EVERYBODY DUCK!!!

Misty
Vestia

Oreo

The above photos are of the thre little girls I'm going to foster! I took these at the rescue, so when they get over here, more photos are sure to follow!

I've been pondering the Duck Soup issue and I don't think I'm ready to take it away from my guys right now. They love it, it's healthy for them and it is a special time I have with them when I give it to them. I won't be doing it daily with my foster girls, so that is kind of good. But my little ones just love it and why take away something that is good for them to have?

Go, Duck Soup!

AIN'T SKEERED

These are photos from yesterday evening. Keith did this thing where we can now block off our side patio/garden area and the ferrets can go out and play. (He's just the best!) It's a long, narrow area and,of course, we are out there with them at all times. They can explore the garden, dig, go in the tunnel under the dog house...it's cool! We just let Ziggy and Rocky out last night to see how they'd like it and, as you can see, they were pretty happy!

I just looked out the window and I can see our gardenia bush has exploded with white flowers. The white oleander is in full bloom, as well. And some white lilies. White daisies, all in bloom. Cupid was white. I take all of the white blooms as a sign he is OK and his little spirit is dancing and dooking!

There is a little guy at the rescue named "Snow" (his picture is in a previous post) and he has been on my mind for the last few days. Apparently he was adopted once, but returned to the rescue when the guy couldn't afford to have him. How sad to be surrendered twice. Snow is a good little guy, very cute and sweet. A perfect match for our group. He just may be coming home with me on the 31 st....

I printed out the government forms for a non-profit status. I really want to establish my self as a very small foster home and adoption for ferrets. Hubby is kind of freaking out, I think. I see him struggle with his own love for ferrets and wanting me to be happy and his resistance to let the IRS in our business....he says he's scared. I ain't skeered. I have to follow my heart on this.

And I know he's prolly afraid I'm gonna end up with 100 ferrets, which isn't what I want. I'm talking small scale, here...like no more than 10, ever. I have a lot of work ahead of me, anyway...I'm going to attempt this without a lawyer -- the filing fees are outrageous enough without having to pay someone to do it for me on top of it. I can do it. I did FAFSA forms for both of my sons for five years. I can take on Form 1023.

And Now......The part of the blog you've been waiting for.........(drum roll, please).......

ZIGGY vs. THE BOWL OF DUCK SOUP

Damn. Again, tonight, he won't eat it out of the bowl. It's off of my finger or out of his little red spoon or nothin'. So that's what we did. Off my finger, out of his little red spoon. My plan to outwit him has failed. He is officially smarter than I am.

So wrong. Soooo wrong......

ONE OF THESE THINGS IS NOT LIKE THE OTHER

Rocky was in charge today. He made his rounds and stayed awake when I got home from work. Then he climbed his cage and ended up in a picture with his stuffed animals!!

He climbed up there to get his toy remote control mouse.

Duck Soup was better tonight. Everyone (except Ziggy) ate with much more enthusiasm than the past couple of nights. Ziggy is just rotten. He was having to lick the soup off of my finger for a while before he'd start eating from the bowl. OK. Tonight? He would only eat the soup from a spoon. This isn't good. He's teaching me how to feed him!!

Sleeeeepyy.

EAT MORE CHIKIN

The Duck Soup recipe I use calls for chicken or turkey baby food. Tonight I decided to try boiling some chicken thighs, instead, and make it with that. Hopefully, my guys will like it as much as the Gerbers!

I'm also going to add some Complete Care (Totally Ferret makes it) to the batch to increase the nutritional value even more.

I feed my guys Duck Soup every day. In their eyes, it's like a treat and they can't wait to get it. But it's so good for them, there's no worries around giving it to them (sometimes Dave or George will get seconds -- because they're good boys). When Cupid got sick, he stuck to eating the Duck Soup even when he quit his solid food. So, we reaped the benefits of Cupid being familiar with the soup.

Everyone seems to be adjusting to Cupid's death. Every now and then, I see one of them looking for him. But it's getting better and better each day. Dave has played and romped so much more than he used to --and that just blows my mind. All five get along famously and stick together.

Rocky does a good job as Alpha and I think he has been great with the other four fuzzies as they adjust to the loss of their friend. In fact, I think it's Rocky that brought little Dave out of his shell and helped him gain some confidence, despite his blindness.

I think the psychology of the ferret is fascinating. They definitely think, they have feelings. Watching them with Cupid when he was so ill was very interesting. They would check on him and groom him. And it cracks me up to watch how they move their toys around and "arrange" the Hidey Hole. They have an empty Coke can in there. They set it up so that it falls and makes noise when the closet door is opened. They are so funny!

