not enough bones?

[babycakes0707]

Hi,

First Id like to say that I'm SO glad I finallyt have internet access at home!! ( i have been a member for a while but I couldnt really keep up because I didnt have internet at home and I couldnt reply to my mentor as often as I wish I could have )

Now, this has been bothering me for a while, but I feel like my ferrets arent getting enough bones, they tend to leave out the bones as much as they can.

Also, my older ferret, who is only 3 years old, is getting thinner and his fur is getting grey-ish, I was wondering if that could be due to his diet?

Thanks, and sorry I couldnt be more active on this board as I would have liked!

[Heather]

You would have to be more specific about the amount of bone that your little ones are getting. Perhaps a menu?? Ferrets are lazy eaters, if they can get out of eating bone they will. If you suspect that they're not eating enough bone then you will have to supplement either with egg shell or bonemeal. Ferrets can get very sick from low calcium and they seem to be prone to this problem, so it's up to their ferrants to make sure they get enough.
A three year old ferret should be still active and full of life. His diet might be to blame, depends again on what you're feeding. Weight loss is the symptom of many ferret diseases too. Roaning or graying of the coat may actually just be his colouring. I have several ferrets who have "roaned" out during their lifetime, though usually they were much older than 3.
Write out your menu and let us have a look and see. A trip to the vet might be in order too. Bloodwork if nothing else might help to figure out if there is a health issue here.
ciao

[babycakes0707]

monday- bone
tuesday-muscle meat
wednesday-bone
thursday-muscle meat
friday-bone
saturday-organ&bone
sunday-bone

i try to get a veriaty of meats in there, unfortunately they mainly get chicken cause everything else is hard to find and when i give them porc back bones they cant seem to eat the bone. the only bones they can eat is chicken wings...

[sherrylynne]

Hi there! If they are actually eating the bone in meals, they are getting enough. I'd really like to see you give them more than pork and chicken, though. Or are those just the bone in?
For the meantime, try powdering up some eggshells(I use the coffee grinder kept just for this- they're caffeinated enough as it is ). You can also use a mortar and pestle.
What are they're poops like. That's usually a good indicator. If they are slightly soft and somewhat wet looking, that's fairly normal. If it's diarrhea, they aren't eating what they should be of the bone they get.
Do you have any asian/ethnic markets near you? I can't remember. If you do, you should be able to pick up other types of bone in meats there. Like rabbit, or chicken feet/necks. Maybe some turkey necks. Or quail.

[mustelidmusk]

Turnining gray is most likely due to coat color/genetics. Slivers or ferret with silver iin their genetics can begin to turn gray very arly. I've known sables that have silver in their bloodlines that have started getting some gray at 3 yrs.

for eating bone, the backack and necks are easier to chew/softer. the necks can be sliced into 1/4 inch disks with a big, crummy knife - don't use a good knife - use a butchers or chefs knife that you don't care too much about .
thke each disck and ut it like a pizza - but don't cut the connective tissue all the way through. The bone will break and the connctive tissues will still hold most of the slice together.

Here is a KEY to getting ferst to eat bone......let them get somewht hungry between meals and feed the BONE pieces first!!!
If they finish the bone pieces, give them the tend meat they prefer last.

As far as weight goes....it is summer, an some ferts differ quite a bit between summer and winter weights. Also, ferrets require a higher fat diet (about 20-30% fat) Don't give 1/3 chunks of fat in their food since meats have fats embedded in the flesh, but make sure some visible fat is provided intheir meals.

If you ferret is eating/drinking, peeing/pooping and playing normally, then he's probably fine. There is one exeption to this - earlier stages of adrenal diseas can result in weight loss and hyperactivity. I your ferret seems hyper, is extra attentive to his siblings (extra neck biting and ear licking) and is perhaps a little itchier than normal, you may be dealing with a bit of adrenal diease.

-jennifer

[babycakes0707]

its really hard toget anything but chicken,pork and beef where I live the butcher shop near my house doesnt have a lot either. like i said, the only bone they WILL eat are chicken wings. anythign else they tear the meat off and leave the bone there.ive tried giving them eggdshells before, but i cant get it to be crushed enough, they actually try as much as possible to eat around it! everytime i give them eggshells, later ill still find a bunch of eggshells in their bowl!

[babycakes0707]

oh and for teh most p[art, their poo is pretty liquid.

[sherrylynne]

Pick up a cheap coffee grinder. You should be able to get one quite reasonably. Use that just for the eggshells. Rinse and dry them totally first, before trying to grind them, otherwise you wind up with a mess with largish chunks stuck throughout.
Also- try giving them nothing but the bone in meals for several days in a row. If you have to, break the bone up with the back of a cleaver/chef's knife.

[babycakes0707]

yah i dont think im well equiped for this lol. my knives just cant cut thruough most bones!

[sherrylynne]

You should have a cleaver, a chef's knife, and a pair of kitchen shears. You can do without the last, but they make life 10 times easier.
The cleaver I got is very cheap. Just picked it up at the local walmart. same for the chef's knife.

[babycakes0707]

ill get a look. but for the bones. what do i do to get them to eat it? like i said the only bone they seem to be capable of eating are chicken wings...

[sherrylynne]

Generally when it comes to the denser bones, all they'll do is gnaw the ends off of them.
Can you get legs/thighs with back attached? They can also eat the spine as easily as the wings. Try taking a hammer to the thigh/drumstick. They usually like the marrow as well.
Another thing you could look at is finding some little mom and pop pet store that sells commercial raw. It comes premade ground meat/bone/organ. I believe some you can order on line. Same with freezedried raw. Casey's Hidden Pantry has some pretty good prices on that.

[babycakes0707]

i know for a fact i cant find a store around here (ive tried) and yah i forgot, they do eat chicken backs really easily too. yesterday i went out and bought porc heart,porc chops *the bones are pretty thin so i figured theyd be able to eat that and turns out then can!) chicken hearts,chicken wings and calf liver. thats as far as variety will go for me i guess, i tried to find other stuff but thats all they had. i went to th butcher near my house and they had NO hearts and NO liver of anything, but they said they usually do so next time ill try again.

[sherrylynne]

I sometimes order in by the case load for hearts, etc. It's a little bit cheaper. I've got to talk to the "meat manager" to do that. Might be worth your while to check into.
Just try to vary up what they get for bone, so they don't get too bored. Maybe talk to them about possibly getting in some lamb, too.

[babycakes0707]

ok theyve been eating bones for teh last 3 days and now they have like really bad liquid diarrhea! its awful! cause they dont even go in their litter anymore they go in another corner and it actually comes out of the cage. its weird theres like chunks in it but i don tknow what it is