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Post by Heather on Sept 22, 2009 23:12:13 GMT -5
Ok, now the hard part is convincing them to eat some bone...that's the criteria of a complete switch. They can even graduate if they're eating bone in a commercial or ground format but they have to be eating bone. So that's now our number one push. You've done really well with them. This is great. You've got everone eating raw, now we only have to get them to eat the bone.
ciao
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Post by jccretarolo on Sept 26, 2009 2:54:58 GMT -5
So the ones that are eating bone are Oliver, Olivia, and sometimes Pukka. I still have to get Rouge and Kasparov to eat the bone, though they eat everything else.
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Post by Heather on Sept 27, 2009 8:10:20 GMT -5
I was looking through some of our previous posts and you're doing great....I think you've reached the area where just plain persistence and a break through are about where we're at. I was noticing that your little ones really hadn't tried bone before the 18th of this month and already you've got 2 of them consistently eating bone, one being a bit of a stick about it but eating it and 2 just outright refusing. That's a great job. Now it becomes more a thing of persistently offering bone and because it's always there and alway available they eat it. That's how it is here. That's how it was with Calypso and Captain Jack....they were eating the ground mix (this has ground bone, so I never really worry about it after they get this far) but really weren't getting into the whole meat and bone thing. I just kept offering it, especially at night instead of their ground mix, then one day when I gave them their chicken necks Jack suddenly grabbed his and ran off to the litter box and started eating it. From then on, he was whole meat and eventually prey....Calypso was a little more difficult but seeing her cagemate munching on the various bone in meats eventually convinced her too. Calypso, for all her standoffish ways about whole meat is one of my more aggresive little hunters (Capt'n Jack still hasn't figure that one out, he eats them dead but he hates hunting   , you're just not supposed to kill your stuffies  ) ciao |
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Post by jccretarolo on Oct 7, 2009 15:28:46 GMT -5
OK so Kasparov is still the holdout when it comes to eating bone. Everyone else is eating it now! Pukka can only handle small broken pieces but he is eating it as well as Rouge.
Is it normal for them to start fighting over their food? I know I have been giving them enough because there is always a little left so I know that's not the problem. Mostly it is just the girls and no one has been hurt but they make all kinds of noise.
I'll check in latter. Thanks for all your help so far!
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Post by Heather on Oct 8, 2009 1:44:35 GMT -5
Yes, fighting is part of the game...the louder the better and the girls are the worst . This is so fantastic. Great work. Keep working on Kasparov, he will come around. Is he eating whole meats?...just not eating the bone...even when you smash it up? They're lazy wee beasties . Keep offering it ciao |
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Post by jccretarolo on Oct 8, 2009 13:02:20 GMT -5
How often can I give the duck heads? They seem to really like them when they are smashed up and then cut into 6-8 pieces, plus they are only about $3 for 6-8 heads. So far I have only been giving them 2-3x a week but they are not liking the other bone I have tried nearly as much.
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Post by jccretarolo on Oct 8, 2009 22:39:00 GMT -5
How do I get pictures on here? I would love to show off my 5 eating their meat but can't figure out how to get the pics to show up.
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Post by Heather on Oct 8, 2009 23:00:24 GMT -5
Feeding the heads 2 or 3 x a week is good. Try to keep trying to get them to eat the other bones too, just in case you can't get the heads. It also helps round out the various trace minerals same as adding the different types of meats. So keep offering the other bones too. You have to basically feed 4 meat days and 3 bone days. One of the meat days you would add your organ meats, unless you're mixing it in with your meat  Now, the pics....I"m about as computer illiterate as they come , what I did was read up about the pics in the tech support section of the forum holisticferret.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=support&action=display&thread=38 I just followed Giuli's directions. I hope that helps because anything outside of that I'm useless. Ask me a thousand questions about ferrets and diets, I can do it or find the answer, ask me about computers and I'm the town idiot  ciao |
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Post by jccretarolo on Oct 8, 2009 23:35:01 GMT -5
So here is a pic of them eating their soup in the begining (Rouge was sleeping.  And here is Oliver eating a duck wing:  |
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Post by Heather on Oct 8, 2009 23:58:38 GMT -5
It looks fantastic....got to love watching little fuzzies pigging out on good food ciao |
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Post by jccretarolo on Oct 9, 2009 22:05:39 GMT -5
So I went meat shopping with my sister today because she needed more meat for her fuzzies and I really needed more heart. By the time we were done we had spent about $100 and ended up with; liver (chicken, duck, & pork), heart (chicken, duck, pork, & beef), beef gut (I think it is the small intestines), pork shoulder, beef, chicken & turkey necks, duck heads, and a rabbit. All together it was about 50-60lbs though some of the beef and pork are for us humans.
We made a organ soup with the livers, kidney, spleen, spinach, and romaine. She is going to be freezing it at her house starting tonight. I also sent her with 4 bags of 4.5-6lbs to put in the freezer so I can just have her grab one and have everything I need for about 1 week (it's for the cats too). I'm trying my 5 with a little of the rabbit tonight to see how they like it, if they do I will be getting at least 1 rabbit a month and splitting it with my sister. I was really surprised how easy it was to cut through all the bones.
So my 5 seem to be liking dinner, Kasparov took 3/4 of what I put out and wouldn't let the others have it but then he went to bed. Dinner tonight was 3 chicken necks, 1 rabbit hind leg, and 5 1/2" pieces of beef heart. In the morning *if* they have finished dinner they will get some organ soup a couple chicken hearts.
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Post by Heather on Oct 10, 2009 13:12:29 GMT -5
Looks like a very successful shopping spree  Your fuzzies will be happy Rabbit does have quite soft bones, one of the reasons why we include it in the natural diet of ferrets. They're moving along nicely. Great work. Did Kasparov eat the bone? ciao |
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Post by jccretarolo on Oct 10, 2009 18:04:46 GMT -5
I have been watching my 5 eat the last couple nights and here is what I have seen:
Oliver--He will eat anything but does make lots of funny faces.
Olivia-- She doesn't like chicken necks much but will eat them.
Rouge-- Not a big fan of beef, but if that is what they have she will eat it.
Pukka-- He is the pig. He will eat 2-4oz at a sitting no problem and then is eating more about 2hours latter.
Kasparov-- he is the hoarder, this guy will take all the food from their plate ans put it in a corner before getting one piece and taking it back to the plate to eat. He does crunch on bone but does a really good job of spitting out all the pieces.
Tonight I will be tying to feed Kasparov in a carrier so I can see what is really left from him. His in the carrier dinner is going to be rabbit ribs and if he eats it all I'll try giving him a piece of chicken neck.
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Post by Heather on Oct 10, 2009 23:40:55 GMT -5
That's great. If you can get him to eat bone regularly, we can have you and your bunch graduated That's great ciao |
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Post by jccretarolo on Oct 12, 2009 13:56:35 GMT -5
So I tried Kasparov in the carrier and he wasn't very happy. He didn't like the rabbit so I gave him a piece of chicken neck and he ate part of it, but he did leave almost all the bone . I think I will continue to offer him his bone in his carrier when everyone else gets some and hope he does start eating it. |
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