BUTTERFLY COCOONS AND SPRING FLOWERS

Another meltdown on Saturday evening. Cupid is being braver than me. Now we are having to go to the "second level" of syringe feeding. Just a couple of days ago, Sensei was freely taking his soup from the syringe and I even teased him that he was getting spoiled. Now I have to push the food. Dana taught me how to do it and it isn't a cruel process or anything. It's just that I have to scruff him and put him in a football hold. It's me, being more of an assertive, "Eat-Your-Meat-Or-You-Can't-Have-Any-Pudding" ferret mom. He's taken in one and 3/4 of a syringe so far today (about 20 cc's), so that's good.

He's back to not drinking water on his own, either, so I'm having to give him Pedialyte and water with a dropper. He's so weak, he can barely get himself to his potty pad.

We are trying to make his life as comfortable as possible. He gets gentle hold times and walks (we walk, he gets carried) outside to see the Spring flowers and butterfly cocoons. We talk to him and tell him it's OK for him to go. I sense that he is being pulled between two worlds, now. I imagine that he dreams of the Rainbow Bridge.

When I hold him to feed him, Cupid and I are face-to-face. His little eyes, dark ruby, are filled with soulfulness. There is definitely a connection. He has the longest canines I've ever seen in a ferret. The tip of one of them broke off the first week I had him! This gives him character, I think.

Today I took Cupid's footprints and I think he was afraid I was trying to poke him for a glucose! I'm sure he thought I was crazy...

In other ferret news:

Whoo Hoo! We went outside this morning - a beautiful day - and played in the playpen (they played, I watched). Rocky's coat continues to change and he now has this awesome stripe-thing on the base of his tail. Must get a pic.

I went to the rescue yesterday and took some photos of a calendar I'm going to put together to help raise money. I always love going there! There are ferret fanatics (like me), and I am learing so much from them. Of course, there are lots of adorable ferrets to love on! Always, when I get home, my guys sniff me and look at me like, "Mommy! Were you cheatin' on us??!!"

One of my guys got into my mom's purse last night and stole her sunglasses. She thought that was great!

Blogging makes me sleepy. Time to go do Duck Soup. More to come....

BABY FERRET EARS

An odd thing: Milo is only five months old, but he seems bigger than my adult guys. I remember Ziggy being a big guy, too. When he turned a year old, the baby fat melted away and, suddenly, he became just a regular size ferret ! Milo hasn't grown into his ears or feet yet. He really looks like a mouse! He is so adorable !!

New nickname for Dave: Frijole

Cupid is getting to the point where he can barely walk. He's so weak. He only ate 1/2 of his syringe earlier and refused Ferretone (a sure sign something is wrong).

I need to go feed him again. My eyes are so heavy....took some wicked cough syrup!! :)

IT BE MAH BURTHDAYZ!

Rocky (looking at camera) and Ziggy in the new playpen

Rocky, Ziggy and Milo play in the new playpen

(video camera works great in the sun!!)

Today is Rocky's second birthday! He got a new playpen so he and the others can enjoy these pretty days we've been having. I found it at Petco. It was the only one they had and it was out of the box, so they gave me 20% off! Score! It needs some expansion panels, but I'll order those later. They had fun digging and exploring, but when they wanted out, it was pretty clear...(look at Rocky jumping -- he totally cracked me up!)

O tay, we wantz out now...

CUPID UPDATE:

Well, he's about the same, really. He goes back to see Dr. Dori this coming Monday to be rechecked. I'm going to increasing his feedings again, because he's not eating enough kibble in between his duck soup and he is way too thin. That is, if he ever trusts me again with the syringe...

This morning I was feeding him and the syringe was tight. I pushed on the plunger too hard and it gave, squirting half of the food into poor Cupid's mouth all at once. Needless to say, the poor thing choked and gagged and I had a heart attack. No words describe how horrible I feel about that. I'm such an idiot. I'm very concerned about his aspirating some of the food. In fact I called my friend and ferret expert, Jimi, and she told me what to watch out for (coughing, rattling in the lungs, fever). So far, he seems OK. I think we both were just very traumatized.

I got another call from a ferret friend, Noni, who works at Dr. Dori's office and also is very knowledgable about ferrets. She also eased my mind and assured me he is probably just fine.

Oh, man, I'm glad I have these people in my life. They know how to talk me down from a hysteria...Thanks Jimi and Noni! You rock!

Now, here is what I learned: Syringes get sticky after a couple of uses. Coat the rubber tip on the plunger and the inside of the syringe with a little of the soup to keep it moving freely.

Poor, poor Cupid. Like he didn't have enough trouble without me trying to kill him....

Well, I'm home from work because I have a kind of asthma called Reactive Airway Disease. I'm coughing my lungs up. I'm sooooo tired, because I can't get a full night's sleep...