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Post by Forum Administrator on Oct 18, 2009 0:22:33 GMT -5
1. Where did you first learn about natural diets for ferrets?: On ferretforum.com, but I was already aware that they were obligate carnivores and was curious about their natural diet 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.: For now, I'm interested in switching them to commercial raw and gradually introduce some raw later on. I want to feed them a mixture of high qual kibble, commercial raw and whole food raw. 3. Why are you interested in switching your ferrets to a natural diet?When I switched my ferrets from a low quality kibble to EVO, it was only a matter of days before I started seeing dramatic changes: they are now fitter and more energetic. I think feeding them raw would only add to their wellbeing. I also believe in feeding a good variety of foods, I can't afford six different kinds of kibble so I raw is cheaper and better. 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?If I see that the switch is taking too much of my time (of which I have little of), I'll have to pull myself out. That being said, I am aware that it's a lenghty process, and I want to move up little by little, any small progress is worth the time and effort. 5. How many ferrets do you currently have? What are their names? Ages? Genders? Do they have any health problems? Are they overweight? Underweight?I have two ferrets: Misu and Zephyr; Misu is about 14months old, female and has no health concerns. Zephyr is 9months old, female, is deaf and has been vomiting lately: Something that we will be seeing the vet for shortly (FYI: It started when we made the switch to EVO). They are both at a healthy weight 6. What diet do you currently feed your ferrets? (Please include all treats, supplements, etc)EVO ferret kibble and 8in1 premium mix, ferretone (about once a week) Laxatone (once a week) 7. Have you ever tried to switch your ferrets to a natural diet in the past? If yes, what happened?We tried introducing a commercial raw into their diet. Zephyr was taking well to it, but Misu refused to have anything to do with it. We managed to have her eat a 70%kibble, 30%raw mix but she was losing a great deal of weight so we stopped the switch. We've also occasionally fed egg yolk; again Zephyr would have some, but Misu refused to take any. 8. What additional information about yourself or your ferrets would you like to share?Nothing really, just that I'm a student and am willing to follow your guidelines and make the switch, but I'm hoping that it can be a slow paced, gradual change that follows with my current schedule. 9. How often during the week do you have access to a computer?I have daily access, but will be looking up this website about twice a week. 10. Please post a picture of each of your ferrets (if possible).No pictures for now , will post when I get one.
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Post by cyngo on Oct 19, 2009 9:19:04 GMT -5
Oh okay cool! , well right now I'm pretty busy, I have my last midterm tomorrow. So I guess in celebration of end of midterm I'll give the ferrets some commercial raw. Last time I mixed it with some kibble, so I guess I'll start with a 20%raw/80%kibble blend and see how they respond to that. My biggest concerns are how Misu will react to it, and if Zephyr's stomach can handle it. :S She hasn't vomited in two weeks, I'm hoping this means she's getting used to the change of diet but we'll see.
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Post by tss on Oct 19, 2009 9:31:23 GMT -5
Hi!
My name is Maria and I will be your mentor.
I have been raw feeding dogs since October '05. And Ferrets since October '07. I currently have four ferrets, I feed them a variety of things. Including ground meats, whole prey (chicks, mice, month old chickens and turkey, dove, squirrel and rabbit), as well as cuts of chicken, beef, rabbit, deer, lamb, pork and probably other things that I can't currently remember.
Do your ferrets eat soupies?? Sometimes they respond better to adding meat to soup then they to adding it to kibble.
Just let me know what happens with the kibble.
Thanks.
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Post by cyngo on Oct 19, 2009 12:53:30 GMT -5
Yeah, I meant I was going to make a kibble raw soup mix. They're not too fond of it honestly, Zephyr will eat it no problem, but Misu will only take it if it's very VERY liquidy, and she'll avoid any chunks. At that point, it's so diluted that I'm worried about how much she needs to ingest to get her daily requirements. :s. We will see tomorrow I guess. But I think I can predict the outcome: A very cranky hungry Misu XD. It's nice to meet you by the way, thanks in advance for your help
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Post by cyngo on Oct 20, 2009 21:36:38 GMT -5
I unfortunately didn't get the chance to prepare a soup for the ferts (preexam stress allnighter extravanganza, it went well today though ) But I decided I'd try it just raw and gradually mix to their needs; no use to give them less then they'll have. So I gave them EVO cat and kitten turkey and chicken; I don't know if it has enough protein or an excess in taurine or what not (I'm not very familiar with the ferret's (or cat's) dietary needs), but that's what I have available so that's what I gave. I gave them each about a tablespoon of the stuff and mixed it with a few generous drops of ferretone since they wanted nothing to do with it on its own. As expected, Zephyr took well to it and almost ate the whole tablespoon. On the contrary (but also as I expected) Misu was having none of it. In fact she wanted to run away from my arms as though I was about to give her root canal :S. I managed to give her a tad taste (crums really) but it was so diluted in ferretone that I doubt she even tasted the chicken (maybe unconsciously she did). I figure if I couple ferretone and raw together often enough, it'll condition her to enjoy the raw. But somehow I doubt it'll be that easy. In the mean time, I'm going to prepare a kibble soup, watch their feces to make sure they're not getting any stomach upsets (especially Zephyr since she seems to have a bit of a sensitive stomach) and see how it goes tomorrow. The only problem is I don't want to give the soup mix to Zephyr if she's willing to eat it as is (they each have their own bowls but they always share). I'm also wondering whether I should fast Misu in the daytime before giving her some soup mix to encourage her to try it. .What do you think?
