Horse656's Switching Thread/Sherrylynne

[sherrylynne]

Believe it or not, in most cases when they are finally fully raw, they will generally take a meat they're not overly fond of.
With Joe, just keep pushing the soup from both your finger, and from a spoon, as well as trying him with a bowl.

[horse656]

i think there might have been a piece or two missing, its hard to tell, with it scattered all over the cage.

[sherrylynne]

Just to let you know- my computer has died! I'm going to ask the others to keep an eye out here, although I will still get on intermittently on a neighbor's.

[horse656]

ok, thanks for letting me know.
i have to go make some soup, but the other organs aren't thawed yet. belle is getting chicken tonight what she likes best i think.

[Heather]

Just a quick line to let you know, keep posting regularly, I will pick up your thread and continue to give you a hand. Sherrylynne will be back on as soon as she can get her computer repaired.
I find that the protein that they start with is often their favourite, except sometimes when you offer prey. Chicken is the all round favourite here, the primary starter protein. Mice for most of the guys is probably liked as much as the chicken, rabbit comes in a close third. After that each little one has a protein that they like equally as well. Napoleon, likes his turkey....Pooka likes her mice...Ghenghis loves his beef bits and his rats....Thor and Odin loves stealing the dog's sheep heads and eating the tongue . Different little fertkids, different tastes
ciao

[horse656]

i think I'm feeding for two mouths now!!! (better not jinx it)
i stayed home today, had a huge headache, so i got up around 9ish, took out some chicken and beef for Belle. put it in the cage, Joe comes down starts sniffing, so i'm like, wow, no big deal, but the part that got me is that he started licking it picked it up and moved it over into a corner and started eating it!!! i think it also helped that i had forgotten to put his kibble back in over night. so he might have been hungry to try anything. (maybe monkey see monkey do!, i really hope i don't have to make anymore soup though )
Belle got real curious to wake up to Joe eating something that was hers
well i am starting to breed mice, so I'm hopping that those will become a regular in their diet. do you know of anything to cut down on the smell for the mice??

[horse656]

i forgot to add that last night i did put some chicken rib in, as i got chicken on sale, with bone in it, and i didn't see anything in their cage, but... that doesn't mean she ate it their


well actually, as i did clean out their entire cage today (Joe of course, come to poop in it as i brought it in ) and i didn't see any bones, so belle must have eaten it

[Heather]

Mice just plain stink Other than trying to keep their containers clean, they just plain smell bad If you find out some great secret do let me know . I've got enough mice to feed my guys mice daily so that gives you an idea as to the number of those stinky little sods that are living in my basement
That is great news about Joe. Don't let him go too long without food. I'm not a firm believer in "tuff love" or the starvation method of switching. A healthy ferret can generally go a reasonable length of time without food. Most of us have "farm ferrets" or "rescues", in other words, poor health or no history. I prefer to err on the side of caution. It appears that your little boy has rewarded you and decided that going hungry isn't his idea of a good time, so you're progressing and this is fantastic. Just be very careful about "not" feeding . Sounds like your little girl ate everything. Fantastic. Congratulations, keep up the great work, I will check in on you tomorrow
ciao

[horse656]

yea. Joe seems to be eating chicken, and i think it was turkey i had put in, but it could have been chicken. I'm not sure if he is eating anything else in the cage.
i put a mix of food in, some chicken/turkey, beef and i think it was a heart or maybe a gizzard.
i put around 2-3 ounces in each meal time and the meat stays in the cage for a snack if they get hungry.
is that enough??

[horse656]

i think it is belle, (but it could be joe) is having very running poops....
i don't know if she isn't getting enough bone or something....?

[Heather]

Sounds to me like it's not enough bone for someone or both. Loose stools are common on switching ferrets until they get the hang of eating bone. You may want to try some pumpkin to see if that helps at all.
ciao

[horse656]

well she does eat bone, i just don't know how much to put it
JOE ATE BONE!
this morning i decided to put some bone in for belle, and Joe took that piece, so i was like. well, belle mine eat the bones later. i heard some crunching and i checked it out and it was Joe.
how much bone should they be getting?
and what thickness of bones can't are to thick?

[sherrylynne]

Wow! I go away for a couple of days, and, just...WOW
For amounts, check out this link here:
holisticferret.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=gen&action=display&thread=4764 The rule of thumb I follow for feeding bone in meats is 4 days bone in, 2 days muscle meats, one meal organ, the other meal whatever you like.
They can also eat any bone chicken sized or smaller. Exceptions are things like turkey neck, tail bones, etc.

[horse656]

ok, thanks.
so they should be getting way more bone. Joe right now is only eating chicken, and i think hes the one who eats the livers i put it their. i had beef in there tonight and I'm not sure if he ate it or not.

belle is eating chicken, beef, and i think turkey. i don't think she's eaten any of the livers i put it.

they both eat bone, but only small bones like... chicken ribs...
any small boned items to try out? (I'm breeding mice as well
and how to try to get them to eat more variety.

i don't know if you have seen my post on the health board about Joe, but he hasn't been himself lately. lethargic like. could it possibly be because of the change in his food? that is what the person who answered the phone in the vets office maybe suggested. (i have booked him a vet app Sunday. here's the link holisticferret.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=medicine&action=display&thread=4992

i don't know if he is still lethargic. i had them out today, but i didn't really seem to notice Joe that much. so i dunno.

what is a organ and what is a muscle meat?
i have some heart, liver and gizzards. i don't think we get more variety then that around here, but i don't know.

[sherrylynne]

Ok, first bone. Anything chicken sized or smaller. So, obviously, chicken. Also turkey necks, duck, rabbit, quail, most tail. Cornish game hen is a good one for them to start with. The bones are all smaller. Chicken wing tips are also a good beginner bone. They have to build up the muscles in their face/neck/shoulders to chow down properly on bone. Eating first muscle meats, then bone itself will do that.
To introduce new meats, I'd just try one new one a week. That way, if there was a problem with one, I knew what it was right away. Just cut the new meat a bit smaller than the one they are eating already, and mix it in. Since ferrets are basically lazy by nature, they tend to eat the smallest first.
Joe's body might just be getting used to his new diet. Are you sure he's eating enough? When all are fed together, sometimes one doesn't eat quite as much as he should, and it's not as noticeable. You'll have to keep an eye on just how much he's actually eating to know for sure.
Organ meats are things like liver, kidney, lung, spleen, brain, thymus, pancreas.
Heart and gizzard are muscle meats, and should be fed as such. It's a good idea for them to have at least one meal a week as a heart meal, for the taurine.