Rowan 308 Posted October 9, 2014 Report Share Posted October 9, 2014 I need to put some weight on one of my hobs he has lost a fair bit over the summer months and is now boney along his back , too thin for my liking , cant really understand it as the other 5 he lives with are in really good condition. All summer they have had a diet of mostly rabbit out of the chest freezer , so my plan is to feed him on some pigeons and the odd pheasant , have spoken to one of my farmers who said shoot all the pheasants you want as long as I can have an odd brace, Lucky am I or what. Quote Link to post
Ibracadabra 5 Posted October 9, 2014 Report Share Posted October 9, 2014 (edited) Do they all live together? Try leaving him alone in the hutch (remove your other ferrets) with some food for a few minutes just so you know he isn't getting bullied off it. Edited October 9, 2014 by Ibracadabra 1 Quote Link to post
krawnden 1,036 Posted October 9, 2014 Report Share Posted October 9, 2014 How old is he? In the past I've sometimes seen older ferrets lose condition like you describe, and it's been virtually impossible to get any weight back on them. Generally speaking I've found within 18 months (and sometimes quite a bit sooner) of going like that they've died. 2 Quote Link to post
Jake w 232 Posted October 9, 2014 Report Share Posted October 9, 2014 Likes been said mate try him on his own maybe getting bullied of his food mate 1 Quote Link to post
belucky 711 Posted October 9, 2014 Report Share Posted October 9, 2014 check his teeth ,make sure he has no infection / gum swell , and just a thought do you worm them ? any good puppy wormer does the job .atb Quote Link to post
chop 1 Posted October 10, 2014 Report Share Posted October 10, 2014 Had this with a Jill recently, give some goats milk and you see results pretty quickly Quote Link to post
Ibracadabra 5 Posted October 10, 2014 Report Share Posted October 10, 2014 Had this with a Jill recently, give some goats milk and you see results pretty quickly Never gave a ferret milk, is it good for them? (Not being sarcastic mate, just interested) Quote Link to post
Rowan 308 Posted October 10, 2014 Author Report Share Posted October 10, 2014 He is definitely not being bullied off the food , I've watched and he gets his fair share , although he seems to take ages to eat it . He is about 4 -ish , as near as I know as I got him from a rescue centre , no I have never wormed any of my ferrets that may be a good start. The gaots milk sounds interesting , but the last thing he needs is a dose of the runs. Thanks for all your advice , really would like to get him sorted before the cold weather creeps in. Quote Link to post
northern lad 2,292 Posted October 10, 2014 Report Share Posted October 10, 2014 He is definitely not being bullied off the food , I've watched and he gets his fair share , although he seems to take ages to eat it . He is about 4 -ish , as near as I know as I got him from a rescue centre , no I have never wormed any of my ferrets that may be a good start. The gaots milk sounds interesting , but the last thing he needs is a dose of the runs. Thanks for all your advice , really would like to get him sorted before the cold weather creeps in. Full fat Lactose free milk sell it at Tesco,cheaper than goats milk,I give it to nursing jills and when weaning kits,never had a problem with the runs Quote Link to post
Meeks 153 Posted October 10, 2014 Report Share Posted October 10, 2014 Ive had this problem before,an older hob in with two young hobs.they all seemed to eat fine but if you kept a close eye on them I noticed the older one would get full and go for a sleep,while the young ones would still be bouncing about and tucking into more food.basically competion for food was high and the older ferret lost out.moved him into a hutch with and old Jill and and now he lives the quiet life getting to eat when he wants and nobody bothering him.the weight came back on no problem Quote Link to post
bobcullen79 1,495 Posted October 10, 2014 Report Share Posted October 10, 2014 Sounds like hes shagged the pants off himself all summer?. Now the darker, colder nights are drawing in, he should come out of season now and start putting some fat on and growing his winter coat in. Mine is going through the motions at the minute. Just keep chucking flesh at them if hes alright in himself generally.. 2 Quote Link to post
Rowan 308 Posted October 12, 2014 Author Report Share Posted October 12, 2014 thanks for all your help , he's great in himself , just thin and lacking any energy , gave them all a cock pheasant yesterday , that should be a good start. Quote Link to post
the lazy lurcher 1 Posted October 13, 2014 Report Share Posted October 13, 2014 raw eggs are good and they love em atb Quote Link to post
jonah. 775 Posted October 13, 2014 Report Share Posted October 13, 2014 Tripe and squirrels used to pack the weight on mine. Quote Link to post
Rowan 308 Posted October 20, 2014 Author Report Share Posted October 20, 2014 Hi guys , had to put him out of his misery , whatever I tried he was just getting weaker , got him out of his run as he could not stand and put him on the grass , but he just layed there with his head on one side. I hate having to do that , but he was so weak , AAARRRGGGGHHHH. God bless , little fella. Quote Link to post
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