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Post by Heather on Aug 16, 2009 16:55:51 GMT -5
Fantastic, moving right along. I will check in with you later tonight. Love the fact that you've got rid of the kibbles in your soupy. Now, we just have to convince the little sods that they don't need the ensure   ciao |
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Post by jccretarolo on Aug 17, 2009 3:17:27 GMT -5
The pork soup still has kibble in it ( I made a bunch and froze it), but they are starting to get more of the stuff without kibbles. I can only switch as fast as Oliver will let me, though I have not put dry kibble in their cage in 4 days.
I also found that if I mix 1lb of ground beef with 4oz of liver or heart and 3 eggs (along with enough water so I don't fry my food processor) ! end up with about 32 1oz cubes in the freezer.
How much should they be eating each day? Right now they are taking about 16-20oz every day. Also is it normal for their water intake to go way down?
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Post by Heather on Aug 17, 2009 12:39:19 GMT -5
Are you feeding egg shell in that mix?? You need 1/2 tsp per cup of food. As far as how much they're eating....hmmm... let them eat as much as they want at the moment (actually my guys are fed on demand ) Their little bodies are just craving this new stuff so they will be eating more than they would normally at this time. It takes about 6 months for them to actually settle to a balanced amount. Water intake will drop substancially once they're eating raw. Kibble keeps a ferret dehydrated...it's that simple. That's why you have a matter of hours to respond to a ferret in trouble when they're sick. They have to drink tons of water to process kibble. Meat is full of water, they're now getting it in their food. That is also why their poopies will be looser than kibble poops. No kibble except in the pork soupy....awesome. I will check in on you later ciao |
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Post by jccretarolo on Aug 17, 2009 21:44:21 GMT -5
They are all eating good and I will be having my friend feed them in the morning because I have to go out of town tonight. I'm hoping that what I give them tonight will last until she gets here. I'll check in with you when I get back tomorrow night.
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Post by Heather on Aug 17, 2009 22:03:59 GMT -5
I will be interested to see how your feeding adventure turns out. I will be looking forward to your post ciao |
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Post by jccretarolo on Aug 21, 2009 2:22:25 GMT -5
Sorry it took me so long to get back to you but things have been a little crazy here . My 5 are now eating 3oz of beef soup (no kibble), 5oz of pork (with kibble), and 1 turkey (with ensure) mixed together. I will be giving them their last cube of the turkey tomorrow and I will also be making more soup without kibble (1 batch of turkey and then another with either turkey or pork but it depends on whats cheaper). The next batch I will be putting 4oz of heart and 4oz of liver along with an egg or two (shell included) and just enough water to get it to mix. I'm hoping that by the end of the weekend I will have them all eating the soup with no kibble and I will then start adding little pieces of meat to their soup. Hope to hear from you soon. |
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Post by Heather on Aug 21, 2009 14:00:18 GMT -5
Great stuff, how are you at weaning them off the ensure?? Any luck or at least dropping back on the amounts?
You're doing great....your little guys are moving right along. Give them all big hugs from me. I will be checking in on you either tonight or tomorrow afternoon. Have a good weekend
ciao
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Post by jccretarolo on Aug 21, 2009 17:18:40 GMT -5
When I made the turkey soup I used 1.25lbs of ground turkey, 1 egg, 1 8oz bottle of ensure, and water. I then froze it in ice cube trays (about 1oz each) I have then been slowly putting less cubes in their mix. I have been freezing all the soup mixes this way so its easier to just defrost what I need for each meal.
This morning I also gave then their first meal without any ensure and they all ate it. I also put 4 cubes of the no kibble mix with 4 of the mix that has kibble! I'm so proud of them for eating it all.
I'll check back in later and let you know how they are doing.
