Started raw today

[dpenning]

*gulp*. Started all three on raw today. I think they approve. LOL.

Emma is getting chicken leg quarters and the little ones a pre packaged raw chicken meal from petsmart.

I started Em with a single leg quarter this morning that I pulled the skin off, should I do that? Then for dinner another leg quarter, a thigh, and some extra thigh meat. A smidge over 2 lbs for the first day.

Should I pull the skin off? I have enough chicken on hand for a week, will keep her on that for a couple of weeks while I explore options for other meat and she gets used to it.

We have a couple of small independent grocery stores in the area so I'm pretty sure I can get case or bulk pricing and saw scraps when the time comes for that.

I held the pieces as long as I could before my hand got chomped on but she did seem to actually chew them and crunch the bones so that is a relief.

 

[NYDDB]

Sounds perfect- well done! And yes, they say to pull the skin off for awhile (few weeks?) as it can upset their systems at first. Heck, I still pull the skin off sometimes if it's especially fatty and thick...

 

[angelbears]

Wonderful! My understanding is you want to give them as much fat as they can tolerate. So, you will want to slowly add it in. Use your eyes. Feeding raw can put weight on them fast. Keep her slim. I can't wait until you feed tripe.

 

[angelbears]

You can get most things cheaper local but check out this website. Tripe price is decent. I have used them once to get tripe and it was excellent quality. Specials | Hare Today, Gone Tomorrow

 

[NYDDB]

That's where I order from (tripe and other stuff) when I have some money to do so (Hare-Today.) I like them a lot.

Also, yes about the fat-- the beef heart I buy locally usually has a big fat cap on it and will add in to balance things out. And if your dogs like fish, the oily kind (smelt, sardines, mackerel) will be a good source of good fats, too.

 

[Igni06]

Congrats for taking the plunge! Just take it step by step. I never pulled off the skin and she was fine. But this may differ from dog to dog I believe. You just put the fun back into dinner time. Even you will feel better yourself giving your dogs some real food. Keep up the good work and please let us know how they get on.

 

[TricAP]

AWESOME!!!! Still amazes me how they crunch through bones! We pull the skin off the chicken. One its too rich for, one gags on it and then regurgitates and the 3rd is just finicky but will eat it if ground in. I'm with AB - can't wait to hear about the first time you feed green tripe!

 

[dpenning]

Seems some of my posts are not coming through. Anyhow, hubs told me yesterday that i can't feed Emma raw any more, it makes her feel too good. LOL

Told him to suck it up.


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[tmricciuto]

Congrats to you and the pups. I gave my girls some trimmings from beef chuck that I would normally throw out yesterday and they loved it. Loved it so much that they just sat patiently and waited for me.

 

[cj-sharpy]

So you took the plunge.
It's great fun once you get in to it. Everything starts to look like food and you start working out ratios in your head. Just wait for green tripe haha.
It's horrific but you get used to it and it really is a super food and I've yet to see a dog that didn't go wild for it.
You'll start to see the benefits of BARF quickly (about two weeks for me) and you'll not go back.

Raw is so good I'm still picking up, paying for, and dropping off raw for Jack even though he lives with the Ex. I just don't want him going back to kibble.

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[TricAP]

Zoomies? All 3 of ours dance and prance the moment they hear the bowls hit the counter. They love their food!!

 

[angelbears]

Cane was so picky. He could go days with touching his meals including home cooked meals. When we went raw. He always ate and 99% of the time ate it all. He wasn't keen on liver but as long as I flashed it in a pan of "real" butter he was good to go. LOLCongrats!

 

[dpenning]

This is the first week so I'm just giving leg quarters for both meals. That is so easy. I'm sure when I start mixing proteins it will get more challenging. I need to understand the bone to meat ratios better. She loves it obviously and already seems to be itching less. I've only seen one poop and we had a gully washer rain so poop patrol verdict is still out.


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[dpenning]

Zoomies? All 3 of ours dance and prance the moment they hear the bowls hit the counter. They love their food!!

Yes! I'm sure it is a combination of the new grub and being cooped up in the house.


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[DennasMom]

WhooHoo!
Personally, I've never peeled the chicken skin off. I do watch some of the fatty pieces - like that chunk of fat near the tail if you're working with whole chickens.. .but I don't think there's "too" much on the leg quarters... IMHO.
I agree about the softness of the fur of a raw-fed dog... Denna's 3.5 years old, and still feels puppy-soft...

 

[dpenning]

Ok, we made it through the first week, easy. In fact, Em has lost her poop factory status. I've only been able to find a few of her poops and all but one were solid. DO they only poop once a day when eating raw? It's AWESOME!Now, we have been giving Emma 1-2 leg quarters each meal, sometimes with some store bought raw medallions thrown in to get the weight right but mostly just the chicken. She has been getting between 2.25 & 2.5 lbs per day, again mostly leg quarters. According to the sticky on this form leg quarters are about 30% bone. My understanding is they are only supposed to have about 10% bone so I need to figure out how to add in non-bony meat. Although her poops have been great, only one was a little lighter in color. So if I have a let quarter that is almost a pound, I need to add in some de-boned thigh meat? Seems like you will always have too much bone in a primarily chicken diet. This is a shame as I can raise meat birds and process them here fairly inexpensively. I'm also thinking about getting a calf and raising it to be processed. Until then I'll have to keep buying my meat. I need to figure out how to buy in bulk and thaw, package and re-freeze. I have been just keeping a bag of leg quarters in a big soup pan in the fridge but since I"m going to have to start mixing in other stuff I'll need to work out a better system.So what about lamb or goat meat? We live out in the country so can purchase goats or sheep easily from neighbors and take them to be processed. I also have a couple of beavers that are killing my trees on the island in our pond. Is wild game OK as long as it has been frozen for a few weeks?So much to learn! Turning our place into a self sustaining little farm. Also thinking about raising meat rabbits.

 

[dpenning]

Dang, I forgot about the paragraph breaks, sorry about that.

What about eggs? Where do they fall into the mix? I'm getting 5 per day so have an abundance.

 

[angelbears]

Ours poop on average 1 1/2 times a day. Usually, just once but some days two. One of the reasons I do believe in raw. The dog is using everything you are feeding. Instead of pooping out a ton of fillers. In the beginning you don't have to worry as much about the bone ratio. However, if her poop is firm, I would slowly start getting the ratio of more meat than bone.
Eggs are great but be careful, they can also cause the runs if you feed too much. What is fun is to just roll her an egg. Shell and all. Mine love to crunch into it. I have found that after a while they get bored with the shell and will just lick the egg out but the first few times they have a blast eating the whole thing.
Lamb, goat, turkey, rabbit are all great. Talk to your neighbors, when they slaughter their animals ask them to save the hearts and offals. Most folks throw those away. Be careful not to feed weight baring bones.
A lot of people feed wild game. I'm not comfortable with it. There is a lot of confusion about how long and how hard of a freeze they need. Most regular freezer supposedly don't get cold enough to do a deep freeze. BTW, don't forget to grab a couple of turkeys while they are cheap.

 

[dpenning]

Thanks Robin! Neighbors don't slaughter, their animals are more pets but to keep their ag exemption they have to sell. I'll buy and take them to the slaughter house, but good idea to ask them for "parts".


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[angelbears]

If they do their own chickens be sure and ask for the feet and heads. Excellent for Emma. If you get on friendly terms with your butcher/slaughter house be sure and ask if they will give/sell cheaply the scraps that they would through away. Ask them about sweetbread, pancreas, trachea, ect.