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Post by Alliemegan on Dec 6, 2008 15:46:14 GMT -5
We picked up a rabbit from the market today. Still needs to be thaw... holy cow, rabbits are expensive! I hope the ferts like their special treat! Here's Mr. Poley in his new hoodie: And this is how I found him and Merry this morning: yes, Poley was using Merry's ear as a pacifier... Merry got a wet hicky on his left ear! It's nice to just spend a quiet day with the kids... them sleeping and me watching them sleep. Will pop by later
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Post by Heather on Dec 6, 2008 15:56:06 GMT -5
Are they ever cute I love the hoody, Mr. Poley doesn't even look naked when he's wearing that It should keep him nice and warm. How is he doing? Any thoughts on were your going with him? Rabbit is hugely expensive. The last batch cost me $35 for 5 lbs of ground rabbit with offal and they weren't even hugely impressed....I told them they had better be a lot more enthusiastic at that price I"ve thought about getting a whole rabbit and feeding them some of it and eating the rest myself but I don't like rabbit enough to pay close to $40 for something that's basically all bone. I will check in with you later this evening to see if you managed to entice your furbabies to try the rabbit. Good luck ciao
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Post by Alliemegan on Dec 7, 2008 1:59:45 GMT -5
Poley is doing great. Playing a bit, sleeps a lot and eat his chicken like a good boy... most of the time . He's going back to the vet to have his stitches out in 10 day. That gives some time for the Lupron to kick in and we'll see if we get any progress. Rabbit is still frozen solid, we'll wait until tomorrow to hack it up and feed it through the meat grinder. I agree, rabbits ARE mostly bones. Why the heck are they so expensive anyways??? Don't they breed like... well, rabbits? Finally got some snow in T.O., I think the guys might want to go play in the snow tomorrow morning. Let's see if it'll be too cold for them... or for me! later!
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Post by Heather on Dec 7, 2008 20:10:53 GMT -5
I'll tell you what I'll send you all the snow you like Today was too cold for man or beast (at least in my opinion) I don't think Mr Poley should go outside until it warms up a little (personally thinking) that's a whole lot of naked to be outside with even with a cool cammo suit I gather that rabbits are very difficult to breed. It seems that they have a tendency to off their little ones if there's any kind of stress. I don't know I can remember when a neighbour decided to move and let loose a pair of bunnies (they couldn't take them with them...you know the type ) In two years we had more little albino bunnies than carter has pills running around the place . I will check with you later to see how the bunny grinding went and to see how well the new meat was accepted. ciao
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Post by Alliemegan on Dec 8, 2008 22:49:27 GMT -5
Oh no no no... Mr. Poley is not going anywhere at least until his stitches are out. The last thing we need is for him to get an infection... or pnemonia. It was indeed too cold for man or beast. Gadget and Tassy were standing by the door, looking at me like, "No way, man. We don't have enough fur for this!" Bunny grinding is way more labour intensive than drumsticks. Now I know why you get yours pre-ground. It's so freaking hard to hack through the bones and chop it into chunks that will fit through the chute of the meat grinder. The all-dressed whole rabbits actually still have the head, liver and hearts in. We're a bit sqeamish about the head at this point we asked the butcher to dispatch of it. But the rest ground up really nicely. Unfortunately the kids are not really too crazy about it. Gadget would eat anything so he hoovered it up like it's just any old meat. Tassy took a bit of persuasion but he tried some like a good boy. Poley and Merry just sniffed it and ran away. I had a good chat with them about how expensive this sh*t is and how much work Daddy put into grinding it up but I don't think they care too much. We're freezing the rest in small pucks as treats for the future. Hubby brought up a good point -- maybe there's too little liver in this batch. I mean, the rabbit only comes with one liver but they're used to way more liver in their chicken soupy.... So that's our adventure in to "other" meats. I wish the kids were more appreciative but oh well... such is life for parents and ferrents alike. How are Cap. Jack and Calypso doing? Has Calypso cheered up a bit? Will check in with you later!
