find a shipment in at the local farmers market but it seriously is once in a blue moon!  Im glad they ate it! I have an odd ball out oh my group too, Mimi, she sounds like your Bezoar..she eats odd stuff that the others dont like, but I guess in a way shes my little garbage disposal too |
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ferretfreke
Cageless and Roamin' Free
Raw and Whole Prey Feeder[/b]
Posts: 235
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Post by ferretfreke on May 31, 2009 23:40:46 GMT -5
Where do you get pheasant? Or do you get them from hunting? Mine seem to really like birds so that's why I ask. They have ducklings at the asian market that I want to try with them sometime, but the sucky part is they're nine bucks each. They are large ducklings. Enough to probably feed all four ferrets for the day, but nine bucks!
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Post by cristina on Jun 1, 2009 17:04:39 GMT -5
I get the pheasant from my brothers when they hunt and also from our "farmers market" but they arent the biggest fans though they still eat it.....I get the duck from Krogers, they are usually around $16 but its a very large duck so it would feed my 3 ferrets for almost a week which is nice so I usually cut it up seperate into baggies and freeze and mix a couple bags in each week and it almost lasts a month with the cycle of alternating different meats and such so it works out great |
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ferretfreke
Cageless and Roamin' Free
Raw and Whole Prey Feeder[/b]
Posts: 235
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Post by ferretfreke on Jun 4, 2009 21:40:43 GMT -5
I offered the ferrets two live mice today. Again they were good hunters. Even Bezoar got into it this time. I am worried they aren't going to eat them tho. So far they've eaten the tails and part of the head of one of them. That's all they are going to be offered tonight tho. So if they don't want to eat them they get to go hungry. I have two more live ones that I might offer tomorrow.
Okay so as I was writing this Bezoar ate one of the entire mice! The other three will still need some work. We're getting there tho.
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Post by cristina on Jun 4, 2009 23:16:58 GMT -5
wow good for him! Yeah mine only eat the heads (kinda weird and creepy, just like a cat lol) But letting them know they only have that to eat is a good thing, I have found its the only way for me to get them to eat new things, so I hope that work out! |
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ferretfreke
Cageless and Roamin' Free
Raw and Whole Prey Feeder[/b]
Posts: 235
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Post by ferretfreke on Jun 6, 2009 1:08:53 GMT -5
They all ate mice today!!!  Last night I put fuzzies in for them and they were all gone this morning (except for some various body parts). Then I offered them 2 frozen/thawed mice for breakfast and those were gone when I came home for work. I offered the two remaining live mice for dinner and it was like a feeding frenzy! I actually witnessed them all eat some mice this time. The live feeder mice made two of them nauseous, probably not great quality since they were from the pet store. Hopefully that wont set them back any. Well I know it didn't with Alitasha. She looked like she was going to puke, she heaved for a few seconds, but didn't actually vomit, then went and ate one of the tails. BillyBob was the other that got nauseous. So I'm crossing my fingers that he will still continue to eat them. I really think now that the reason Billy vomited from the mice and pinkies before was due to where I got them. I went to a local reptile show in hopes that I could get just a small amount of frozen feeders to see how it would go over with the ferrets before making such a large investment like with rodent pro. There was a booth there that was selling them and I found out they were local and I was very excited because they sounded like they fed them well and all that stuff and I wouldn't have to pay the expensive shipping. My friend that was with me later went to the place for more feeders and she said it was awful. The feeders were very overcrowded and living in their own filth and it looked like they weren't fed very good food. So they totally misrepresented themselves, lied actually. It was always those mice or pinkies that Billy would vomit after eating. I haven't had any problems with him since until feeding the pet store ones today. I'm very impressed with rodent pro's quality. They even smell a lot better. |
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Post by cristina on Jun 6, 2009 11:36:32 GMT -5
Thats great they all ate mice!!!  Yea I dont have good mice breeding stores around here which is disappointing, but I did find a place where the are ok....but mine only eat the heads so I know what you mean about not wanting to make the investment with rodent pro until you know for sure! Yea Im not surprised about the quality of the mice you talk about, its the same thing around where I live as well....its sad....but Im glad they like them now!! |
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ferretfreke
Cageless and Roamin' Free
Raw and Whole Prey Feeder[/b]
Posts: 235
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Post by ferretfreke on Jun 9, 2009 23:00:36 GMT -5
My little killers got to help an injured duckling today. It was euthanasia by ferret. They absolutely love duckling. They fought over it like crazy and were screaming at each other. They don't even do that as bad over quail or chicks.
They really seem to like mice now. They all eat them no problem. It's such a huge relief to be over that hurdle. My next project is getting them to eat rabbit.
Oh and they have been completely off kibble for at least three months now I am proud to say!
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Post by cristina on Jun 9, 2009 23:34:11 GMT -5
Thats great to hear!!! doesnt it feel so good! Aw poor duck, I know its lifes cycle but I give you alot of credit for being able to do it....I love ducks so that would be pretty hard for me to do! Im very proud of them as well, thats just great progress! |
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ferretfreke
Cageless and Roamin' Free
Raw and Whole Prey Feeder[/b]
Posts: 235
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Post by ferretfreke on Jun 9, 2009 23:49:09 GMT -5
Do you know if it is safe to feed feeder fish such as goldfish?
The duckling wasn't doing well anyways so the ferrets ended any suffering and got nourishment from his remains. It's definitely not easy for me to do. I have to really separate myself. The baby chicks still bother me when I think about it. I love my babies a lot to be able to do some of this stuff. I don't know that I'll give live other than the reasons I have so far. I have such mixed feelings about it.
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