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Post by moddedmama on Jun 22, 2008 16:21:18 GMT -5
Well it is still going...
Smucky is doing really well, eating out of the bowl, still. I haven't yet increased the size the the chicken since I'm still spoon feeding Mo. Sometimes I think he just wants to be spoiled like that, lol. He will eat bits off the spoon as long as you hold him. If you aren't holding him, he'll go stash them somewhere. And he will not eat out of the bowl either, at least not that I've seen. I've decided to try a bit of a new approach to this issue, and start spoon feeding him directly over the bowl, while lightly scruffing him so he can't go stash. And then work on getting to eat out of the bowl, again while lightly scruffing him. What do you think? But on the bright side, he IS eating the chicken, he just takes a bit more encouragement.
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Post by Forum Administrator on Jun 23, 2008 8:36:15 GMT -5
I think things sound like they are going well  It might be a little frustrating, but they will get the hang of it! Let me know when they are both eating chunks from a bowl on their own. We can go on to the next step (bones) from there. You should be proud of your babies, I know I am. And I am proud of you too for sticking with it! Hooray! Don't worry, they'll be full blown raw eaters before you know it. Hang in there, and keep us posted! |
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Post by amyandfuzzies6 on Jun 23, 2008 15:01:26 GMT -5
Hello & welcome! I've have a dish circler and it is quite funny to watch  By the way your babies are adorable  Sounds like they are starting to come around. Have you tried giving them a little scrambled egg (raw)? You can mix some fish oil and a little heavy whipping cream or kefir in it which is usually popular - don't be surprised if you see runny, yellowish poops. Eggs are good but you don't want to feed more than once every week or 2 some only feed once a month. But it may also be another way to introduce a raw food that's really easy for a fert to eat. |
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Post by Forum Administrator on Jun 24, 2008 10:02:47 GMT -5
How goes it? Have you gotten a chance to try Amy's egg suggestion? Any progress? I'm interested to hear how the baybays are doin  |
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Post by moddedmama on Jun 25, 2008 12:10:20 GMT -5
I did give them an egg, Smucky dove right in, lol. It was funny. Mo took one lick turned his head and started gagging, and then went back for more. So I guess he liked it, and maybe it just wasn't what he was expecting, lol. And we do have some progress, wonderful progress I might add. Mo has started eating from the bowl. The chunks too!!!!!. I watched him pretty close for a awhile just to make sure. Right now, I'm working on phasing out the baby food and slowly making the chicken chunks bigger. Anything else I should be doing. I know it's been a week now, almost, and they haven't had any bone, is this a problem yet? Oh yeah, and I don't put put the crushed kibble on the top any more, they haven't had a bit of kibble in three days, YAY!!!  |
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Post by Forum Administrator on Jun 25, 2008 12:17:27 GMT -5
It sounds like the switch is going beautifully! Keep working on phasing out the babyfood and increasing chunks size.
If you like, you can take an eggshell, rinse it out, and dry it out. Crush it into a fine powder. As fine as you can get it (the finer it is the easier it is for your ferret's body to absorb the calcium and fiber). You can add one powdered eggshell per ferret to their food each day. This will help to provide calcium during the switch. It sounds like they will be eating bone soon (yay!) if they keep progressing at this rate, so adding the eggshell is honestly optional.
Whoo hooo! Kibble free's the way to be! I remember how excited I was (recently) when I got Sams and De totally weaned off kibble! *High five*! I'm proud of you for sticking with it!
Keep us posted!
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Post by Forum Administrator on Jun 25, 2008 12:18:38 GMT -5
Anything else I should be doing? Posting more pics of your babies eating  |
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Post by moddedmama on Jun 25, 2008 12:55:38 GMT -5
Anything else I should be doing? Posting more pics of your babies eating Here ya go then..... Chris spoon feeding Mo...  And helping him to eat from the bowl...  Finally chowing down on his own, YAY!!!!  Both finishing up the bowl I gave them this morning..  Just to add to the update today...After they finished up the first plate, I made a second right away. This time I left off the baby food to see if they'd eat it, and they both did I also just wanted to mention how soft they are both getting. I mean, I figured they would eventually, but not so quickly. And they've had much more energy too. Which is a good thing, and yet, I wonder sometimes.  |
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Post by Forum Administrator on Jun 25, 2008 13:04:15 GMT -5
lol! That is great news (and THANK you! for the pics! Mind if I add them to the Holistic Ferret Photo Gallery? holisticferret.myphotoalbum.com/albums.php ) Im thrilled to hear they ate the chicken without the babyfood! Go boys go! I dont know why they feel softer, the diet wont affect their fur until the next time they shed. But man oh man when they shed it will be awesome! Oh! Oh! How old are the boys again? Look at their teeth! (See if you notice a difference in the color of their gums between NOW and then after they start eating big chunks of chicken. ) And the energy? Isnt it great! Just wait, it only get's better! Once you are feeding whole bone-in raw, the poopies are SO much better! So small, infrequent, and hardly any smell! Its awesome! Im excited! WEeeeeeee!!!!! (lol) |
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Post by moddedmama on Jun 25, 2008 13:31:44 GMT -5
Feel free to use any of the pics. Don't know about the fur then, maybe it's just me, I don't know. The boys are both about 1 1/2 years old.
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Post by amyandfuzzies6 on Jun 25, 2008 14:09:27 GMT -5
 Sounds like it's coming along nicely with your 2 new raw converts! Great job! I think some ferrets find the texture of raw egg - the sliminess of the white - a little off-putting at first but love the taste. I try to beat the egg as well as possible to make the texture as smooth as possible. It also helps cut down on long egg-white dribbles across the bowl and onto the floor If they're eating the chunks now you might want to try introducing them to bone by offering a chicken wing tip - these bones are pretty small and easily crunched up by the ferret. You could start by offering it by hand and letting them crunch on it while you're still holding it. If they eat the wing tips, you might want to try offering them chunked up Cornish Game Hen - also smaller bones. That's all mine will eat (unfortunately when it comes to variety). They all adore the wing tips and they are always the 1st snatched out of the bowl. I don't know what you're ultimate diet goals are (i.e. whole prey, RMB) but you've passed a major milestone. Don't be surprised if either are tentative about eating the bone - hopefully they won't be but some can and it just takes time and patience to bring them around. I've found that holding the wing tips is a helpful "baby step" in giving them the confidence they need to realize they are quite capable and equipped to crunch and munch bone. Just keep in mind whether prey or RMB that you are feeding size appropriate animals/RMBs to your ferret. I very rarely feed beef for this reason although I'll offer beef heart as an infrequent treat. Keep us posted and keep up the good work! P.S. I noticed a change within about a week's time - but it can take longer depending on the age and progress of switch. My most recent switches were both babies and all I had to do was starting feeding them raw and they ate it - no kibble involved. I noticed that in about a week's time on a raw diet, these ferrets became larger, more solid, softer, and more energetic.
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Post by moddedmama on Jun 25, 2008 14:32:59 GMT -5
Thanks for all you help guys. I'm thawing out some wings for tonight, I'm curious how they'll take it. I'll give them the tips, My dog will me more than happy to take care of the rest of the wing for me, LOL. He gives me the puppy eyes every time I start chopping the chicken for the ferrets. I'll let you know how it goes.
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Post by Forum Administrator on Jun 25, 2008 14:36:51 GMT -5
I'm excited for you!
BTW- Raw chicken wings are fine for dogs too, just be careful if your dog is a "gulper" I know that sometimes bigger dogs can gulp the wings and choke (not because of the bone, but just because of how they eat. With dogs its generally recommended to feed apendages still attached to the body, so like half a cornish game hen for the dog, or an entire leg section (thigh AND leg) versus just a leg. I dunno if you have an interest in raw feeding the dog too, but just something to be careful about thats all.
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Post by moddedmama on Jun 25, 2008 15:02:08 GMT -5
I'm excited for you! BTW- Raw chicken wings are fine for dogs too, just be careful if your dog is a "gulper" I know that sometimes bigger dogs can gulp the wings and choke (not because of the bone, but just because of how they eat. With dogs its generally recommended to feed apendages still attached to the body, so like half a cornish game hen for the dog, or an entire leg section (thigh AND leg) versus just a leg. I dunno if you have an interest in raw feeding the dog too, but just something to be careful about thats all. Raw feeding the dog is just going to be a sometimes thing, more of a treat, at least for now. Kodi is actually a chewer, he takes his time eating, which is a good thing. So i really don't have too much concern over him choking. I actually gave him one last week when I was putting the wings in individual bags for the freezer. He loved it. Though at first he took it and then looked at me, like I'm supposed to eat it? It was too cute. |
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Post by moddedmama on Jun 26, 2008 0:18:24 GMT -5
So i went ahead and offered a wing tip tonight, I thought maybe Smucky would be a little interested, but nope I was wrong, and to my surprise Mo was the taker tonight. I played tug of war a little bit with him with it, and then he ran off to chew on it a bit, not a lot, but that's okay for now. The only pic I caught before he ran, lol. It's not easy trying to play tug of war with a chicken wing and get a pic at the same time....  |
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