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Post by Heather on Dec 9, 2008 0:44:49 GMT -5
Well you're foray into the wild side wasn't a complete failure That's a 50/50 split...that's fairly good. As with the chicken you will probably have to persuade the more reticent of your crew, but that was a really good start. No, you're right like small children who have been told that broccoli is really good and that they will grow up big and strong for eating it....it's just not going to happen I guess we needs to be tricksy...in the words of Smeagol to get them to try. Keep trying...you're doing great darn little critters are so unappreciative Capt. Jack and Calypso are starting to fit in here...they are giving me some grief getting them to switch they did a major backtrack so now we're back to square one again and starting over. It never gets any easier, just different Keep me updated, I will check in with you later. ciao
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Post by Alliemegan on Dec 10, 2008 16:18:49 GMT -5
Hehehee.... I guess we should always look at the bright side of things. 50/ 50 on the first shot IS indeed not bad. Sorry to hear that Capt Jack and Calypso decided to be fuzzy eaters. They don't make it easy for you, even for an experience Mom like you! Don't you just wish all ferrets were easy-going like Gadget? Kids are going to have an early dinner and play time tonight. Hubby's work is having a fancy Christmas party and we have to get there for 5:30. Good that my boss let me bugger off early to pretty-fy myself. Maybe they'll get a late night run too when we get home. Will check in with you tomorrow!
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Post by Heather on Dec 11, 2008 0:09:58 GMT -5
It just goes to show you ; it doesn't matter how many times you do this switching thing, each time is different and each a different adventure I was spoiled when I took in Mr Fun-go Squiggly That's him running off with a rat the first week, that he was turned in (aggressive biter :: which he is) This is a pic of Cpt Jack I wish he was as passionate about his food as he is this little rubber jingle ball (he's not allowed to have it except under the most extreme supervision ) I still have to get a good pic of Calypso...she's not much of one to sit around and get her picture taken..she's such a beautiful little thing too, all black with a very dark distinct mask. She's eating much better today, I'm hoping that the Capt. will soon follow in her footsteps How's Mr Poley doing? Recovering from his surgery? You gave him lupron? How's that working, any sign of fur yet? Sorry about the questions, but I've not had to deal with any of the alternatives for adrenal. My little Pandora was my only ferret diagnosed with adrenal and it was a false positive and she died shortly after surgery So I've been learning about this by other people. Does your vet take ferrets from out of town for surgeries? Does he do consults or cooperative work with other vets learning about ferrets? He really sounds like he knows his stuff. He's a little far for me to go on a casual basis but he would make a great resource and surgery vet if he does that kind of thing. I will check in with you and yours tomorrow and see how things are going. Talk at you later. ciao
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Post by Alliemegan on Dec 12, 2008 1:15:41 GMT -5
Awww... Capt. Jack and his rubber jingle bell! How cute is that?? He looks just like Tassy!! And I love Mr. Fun-go Squiggly chowing down on a rat as big as he is!! And just as I thought the boys are getting used to raw, their poopies are going all funky again. We're getting some light colour deposits again. Somebody has yellowy grey poos, someone else has bright orange ones We put all 4 of them in the same cage last night so I don't even know who made what. I'm thinking extra pumpkin all around if things don't improve by morning.... Poley is doing well. Eating quite a lot of cream of chicken soup. But I guess he can't eat too much in one sitting coz it's so rich!! I'm trying to decided if I should swap out the cream with broth, or just add more chicken to it so it's thicker. Anything to get real chicken into my big boy It's only been a week since Poley's Lupron injection so not much is going on in the fur department yet. From what I'd read, it's going to take at least 2-6 weeks before we see fuzz. He'll have to stick with his hoodie for a little longer. We're more worried about his prostate right now. He's still leaking pee and I think he's licking it more than before. We might need to up the dosage when we go in for his stitches removal on Monday. He still has his melatonin implant so that should also help. I know, Poley is the first adrenal ferret we have to treat medically instead of surgically. We're learning as we go too. No worries about the questions. I'd asked more than my fair share from you! Yeah, we love Dr. Mike. All my furkids see him, including the cats. He always gives us the facts straight up, no sugar coating. When Sally was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer this summer (histiocystic sarcoma, very aggressive cancers documented in humans and dogs, but not really reported in ferrets), he combed through the literatures and posted questions on vet blogs, trying to find a way to help her but no one really have any answers. We decided to help Sally to the rainbow bridge when ultrasound showed that the cancer had spread to her heart and lungs in just a couple of weeks. It was the hardest few weeks ever coz hubby was away on a business trip and I was by myself. Dr. Mike called me almost every day during that week to check on Sally, even he was away at a conference himself. That when we knew we'd found the most dedicated vet for our kids. I'm sure he does consults with other ferret vets and he definitely takes out of town patients for surgeries. Let me know if you want his contact info. And if (knock on wood) any of your little ones need his services, we are more than happy to put you and the furkids up while you're in town! Better hit the hay soon. Will check in with you later!