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Post by tss on Oct 21, 2009 9:59:56 GMT -5
EVO is actually very good, that is what I used to use. And I still do maybe twice a year it I go out of town. They make a cat and ferret version, and they are both almost exactly the same.
You can fast them both, for starters 4 or 5 hours is good.
And as for the tummy problems, have you tried talking to Heather about that? She knows a lot about IBD and natural treatments.
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Post by cyngo on Oct 25, 2009 10:58:35 GMT -5
Okay that's good to know. , EVO has really done them wonders as far as energy levels go, but their bowels don't handle it very well :s, it's very problematic. So I want to mix it with a kibble variety that's still healthy, but that has less protein and fat content, hopefully that'll keep their bowels in check. I haven't talked to Heather no, and I don't know what IBD means .... On a different note: I fed them the same canned raw today. Had a little more success with Misu (yay!) She still isn't touching it, but she smelled it, licked a little of it when it was mixed with ferretone, and didn't run for dear life. So Hopefully, I'll be able to transition her without the hassle of making a kibble soup (the smell of it after a few hours is unbearable D:). I thought about diluting the ferretone into water and mixing it with bits of raw food. That way I wouldn't be giving her too much ferretone (since it could lead to vitamin A toxicity.) Zephyr happily ate the raw today, as though it was a treat! I was very happy about that. It's a study week, so hopefully, I'll be able to come on more often, tell you about my progress and continue transitioning the ferts. I'm going to fast them before bed. That way they'll wake up hungry and I can make it part of the morning routine.
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Post by tss on Oct 25, 2009 12:46:15 GMT -5
IBD is irritable bowl disease. It is possible that it is what you are dealing with.
Sniffing and licking is a good sign! And I'm glad to hear that Zephyr is going after it too!!
I just wanted to ask, what did you mean by canned raw??
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Post by cyngo on Oct 25, 2009 14:15:47 GMT -5
Oh I meant the commercial raw. Like the EVO cat and kitten chicken and turkey food. No worries! I'm not feeding them Spam or anything XD Yeah Zephyr isn't picky at all, she'll eat or get into anything. Misu is very cautious, especially for a ferret. I think that's why I'm having trouble with her.
Irritable bowel syndrome? Sounds like it could make sense. Is there a test that a vet has to give to see if it's that? Or can I see for myself? And how should I contact Heather for more info?
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Post by tss on Oct 26, 2009 8:46:21 GMT -5
Surprisingly out of the 6 ferrets I've owned only one was a hard to switch ferret. The others eat what ever you put down.
As for IBS and IBD, I'm not sure if it can be tested for. But I know that it can be treated at home with holistic medicine.
If you go and click on Heaters user name, just click on "Send Personal Message"
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Post by cyngo on Oct 27, 2009 8:51:11 GMT -5
Ah geez lucky! , I hear a lot of ferrets are dificult to switch. I have to admit, Misu is difficult, but she's been cooperating really well with us. I feel she trusts us <3 . Today we managed to feed her a little less than a tbsp of raw feed. We had to give it to to her, little by little, in seperate plates and mixed in with ferretone, but she ate it. (And she really doesn't like the taste, you should see her face!! XD) Tomorrow I'm going to try mixing it with water and ferretone, see if she can eat it in one sitting. As for Zephyr, she's well on her way to a raw diet. Her feces are a little loose but not diarhhea like so that's good news! . She's already eating in her own dish, but she only eats it if there's ferretone on it. I think my biggest challenge is going to be removing the ferretone from the feeding. I think if I add less and less everytime they'll continue eating it, hopefully. Anyway, another small step. If things keep going this well, I might be able to try them on raw feed by xmas time! Just to let you know: here's an 'a peu pres' of what I'm doing with them: morning: raw feed afternoon & evening: kibble feed nightime: fasting period It's pretty simple, I hope the fasting period isn't too long.
