Hi Lorna,
Thanks for the questions on what I have tried to get Ginger to eat the November batch ODTB cubes. We never had this issue since starting in May.
She weighs about 425 so the goal is 8 to 9 pounds/day minimum as she is ribby. She's probably eating a total of 4 or 6 pounds/day of combined foods for 8 weeks now.
Before the current batch, I soaked only 30 minutes to an hour, and used only 1/2 liter water to 1 pound cubes. They opened up but still had some chewiness but with no hard bits for her toothlessness.
Am now adding 1 1/4 liter water per pound to get them to fully fluff, otherwise too many stay hard. And then it's seeming too wet to me, but is not at all sloshing or in a clump like mash.
I mix half a day's feed in advance, up to 12 hours as Pitchfork Princess suggested. Ginger does not like it more than an hour or two old, even in the cold with slower fermenting, but how else do I soak the AM feed for 2 hours now unless soak overnight? She will eat half of her other 3 meals but seldom eats but 1/3 breakfast.
The consistency is cold, wet, twiggy (like wet chopped hay) and has no "feel" to it. She likes beet pulp to give it feel. And even likes unsoaked Timothy pellets even though she has no teeth! I am topping her feed with them as a tempter. Beet root and fenugreek do nothing. She wants "kibble" crunchies but seems sensitive to the alfalfa.
Am back today to offering 4 pounds Timothy, 3 ODTB and 1 beet pulp, into 4 meals. Have given up on more ODTB than that until maybe a new batch tastes or fluffs differently.
Any thoughts Lorna? Thanks for asking! She's doing well and seems eager to eat and go for walks. I posted the all new Lee Anne long format that we worked together on... Have not yet started to reduce Pergolide so wonder if that's part of it now.
Beverly 6/14
Beverly Texas
https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/echistory8/files/Beverly%20Texas/

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