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Post by sherrylynne on Aug 11, 2010 9:54:59 GMT -5
My vet and I have agreed to disagree about the raw feeding With her, it's more the fact that she's a vegetarian and has an ethical dilemma with it. I didn't bother telling her that the animals used for kibbles are treated far worse than what she'd buy in a store! Anyway- sounds like you are doing ok with them. Try to just give the wings for a couple days. You will still likely have to segment if they aren't getting decent sized chunks yet, simply because they'll be overwhelmed by the size of the whole wing. Although you can try it and see what happens
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Post by horse656 on Aug 11, 2010 10:00:21 GMT -5
ok. i gave Pebbles a drumstick wing this morning, she ate most of it. i think I'll get to ordering some mice and possibly some rats later on. i gave her a big chunk of chicken for super but she didn't touch it. could it be that she was over whelmed or just didn't want any chicken? i need to get something else for them soon. she was hungry since the heart was all gone. i believe it was all gone. i didn't see it anyway. what is the youngest age of a rat that has all the stuff they need in it?
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Post by sherrylynne on Aug 12, 2010 18:21:21 GMT -5
Who knows why she decided she didn't want it? Ferrets are sometimes just weird that way! She could be tired of chicken? Or still full? If it was just overwhelming, she'd likely have dragged it off at least. I'm willing to bet she wants something else. The same meal every single day gets boring for anyone! The youngest rat would likely be young adult. Can't remember the right phrase for it. Not pinkie, or hopper, or weanling, but one up from that
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Post by horse656 on Aug 12, 2010 20:22:30 GMT -5
after weans on some of the lists are smalls, so i guess its that then lol
do you know what the size difference is from mice and African soft furred rats? are the AFS smaller then the mice? or bigger?
i gave them liver last night, i woke up and its all gone for belle, but for Pebbles its still there. she usually eats everything. so i don't know if she ate any or not. she ate some before. but maybe it was a different type of liver. i read somewhere that beef liver is strong. (how on earth they would know that i don't know) so i don't know if she's had beef liver before. but i should think so at some time. i didn't feed her this morning, hoping she would eat the rest. i gave belle a turkey neck hunk. i don't think she knows what do to with it. lol. i did help her with trying to eat.
I'm not sure what's up with her. because even though the vet didn't find anything she seems to be eating less and her poop is small. i haven't cleaned out her litter box since i split them up and it was on Sunday or Monday i think. so it's not that full. she is eating, drinking and pooping though. its just not that much. could it be the summer? I've heard the ferrets don't eat much in the summer? but then again, its not so much summer any more. so i don't know.
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Post by sherrylynne on Aug 13, 2010 9:20:15 GMT -5
As for the difference between mice an African soft furred rats? Not a clue! Haven't ever seen the second one For Belle, she might be like a couple of mine. Poops are maybe this big [----] on a regular basis. And two of my girls are full on an ounce of meat per day(not per meal- per DAY!) from about May to Sept/Oct, when autumn weight gain starts. With the liver, if you can't get them to eat it, try making a soupie of it, and after it's pureed, add a tsp of heavy cream per ferret, and mix it in well. You can freeze this in ice cube trays, baggie it, and just take out a cube or two per ferret to defrost once a week. Warm it just slightly to take off the chill, and make it more "flavourful" for them. You may have to spoon feed to get enough into them. Even a tbsp each will do well. And you could look on it as a "bonding" experience. I try to hold and spoon feed soups to each of my 9 weekly. They, and I, have come to look forward to "me and mamma" time
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Post by horse656 on Aug 13, 2010 9:33:40 GMT -5
wow, only an ounce a day? that seems like belle right now. but she used to eat more. did yours eat more and then went on hardly eating anything? i'm just kinda worried that she's not eating enough. Pebbles did eat more of the liver this morning. so i put in some turkey neck for her too. i'm hopefully going to be getting some mice and pinkies soon.
