With starting him brand new to raw a lot of folks start off giving chicken first - beginning with chicken quarters & whole chickens (cut into appropriate wts). Easier on the stomach when first starting raw. I fed just chicken for a solid month before adding any new protein, then introduced pork slowly.
Im with OakHillFarm and personally do not feed ground meat. I too feed my dogs whole prey model diet. The tearing/ripping/gnawing the meat/bones is so good for them as well as for cleaning their teeth not to mention it is mentally stimulating to have to 'work' their meal. Though again I agree with Oak, ground meat is better than kibble but not ideal. If I get ground meat from family or via my craigslist ad I'll stuff a whole chicken with it freeze, thaw just enough where I can section it w/out it falling apart & feed as a special treat.
As for bones as treats, I dont give them to my dogs but like said above if you want too you want to avoid wt bearing bones of large animals. My dogs will get a pork shoulder bones w/ a meals worth of meat on it once a week as part of their bone, they LOVE them! I personally do not feed ribs as theres not alot of meat on them & they are super expensive around here - if I were to get them for free I might think differently, hahahaha!
If Bane is new to raw I would hold off on introducing liver right now & stick to one protein for a couple of weeks (even suggest to go to chicken for now) until his system has a chance to adjust & then introduce new things 1 at a time & slowly. My guys are about 2 months into raw & Ive not introduced organ as of yet, they do get whatever organ is still attached to the chicken quarters BUT liver or kidney on its own, not yet.
Also you want to remember, over time, that his diet needs to be 80% meat, 10% and 10% organ (5% coming from liver & the remainder 5% other organs such as kidney/pancreas) Organs are any secreting organs. Tongue/heart are 'meat'. And you want to feed 2-3% of his ideal body wt. Again this is all an average, not to make yourself crazy to get it exactly right every day or even every week but over time.
Yay for Bane, he looks quite happy there w/ his bone!!!
If you have any questions, dont hesitate to ask there are lots of us here to help
PS, where you get the ground meat ... you should ask them & see if after processing the cows if they could leave the "scraps" whole for you instead of grinding it all up.......that would really make Bane a happy boy
---------- Post added at 10:36 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:32 AM ----------
Also call around & find a good butcher. I get a 40 lb case of chicken quarters for $24.00. And pork shoulder for $1.19/lb. You might find somewhere to get more whole meat for less the $ as the ground. Some other tips are to check the grocery stores after holidays/holiday weekends etc....Ive found its a fun challenge to see where I can get meat for the cheapest :lol:
