Vicki's Switching Thread

[Forum Administrator]

Name: Vicki
HF Forum Username: Vicki

1. Where did you first learn about natural diets for ferrets?
Not quite sure, it's been a while. Internet, for sure.

2. Please describe the type of diet you would like assistance in switching your ferret(s) to. Be sure to include if you are interested in feeding whole prey (live or frozen-thawed) and if you are wanting to FULLY switch to a natural diet or PARTIALLY. If you are unsure what kind of diet you want to put your ferrets on, please express that and we can help you find the best type of natural diet for your ferret.

I have 6 ferrets. One refuses anything but kibble, and a specific kibble. 5 eat raw, but each are picky. I'm interested in switching to a fully raw diet, if possible....but unsure about traveling needs.


3. Why are you interested in switching your ferrets to a natural diet?
I want to make them as healthy as possible.

4. Do you understand that switching your ferret to a natural diet can be a lengthy, arduous process? Its not an overnight switch. It can be a commitment of several weeks or even months. Your HF Mentor will be more then happy to assist you in switchng your ferret(s) to a natural diet, but you need to be equally as commited. If you aren't willing to tough out a potentially lengthy switching process, or if you have major life changes approaching (baby on the way, moving, starting school, getting married/divorced, etc) then it might be a better idea to wait on switching your ferret's diet until you have more time. Are you willing to make the commitment?

Yes, I understand. I've been feeding raw for 3 months now, with most of them eating it...just a few problems and Munchkin not eating it at all.


5. How many ferrets do you currently have? What are their names? Ages? Genders? Do they have any health problems? Are they overweight? Underweight?

1. Pooh Bear- 2, Girl, no health problems, average weight with decent muscle tone. 2 lbs
*Pooh Bear eats all raw

2. Munchkin- 2, Girl, a "sickly" ferret (tends to get minor illnesses often), fat in weight, little muscle tone. 2.4 lbs (much shorter than Pooh Bear, a stubby little thing)
*Munchkin eats no raw

3. Jack - 1.5, Boy, no health problems, thick in weight, very muscular. 3.5lbs (average length, slightly stocky)
*Jack eats all raw and begs for more

4. Jasmine- 1.5, Girl, no health problems, very small frame but has bulked up on raw, decent muscular tone. 1.5 lbs
*Jasmine will take tiny bites of raw meat, sometimes bone

5. Mickey- 3 to 4 yrs (unknown), Boy, no health problems, average size, very muscular. 3 lbs
*Mickey will eat some raw...but doesn't prefer it

6. Rascal- 3 to 4 yrs (unknown), Boy, no health problems, thicker in size, decent muscle tone, 3.5 lbs (very long body)
*Rascal will eat some raw...but doesn't prefer it

6. What diet do you currently feed your ferrets? (Please include all treats, supplements, etc)
Mornings and Evenings I put in one or a mix of two: cut up quartered chicken thighs, ground chicken-bone-organ <hare today>, chicken gizzards, cornish hen cut up, beef cuts, calf liver (liver fed once a week), chicken liver, turkey tails..... really whatever I can find on sale at Winn Dixie. I also add 1/2 a cup of Wellness Core cat food to their bowl. It doesn't seem like much, but Munchkin is definitely NOT losing weight, so I keep it minimal. No stomach problems or poop problems have occurred.

7. Have you ever tried to switch your ferrets to a natural diet in the past? If yes, what happened?
We did try it once a year and a half ago. We were unsuccessful to switch a few, and we were rescuing ferrets at the time and didn't have the time or money to feed to each of their preferences.

8. What additional information about yourself or your ferrets would you like to share?
We are open to try a lot...but will not try whole prey right now.


