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Post by michelle on Jan 1, 2010 11:54:35 GMT -5
Hello all, I'm new to this whole raw diet thing but not new to the ferret thing i've had ferrets for roughly 7 years and always heard about raw dieting but never felt "right" about it. However, with my new addition I want to give this raw diets a try. So far my baby ferret is eatting Stella and Chewy's freeze died and frozen patties. I feed them as a treat to my dog and my ferret really took to it. My question, how many patties of Stella and Chewy's do I feed to a growing kit? I also tried to feed him some raw ground turkey, but my ferret gagged every time he tried to eat it. He was interested in the food but didn't like the texture. Any suggestions as to what I can do? Thanks in advance. I'm looking forward to getting to know all of you and learn lots about raw dieting.
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Emilee
Cageless and Roamin' Free
Posts: 240
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Post by Emilee on Jan 1, 2010 12:39:06 GMT -5
For how much to feed, I can't help you much. I'd suggest that you feed him as much as he can eat, and see how much that is. Say it's 1 1/2 patties. Feed him that every day, and if you see him gaining weight to an unhealthy weight, or losing weight, then increase or decrease the amount accordingly. They typically won't eat much more than they can handle. My ferrets didn't take to ground meats at all, either. The texture (the stringies of raw in it) completely grossed them out, Tootsie to the point where she refused to eat the meat. For Christmas, I got a food processor and put in chicken, and the texture is a LOT smoother with no string-like parts, and both have preferred that a LOT more than the ground!
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Post by sherrylynne on Jan 1, 2010 12:44:48 GMT -5
For any food right now, yes, give him as much as he'll eat! And with the overacting of gagging, etc? They're all a bunch of little drama queens That sounds like some of mine were. Do you give a soup? That's one method to start them. Use the duck soup, and puree a bit of raw, and blend it in. Or, take tiny pieces of something like chicken breast, and "bread" it with crushed kibble.
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Post by vkoslin on Jan 2, 2010 12:34:12 GMT -5
With any raw, I suggest feeding as much as they can take. I would take away food 3-4 hours before feeding a new meal, waking them up, feeding them, and seeing how much they will eat in about 2-3 hours. That's a good way to start.
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Post by spiritualtramp on Jan 2, 2010 13:25:38 GMT -5
I occasionally feed S&C freeze-dried to the kids, I break them up into pieces and add warm water. I'd give him about 1 or 1.5 per day, but if he finished that all off, of course give his growing body more! Between my five kids, 3-4 patties is more than enough.
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Post by michelle on Jan 3, 2010 11:39:12 GMT -5
Thanks for the responses. At the moment he's eating about 2 to 2.5 patties of a freeze dried and one of the frozen daily. I would really like to make my own patties, not only to keep down cost but for it to be even fresher. Logan goes WILD for the S&C frozen patties, but he wont budge on mushed up grounded turkey (maybe he doesn't like turkey??)... I tried breading the raw turkey patty in the freeze-dried patty and he just picked off the freeze-dried.
I'm thinking about picking up a package of ground chicken and giving it a spin in the blender with some nupro, a S&C freeze-dried patty and ferretone to create a raw soup.
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Post by sherrylynne on Jan 3, 2010 12:02:10 GMT -5
If that gets him going on it, that's great! Have you tried him with the S&C reconstituted? Or mixing some of the ground in with the frozen?
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Emilee
Cageless and Roamin' Free
Posts: 240
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Post by Emilee on Jan 3, 2010 13:30:17 GMT -5
Another idea is to get muscle meats not grounded, and try putting it in a food processor or blender to make a soup. I know that while Jasper kind of ate the ground a little, Tootsie was absolutely disgusted by the texture, and looked at me like "FINALLY YOU GET IT!" when I put raw chicken breast through the food processor to make a thinner soup.
Or, you could make the S&C patty into a soup. Thaw it, water it down, and feed him the soup a few days, then start adding small chicken chunks to it. I think I'd suggest starting with chicken, as if he progresses with the chicken instead of turkey, you can start with bones sooner.
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Post by lnsybean44 on Jan 3, 2010 14:31:38 GMT -5
My kids wont touch ground. They eat everything else though.
As for the patties, feed as much he will eat. I was told to do that until my kit turned about eight months. When Newt was a baby he would eat 1.5 stella's freeze dried with water per meal. He still eats that much though but he weighs in at a healthy five pounds.
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Post by vkoslin on Jan 3, 2010 17:04:06 GMT -5
I think a good next step, if you haven't yet, is to add the water to the patties that you feed, so they get used to a more liquid ish diet. The hardest part about switching to raw is texture. If they go from dry, crunchy to goey cold, it's a big jump. So, by reconstituting the patties, they will get used to a less dry diet, and the change will be easier.
Any ferret can be switched to raw is my honest belief. If you are committed to trying it out, it can be done! Sign up for a mentor and keep asking questions and in no time you will have a raw eater on your hands!
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Post by michelle on Jan 6, 2010 17:34:20 GMT -5
Once again, thanks for the advice.
I have been making the freezed-dried S&C moist. Logan really wont touch it when dried. I made soup from chicken legs & thighs and he did take it a lot easier than a ground turkey, but he still gets over excited about his frozen S&C... I wish I could crack the code to make my own. I am worried that he will not switch and if I cannot make the switch, do you think the S&C patties make a suitable diet?
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Post by sherrylynne on Jan 6, 2010 19:43:28 GMT -5
I truly don't believe there are any ferrets who cannot be switched. It does sometimes take a long time, but since Logan has already eaten the soup, that's the big step right there! He may not be as excited by it yet, but he will be And definitely- if you choose to use the S&C, it is a complete diet. Just make sure to mix and match at least three different proteins with it.
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Post by michelle on Jan 6, 2010 19:53:13 GMT -5
Thanks, I just need some reinsurance... I'm a bit of a worrier. He's been eating through the patties like wild, I am concern about the expense of the food in the long run since he has taken down almost $20 worth of food in a week thus far. I found a store that has a food program of buy 10 bags, get one free... just need to compare the costs of my current shop. I'm not giving up on the raw though... I just don't want Logan be be unhealthy during the process.
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Post by sherrylynne on Jan 7, 2010 11:00:24 GMT -5
Yeah, the commercial raw can get very expensive. One of my cats adores it, but when I tried just feeding that- he was going through about $100 a month by himself!
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Post by michelle on Jan 7, 2010 11:37:52 GMT -5
I gave the soup first thing in the morning and Logan ate it no problem. He's starting to react to it the same way he does to his S&C patties. Things are looking up as far as the food situation goes... I always notice that I post my worrying/concern post a day or two too soon.
If i continue to make blended food patties, do I keep the (at least) 3 types of protein in it's own patty (i.e. a chicken patty, a pork patty, a beef patty, etc.) or can I mix them all together to make a 3 meat patty? I know it's too soon to be thinking this far, but I was just thinking about things.
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