glynus
Going Natural
RAW FEEDER
Posts: 143
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Post by glynus on Nov 19, 2009 23:44:03 GMT -5
Still doing ok. Bastien ate on his own this morning but then only ate what I hand fed him tonight I have been adding a little "other" meat into their duck (beef, pork, pheasant) so that they are getting some variety even if they don't know it I'm thinking of renaming them both. Miss Piggy and Bony Butt. What do you think? I got the duck necks in today so will try adding some little pieces to their meals. With the chicken necks, I tried cutting them into small pieces, beating with a hammer - good stress relief if nothing else, playing tug of war with them... they did great for a while and then just lost interest. Maybe the duck neck will get them interested again... Thanks for all your help and words of encouragement. teri
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Post by Heather on Nov 20, 2009 2:36:35 GMT -5
I can see it now, one of these days Bastien is going to get the hang of this and you're going to have to get the lad a set of wheels he will be that pudgy . I like the idea of mixing meats so that they get used to eating other proteins and getting samples of different meats. I had to get one of my other students to do this with her insulinoma brats. They didn't want anything other than chicken and of course you have to be very careful with their bloodsugars. In the end she had them eating 5 different types of proteins just by mixing their favourite (chicken) with the others. She started my just adding traces and then adding less and less of the chicken. They still had their favourites but with 5 different proteins she was never worried if she couldn't get one. Ahhh, pounding chicken necks ..... I was doing that the other day....and then decided that it looked rather like a murder scene out of one of those crime shows Keep up the great work, you're getting there. ciao
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glynus
Going Natural
RAW FEEDER
Posts: 143
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Post by glynus on Nov 25, 2009 17:43:41 GMT -5
Bastien needing wheels Somehow I just don't think that's going to happen. Melinda - maybe! They were unimpressed with the duck necks - probably because I didn't make them small enough. (Will have to get the hammer out again!) Happy Anniversary, guys - one year kibble free (as of tomorrow!) I'm very proud of the little monsters even if they drive me nuts!
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Post by Heather on Nov 25, 2009 23:43:10 GMT -5
A very big congratulations Give those little fuzzy monsters a big hug from me. Kibble free for a year. Fantastic!! ciao
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glynus
Going Natural
RAW FEEDER
Posts: 143
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Post by glynus on Dec 1, 2009 11:01:08 GMT -5
Bastien has been doing really well for the last week. I have had to get him started a couple of times but, for the most part, he's been eating on his own. Well, except when I have had to intervene because Miss Piggy Melinda has been hogging all the food. I have been incorporating a little more of the different meat types into the duck. So far, they have both still been eating - pork, beef, turkey, pheasant, and chicken along with the duck I am wondering if I should just keep things as they are now. I can always try adding a little whole meat and/or bones over time but I think that they are basically on a pretty healthy diet over all. What do you think? teri
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Post by Heather on Dec 2, 2009 1:35:55 GMT -5
Tell you what, give me a weeks menu of what and how you feed your little ones. I will check it through and we will post it to Giuli and see if we can get you and your furbabies graduated . Looks to me that you're doing great and from the sound of it Bastien is finally starting to get the hang of this. Congratulations, you've stuck it out and your little ones will start to reap the benefits of their better diets. Get that menu created and we will see where this goes from here. ciao
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glynus
Going Natural
RAW FEEDER
Posts: 143
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Post by glynus on Dec 16, 2009 23:30:45 GMT -5
Sorry it's been so long... The monsters are doing well and Bastien is getting better about eating as long as he has his duck. I feed the kids twice a day. They get mostly commercial ground raw meats. Right now their meals consist of about about 2/3 duck and 1/3 other meats. I rotate their meals between duck/beef, duck/turkey, duck/pork, duck/chicken. I am slowly cutting down the amount of duck per meal but it's the only thing that Bastien will eat on his own and I don't want him losing weight because he's already so skinny. (Melinda, on the other hand is a pig ) I am still trying to get them to eat bone and whole meats but at least they have been eating raw, kibble free for a year! teri
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Post by Heather on Dec 17, 2009 2:22:47 GMT -5
Fantastic. You and the little ones are still making progress and you're kibble free. That's what counts You're adding different proteins and Bastien is moving along at his speed and that's good. Keep it up, you're getting there. Keep me posted ciao
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glynus
Going Natural
RAW FEEDER
Posts: 143
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Post by glynus on Jan 13, 2010 0:00:05 GMT -5
Nothing really new. The kids are still doing well and Bastien is actually looking a little less anorexic. I'm trying to add a little more "other" meat with the duck but very slowly. Their meals are about 1/2 duck and 1/12 other at this point. Still no real progress with bones.
