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Post by bassicmleodies on Mar 29, 2010 22:30:51 GMT -5
They aren't on raw meat at this point. Should I start them on raw chicken before I introduce new meats, or should I introduce new meats before I start raw?
Thanks!
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Post by cristina on Mar 30, 2010 10:56:23 GMT -5
What exactly do you mean when you say they arent on raw? Do you mean they are eating cooked chicken? if this is so then yes, switch to raw completely now....they need to be on raw so they can get use to the texture and taste
Start out with raw chicken though first....if they do well with this and eat it with no problems then go on to other types of raw meats
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Post by bassicmleodies on Apr 4, 2010 18:40:19 GMT -5
Hello again,
The two ferrets are getting mix of 1(cooked chicken breast, thigh, liver and beef):1(raw chicken breast) soaked in water twice. I'm replacing the mix every twelve hours. They aren't take to the raw meat very often, but it's still pretty fresh to them. Everything is diced to pieces about the size of my thumb nail.
I think I'm preparing to much each time. I'm curious, when you feed your ferrets, are they hungry right then? Do they eat all of the meal right then? Within how long?
They pick through it off and on all day. Would they be more inclined to eat the raw chicken if made enough for a meal instead of constant snacks?
Thanks so much.
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Post by cristina on Apr 4, 2010 21:57:40 GMT -5
if they arent taking to the raw well, I suggest you use ground meats, sometimes its easier for them to get use to before working onto whole pieces.
I feed my guys twice a day, once in the morning and the other around 6ish (pm)....I leave my food bowls out all day until the next meal because my guys eat throughout the whole day, so no they usually dont eat it right when I put the bowl down....you can leave raw meat (if its just raw) out for a while, like 24 hrs, so dont worry about leaving it out too long
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Post by bassicmleodies on Apr 11, 2010 19:39:33 GMT -5
So, I think the feeding is heading in the right direction. I'm feeding them raw chicken liver, breast and thigh along with cooked versions of the same meat. Then I drench the mix in the broth that was produced cooking the chicken. 1:1:1. I think I am going to start adding beef and fish, possibly trout.
How's that sound?
Thanks!
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Post by cristina on Apr 12, 2010 15:23:21 GMT -5
That sounds good, but try to wean them off the cooked meat, because cooking it takes out most of the nutrients they need...but until they are on completely raw then its ok I would add beef and another different meat (such as pork or rabbit, turkey, and such) the fish may be a bit tricky since it has such a distintive and strong taste....the first objective is to get them eating completely raw then going on to more types of meats, then on to bone in meats (because calcium is an essential part of their diet), and so on.. but great work so far!
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Post by bassicmleodies on Apr 16, 2010 5:49:53 GMT -5
Hello again,
I feel like things have moved backwards since I've tried the addition of new meats. I've tried adding sole, pork and beef. The female took to it rather quickly, but the male doesn't seem to want anything to do with it. Even the raw chicken he is sticking his nose up at. I'm not quite sure how to get him to start eating the raw meat, especially where if he eats the cooked portion the female will clean up the rest.
Any thoughts?
When we were still on the kibble it was a soupy mixture, should I add water to the raw mix? When I do, the male will drink the water and leave the meat?
Tonight I tried ground beef and small chunks of chicken breast. I tried a light coating of feretone to see if that would attract him.
We'll see in the morning.
Thanks!
P.S. What about bone content? They aren't getting any of that at this point.