9. How often during the week do you have access to a computer?
Everyday, but in school and working so may be night or morning before I respond

10. Please post a picture of each of your ferrets (if possible).
*These aren't the best pics, but I wanted to get it of their body type

Pooh Bear


Munchkin


Jack


Jasmine


Mickey


Rascal

[cristina]

Hi there, my name is Cristina and I will be your holistic ferret mentor.
I have fed raw for over a year now and I am owned by 3 ferrets (Penny, Boomer, and Mimi).
It sounds like your well on the right path, a few tweaks here and there should do the trick!
I see that Munchkin is the picky one who needs the most diet reshaping, and I have a trick that may work for her.

I am excited to start the journey to fully raw with you and your crew!

[vkoslin]

Hi Cristina! Thanks for helping me! I have good news! Two nights ago, I was caught by surprise when Munchkin was eatin some chicken! So maybe it won't be that hard! I think my biggest problem is getting them to eat organ meats.... they eat a ground chicken from haretoday that has organs, meat, and bones, but wont eat liver or kidney by itself.

[cristina]

Oh thats great! ok then if she was the only one who was still stuck on kibble then take it away now (now that we know she WILL eat some raw on her own)

What I would do now is get at least 2 more different kinds of meat (i.e. beef or pork, duck, veal, rabbit, turkey...etc...) They need to be eating (on a regular basis) at least 3 different meats.....we will work on the organs after this, because this is an important thing to start with

[vkoslin]

Ok. Right now I have frozen bags with approx. Two days food in each. Each bag has anything from beef cuts, chicken thighs, wings, gizzards, beef heart, cornish hen, pork cuts, and I think that's it. They usually get a good variety but I buy frankenprey on sale at grocery stores and then chop, mix, and freeze. Is this ok? Like for breakfast it might be chicken and dinner beef?

They go crazy for red meats and chicken bones. Mickey, jack, jasmine, pooh bear love crunching on bones.

What do you think?

[vkoslin]

Oh. And turkey. Are turkey tails good for them? They're on sale and they're bony and meaty kinda.

[cristina]

I was always told to do one type of meat a day but Im sure thats ok, I dont see anything wrong with it (just make note of who eats bone and who might not, because this is important)

For one day I would just feed cut up chicken wings and see if its a total hit with everyone, and if it is we are golden

I actually have never heard of turkey tails , but I do know they can have ox tails so turkey tails are good. You have a great variety going!

[vkoslin]

Thanks! I've read a lot about it, I just really want to get them where I can put a cornish hen in and they'll get what they need from it. I know you can help me lots!

If you ever get a chance to see turkey tails, let me know. They aren't like...dog tails or long tails, you know? So I have no idea nutritionally what they are. Kind of weird actually. But on sale!


Tomorrow I'll go grocery shopping for some wings and start tomorrow night with the wings Thanks!

[cristina]

Ok so I did a little search on turkey tails and they look to be good! just make sure to cut them smaller so they can easily tear off the meat

Very interesting those turkey tails

Let me know how the wings go!

[vkoslin]

Okay, so I just put in the wings. I cut each wing into quarters, first in half lengthwise, then cut the bones apart so every piece is a quarter of a wing with one bone in it. So far, Pooh Bear, Jack, Rascal dove in and are eating it all. Munchkin tip-toed around it. (Still observing her). Mickey ignored the food for now, but we know he eats raw. Jasmine is licking it (we know she eats raw, but as to how much bone she eats, we don't know).

I'm posting this now so I don't forget, but I'll update later if anything changes. I'm trying to watch as long as I can. I had the food bowl out of the cage for a few hours to make sure they were hungry and ready to eat when I put it in there...so there should be no doubt they're hungry by now.... just waiting.

[vkoslin]

Update: Jasmine is eating bone and all.

Only one I'm concerned about is Munchkin. I haven't seen her eat chicken since that one time, so I'm not sure if she's really eating raw or not. I don't notice her losing weight, as she's still a thick fat ferret, but I also haven't been able to monitor her pooping. I'll make sure my boyfriend and I keep an eye on her pooping, but other than that...she may not be eating it.