teri
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Post by Heather on Jan 13, 2010 1:52:53 GMT -5
I'm glad to hear that Bastien is looking a little plumper. That's great. Keep trying with the bone. You will get there. Ferrets are a lazy feed. If they can get what they want without really working at it they will. Bones are one of those things. What methods have you tried recently to get them to eat bones? I'm guessing that your ground mix has bone in it, so they are eating bone, just not whole meats...correct? ciao
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glynus
Going Natural
RAW FEEDER
Posts: 143
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Post by glynus on Jan 29, 2010 8:15:21 GMT -5
Took the fuzzies to the vet last week for their annual check and distemper shots. Melinda weighs 2.2 pounds and Bastien weighs 2.3!!!! Yeah!!! Melinda still looks fatter but that's just because she has her nice winter coat and Bastien still thinks it's summer.
Feeding remains about the same - meals are half duck and half "other" (pork, beef, turkey commercial grinds with organs/bone included, and CGH home processed). I'm still trying to get them to eat actual bones. I've tried cutting the bones into tiny pieces, giving them bone pieces with meat still on, with all meat stripped off. I've tried playing tug of war with them. Given them bones before their meals, with meals, in between as "treats". Every now and then they will run off with one and stash it but no luck getting them to actually gnaw on them. Any suggestions?
teri
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Post by Heather on Jan 29, 2010 23:54:22 GMT -5
Have you tried cutting the bone in half, revealing the marrow? or smashing it with a hammer? Rather like pounding the meat into the bone. My guys start with ground bone in their ground mix, so they start handling bone from the get go. It then just becomes a matter of offering larger and larger bones with meat. I do find ferrets lazy eaters thoug. They won't tuck into the bones unless you really force the issue. ciao
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glynus
Going Natural
RAW FEEDER
Posts: 143
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Post by glynus on Feb 22, 2010 22:02:03 GMT -5
Cannot believe how long it has been since I posted - I'm SORRY Things are going well. The fuzzies are happily eating their ground food... still doing the mix of duck with beef, chicken, pork or turkey. Generally the mix is still about 1/2 duck with the other meats rotated. I can mix a little more than 1/2 turkey or chicken and they will eat it. Beef and pork have to have 1/2 duck unless I want to force feed Bastien. Still working on the bones... they do get bone in the ground mix so I know that they are getting what they need nutritionally but I would like them to do a little gnawing on bone to clean their teeth. Occasionally, they will eat some tiny pieces of CGH bone or duck neck but can't seem to get them into bigger pieces. I've smashed bones to get the marrow exposed but they weren't any more interested in it that way. At this point, I am pretty well satisfied with their overall nutrition. Just working on some of the "convenience" aspects like meat pieces and bone. teri
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Post by Heather on Feb 23, 2010 0:29:51 GMT -5
Well hello there Try and post more often, even if it's just to say everyone's still working on getting their act together Auntie Giuli took out the hatchet and sent a bunch of negligent students to the vault this week and we wouldn't want to have to fish you out of there The bone thing is a pain for a lot of little fuzzies in a lot of the switching threads. You're doing great and moving along nicely at getting them to eat a more varied diet. This takes time, some more than others but you've got Bastien eating on his own for the most part and that's an accomplishment in itself. Keep up the good work, and try and drop a line a little more frequently ciao
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glynus
Going Natural
RAW FEEDER
Posts: 143
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Post by glynus on Mar 13, 2010 21:57:40 GMT -5
A little progress to report! Meals are now only 1/3 duck and 2/3 other meat. And believe it or not, Bastien is actually still eating on his own for the most part Melinda ate a few very small pieces of chicken bone. She still isn't interested in bigger pieces yet. Bastien has picked up a few small pieces and stashed them but isn't eating them yet. Baby steps!! teri
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