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I think the complete grind may be the way to go, at least for now. I bought 50 pounds of beef, and I think 15 or 20 piubds each of salmon and pork. I just let them thaw enough to slice into half pound chunks and then freeze in baggies.
hahaha
No, I'm not afraid to feed bone, I just want to make sure as we start and I'm learning more the dogs are getting what they need, hence the grind. Lillie is allergic to chicken, so she gets duck feet and Yogi gets the chicken feet. They've always gotten feet, even while feeding kibble. So what happened was I ran out of kibble two days before my raw order came in. I still have tons, well at least 30 pounds, of duck and chicken feet, lots of beef and some liver, and a few whole fish that were caught ice fishing. I figured we could make that work for those two days. I think it was the liver that caused the diarrhea. I was not aware that when you transition you should wait to add organ meat. I bought about a months supply of raw so I can see how Lillie reacts to different things as we go and I can adjust as needed.Are you nervous to feed chicken bones? You could try necks cut up into small pieces so no choking hazard(if that is what bothers you). I am thinking I heard(a long time ago so may be confusing with something else) chicken feet could potentially be rich which could cause loose stools. And grinding to make your own mix is super easy and much cheaper. We have a grinder that does chicken bone with no issue. I started out in 10's so the ratios were super easy to figure out. So 10 lbs of mix was 8 lbs meat, 1 lb bone, .5 lb liver and .5 lb other offal. The chicken quarters are 33% bone so roughly 3 lbs of quarters would equal 1 lb bone and 2 lbs meat. Then add 6 lbs boneless meat and the liver and offal. Does that make any sense? But after typing all that I remembered you are avoiding chicken! lol but same if using other bone in products. If chicken is an issue could the chicken feet be causing her upset stomach? Now I'm just thinking out loud so feel free to ignore
It sure does! Especially since I went to raw to try to resolve some ongoing issues. The supplier suggested to fast them for a day or give them just feet for the added bone they need to counter act the organ. Let their digestive tracts settle down and then try a beef grind with an added foot or 2 to give a little more bone since the mix does have 10% organ. So we will try that today and just stick with it, the beef should be easier for them, and I think they are both fine with it.
That's exactly what I've been gathering from long time raw feeders, as well. It's just hard to know what that balance is when you first start out. I'm sure I'll get there!
Yay! Plus, every dog is different: some need more bone, some less; you will get to know your dogs (and their poop!) very well.