Rafiki not eating

[WitchyWoman]

I brought home about 12 lbs of old formula Darwin.

Still doesn't resolve the issue long term. What happens when you finish the old formula? I would use the Darwin's to transition her to whatever food you want her to eat. You said you're going to prepare homemade ground? Then do the transition using the homemade. You know the drill -- add 1/4 tsp of homemade into the Darwin's and slowing increase homemade while decreasing Darwin's. Good luck.

 

[Rafiki]

Still doesn't resolve the issue long term. What happens when you finish the old formula? I would use the Darwin's to transition her to whatever food you want her to eat. You said you're going to prepare homemade ground? Then do the transition using the homemade. You know the drill -- add 1/4 tsp of homemade into the Darwin's and slowing increase homemade while decreasing Darwin's. Good luck.

Yes. The plan is to transition her off of Darwin and onto homemade raw starting tomorrow night. 12 lbs should be more than an adequate amount to transition with. And yes, I have cancelled future Darwin shipments.

 

[Patti]

Thank goodness she's eating, but what a shame that Darwin had to mess around with the recipe and mess everything up. Good luck transitioning her onto the raw, hopefully it will be a seamless process.

 

[Trishy]

I am so very glad to hear the good news.

 

[John Popp]

Good news and I hope the transition goes well!

 

[Rafiki]

And Jammu is also happy to have his old breakfast food back. He would not eat any of the new formula Darwin either. He still ate chunks of meat for dinner so he did not suffer the same ill effects as Rafiki. Last night, he ate 4.3 oz of chunks plus 2 oz of ground Darwin. He was not very hungry this morning as a result and only ate about 1.3 oz. Rafiki ate 2 oz of her food and an additional .5 oz of his. And boy am I getting good at snatching the dishes and reweighing them to figure out consumption amounts!
Transition begins tonight.......

 

[Rafiki]

After that post, she came back and polished off both bowls so this morning's consumption was 4 oz!

 

[Trishy]

So glad to hear that!!

 

[Rafiki]

Last night was a bit of a struggle. I added .5 oz to 3 oz of old Darwin. She could taste the difference. It took a while but she finally ate her 3.5 oz.

This morning was easier. She ate her full 3 oz breakfast. Ratio is 2.8 oz old Darwin with .2 oz home made raw.

This is going to be a slow process!

 

[Rafiki]

Monday night was a bit tougher. She ate 1.5 oz and then stopped. We gave her some nutrical and she finished her bowl about an hour later.

Tuesday morning was a snub. We gave her more nutrical but I had early morning meetings so I could not spend the extra time convincing her to eat. I came home at lunch time and pulled out more of the old formula Darwin...and noticed that last night I had switched from chicken to turkey. The mixture last night was about 80% turkey and 20% chicken. This morning it was all turkey. I let 1.5 oz of chicken warm up and gave it to her. She devoured it. Warmed up another 1.5 oz and it disappeared as well.

So now I have the added excitement of knowing that she specifically wants Darwin old formula chicken. I only have 6 lbs of that.

Mike, my breeder, has been in constant contact. He reviewed the ingredients to try to figure out what exactly it is about the Darwin chicken she likes. One thing he noticed was the addition of SARDINE OIL.

>>>> Anyone have an opinion on using sardine oil? We are thinking about adding a small amount to see if she finds it enticing.

And as far as the change in formula is concerned.....here is the change in the meat portion:
Old: Chicken meat (inc. bone), chicken gizzards, chicken livers, chicken hearts; 15% crude protein, 6% crude fat.
New: Chicken Necks with ground bone, Chicken Backs, Chicken Thigh Meat, Chicken Gizzards, Chicken Livers, Chicken Hearts; 16% crude protein, 11% crude fat.

And, just to add to the fun....my meat grinder is on back order for 2 weeks.