Just started raw, chicken backs only. Now diarrhea?

[ChefToots]

We just started our new foster boy on raw. We transitioned our girl Delilah by fasting then cooked homemade for a few days before raw. She has never had an issue with raw. We did not fast our foster boy because he is skinny, but we fed homemade cooked for a few days before starting him on chicken backs. He hasn't gotten the hang of crunching them up yet so we chop up the back bone and all small enough to easily swallow. This is day two and first poop is diarrhea and he's had it all night. He also vomited mostly digested dinner. We are giving him some pumpkin and plenty of water.

Where did we go wrong this time? Same chicken from the same source...

 

[llong3316]

Im thinking the same. My pup just made 7 months and im giving my boy chicken leg quarters for about 2 weeks now. At first he was vomiting and had the runs like crazy so I took the skin off as well as the fat so the vomiting has gone away I think but he still has the runs. Should I ride it out for a few weeks and see if theres any progress? Dont mean to hijack your post Chef

 

[angelbears]

Cheftoots, Your foster boy may need some time to settle in.Sounds like he has had a lot of change in a little amount of time. If it were me I would feed him the homemade with a chicken back and gradually increase as you see solid poop.

Long, that seems a little long to have not adjusted yet. Are you feeding any other kind of raw with the chicken? Any organs?

 

[llong3316]

Cheftoots, Your foster boy may need some time to settle in.Sounds like he has had a lot of change in a little amount of time. If it were me I would feed him the homemade with a chicken back and gradually increase as you see solid poop.

Long, that seems a little long to have not adjusted yet. Are you feeding any other kind of raw with the chicken? Any organs?

Right now I am not feeding organs I wanted him to get used to raw first before I added om. Should I add OM?

 

[angelbears]

NO, I was hoping that you had that would be easy to solve the problem. I don't recall my dogs taking that long to adjust. Hopefully, someone will chime in that has experienced it. You could try chicken necks or backs which have more bone content or you could just trim some of the meat off the leg quarter. Freeze the extra meat no need to waste it. If that doesn't help after 3 or 4 days I would reset his system with boiled chicken/beef/or turkey and rice until you get solid poops. Then I would try with a different protein.

 

[llong3316]

NO, I was hoping that you had that would be easy to solve the problem. I don't recall my dogs taking that long to adjust. Hopefully, someone will chime in that has experienced it. You could try chicken necks or backs which have more bone content or you could just trim some of the meat off the leg quarter. Freeze the extra meat no need to waste it. If that doesn't help after 3 or 4 days I would reset his system with boiled chicken/beef/or turkey and rice until you get solid poops. Then I would try with a different protein.

will do so the boiled chcken bones wont splinter and harm them correct?

 

[Hector]

will do so the boiled chcken bones wont splinter and harm them correct?

boiled bones will splinter so don't feed any cooked bones

 

[musicdeb]

will do so the boiled chcken bones wont splinter and harm them correct?

Boiled chicken should be without the bones.

 

[DennasMom]

Also a meal of just raw chicken backs is too much bone. He may have been reacting badly to the lack of meat, and the excess of bone.

Go back to your cooked home made (boneless) food for a few days and get him settled again, then start with whole raw chickens... leave the meat on the bones.
Raw bones are good.

Never feed cooked bones.

 

[llong3316]

Update its been a month and still loose stools. Im going to bk to kibble Hows does taste of the wild fare?

 

[musicdeb]

Update its been a month and still loose stools. Im going to bk to kibble Hows does taste of the wild fare?

I'm sorry it's not working out but a month is not enough time for the body to adjust to the raw diet. It depends on what you have been feeding the pup in regards to types of meat and how much as to whether or not they have diarrhea.

Taste of the Wild grain free food is a good food. You might also check out Acana Regionals, Wellness Core or Fromm's.

Dog Food Reviews and Ratings | Dog Food Advisor is a great resource re: dog food with customer feedback.

 

[llong3316]

I'm sorry it's not working out but a month is not enough time for the body to adjust to the raw diet. It depends on what you have been feeding the pup in regards to types of meat and how much as to whether or not they have diarrhea.

Taste of the Wild grain free food is a good food. You might also check out Acana Regionals, Wellness Core or Fromm's.

Dog Food Reviews and Ratings | Dog Food Advisor is a great resource re: dog food with customer feedback.

I've skinned and ripped off most of the fat off chicken leg quarters and fed him 2 per day hoping that he would get used to that before I add organ meat. I really want to keep going with the raw but a month isnt long enough then whats a good timeline for determining if raw is good for him?

 

[llong3316]

And yes he had rough diarrhea

 

[musicdeb]

I've skinned and ripped off most of the fat off chicken leg quarters and fed him 2 per day hoping that he would get used to that before I add organ meat. I really want to keep going with the raw but a month isnt long enough then whats a good timeline for determining if raw is good for him?

Is the chicken the only meat/food you are feeding him? No other treats or food? Where to you buy your meat? Grocery store? Coop?

 

[llong3316]

Is the chicken the only meat/food you are feeding him? No other treats or food? Where to you buy your meat? Grocery store? Coop?

yes I only feed chicken but I only buy from the supermarkets

 

[caudex]

yes I only feed chicken but I only buy from the supermarkets

A lot of supermarket chicken has a saline solution added to it, for moisture and flavor. I have seen as high as 14%. The saline could be giving him diarrhea. We liked using a local chicken farmer, but he was not particularly helpful, so we supplement with a whole, no abx-no saline-raised in a unicorn field chicken bought in a store. We also rinse them very thoroughly before we butcher.

 

[musicdeb]

I buy all of Titan's meat at Kroger, Tom Thumb or Fiesta Mart. I boil his chicken for about 1-2 minutes to release the juices because he will not eat otherwise. I believe boiling it for that 1-2 minutes boils out a lot of the salt.

It is true, the high saline solution can cause diarrhea.

 

[musicdeb]

If you feel the raw diet is not working, then go with your gut and go with what you feel is best for the pup.

 

[caudex]

(Offtopic) musicdeb, how quickly does Titan eat? I am impressed that you can serve in thawed. Scarlett's needs to be at least half frozen or it's gone in 2 minutes. I'm pretty sure she's part boa constrictor and just unhinges her jaw and swallows it whole, lol.

 

[musicdeb]

caudex, it takes Titan about 2-3 minutes to eat his meat. He eats his chicken feet frozen. LMAO with the boa constrictor. Titan used to eat his meat whole with 2 chomps and swallow when he first started raw, now I have to cut his meat into pieces so he will eat it. Yes, I've created a monster.