|
Post by molson901 on Jul 4, 2008 10:48:19 GMT -5
since i am in transition to raw and molson isnt eating bones...only meat chunks his poo is always very liquid..well pretty much all liquid...what can i do to change that cause...well its pretty gross lol and i doupt its healthy
|
|
|
Post by usmom on Jul 5, 2008 0:31:15 GMT -5
I'm new, too, but since no one has answered, I will say this, once you get to wingettes, it will stop. If they are just eating chicken chunks, you should be able to introduce wingettes. And it pretty much stops instantly. That liquid was killing me (and my floor and believe it or not, the wall). Just make sure he is getting plenty of water, you don't want him to dehydrate. Someone suggested unflavored pedialyte.
|
|
|
Post by Forum Administrator on Jul 5, 2008 6:41:10 GMT -5
Usmom made some good suggestions I cant remember, but did you say you offered Molson meat that was coated in crushed egg shell and he wouldnt eat it? I cant remember if that was Molson or not. Either way, adding eggshell to the diet can be a good way to up the fiber (and calcium) content until Molson starts eating that bone.
|
|
|
Post by molson901 on Jul 5, 2008 9:23:28 GMT -5
wingettes'; i do give him some he just doesnt eat the bone still
and yah molson doesnt eat the eggshells...maybe im not crushing them enough? but he wont go near eggs..he used to but he changed his mind.
also i dont know if its due to the natural diet but his poo smells soooooo awful, on the kibbles i found it was tolerable but now taht im giving him raw meat it just reakks!!!!
|
|
|
Post by usmom on Jul 5, 2008 10:17:02 GMT -5
I had to cut the wingettes into thirds, which makes them just a little bigger than their mouth, and they eat the bone now. Actually, I'm going to do this again for them now!
And yes, their poo is horrid! I have to do cages 3 times a day, because I can't handle the smell.
|
|
|
Post by aleronferrets on Jul 5, 2008 12:20:03 GMT -5
I would suggest using a digestive supplement during the switch as well - remember your ferret's stomach is not used to digesting "real food" and has only ever dealt with highly processed food. Boosting the good bacteria in his digestive tract should help a great deal, as will adding the bones.
Prozyme is a good one and will give you a free sample as well: Prozyme Products, (800) 522-5537, prozymeproducts.com
|
|
|
Post by Forum Administrator on Jul 5, 2008 16:10:14 GMT -5
Once your ferret's body adjust to the meat the poop smell will go WAY down I PROMISE. Its also possible (but not very likely) that Molson has a sensitivity to poultry and that is what is causing the bad smell in the poop.
|
|
|
Post by molson901 on Jul 6, 2008 11:31:29 GMT -5
alright well he doesnt seem to be unhealthy or anything so at least theres that. i really hope the smell goes down cause its like sickening! lol.
|
|
|
Post by pear2apple on Jul 11, 2008 8:32:16 GMT -5
I just ordered myself a free sample of the Prozyme. Its $6 shipping for my free sample, but I saw regular its $20-30! So yeah, $6 shipping is good!
|
|
|
Post by smokeyanbandit on Jul 19, 2008 1:54:54 GMT -5
where did you find the free sample?? tell me tell me?? lol!!!
|
|
|
Post by mustelidmusk on Jul 22, 2008 20:22:36 GMT -5
Stinky liquid poop is more likely to happen with a fast diet switch because the ferret is more stressed out and gets more bacteris that he's not adjusted to. A lot of ferret- knowledgeable people have concluded that probiotics do not help ferrets since the stuff doesn't stay in the system long enough to stick to the gut. A lot of ferret-knowledgeable people swear by probiotics. One thing is for certain - probiotics certainly won'yt hurt anything. I had some good results feeding the probios BETWEEN MEALS on an empty stomach so they sat in the gut longer.Pro-Zymes is good, but there is one I prefer that I get from a vet - it's called Vet-zimes V2. The reason why I prefer it is because it has some additional stuff in it that conditions the deeper layers of the stomach lining. I also sprinkled papaya extract (papain) on the frozen meat when I put it in the fridge to thaw. I let the food thaw overnight and fed it the next day. The papain helps break down the proteins in the meat , which makes the food more readily digestible. I was mixing this in with ground meat. Sprinkling this on raw meaty bones might alter small/flavor too much Bromelain (from pineapple) also works. The stinky poop is usually a sign of bacterial overgrowth. Your ferrets will most likely adjust on their own. If it's really bad a trip to the vet will help. Another tip...when you first start switching to raw, and there's no undigestible bulk in the diet (like eggshell, fur, bone, feathers ), the watery poop thing happens. A bit of unflavored canned pumpkin will provide some bulk to help form a stool. Yes, pumkin is used to help loosen matter in the intestines as well...it's the great equalizer! Hope this helps a bit - stinky poops are really obnoxious -jennifer
|
|
|
Post by Forum Administrator on Jul 22, 2008 22:32:51 GMT -5
A bit of unflavored canned pumpkin will provide some bulk to help form a stool. Yes, pumkin is used to help loosen matter in the intestines as well...it's the great equalizer! Or you could just add the ground eggshell, which will give the benefit of calcium AND fiber (whereas the pumpkin will only supply bulk fiber and no calcium).
|
|
|
Post by josiesmom on Jul 23, 2008 5:34:20 GMT -5
Are you feeding regular chicken wingettes or cornish hen? I've found that my ferrets MUCH prefer to chow down on ALL the cornish hen bones than they do chicken wingette bones.
Also when dealing with egg shells- think PULVERIZED, not just crushed. Get yourself a decent stone mortar and pestle for the very best pulverizer, or put the dry egg shells into a coffee grinder, although the mortar will do a better job.
You are looking for the end result to be practically powder. This can then be used to easily coat the meaty items. Once the ferrt is accepting the shell powder covered meat, gradually allow the shell particles to get bigger and bigger.
By the time the shell pieces are just crushed pieces about 1/8" square the ferret should be acclimated to the "taste" of calcium and be willing to crunch the bones.
Also offer chicken necks, these are great for introducing bone chewing because they are soft and have a fair amount of meat on them. The added advantage is they are high in connective tissues so will in turn nourish the joints and cartilage within your ferret!
Cheers, Kim
|
|