nibblesandspazz
Going Natural
Forum Artist Extraordinaire[/color]
Posts: 165
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Post by nibblesandspazz on Nov 15, 2009 0:31:05 GMT -5
awesome. Tigger is finally at the point she is mildly agrressive towards Spazz about her food. I hate to say it but I'm glad she is. She was losing so much weight thanks to that thief. Also my fiance was wondering if turkey s ok for them to munch on? We've noticed chicken prices are going up and turkey prices are coming down.
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Post by sherrylynne on Nov 15, 2009 12:14:37 GMT -5
Anything you can name as meat is fine! As long as it isn't tampered with in any way. IE: ham(cured and/or salted), sausages, lunch meats, etc. And I love it when they start protecting their food You should here it when I put in day old chicks. The hissing, growling, barking, etc. is hilarious. Because of course everyone else's is far superior to their own
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nibblesandspazz
Going Natural
Forum Artist Extraordinaire[/color]
Posts: 165
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Post by nibblesandspazz on Nov 15, 2009 16:57:06 GMT -5
thats great. =)
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nibblesandspazz
Going Natural
Forum Artist Extraordinaire[/color]
Posts: 165
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Post by nibblesandspazz on Nov 17, 2009 0:36:12 GMT -5
they are eating relatively large pieces now and all 3 of them have been chewing. I heard fish is bad for them, is that true?
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Post by sherrylynne on Nov 17, 2009 10:01:05 GMT -5
Too much fish is bad for them. They can still have some, though. My one DEW, Lucrezia, thinks smelts are candy . Actually, it's with the smelts that I found out some ferrets will actually overeat Poor little girl actually looked green around the gills after having a few too many of them! The main thing with fish is to try to stick with the smaller, fresh water fish, if you can. The bigger the fish, the more accumulation of chemicals like mercury. So no more than weekly at the most for fish.
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Post by sherrylynne on Nov 23, 2009 19:46:44 GMT -5
Hi. Any updates?
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nibblesandspazz
Going Natural
Forum Artist Extraordinaire[/color]
Posts: 165
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Post by nibblesandspazz on Nov 29, 2009 23:02:42 GMT -5
we gave them turkey and they love it. they get so excited every time we feed them. we have been giving them larger pieces and they seem to be doing fine with it. they have been chewing and swallowing fine, their fur is a bit softer and their fur hardly smells now! Their poo isnt nearly as bad as it was with kibble but I still think it could improve a bit more with a more structured raw diet. my fiance is terrified of giving them bone. my mom fed them for us for 2 days and even she wasnt willing to give them bone so I have some questions. Do the NEED bone or is it more of a treat for them? I know cooked bone will shard but wont raw bone also shard? should we give them meat that is still on the bone like drumsticks, wings ect? thank for your patience. things have been hectic for me lately with work and the holidays.
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Post by sherrylynne on Nov 30, 2009 0:49:58 GMT -5
Not a problem! And yes- they definitely need the raw bone! They not only get their calcium, but also all the trace minerals their bodies need to thrive. It's also the only way to avoid trips to have their teeth scaled at the vet's. My guys eat bone at least 4 days a week. Raw bone does NOT splinter. And they are made to digest it. How do you think they eat mice Here's a good site for you: rawfed.com/myths/intro.html This is a bit of a long read, and is generally geared for dogs, but is applicable to all carnivores. Here is another one: www.rawmeatybones.com/Here's a forum geared toward natural feeding of ferrets as well: www.naturalferrets.com/I hope these help! Please let me know if you have any more questions. That's what I'm here for
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nibblesandspazz
Going Natural
Forum Artist Extraordinaire[/color]
Posts: 165
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Post by nibblesandspazz on Nov 30, 2009 21:27:09 GMT -5
before even reading this I accidentally gave them some turkey still on the bone. my mum cut it up for us so i didnt know it had bones. As always they went nuts over the raw food and fought over it. in the end spazz had the meat and the bone and was treating it like corn on the cob. he held both ends of the drumstick with his front paws and ate along it until he bit into bone, then he moved to another section. he even turned it as he ate lol. i dont think he ate any of the bone, just the meat. is there any way to make the pieces smaller for them to get them used to it?
