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Post by tsslilsis on May 27, 2009 1:12:22 GMT -5
Yay for progress!!!!!
I would say brushing their teeth once or twice a week should do.
Does Bastien seem less muscular? How much out of cage time are they getting? I find the boys to be "squishier" than the girls.. The girls are just more psycho I think. I wouldn't really worry about Bastien unless there is a noticable loss in muscle mass and if he is less active.
I don't see a problem with giving them olive oil regularly. Fish oil would be even better but either is a major step up from ferretone. They can't digest the olive oil but it does help somehwhat with their coats and it helps to clean them out and such.
How is your mom?
-~Ketlin
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glynus
Going Natural
RAW FEEDER
Posts: 143
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Post by glynus on Jun 1, 2009 8:27:53 GMT -5
I don't think Bastien has lost any muscle mass... he just didn't show as much change as Melinda when we switched to raw. However, he is stronger than when I first got him (translation - he can now get into more trouble because he can climb and jump on things ) No real progress to report. Unfortunately, that is my fault as I have just not had enough time to spend with my babies. I have tried to make sure that they have plenty of out of cage time. They have their own room to run in as long as I am home to hear any crashes or squeals... but the time I have spent actually with them has been limited. My mom is doing as well as can be expected under the circumstances. She is currently in a rehab/nursing home facility. The rehab part is good. The nursing home part is horrible. (They call it skilled nursing care but there is very little of any "care" let alone skilled care )
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Post by mustelidmusk on Jun 3, 2009 8:50:50 GMT -5
Hi! I,m back from my travels and this week has been hectic at work I fully understand the rehab/nursing home thing. I helped move my motner's aunt into a similar assisted care facility when she broke her hip. It was very stressful, to put it mildly. I'll continue to send good thoughts and prayers your way. I know you and your mom need all the positive enerygy you can get. A little olive oil daily is agood thing - it helps prevent hairalls, and it does add some good nutritionto the diet. Flax seed oil and fish body oil (salmon, sradine oil, NOT cod liver oil) add more benefit, but you can't add it liberally to food since these oils have more oil-based vitamins that can be over fed. Hoever, the fish oils are more strongly flavored, so a little bit goes a long way. Some people use the Vivify Emu oil from the Totally ferret company. It's also has good benefits. The oils can produce a loose stool if you're using a relatively "large dose" to get your kids to eat the raw foods. It works better than the fish oils if you're using it as a bribe to get your ferrets eating raw because you don't need to worry about overdoing the oil-based vitamins. Do't worry about muscle mass, etc. from raw diet unless your ferrets are getting thin from not eating and/or they are lethargic. Ferts are like people - some carry more muscle/fat than others. It sounds like your ferts are doing well. -jennifer
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glynus
Going Natural
RAW FEEDER
Posts: 143
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Post by glynus on Jun 5, 2009 21:19:33 GMT -5
Thank you for the good thoughts... things do seem to be settling down some although we still have a long way to go ! Glad to know that the olive oil is ok - they do seem to like it. Where do you find the fish oils? I don't know if it would help get them to eat meat chunks and bones but I might try it. I'm beginning to think it is time to give in and admit that I have been out-stubborned by a couple of fuzzbutts I had hoped to get them eating more RMBs and plain meat chunks but I am about ready to give in and just stick to the commercial pre-ground diets. It's not cheap but at least I know that they are getting all the proper nutrition. I ordered some more meats from Hare Today - pheasant and duck which I know they like; also goat and mutton to try something new. (NO mouse or rabbit ) I am not ready to admit total defeat... they will eat a couple of thumb nail size bone pieces occasionally and they seem to go through stages on eating meat chunks. Maybe I should just leave things alone for a while ... GRRR - I don't like giving up but I don't like worrying about whether they don't eat because they don't like it or just because they are not hungry. (Neither one is very big so they don't eat much to start with even when they are hungry!) So.... how does one brush a ferret's teeth? I think it's time that I start learning teri
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Post by tsslilsis on Jun 15, 2009 20:30:04 GMT -5
Teri........ I am SO SORRY!!!! Please believe me. I'm sorry I've not been on. I was out of town, and I don't know if you read... But Weezer passed away last Wednsday.. And he took a big chunk of my heart with him. I hope your mom is doing well. Here is an Ehow page on brushing ferrets teeth. You can go to a pet store and get a tooth brush and tooth paste meant for cats. www.ehow.com/how_4494159_brush-ferrets-teeth.html?ref=fuel&utm_source=yahoo&utm_medium=ssp&utm_campaign=yssp_artIf you do start feeding all premade.. You can still try the occasional RMB.. Its like a kid when they get a new toy, at first they may like it but they get tired of messing with it.. So after a break they may think "Something new! Lets try it!". I'm sorry if you feel like this hasn't been a success but I am sure you can agree they are much healthier than they were before raw. ^_^ Please keep me updated and I will try to help. -~Ketlin
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Post by mustelidmusk on Jun 16, 2009 9:04:45 GMT -5