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Post by Heather on Dec 12, 2008 1:40:07 GMT -5
Thanks for the input. I've been lucky, I suppose. I've had about 30 ferrets and only Pandora has had adrenal. Unfortunately, I've had to deal with more than a couple of cancers, I so hate that disease or diseases depending on how you want to look at it. I would try adding more chicken to Mr Poley's diet and maybe adding some broth to replace some of the cream (we don't want the little sod getting really fat ). I would keep with the cream, especially if you think he's having a hard time keeping the weight on. Sounds to me like your guys need a dose of pumpkin or some slippery elm. Any changes in diet...treats?? Sometimes stress will cause stool changes too. You've just tried to put everyone in the same cage...not a hugely stressful thing but maybe enough to cause some tummy upsets. One of the thing you have to remember about raw feeding is that anything they eat is directly reflected in their stools. I know this sounds really dumb and there's nothing you can do about it except know the source of your eggs. If you're feeding eggs, and the chickens who laid those eggs ate corn as their primary feed, it will create orangy coloured stools with your furbabies. If your guys have a grain sensitivity this will also be reflected in your guys stools. I know this sounds silly but I've seen the exact same thing when feeding my guys rats. I know exactly what part of the body each ferret has eaten by the looking at the stools in the litter box (or worse on my floor ) My supplier had a bunch of her rats escape and they got into the chicken feed....my guys had different coloured poopies compared to when they normally eat her rats. I find that I'm not as big at jumping on the stool thing unless...I see it consistently cropping up. Black tarry stools mean one of a couple of things. Internal bleeding (like an ulcer) or my guys got the prime parts of the rat (lots of blood, usually organ meats or the brain). One symptom is harmful while the other is harmless I find with ferrets we become investigators and very good observers. Each symptom has a meaning, and it's up to us to interpret whether to react, observe or do nothing Let me know how your guys are doing, and if you decide you need to add pumpkin or slippery elm to their food. It may be we need to add more bone or something like that. I hope that Mr. Poley's prostate shrinks enough for him to be able to get his bladder to work right. Give everyone a big hug from me. Talk at you later. ciao
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Post by Alliemegan on Dec 12, 2008 16:53:17 GMT -5
you know, that's really amazing... 30+ ferrets and only 1 adrenal??? We've had 7 so far and every single one of them (except Tassy) has adrenal at some point! I know the theory blames early neuter/ spaying as the culprit but I'm starting to think diet plays a part in adrenal, just like in insulinoma.... Yeah, I guess I should know better to freak out over their poopies by now. Everyone's poo looked okay this morning. Maybe someone just found an old kibble stash (Taffy used to have them all over the house! ). I'm going to get some chicken wings this weekend and see if they'd go for at least the wing tips.... Poley seems to like whipping cream better than half and half in his soupy (can you blame him?) but I do worry about him getting chunky. I gotta start keeping tab of his weight. It's quitting time!! Gotta go home and see my boys! Later!
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Post by Heather on Dec 12, 2008 23:14:28 GMT -5
I really wonder just how much diet has to do with a lot of our problems with our furbabies. I think there's a lot more to it than that but I'm really wondering just how much is diet related. Pandora was my first convert to raw, but she had only been on a raw diet for a few months before she passed on. I've dealt with juvenile lymphomas, lymphosarcomas, and the big one that keeps recurring is cardio myliopathy. Poor little Zena was being treated for insulinoma but it turned out to be a brain tumour...so I'm not even sure that I've had a ferret with insulinoma either. So far I've been lucky I guess. I've got furbabies ranging from 18 months to 10 yrs....2 are breeders ferrets (Odin is a late alter at 5+ yrs and Thor was 9 months when he was altered) but the rest are Path Valley, Marshals and Hagen (so all early spay and neuters). The ones that were the worst abuse cases seem to be the ones that die of the cancers at an early age though. Porthos died of juvenile lymphomas and lymphosarcomas...the poor little sod never did cut a break Maybe, try very minutely switching Mr Poley's cream with chicken gravy. Not huge amounts but lets try and get him to give up a little of that rich fatty cream Good luck with the chicken wing tips....try scoring the skin to see if they are more amenable to getting chunks off the bone. I find my guys are much more receptive to the chicken wings and legs if I score the meat so that they don't have to work as hard to get through the skin ... I don't spoil them honest Have a great weekend, and I will check with you to see how your chicken wing adventure goes ciao
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Post by Alliemegan on Dec 15, 2008 17:33:55 GMT -5
We took Poley in this morning to have his stitches removed. We had a chat with Dr. Mike and he thinks Poley needed more Lupron, since the low dose is not really doing much to help with his prostate. He also warned us that Lupron shots really sting. Poley got his first shot right after his surgery so he probably didn't feel that one. This time I had to hold him and my poor baby actually squeaked in pain. My brave little guy... The drug sat under the skin like a bubble for a while (like subcutaneous fluids) until it got absorbed into the muscle. The shot is supposed to last a couple of months so we don't have to stick him with needles again too soon but it does mean we have to stick him again.... Sorry baby... I brought Dr. Mike a journal article about a drug called Deslorelin, which is approved in the UK for adrenal treatment in ferrets. He did some more research on it - basically it works in similar ways as Lupron but it does have the advantage of being in an implant form. It hasn't been approved for use in Canada yet but he said he can apply to bring it in for Poley if Lupron doesn't work. I heard on FHL that someone had good results with this implant in the UK. But I hope Lupron will work so Poley won't have to be the first in Canada to try this, but at least we'll have another option if things don't work out (knock on wood). Hadn't got a chance to try the chicken wing thing last night. Thanks for the tip about scoring the meat before giving the wing to the carprt sharks. Maybe I'll smear some soupy on it too so they'll recognize the taste.... bring on the haz-mat suit Still have to stick around work for a while. Hope you had a good weekend. Check in with you later!
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Post by Heather on Dec 16, 2008 0:11:24 GMT -5
Awww poor Mr Poley. Talk about insult to injury. Give him a big hug from me, brave little boy. I've read on line a few people who have had success with the deslorin implants. I believe there was also someone's ferret who had an allergic reaction to it. You might enquire with your vet what kind of safeguards are in place if this does indeed occur. Most articles seem to be favourable though. You could indeed smear some soupy on the wing tips,or you could also use whatever oil you use as a treat for your guys. I find that they usually just lick it off but it's well worth the try . Some play tug with the wing tips to get them to steal the wing tips and bite them. A sort of tug and rip type thing. You can also smash them with a hammer to make them more mushed up and try all of the above methods too. Just some ideas. Let me know how it works ciao
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Post by Alliemegan on Dec 17, 2008 18:20:09 GMT -5
Well, you called it. The fuzzbutts just licked whatever tasty stuff I put on the wings off and left the wing itself. I tried to flay some of the meat off so it's dangling from the bone. Gadget kinda gnawed on it for a bit but decided that's too much work. Maybe they wanted buffalo wing sauce on it... Let me try to hammer thing tonight. Maybe they like their meat pre-tenderized. Got some fresh snow overnight so as hubby was shoveling the driveway, I took a big plastic tub out and scooped up as much snow as I could carry, dumped it all in the bathtub and threw the ferts in. Merry is always a bit of a wussy so he freaked out as soon as his paws touched the snow. It was a bit too cold for naked Mr. Poley bear (how ironic...) so he just kicked the snow around for a bit and climbed out. Gadget and Tassy were having a blast digging in the snow. They're so fast I couldn't even get a picture! It's all fun until someone made a poopie.... mommy says nobody play in the yellow snow so party's over! (plus I was late for work) Check in with you later!
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