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Post by sherrylynne on Aug 13, 2010 9:46:42 GMT -5
When ferrets are starting out on a switch, once they realize this stuff really is food- they eat. A LOT!!! But after about 2-4 months, they seem to slow right down. Almost as if their bodies have caught up on the nutrition they'd been missing out on.
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Post by horse656 on Aug 13, 2010 10:35:51 GMT -5
ok, that makes sense then. i think Pebbles is slowing down as well. i think belle is obsessed with soups. i gave her them because i thought she was sick. so i gave her one cube and let her play and after i gave her another because i wanted her to be good and well and she scarfed it down. hehe. i got a soup addict.
i found a place in Chinatown that has a bunch of stuff, so I'll see if i can get out on Saturday. they have a "BBQ meats section" would those be spiced? they don't have an email so i can't ask either. also "You can find Chinese, Thai, Japanese, Vietnamese and Haitian groceries at our store" so that's good. i hope that also means meats as well as other food. lol. i saw that they have duck. YES! more different bones. does duck make them smelly? i read somewhere it did?(it could have been something else) that could have been something else as well.
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Post by sherrylynne on Aug 13, 2010 17:57:19 GMT -5
Yes, bbq meats mean spices/additives No, duck doesn't make them smelly. Some think beef gives them a stronger odour, and heavy fish in kibble can definitely make them stink! Keep giving soups once or twice a week, so they stay accustomed to it, also.
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Post by horse656 on Aug 14, 2010 7:03:17 GMT -5
ok. they didn't eat the turkey last night, and since today is a bone day as well i'll leave it in. i think i'm going to put them back together again. Belle seems fine. now.
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Post by sherrylynne on Aug 14, 2010 10:50:13 GMT -5
Since they didn't accept the turkey, you could also chop it a bit smaller today, or even hand feed slivers of it to them. Mine all adore having that done with the meat. It also helps to get the older meat used up first And yes- if she's eating well, definitely put them back together!
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Post by horse656 on Aug 14, 2010 11:28:48 GMT -5
they eat it, its just that they didn't last night. it could be that its "old" and they didn't eat it. anyway i put in a fresh hunk of turkey neck and belle picked at it. and Pebbles didn't eat any. that i saw. so she'll probably eat it during the day. they haven't actually eaten the bone yet. it think maybe because it's the end of the turkey neck so its thick. i do have turkey wings that they'll get tonight. and hopefully something we get in chinatown. yea!!! shopping success. we got a whole duck, quail, kindey, spleen, and 2 packages of duck wings. so yes it was a success. what do you pay for a whole duck? and quail? we got a package of 6 quail for 8$ i think. all of it together was just over 30$. so i don't know if that would be considered expensive or not. so they're getting quail tonight. i HATE cuting up organs. it leaves your hands smelling of them.
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Post by sherrylynne on Aug 14, 2010 18:29:41 GMT -5
Oh, the old "liver hands"! I KNOW what you mean I really can't "cost compare" with you, because I live in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, and the cost of living here is pretty steep. For dressed quail, I pay $10 for a 6 pack, Cornish hens run me about $16 for two. I get 2lbs of turkey necks for $14. Mine won't/can't eat duck wings, except the tips. For a whole duck, I'm looking at $23!!!
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Post by horse656 on Aug 14, 2010 19:47:44 GMT -5
mine weren't dressed. they were naked. oh the shame are duck bones too thick for them? or do yours just won't eat it for some reason? they totally inhaled the half of quail i gave them. there is just a small chunk left. but maybe because it was something new. or really yummy i'm assuming you're whole duck is dressed? ours was a "young" duck. whatever that means. it still is pretty big though. it was 14 something. it's not just liver either. but i'm glad most organs don't smell like liver when you're cutting them up. quail this morning. Pebbles doesn't really seem to eat "breakfast" i usually catch her eating lunch though. i think were gonna have a soup tonight
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Post by sherrylynne on Aug 15, 2010 9:35:57 GMT -5
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