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Post by nwheather on Jul 11, 2008 10:36:25 GMT -5
The three ferrets I got from Julie (Mystic, Majik & Ace) already eat mice. Xander converted himslef withing a week or so of the babies being here. Curiosity got the best of him, & withing a couple days, he was eating his very own mouse. Easiest convertion I thought possible! =) I am working on Zena next, she is taking a while. I tried the Ferretone & she's curious, but won't try it. Before, she looked at it like, "EWWW! What IS that nasty thing!?!" LOL Out of the other three, I think she'll be next to start eating mice. I wonder if she'd go for the live mouse...hmm? An idea. =)
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Post by Heather on Jul 11, 2008 13:29:29 GMT -5
I wish you luck, my little Zena forever thought they were disgusting Perhaps, a live one would indeed motivate her to at least taste when she goes to make the kill. My little Zena was 7 or 8 when I got her to switch her over. I figured that she was doing well as she would eat whole meats and bones...so I left her be with that. She was such a sweet little thing. When I got her she was just skin and bone despite eating kibble, well and perpetually. Her foster mom said that she had done everything she could. She converted to raw almost overnight, (she would get wings and wing tips at her foster home) but that finaly stage of whole prey seemed to illude her. ciao
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Post by nwheather on Jul 11, 2008 14:50:59 GMT -5
Thanks Heather! Well, I tried it...I went to the petstore & got two live feeder mice...some sucess, but not total. I put Mystic & Zena in the tub (to which Zena screamed (I mean SCREAMED) I have never heard her do that! She occationally gets baths, but has never reacted like this-I calmed her down & then she was ok when I put her in the tub) They both sniffed the container that the mice were in, & Zena really didn't care. Mystic knew what was in there. I gave her a mouse & she promptly killed it, reall quick. YAY! Then she left it. Zena sniffed it but didn't care about it. They both proceeded to ignore it. So I got Majik out & put him in the tub. He checked out the dead mouse, but wasn't interested in eating it either. (Was it because it was warm?) So I gave Majik the other live mouse...he proceeded to kill it, fairly quickly, although not as quick as Mystic killed hers. He had to go back & "finish it off". I didn't much care for the fact that it didn't die immediately like the first one. He then ignored it once it was dead too. (Ok kids, it doesn't get any fresher than this!) So, I got Ace out to see what he would do with the fresh kill. He licked some blood, then got bored & wandered. I know at least two of them will kill mice, but do I try again to get them to eat the mice? With the two that they killed today, I put them in a ziplock bak in the freezer, & I was thinking of trying to give them the mice tonight before bed, do you think that will work?
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Post by Forum Administrator on Jul 11, 2008 14:57:04 GMT -5
I cant remember, have you tried cutting the belly of the mouse open?
In my own experience I've found that the difference between kibble and mice is SO drastic (meaning texture) that its quite a leap. I like to get ferrets eating raw (as a stepping stone) before starting whole prey. Its easier to get a ferret gradually onto raw then it is to get them onto prey from kibble.
If you can "broaden your babies horizons" by getting them to eat raw (and a variety of raw foods) then the leap to whole prey might be alot easier. This is how I've gotten my ferrets to eat prey (got them on raw first). Even if you dont want to KEEP them on the raw, it might be worth it to use it as a transitional tool.
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Post by nwheather on Jul 11, 2008 17:56:01 GMT -5
I cant remember, have you tried cutting the belly of the mouse open? In my own experience I've found that the difference between kibble and mice is SO drastic (meaning texture) that its quite a leap. I like to get ferrets eating raw (as a stepping stone) before starting whole prey. Its easier to get a ferret gradually onto raw then it is to get them onto prey from kibble. If you can "broaden your babies horizons" by getting them to eat raw (and a variety of raw foods) then the leap to whole prey might be alot easier. This is how I've gotten my ferrets to eat prey (got them on raw first). Even if you dont want to KEEP them on the raw, it might be worth it to use it as a transitional tool. These are the ferrets that already eat frozen-thawed mice. They're used to eating mice, & the babies killed each of their mice, but then they didn't want to eat them.
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Post by Forum Administrator on Jul 11, 2008 18:01:16 GMT -5
Im talking about what you can do for Zena (and your others)
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Post by Forum Administrator on Jul 11, 2008 18:02:57 GMT -5
As for the babies not wanting to eat them, meh, some ferrets are picky. They could dislike the smell of the mice. Freeze-thawing them and then offering again should entice them to eat the mice I wish I could tell you WHY they wouldnt eat the mice they killed, but well...who knows what goes on in the mind of a ferret?
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Post by nwheather on Jul 11, 2008 18:03:09 GMT -5
Im talking about what you can do for Zena (and your others) Ok, thx. I was thinking maybe pouring the porridge on the mouse, see if they'll lick it...
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Post by Forum Administrator on Jul 11, 2008 19:34:57 GMT -5
If they like porridge that could work too. Cutting the mouse open THEN adding porridge to the guts can also help. To make less of a mess, cut the mouse's belly while it is still semi-frozen
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Post by nwheather on Jul 13, 2008 11:45:53 GMT -5
I gave them the mice again at night, before bedtime, & they ate the heads but left the rest. I didn't try the porridge yet, I will on another feeding....
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Post by meli on Jul 13, 2008 13:12:09 GMT -5
Mine are now leaving the mouth of the mouse but consuming everything else lol its weird seeing a mouse mouth just sitting there with whiskers and all...
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Post by nwheather on Jul 13, 2008 14:59:04 GMT -5
Mine are now leaving the mouth of the mouse but consuming everything else lol its weird seeing a mouse mouth just sitting there with whiskers and all... Eww, creepy
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Post by Forum Administrator on Jul 13, 2008 19:16:24 GMT -5
Mine are now leaving the mouth of the mouse but consuming everything else lol its weird seeing a mouse mouth just sitting there with whiskers and all... I agree with Heather, that is freaking creepy!
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Post by Heather on Jul 13, 2008 21:23:24 GMT -5
Actually, not that uncommon (at least in my house). My guys will let me know on no uncertain terms that the mice are older, or have been frozen too long or multiple times. They leave the noses. They always eat the heads (choice pieces). If the rats are too old they leave the jaws or nose and the hind feet. No accounting for taste It used to be the cat who would leave the heads... a little disconcerting to come down the stairs to find this head in the middle of the living room Or sweep it out from under the sofa. I've found that now that I have a private supplier there are rarely any pieces left over. At least in my house anyway ciao
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Post by nwheather on Jul 14, 2008 23:13:05 GMT -5
Maybe that's it. I have two new batches, so we'll see how it goes. =) It's fairly easy now to see who is eating what, except in the boys pen, (minus Majik), Ace & Xander are the two in there that eat mice, in the other two levels, there is only one ferret each level that eats mice, so it's easy to see who leaves what behind. ~on that note, I'm off to feed the weasels some rodents~ =)
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