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Post by sherrylynne on Jul 10, 2010 23:52:15 GMT -5
Wow!!! That's amazing! I am impressed If they are taking that so well, start adding tiny diced up bits of meat to the soup. Not big enough to have to chew just yet. Maybe the size of ground? These guys may be easier to transition that I first thought Once we get them onto pinkie sized bits of meat, you can start slipping in the odd tiny pinkie!
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Post by kelseyjosine on Jul 12, 2010 19:04:02 GMT -5
Alright once again that went freakishly well compared to what I thought would happen. I thawed some of the extra soup and gave that to them. I had also portioned and froze a liver with some gizzards so I thawed that out too. I offered that to them as well and figured if they wouldn't eat it, I'd try cutting it into small pieces.
Well Shiza had no problem eating some chicken chunks in the soup because the blender didn't get it all. Punk dug right into the bowl of gizzards and liver. Punk is my oldest one and the one I thought I'd have the biggest issue with given his age. Fergie just had the soup and licked some of the blood from the liver but didn't eat any chunks.
Another weird thing that's happened lately is in the past day the two girls have been obssessed with the freeze dried turkey hearts I have. Only Shiza would eat them before.
Punk didn't eat it all so he started to stash it under the plastic stairs going into their cage. I just put the whole bowl under it, hoping he'd leave it all there then. The floor in their room is just cement so it's easy to clean. But then he moved it under the cage, like under the bars right next to all his toys. Ick haha. But at least they're eating it without me having to cut it up! I figured I'd leave the bowl there until the morning to see if they finish it..is that too long?
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Post by sherrylynne on Jul 14, 2010 19:21:37 GMT -5
If it's bad, they won't eat it anyway! For soup, I'd pull it after 8-10 hours, so that's fine. with the liver, it might take a while, since it's a much stronger flavour. Just keep trying them with it. You might want to try mixing it with other meats if they are very resistant to it.
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Post by kelseyjosine on Jul 14, 2010 20:13:15 GMT -5
Umm none of them are resistant to any of it haha. I've seen all of them eat pieces of the chicken, the liver, and the gizzards. I'm going to buy chicken wings before this weekend and see if they'll eat that too.
I gave them soup again yesterday and there were chunks of chicken that hadn't gotten blended. Punk stashed them under the stairs so I left them. I checked this morning and they were all gone so I guess they ate them overnight. Yay!
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Post by sherrylynne on Jul 14, 2010 20:47:56 GMT -5
Hey- let them go as fast as they are willing to go! This is fantastic
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Post by kelseyjosine on Jul 18, 2010 18:42:20 GMT -5
Well things are still going well I guess. Yesterday I just thawed out some gizzards and liver for the ferrets instead of the soup. Both girls licked at it but didn't eat anything. Punk went to town on it and started eating with no problems. I did cut it up a little but not into really small pieces. I put the bowl in their cage and the next day, it was all gone! Tomorrow after work I'll buy some chicken wings. I hope the girls didn't eat yesterday because they just weren't hungry as opposed to they didn't want to eat it.
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Post by sherrylynne on Jul 19, 2010 12:14:37 GMT -5
Just keep trying them with the sizes you are using now, and keep an eye on the girls to make sure they are actually eating it, as compared to just licking it. They can really trick you into thinking that sometimes!
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Post by kelseyjosine on Jul 19, 2010 19:26:13 GMT -5
Actually I was worried about that from the start so I bought a small scale and have been weighing them weekly. I'm happy to report that all three have gained weight, so yay! They all come running when I bring their soup. I've already noticed an increase in their energy also. Although lately they have been having diarrhea but I really hope it's just because of the food switch.
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Post by sherrylynne on Jul 19, 2010 22:22:28 GMT -5
It could also be because they aren't getting any bone. You can use powdered eggshell in place of that for now. I use a coffee grinder, some use a mortar and pestle. You do know, however, their stool will never be like a kibble fed ferrets? Unless they've had whole prey, or a good bit of bone, their stool will be soft and wet. With whole prey, it comes out in a sort of "twist". With bone, it's not as soft as when they just have meat alone.'Keeping an eye on their weight is a really good idea. I had to eyeball mine They likely will start to drop sometime soon, as well. Once the kibble is cut out entirely for a week or so, the weight will start coming off, since they won't be getting the carbs. Try not to worry about that, as they'll soon pack it on in muscle! And yes- their energy levels will definitely increase, as well as stabilizing at a higher peak for a longer time, since their bodies are getting more of what they can actually use
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Post by kelseyjosine on Jul 20, 2010 9:20:23 GMT -5
They haven't had any kibble in a couple of weeks, it's just been the freeze dried raw. It makes me nervous about the poop just because we've been battling with icky poop for awhile now, which is what made me really want to switch to raw or whole prey in the first place. I guess I won't be too concerned until I have a consistent diet and food schedule figured out. Then I'll give them some time to adjust and see how the poop is.
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Post by sherrylynne on Jul 20, 2010 9:29:41 GMT -5
Are they eating the freeze dried wet or dry? If it's wet, add some pumpkin to it. If not, then try getting them to take it on it's own. Some like it, some- not so much Those are the ones I either give it to in soup, or "convince" them to take it from a spoon
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Post by kelseyjosine on Jul 20, 2010 13:53:20 GMT -5
They're eating it dry. They used to all eat pumpkin plain so I'll pick some up and see if they still like it. How much should I give them of the pumpkin?
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Post by sherrylynne on Jul 21, 2010 15:01:25 GMT -5
I'd give them 1/2 tsp. each daily for now. It will make a world of difference
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Post by kelseyjosine on Jul 23, 2010 21:18:30 GMT -5
Well I gave them a chicken wing to eat and of course they didn't really know what to do with it haha. I left it overnight and they definitely ate some of it but I just think they're not sure how to eat it. Should I tear some pieces off or something to get them interested? Or should I sort of immobilize the meat somehow to help them tear the meat off.
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Post by sherrylynne on Jul 24, 2010 20:41:43 GMT -5
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