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Post by cristina on Apr 17, 2010 11:47:24 GMT -5
They arent getting any bone right now...thats step is after the eating completely raw...if you feel the desire to add calcium to their diet I would suggest whenever you use eggs, save the shells and let them dry out, then when you get a couple, grind them up into a powder and use a tsp of it in their soups ...I do this once a week in my guys soups just for added calcium, its up to you....this is a good way to add needed calcium while/until they are eating bone So now that you seem to have a stubborn one with the raw, keep the meals only ground chicken or turkey right now, then later on we will work on more variety of meats and such....I would mix the ground raw with warm water and kibble (you can grind the kibble with this mix too if you want and see if he will eat it as a soup, its up to you which route you want to go) you can add in ferretone to the mixture too, to enchance the flavor Let me know how this goes with your little guy, it hopefully shouldnt take long to get him on raw but when he does then we will go on from there, Im not worried about your female, she seems pretty open to everything right now (you can feed her pretty much whatever she'll eat, or you can let her eat his mix, either way at least now we know shes willing to eat raw) You can even cut up some raw chicken breasts (in small pieces) and see how she does with it, also if you want to see if she will eat bone, cut up cornish game hens are great sources for this as well as cut up raw chicken wings Let me know how things go, and where they stand after this.....good luck! And dont hesitate to ask me anything, if you have any problems or whatnot
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Post by bassicmleodies on Apr 20, 2010 21:08:23 GMT -5
Alright, you said not to hesitate.
Ear mites. I saw a website that claimed that any ear mite treatment for cats is alright to use on ferrets as well. So I purchased some treatment. It contains aloe, and I know that aloe is toxic to ferrets when ingested. So, if I clean their ears before and after treatment with a ferret ear cleaner is it safe to use?
Thanks!
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Post by cristina on Apr 21, 2010 12:35:30 GMT -5
I honestly wouldnt use it because their ear canals connect to their throats, and the ear canals are short so anything you use in their ears is likely to somewhat be ingested...theres an ear mite treatment for ferrets made by marshalls that I would suggest before this.....also I will ask other mentors on their thoughts and get back to you
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Post by cristina on Apr 22, 2010 10:47:05 GMT -5
ok sorry that took a while to get back to you....but other mentors said they wouldnt use it....and they said that olive oil works well too b/c it drowns them
Hope this helps!
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Post by bassicmleodies on Apr 26, 2010 11:41:03 GMT -5
Hello,
So the feed is now consisting of limited kibble and raw meat including diced chicken breast, ground beef, ground turkey and ground rabbit (the rabbit and turkey mixture have a little bone in them) all diluted in water.
As for the ear cleansing, I found a general cleaner that works well with cotton balls. Then we have been using the olive oil technique for three days.
Another odd question, the male is stashing food in odd places. Behind the couch in particular, it's his spot. I've been trying to discourage it by closing the cage when they eat, just because raw meat everywhere is kinda gross. When I close the cage, he drops his food in the litter box and eats it there. Is this something I should be concerned about?
Thanks Cristina!
Chris
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Post by cristina on Apr 27, 2010 13:18:22 GMT -5
About the food stashing....this is very normal since this is their instictive way of eating in a safe place and stashing for when they think they may need it .....if you dont like finding stashes and cleaning them up lol ...you can feed them in a pen, or have a feeding den which can be homemade and can be attached to the cage (usually made with a large tupperware bin with a top and a hole cut into the side with a tube connecting to the cage of whatever you want to connect it to) there are threads about how people make these all around on the site (let me know if you need me to provide the links for you in case you cant find them).....or you can pen them into a confined area and designate feeding times....its basically whatever you want to do....and the litter box eating isnt that uncommon either, but if you enclose them in an area you can avoid this behavior The feedings sound great right now....just make sure you are feeding raw meats with the kibble and slowly keep taking away kibble until you have only raw that they are eating also, Im not sure if you do this or not but only feeding one type of meat a day is easy and normally recommended...I just wasnt sure if you do this or mix all of the meats together
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Post by bassicmleodies on May 10, 2010 3:11:39 GMT -5
Hello!
Recently we have been feeding them a mix, although this next week we'll try out single meats for each meal. See how it goes. Also, the pieces of meat have stayed fairly small. Should they be increased in size?
Thanks!
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Post by cristina on May 10, 2010 12:43:27 GMT -5
That sounds good, the pieces can increase to the size of about your thumb let me know how they do on the meats alone and we can evaluate from there...your pretty far on your switch, which is great!!
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