Hi! It has been a while since I've posted as well - dead computer , which happened when we returned from vacation. As far as eating RMB and organ meats goes, you need to be firm and apply pressure by letting them get hungry and not giving in. You do need to watch to make sure all brats are eating meat, organ, and bone. Feed the bone with a little meat on it first. on't give the eay-to-eat meat chichunks until after they eat the bone. It takes a lot of self discipline to not give in since ferts are very good at manipulating people. One thng to keep in mind....appetites pick up in the fall, which is a good time to introduce change. You can opt for feeding mostly commercial raw supplemented with RMBs/organs on a casual basis this summer. When appetites pick up in the fall, you can pressure your ferrets to eat the RMB's by feeding the RMB's only. It's OK to "tke a break" if you're frustrated. You can always start up again in the fall or any other time. No harm done since your sweet brats are already eating healthy. If you wish to feed ground raw, you can save money by investing in a grinder and using a recipe - there's a great recipe that has been analyzed for nutritional content. (link is beow) ALso, you coud make chicken and/or turkey diets and buy commercial for the meat types that are hard to find. I think you can pick up a suitable grinder for about $150. Please let me know if you'd like some info on these - I did some research on this and finally concluded that I really don't have the time to deal with making food. Here is the recipe link...the analysis of the recipe was performed on a the recipe when it was made with chicken...http://www.catnutrition.org/recipes.php All that being said, many owners decide to stick with the commercial diets since it's so convenient (no need to worry about all kids eating bone, organs, etc., no need to hunt down organ meats, pre-measured 1-ounce feedig protions are convenient, no worry about feeding schedules to maintain balance, etc. I personally do not consider the commercial raw diets to be substandard to RMB. Each feeding choice has pros and cons. -jennifer
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glynus
Going Natural
RAW FEEDER
Posts: 143
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Post by glynus on Jun 22, 2009 13:16:21 GMT -5
Ketlin, I am SO Sorry to hear about Weezer. I know how hard it must be for you and your sister... Sometimes I do wonder why we let ourselves in for all the pain that goes along with having furkids but then I realize how much poorer my life would be without them.
I am not going to give up completely on RMBs but I think for everyone's sanity it would be best not to push too much right now. I am not spending nearly enough time with them to reaally give it a good chance. Also, their appetites are so diminished that I am happy to get them to eat at all! Between the two of them I'm not sure they are even eating 3 oz a day. (I feed 2 oz morning and evening and they always leave a fair amount on the plate. I leave the leftovers out during the day/night until the next meal but they rarely show any interest.
All that being said, I have been putting a chicken wingette or drummie (with the meat pulled away from the bone) in their cage periodically to see if they will at least play with it. A couple of times it has been moved out of the feeding area but so far it doesn't look like they have chewed on.
Their diet now includes Beef NV, Chicken/CGH, Duck, Pheasant, Lamb NV and pork. They will eat turkey or goat if they are really, really hungry and have no other choice and there is lots of baby food mixed in. Absolutely will not touch rabbit, mouse or mutton.
Haven't tried brushing their teeth yet but definitely need to work on that soon. Gotta find time to go to Petco and get them a toothbrush (I'm running low on dog food so I will have to get there before much longer!)
My mom is doing ok. She gets out of the rehab/nursing home on July 2 (YEAH!). That means my sister and I have just over a week to get her house organized, pack what she wants to keep and get everything moved over to her new apartment. Our brother will be here on June 29th to help. We have movers lined up for June 30. In otherwords, I don't think I will be online much for the next couple of weeks... don't give up on me though!
teri
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Post by mustelidmusk on Jun 23, 2009 9:10:10 GMT -5
YAY!!! I'm glad that things are improving for mom and family!!!! I know, it's really just another set of different demands right now - so your time is extremely limited, and the stressors are different ones even though things are going well We would NEVER give up on you The RMB thing is very commonly a major hurdle, especially for some ferts. And like I said, spring/summer is not the best time to introduce RMB. We do have some more "tricks" to help ferts learn to eat bone - but these tactics must be employed regularly, which requires your time, focus and patience. I KNOW from experience that time, focus, and patience are currently luxuries for you in life right now. As far a teeth go, I simply use a dental tool to scrape off any plaque. I do this about once per month - and there's very little to remove. I'm good at scruffing, but the funny thing is that my brat woould rather have their teeth cleaned than their nails trimmed or their ears cleaned . I also feed some harder meat treats (dried jerk-like meats and velevet antler slices). I do have a tooth bush, but I just never find the motivation to use it regularly . Give the tootbrush a try and let me know how you like it... maybe i'll be motivated to deal with it if you find it's working for you Yes, Weezer's news is so terribly sad.....I'm bad because I don't post condolences. I just silently say my fert prayers for the owners because I'm the type that will lose it at the mere thought of losing any fert - I just don't have those soothing words that are helpful to the owners. It's avoidance on my part, - but I just can't deal with the loss thing. Too many teears for all of us. Hang in there, you're doing great in spite of the RMB's. There's will be time to address this later. In the meantime, keep us posted when you an find the time. -jennifer
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Post by tsslilsis on Jul 11, 2009 15:37:26 GMT -5
I'm popping in to see if there is any new news??? You haven't posted for awhile. I hope everything is alright.