[cristina]

Ok so Munchkin is the one we need to focus on... we do know she has eaten meat before (so that means she will eat it if she has to) so take away all kibble now (unless you've already done so)
If she likes soups, I would make her a soup daily composed of ground meat (start with chicken, its the most bland and easiest to get them to like) and add some warm water and things she likes (like maybe if she likes duk soup mix, oil, ferretvite...etc) then literally spoon feed her (this will help her to like the taste of raw more, especially when its mixed with stuff she likes)

Let me know how she does with this

Also for the rest of the clan, just mix up different meats and make sure they are all eating at least 3 different kinds (also you need everyother day to be a bone in meat day, so feed turkey tails or wings or cut up some bone in meat from a cornish game hen....anything with bone in it but small enough for them to eat....like dont give them beef bones or anything )

[vkoslin]

Ok that sounds good!

This is something else I need help on: I've never been able to get any of my guys to eat ANYTHING other than kibble, raw meat, and ferret vite. They never eat treats, don't take to soup, and yeah...I really want to get them into soup so when (heaven forbid) they get sick, I'll be able to feed them. I don't want to feed them vite though, which is what I do when they are getting clipped or I mix it with medicine sometimes just to get the bad flavor out. I do want to make a soup but I've never had luck with it. Although... let me say that the guys in our group, since they all love raw meat, they've become very trusting of myself and Brandon, and will even try to eat off our dinner plates if we're eating around them. They will eat almost anything we give them now...so maybe it's a good time to try soup. Let me know if you have a good recipe!

I have tried everything with Munchkin in the past- baby food (non veggie kind), minced chicken, pureed chicken, kibble-dusted chicken...and nothing worked.



*Update- As of two nights ago, we put in a big bowl of Beef Heart (muscle meat, right?) sliced up and it was all gone next day. They loved it. But I'm concerned that Munchkin won't eat big pieces well yet and I haven't been careful cutting anything small since the other 5 will tear when needed. Sorry for a long post, I'm bored in school and decided to give you info on everything I could!



Kibble's been out of the bowl for 2 days now. We're on a Munchkin watch right now, always spying on her. I have a feeling that when we're near the cage, she'd rather not eat. If that makes sense. Like Mickey will pose for us and roll over and do tricks for us if we're near the cage, instead of letting us watch him eat. Munchkins the same way but she will go back to her hammock (probably until the minute we leave).

[vkoslin]

Okay, we have a problem.

Munchkin has lost weight. I look at her everyday but for some reason, today, it looks like she lost a good half a pound. I hand fed her kibble, because I really didn't feel like she was eating, and she ate like a ravaging dinosaur. I'm keeping kibble in the raw bowl for now...looks like we took one step forward and two steps back. The others ignore the kibble for the most part, and I know now that all 5 prefer meat over kibble so I know there will be enough for Munchkin and that the others won't just eat kibble.

Looks like we have to try something new.

Next month I'm buying Hare Today ground chicken organ and bone. As soon as I get money. I think she will eat that more than anything else.

[cristina]

Thats ok, your bound to take some steps back...so give her kibble again (only her) and then in a couple days we can start mixing in some ground chicken in with it then from there we will up the ground and lower the kibble. Dont be too upset about this, it happens all the time! Sometimes they just want to go on stike! haha
(let me know when you get some ground chicken and we can start mixing it in, and if she doesnt take to it I have another way too)

about the treats and soups:

We will start with soups first b/c its easier.....for now we will start with duk soup (like the marshals uncle jims duk soup) you can get it anywhere, any pet store or online....we will begin to mix this with warm water and hopefully they will take to it well. So get some of this stuff (its a brown powdered mix by the way) and let me know when you do and we will try out this soup (later on we can add things to it, but for now we will start out with it plain)

with the beef heart, yes it is muscle meat, and its ok if you have to cut it up small.....its pretty tough stuff! as long as they are eating it, it doesnt matter what the size is you cut it up is.