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Post by fertsru on Nov 2, 2010 15:24:14 GMT -5
I shared my experience feeding my dookers raw and natural before but didn't hear any advice. I'll ask again and bug you until I'll figure something out. Three of my ferrets eat chicks and mice from rodentpro.com. One would eat chicken gizzards and hearts. One might eat chicken if cut up in small pieces. I have one older ferret with insulinoma and one that only eats mice and chicks. So I have to keep Evo kibble available. The problem is: when other ferrets which potentially could eat hens, beef, turkey, fish etc. would rather go munch on the kibble. One ferret used to eat whole drumsticks before he got neutered, he hasn't touched them since then. I have to cut them up in small pieces in order to get them to eat the chicken. Could it be cheap store bought chicken that doesn't taste good? Not much interest for turkey necks either. What else can I offer that I can find in the store?
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Post by Heather on Nov 2, 2010 15:43:46 GMT -5
My guys aren't fond of turkey necks either....they drag them around but they're really not into them. To get them better recieved I take a hammer to them and cut them into smaller pieces. The ferret who won't eat what he used to eat. He's had a set back. All you have to do is go back a couple of steps and start there and then work forward. High stress will sometimes to that, especially if they've not been eating raw long. It could be the taste of the chicken, my guys had a batch they weren't fond of but they eventually ate it anyway. Your problem with your insulinoma ferret is one that I've been considering as well. I have a little girl who was turned in with insulinoma. Right now, she's doing ok on just eating raw, without the kibble but I also realize this may only be temporary. With her, she's not really in tune with the rest of the business, so when I'm home and she's free roaming then I might let her eat only raw. When I leave the house and can't keep an eye on her then, I might confine her to a cage with her kibbles and some raw food. I find a lot of the furbrats won't touch the kibbles anyway...it's good for snorkeling in but that's about it, so I'm not sure what I'm going to do when that time comes. There are a few people with insulinoma ferrets on board so perhaps they will pop in and offer some ideas on what they do with their little ones. I feed pork, beef, quail, chicken (obviously) turkey, salmon...that's about all I buy from the grocery store. I also get different proteins from the raw pet food store that is in a neighbouring town, I also belong to a raw feeding coop and I also purchase some of the more exotic meats from the local farmer's market (emu, elk, boar) I hope that helps a bit ciao
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Post by fertsru on Nov 2, 2010 15:50:38 GMT -5
Just to clarify, the girl with insulinoma eats kibble, that's why it's always in the cage. She is too weak and rather old for me to convert her to raw eating. I've tried many times, she is even more fragile now. I mentioned her to explain why other ferrets end up eating kibble when they don't like something I gave them. I also won't separate them for the sake of food. It's going to be more stressful for her to be alone.
How do you offer elk and other pray from the local market? Grounded?
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Post by mjohn143 on Nov 2, 2010 19:37:56 GMT -5
I had a ferret, Beatrice, who had insulinoma (she passed away in June ). But for her I converted her a little, and I think every little bit helps. She still had kibble available, but I bought ground chicken, added 1 egg, salmon oil, and some Uncle Jims Duk Soup (really helps them accept them meat). Anyway, I mixed it all together and made a thick soup and Beatrice LOVED it. She was 6 when I introduced her to it and had been fed kibble all her life, so I had to kinda syringe a tiny bit at first, but I really noticed a difference in her health once she started eating it. She never got pass thick soup bc she was so old and had brittle teeth from all that kibble, plus she was so far along I didn't wanna stress her out or force anything on her. It also really helped bc I then used the soup to help give her her prednisone, which she hated.
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Post by fertsru on Nov 2, 2010 19:59:16 GMT -5
mjohn143, thanks for sharing. Lola gets duck soup (Evo+blended chicken) once a day. It seems to help her retain some weight, otherwise she is misserable to look at.
I was just asking what you guys buy at the store and feed your ferret. Seems like my dookers don't like store-bought stuff that much and prefer the whole diet, but I just can't afford 100% whole diet for three ferrets.
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Post by Heather on Nov 2, 2010 23:23:52 GMT -5
I serve elk, emu and other prey in chunk format. The rabbit is served in it's fur cut into chunks. I also serve commercial ground, though my guys will not eat their rabbit in that manner ciao
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Post by sherrylynne on Nov 3, 2010 19:51:05 GMT -5
AT the grocery store, I buy pork, beef, chicken, goat, quail(when available), lamb, or turkey wings.
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Post by mjohn143 on Nov 3, 2010 21:32:31 GMT -5
I buy chicken wings, ground chicken or turkey, pork, beef, and SOMETIMES they have cornish game hen...I can never find chicken necks
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Post by mustelidmusk on Nov 3, 2010 22:24:15 GMT -5
You may want to try adding a small bit of freeze-dried raw to the kibble. Most ferrets don't even notice this....veryslowly, you can increase the amount of freeze-dried sprinkles in the kibble and start putting in some small kibble-sized bites in with the kibble. eventually, you can phase out the kibble all together. This way, you can have food available for your insulinoma fert , and your other ferts will be away from kibble as well. I always encourage people to feed at least a little freeze-dried raw upon occasion (or regularly) if they can because it is so flexible and can help during travel and/or special feeding needs.
-jennifer
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