|
|
Post by sherrylynne on Sept 20, 2009 21:33:03 GMT -5
Poor little guy! How traumatic is that for him! And yes, when their jaws strengthen, it shouldn't be a problem. The good news is, at least he's trying to eat it! Try cutting the thigh bones in half lengthwise for him. That way, the marrow is exposed, and there's a much better chance he'll be able to eat it.
And if they are eating chunks, I'd ditch the ground for those ones. The idea is to have them eating chunks, so good for them! Try to mix up the meat(dark and white), too. The dark has a lot more taurine in it, which they need.
Once they are eating chunks, try introducing other meats as well. Pork is always a favourite here. Just cut the pork chunks a bit smaller than the chicken. Since they are all pretty lazy at heart when it comes to chewing food, they should go for the smaller ones first.
|
|
jon
Going Natural
RAW FEEDER
Posts: 109
|
Post by jon on Sept 22, 2009 22:18:51 GMT -5
Wow! What a coup! My friend gave me the necks, hearts, and livers of 10 chickens and 4 turkeys. One way or another, these guys are going to come to appreciate good turkey.
The new grinder is great - (northern machinery). Must sturdier than the old one (can't remember its brand). It also has a much coarser grind available. I fed it chicken wings yesterday, and it ground them just fine - no problem.
|
|
|
|
Post by sherrylynne on Sept 24, 2009 18:40:11 GMT -5
Getting all that is great! Congrats on the new grinder, too  |
|
jon
Going Natural
RAW FEEDER
Posts: 109
|
Post by jon on Sept 26, 2009 8:16:00 GMT -5
Not too much news. We managed to get all of the meat eaters integrated (mostly). Inara and Pippin had been bullying Midas a little, but now everyone is sharing 3 levels of the big Ferret Nation cage, and the kibble kids are in the other cage.
Either Londo or Zoey will be the next to be converted. Londo actually went into the meat eaters den and drank a little bit of soup/gravy.
So current status:
Midas, Pippin, Meri, Tommy, Moriarty, Otis, Kaylee, and Inara are an 100% meat
Londo and Zoey are starting their transition this weekend.
Bela and G'Kar are going to be tough, especially since G'Kar has anger management issues.
|
|
|
|
Post by sherrylynne on Sept 26, 2009 18:16:45 GMT -5
You guys are going great guns! Wow. I would gather all the meat eaters are also doing well with bone and organ?
I don't know if this will help with Bella and G'Kar or not, but you could try putting a dab of soup on top of the kibble in their dish (maybe the size of a pencil eraser) while transitioning the others. Hopefully that will at least accustom them to the smell. They will most likely just eat around it, but if they start to associate the smell with food, it might make a transition easier with them than it would have been otherwise.
|
|
jon
Going Natural
RAW FEEDER
Posts: 109
|
Post by jon on Sept 30, 2009 18:25:38 GMT -5
Status is pretty much unchanged. Not much luck with Londo. He likes the soup, but not the meat - not ground, diced, chopped or mushed. I'm mixing a little in with the kibble, and they're very careful to eat around it.
|
|
|
|
Post by sherrylynne on Sept 30, 2009 23:04:35 GMT -5
How thick is the soup Londo is eating now? Sort of a cream soup thickness, or closer to a mush? One thing that may work with Londo is to slowly(very slowly), thicken the raw soup for him. So, if you're using 1 cup meat, and 1 cup water, for instance, try using 1 cup meat, 7/8 cup water. Then just decrease by 1/8 cup every few days til it's mush. The other two will continue to eat around it, unfortunately. If they didn't, it might actually make your life easier It's amazing just how stubborn they can be, isn't it? Brats You know, I was just rereading this thread. I can't believe how far you've brought them already! Wow. |
|
jon
Going Natural
RAW FEEDER
Posts: 109
|
Post by jon on Oct 6, 2009 17:33:11 GMT -5
Well, we've had a couple of setbacks. Londo is still refusing to do anything other than lick a tiny bit of soup - and he did a rather impressive gagging session when I tried to scruff and stuff him.
The second setback is we are no longer the Dirty Dozen. No, nothing bad happened to anyone. We are now the Dirty Bakers Dozen. The business has a new member: Mal (Malcolm). He's about 5 months old, and has similar golden coloring to Midas. Darned ferret math!
He was on Marshall food, but we're hoping hell pick up on the meat quickly. As usual, Inara tried to assert her authority, but he's bigger and faster than she is. Unfortunately, G'Kar is treating him like any other newby - attack! G'Kar is sweet to people, and the ferrets he already knows, but he doesn't make friends easily - it's hard to be friends with your mouth full of somebody else's scruff.
|
|
|
|
Post by sherrylynne on Oct 6, 2009 18:49:31 GMT -5
Congrats on the newest addition! Yeah, ferret math really does account for some large numbers at times . Of course, I wouldn't know anything about that I'd try Mal with some chicken chunks, see what he does. My Willow was 5 months when we brought her in, and she was raw from day one, no problems. With Londo, you may have to do the "scruff and stuff" for a while yet. I did that with Boris for a couple of weeks at least before he'd lick it from my finger, then spoon. I've got one like G'Kar as well. We finally gave up on introducing her to any new ones. Both she and they get far too stressed out over the long term. Good luck, and let me know how Mal does with the meat, and with the intros! |
|
jon
Going Natural
RAW FEEDER
Posts: 109
|
Post by jon on Oct 7, 2009 17:23:43 GMT -5
Mal ate chicken last night. He's still not quite sure what to do with the big pieces, but I hand fed him a small piece, and with that he was ready to eat the ground chicken with duck soup. He's very like Midas in behavior - except younger and spazzier.
I've noticed a(nother) side benefit of the raw diet. They don't drink as much water, and when they do, their mouth isn't full of kibble, so the water doesn't get all nasty (still gets changed 2x per day though).
|
|
|
|
Post by sherrylynne on Oct 7, 2009 22:29:15 GMT -5
That's great that he likes it already  And yeah- I've noticed the "spazz" quotient with the little ones! It's really quite funny to watch The only problem I've noticed with the raw is that it makes the water slimy when they drop that in, and you don't notice it for a few hours  |
|
jon
Going Natural
RAW FEEDER
Posts: 109
|
Post by jon on Oct 9, 2009 16:56:49 GMT -5
Just a minor update:
Mal is on big chicken pieces as of last night. He just figured it out by himself.
Londo is getting a break - no progress there.
We've had two scruff 'n' stuff sessions with Zoey. She's not happy about it, but we'll keep trying.
|
|
|
|
Post by sherrylynne on Oct 9, 2009 17:31:05 GMT -5
Good for Mal- eating like a big ferret now With the scruff 'n' stuff, it can take a couple of weeks of doing it a couple of times a day, several times each session, before they'll start to lick it from your finger, so keep up the good work! |
|
|
|
Post by sherrylynne on Oct 11, 2009 17:50:15 GMT -5
One other thing- are the meat/bone eaters having liver as well now? If not, it would be a good time to introduce it. Either by itself, mixed in with other meats, or in a soup form.
|
|
jon
Going Natural
RAW FEEDER
Posts: 109
|
Post by jon on Oct 14, 2009 6:24:27 GMT -5
I've added liver a couple of times. Not a real big hit, but they did eat some.
|
|