this morning was a bit interesting. I was awoken to the sound of my fiance screaming for me to get into the ferrets room. I go in there and see him holding Tigger and she has the plastic ziplock bag from their food in her mouth.We tried smacking her butt, holding her upside down and rubbing her tummy. nothing got her to let go so finally we took her in the bathroom and ran her under some room temp water until she let go of the bag. she had been so excited over the food that she tried to steal the bag from my fiance's hand as he opened the FN142 door
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Post by sherrylynne on Nov 30, 2009 23:06:32 GMT -5
First- let me get this out of the way. Never, ever, ever! for any reason, smack, hit, or discipline your ferret in a physical manner. The only thing it teaches them is to fear your hands. Even if you think it's a light smack, that's the lesson they learn. I've dealt with the after effects of people "gently" physically disciplining their ferrets. They were some of my worst biters when I got them. Next time, scruff and GENTLY open her jaws. I have to do that with my 3lb boy when he gets plastic. Ok- that's out of the way! It's fantastic that they went bonkers for the turkey! The reason he ate around the bone is that turkey bone is too dense for them to bite into. Start with something like cornish hen wings, or regular chicken wing tips. Isn't it wonderful to see them so excited over their mealtimes
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nibblesandspazz
Going Natural
Forum Artist Extraordinaire[/color]
Posts: 165
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Post by nibblesandspazz on Dec 4, 2009 16:54:27 GMT -5
I know to NEVER discipline them like that, and I never do. WE were at our wits end trying to get that plastic out of her mouth. first we tried tickling her, with no luck, then every other thing we could thing of. We werent upset just worried. Scruffing Tigger usually doesnt work. no matter how much of her skin we grab she can still twist and get free. Even our vet was surprised that she got loose from him. Anyway after the light tap to the rear we remembered what ferrets for dummies said about water being a last resort for biting.
We have to get them more food monday so I'll try the cornish hen. its only been a little over a week and they have already devoured most of the turkey we got them for thanksgiving.
its so wonderful watching them get excited. They never used to squeak much but now that they are on raw they squeak and bark all the time.
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Post by sherrylynne on Dec 4, 2009 21:15:10 GMT -5
I kind of thought you were simply a bit frantic, but had to say something. If you can get a finger in either side of the jaws, you can open their mouths with no problem. There is also a pressure point at the back of the jaws. A bit of pressure makes their jaws open, too. I know from experience of Vincent trying to eat the garbage bag Anyway- That's wonderful about the turkey. I'll bet they chow right through the wings, ribs, etc, with few problems!
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nibblesandspazz
Going Natural
Forum Artist Extraordinaire[/color]
Posts: 165
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Post by nibblesandspazz on Dec 5, 2009 13:04:40 GMT -5
I let them play for 3 hours last night. Tigger played so hard she wore herself out. they seem to have a lot more energy now. their scent is so much milder now to. my sister was even willing to hold one of them now that the smell is almost gone.
I've been meaning to ask you, but keep forgetting. Is it normal for their poo to be mushy, reddish brown and sometimes look like its got bits of puss in it? i'm assuming the girl thingy looking stuff is fat from the raw food, but i'm not sure.
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Post by sherrylynne on Dec 5, 2009 14:32:31 GMT -5
It's quite likely any hair in their stomachs and intestines is coming out now. And until they are eating bone, their stool will be quite soft. You can add powdered eggshell to help offset this, or even give a wee bit of pumpkin if they'll take it. The "puss" or "slug" type things are actually hairballs As long as it's not green, or smelling like infection, and they are playing/eating/drinking/pooping normally, it's fine. Isn't it amazing how quickly a raw diet affects activity levels, and odour?
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nibblesandspazz
Going Natural
Forum Artist Extraordinaire[/color]
Posts: 165
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Post by nibblesandspazz on Dec 10, 2009 1:04:27 GMT -5
theyve been chewing on the bone a little but dont seem to like it. I've been giving them chicken thighs and they can chew through the bone but they just set it aside. got any suggestions?
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