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Post by Heather on Aug 21, 2009 20:51:44 GMT -5
That is so fantastic You're guys are awesome...give them great big hugs. Looks like you've got a great method going for you and your guys. Great job, looks like you've got the first part of the switch well on the way . The next step after they've been eating this for sure, is to consider one of two methods. You can start adding tiny chunks of meat to the ground mixture, all the while thickening it up or you can offer them a chicken wing (I actually use necks, my guys are picky they don't like wings ::)brats  ). I usually take a hammer to it and smash it up a bit and then score the meat so that there are pieces hanging off it (something to grab hold of). Some people smear it with ferretone, or something they really like (maybe your soupy) others sit down and play tug with it. I find the first few times it's usually rejected, or stashed (so don't put a whole bunch with them), just one or two. Leave it with them, in their cage if you cage, whole meats can be left over 24 hrs or so...(wings often become jerky, which for some stupid reason they like better  ). Good luck, I will check in on you tomorrow. ciao |
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Post by jccretarolo on Aug 24, 2009 6:07:19 GMT -5
My 5 are all doing great! They are now up to 5oz of soup that is kibble free and only 2oz of soup that has kibble mixed together. I have to make more soup that has no kibble in the morning and I have ground chicken and pork that I'm going to do it with. The next batch is going to be 1lb ground meat w/ 4oz of heart, 4oz of liver, and 1 whole egg and I'm also going to try and use even less water if the food processor will let me. I'll let you know how they are liking it when I stop giving them the mix with the kibble for their dinner tomorrow. Also Oliver now likes the mix and I'm having trouble with the 2 girls. Kasparov and Pukka are liking it more but aren't sure its food until I give them a little on a spoon. The girls also will start eating it when I give it on a spoon and slowly lower it to the plate. I think tomorrow night I'm also going to defrost one chicken breast so I can start putting tiny slices of meat in their soup. I also have pork so I may use that...it all depends on what I'm going to make for dinner I'll let you know how things go. |
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Post by Heather on Aug 24, 2009 12:31:59 GMT -5
That is awesome Your guys are moving right along. I've had a couple of ferts that have needed spoon-starting I've got one boy who's just getting over a virus and he's rather hanging on to the spoon feeding too I will be looking forward to hearing how your guys take their newest changes to their soupies ciao |
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Post by jccretarolo on Aug 28, 2009 5:50:57 GMT -5
So I made some more kibble free soup and all 5 are now eating just that! They are not eating as much now but all of them are doing really good. I guess the next step is to start adding some pieces of meat to the soup, so I think I will start doing that in a couple more days so they can get used to the soup first.
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Post by Heather on Aug 28, 2009 23:50:05 GMT -5
Excellent and I agree totally with your plan. There are a couple of ways you can introduce it. You can add little tiny slivers or go for bigger chunks. You are the best judge as to what your furabies will accept. I always at this point also suggest adding a boned meat. Just a small piece, a lot of people try a wing...but you can use a neck, or riblet. I've had a couple of guys who enjoyed a chicken leg... they're really too big or heavy a bone for them to make much use of the bone, but if you score the meat deeply it does teach them to eat off the bone and the guys seem to enjoy the grissly knobs. Good luck, talk at you later ciao |
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Post by jccretarolo on Sept 7, 2009 5:43:18 GMT -5
Sorry it has been so long but life has been a little crazy around here with the kids getting ready to go back to school and family having been here from out of state.
Anyway my 5 are all doing really good, I just made some more of their soup mix tonight and left bigger chunks of heart for them and they were eating some of it (the soup they ate almost all and the chunks of heart they are not so sure). I think I'm going to stick with the mix they have now for a few days and see if I can add some more small pieces of meat in the coming days.
I'm also going to go to the Asian market tomorrow and pick up some more different organs and anything else interesting they may have for a good price.
I'll try to update in a day or two as things should be much calmer now that summer is over.
Julia
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Post by Heather on Sept 7, 2009 12:43:38 GMT -5
I can totally understand. We've had a couple of parties here as 2 of my students are off to university so the kids all wanted to throw them a going away party. I've got a couple of shows to attend, yah I totally understand . Sure, take your time. If you think at anytime that you need to sit at a spot in the switching as your guys are starting to balk a little do so. It's far better doing it that way then having them suddenly go on strike and start refusing to eat what you're offering them (this often happens by the way so don't be too horrified and also keep your eyes open for it to happen) Good luck with your shopping. I wish we had an ethnic market close by. I've always been fascinated with what some people are able to get and at such reasonable prices. ciao |
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