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Post by tss on Oct 28, 2009 20:45:27 GMT -5
That was what I struggled with when I was switching my baby Weezer. I used "powered soup mix" as his bait. It was the honest kitchen, Stella and Chewys, wysong and ziwipeak. He LOVED the stuff, and it took a long time to wean him off. But he would eat his raw, as long as there was a little bit of powder on it.
The fasting period isn't too long. Lots of people in the UK only feed every other day. Mine have food for about 12 hours out of the day.
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Post by cyngo on Nov 7, 2009 21:32:25 GMT -5
OMYGOD! Sorry I haven't posted in awhile! Insane INSANE week :X. Raw feeding is on hiatus because I can't find the time to give them the stuff. Plus they need a bath, and I still have exams and projects to write . Everyone is sick with H1N1 it's spreading like wildfire on my campus and there's another infection going around. We went to a party where 8 or 9 people who got it, went to the emergency to get it checked out. I and my boyfriend got it too, but it wasn't so bad and I'm fluctuating between recovery and feeling worse :S. I still have been feeding them raw, just much less often than I should. Zephyr is slowing being weaned from the ferretone actually (now that you mention it) she really loves the food even without the ferretone. Giving it to them on occasion actually works for me because she gets excited for the new food and perceives it as a treat. I'll have to try something else with Misu though. Something similar happened when I switched her to the EVO kibble, she wanted none of it, but I got upset and told myself 'frig it! You're eating that or nothing at all (bad day I was having), anyway, I obviously eventually folded and got her some of her old kibble, but by that time she was eating the EVO and loving it!! So maybe she needs a little harsher tough love. She's plump enough to handle it this time, so I feel more comfortable with it. Anyway!! Sorry I disappeared on you! I'm still committed I'll try posting more often! *scrambles back to her studies*
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Post by Heather on Nov 10, 2009 1:06:55 GMT -5
How are you feeling? Take care of yourself and make sure that you wash up well before handling your furbabies. Your mentor has requested a sabbatical for the moment, so for now I will be helping you switching your furbabies. I know that you're really busy, school and life too, but try and post and keep me updated You mention tough love for one of your furkids, not the one with tummy problems I hope. How often are your little ones eating? I noticed that you've opted for the overnight fasting....you could try offering some boned meats, a chicken neck or a wing and see if they're willing to try that while they're being hungry. I don't believe in fasting, our ferrets on the whole are not very healthy and fasting seems to bring out the worst in their health issues. That doesn't mean it's wrong, or it shouldn't or couldn't be done, I just don't do it. If you wish to do this, it's entirely up to you but I feel that you should be aware of this possible problem. Ferrets eat the same way as cats, small multiple meals delivered often during the day. One may only feed twice or three times a day but usually leaving enough not to be finished but to be hidden and consumed at a later date. Ferret eating whole foods last longer without food than kibble fed ferrets, those that are being switched are stuck between. They still aren't eating constantly enough of the raw food, to go the same length of time as a ferret that eats whole foods and prey. Your mentor mentioned how ferrets are fed in Europe and it's true but after discussing this practice with a couple of people, it has been noted that we're talking about a whole carcass (rabbit) being left with the fuzzbutts. It would take a couple of ferrets a good day maybe longer to finish off a whole carcass. It took my guys (5) almost 2 days to eat a whole medium sized rabbit with fur. So it is possible Keep me posted, talk at you soon ciao
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Post by cyngo on Nov 12, 2009 11:15:13 GMT -5
Thanks Heather (and it's nice to meet you), I'm feeling better now, and the midterms are finally over. So I can relax for a little bit. Maria told me that you were helpful when it came to ferrets with stomach problems, so I'm glad you're here. GOOD NEWS!!!! Both ferrets are now eating the raw feed INTO their foodbowls!!! It's pretty exciting that Misu actually ate some of the stuffy (She didn't eat much, but she ate it alright) It's too bad she haaates the stuff but I think she'll eventually get used to it. Zephyr loves the food and she'll just keep eating it until there are none left (she just finished her bowl and is eating what's left in Misu AND I just learned that boyfriend had fed them raw this morning and she ate all of that too XD) Zephyr is also the one with the stomach problem, but she hasn't vomitted in a long while. We still don't know what's causing it, we thought it might've been her food, but she's been fine lately, could it be that she had an infection or something? Right now, there are two major reasons why I'm not opting for raw, like chicken wings or necks: First, I don't feel comfortable, hygiene wise, leaving a wing all night and having their cage, bedding, and everything else infested with meat germs o-o. Second, I would like to see the vet before opting for a raw diet (although, I have asked her about it, but she never contacted me back (sigh..), I want to make sure that their diet is balanced. Anyway, I will try my best to keep you updated.
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