-~Ketlin
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glynus
Going Natural
RAW FEEDER
Posts: 143
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Post by glynus on Jul 15, 2009 11:39:34 GMT -5
I'm really sorry that it's been so long since I posted! things are starting to settle down around here so hopefully I will be more available. Good news is that my mom is now moved into her new apartment and beginning to adjust. It will take time and there is still a lot of work to do to get her house ready for sale... Not so good news is that I got laid off at the end of June (small engineering firms are not doing real good right now ) Trying to stay positive - I have lots of time to help my mom now. Also, in the process of moving stuff, I ended up with a pinched nerve in my back so I could barely walk for a few days and am still having to be really careful. The furbutts are doing good even though I still have to finger feed Bastien for the most part - BRAT! I have been slipping little pieces of bone into their ground meats occasionally. They usually just spit them out or Melinda will take and stash them under the bed. I have heard a couple of crunches now and then so I am still hoping that when their appetites pick up in the fall we'll have more luck. (although, if Melinda's appetite picks up any more, she's going to be a tank!! Bastien is still eating what I consider to be the bare minimum to survive. Melinda has turned into pig and pretty much just inhales her food as quickly as possible. "take time to actually chew a bone? Are you kidding? I might miss something" As always, thanks for your help and patience and good thoughts I will try to be better in keeping you updated. teri
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Post by Heather on Jul 24, 2009 12:01:26 GMT -5
How are your guys doing? I've noticed that things are rather quiet on this thread. Are your guys more willing to eat bone yet? I will check in on you later and see how you're doing ciao
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glynus
Going Natural
RAW FEEDER
Posts: 143
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Post by glynus on Jul 30, 2009 21:50:23 GMT -5
I've gotten the monsters to eat VERY small pieces of game hen bone. They will both eat one or two pieces of the cartilage every other day or so. I wonder if their jaws get tired and sore so they don't want to chew after that? Or maybe they are just lazy (Actually, they are very lazy and I'm not sure if they are just bored and I need to find some new toys or if it's normal for them to be less active in the summer to prevent them from getting overheated.) I will be so glad when autumn gets here - hopefully, Bastien will get his appetite back and we will make more headway on the bone issue. I have noticed that they definitely prefer poultry. They both love duck and pheasant. Game hen is about the only thing I don't have to completely hand feed Bastien. They are ok with beef and pork as long as it's ground up really well (and baby food and/or olive oil helps). They will eat goat with a fair amount of coaxing and a lot of baby food mixed in but won't touch mutton, rabbit or mouse no matter what. teri
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Post by mustelidmusk on Jul 30, 2009 22:38:55 GMT -5
Hi!!! I'm just checking on you to see how things are going - sounds like we've made progress here Bones can be a stumbling block. I recommend stripping most of the meat off the bones and feeding the bones first . Most ferts that are learning to eat bone will fill up on the good stuff and leave the bone - unless they're hungry. I'd give them about 20 minutes with the bones that have a small amount of flesh on them.. Then I'd give them the rest of the meat when they lose interest in eating the bones. You may want to try chicken backs, they have little meat and lots of soft bone - they're great for beginners. You can easily cut them into manageable strips with a pair of kitchen scissors. Yhat way you can rfreeze them in strips for portion control that can easily be balanced with meat chunks. -jennifer
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glynus
Going Natural
RAW FEEDER
Posts: 143
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Post by glynus on Jul 31, 2009 20:59:34 GMT -5
I think the ferret snatchers came today and stole Bastien! The little sable boy that got left in his place ate about a whole ounce of pheasant all by himself and then about another 1/2 ounce off my finger tonight! And then - he played. He chased Melinda around the room and then chased me. Then he let me trim his nails without raising a fuss and.... he gave me ferret kisses on the chin!!! I don't know where this adorable little sweetheart came from but I hope he stays around for a while (I wonder if there's something in the water... hmmm)
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Post by Heather on Aug 3, 2009 22:02:43 GMT -5
Nawwww, it's all in the food That's wonderful. Great job ciao
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