? for raw-feeders

by **pitbullmamaliz** » May 19th, 2006, 5:39 pm

Inara's been on raw for three weeks now, and I'm loving it. LOVE LOVE LOVE it. She's been eating chicken quarters, with some heart/gizzard pieces parts tossed in, as well as eggs 3-4 times a week. I'm now at the scary part where we branch to other foods. It was scary jumping in, then became easy, but now it's scary again!
I went to the grocery store this evening and looked at pork, fish, and beef. The prices were astronomical (nothing less than $2 a pound). I'll definitely have to shop around. But I did get a couple things: I bought three packs of beef ribs (3-4 ribs on each, each rib maybe 4-5 inches long). I know they'll be too bony on their own, so I'll add something in there, maybe a boneless chicken breast? I also knew that it was time to start adding organs, so I bought a beef kidney (ewww.) and a calf liver (ewww again.). They also had beef liver, but I figured calf liver would be healthier? How do I feed the kidney and liver? As a meal unto themselves? Supplementing the bony ribs? Or in pieces parts over several meals? Also, how crucial is fish in a diet? They had no fish that was less than $7 a pound.
Thanks for any assistance!!!

by **Magnolia618** » May 19th, 2006, 5:46 pm

I would smash the rib bones up with a hammer. I have heard about them possibly splintering. Smashing them up a little bit would do the trick.

Fish isnt essential, but canned mackeral is pretty cheap. It would be a good thing to get.

I would just feed the organ meat with a normal meal. Or with the ribs.

Doesnt really matter.

As for the bone, I often feed a really boney meal one day, and a not-so-boney meal the next. lol

If that makes any sense.

by **pitbullmamaliz** » May 19th, 2006, 5:49 pm

It does make sense - I wasn't sure if I needed to balance bony with meaty in the same day, or if doing it over a few days was okay.

by **cheekymunkee** » May 19th, 2006, 7:42 pm

Magnolia618 wrote:I would smash the rib bones up with a hammer. I have heard about them possibly splintering. Smashing them up a little bit would do the trick.

Fish isnt essential, but canned mackeral is pretty cheap. It would be a good thing to get.

I would just feed the organ meat with a normal meal. Or with the ribs. Doesnt really matter.

As for the bone, I often feed a really boney meal one day, and a not-so-boney meal the next. If that makes any sense.

What SHE said!

by **pitbullmamaliz** » May 22nd, 2006, 9:25 pm

Okay, all I'm going to say is, WHY IN GOD'S NAME DIDN'T ANYBODY TELL ME HOW GROSS AND SLIPPERY AND SLIMY LIVER IS!!!!!!!!!!!!! :eekHair:

OMG I thought I was gonna yack when I opened it up! It was nasty smelling and just so slippery I couldn't keep a grip on it...*gag reflex* Inara wolfed it down. Actually, more accurately, she SLURPED it down. :puke:

She also had some beef ribs for the first time tonight which she thoroughly enjoyed. She used her feet tonight to hold them down, which is another first. I took the bones away when she had cleaned them off.
Also, I had bought a beef kidney (again, EWWW) and when I pulled it out of the package to repackage it, it had what felt like bone attached, as well as what looked like intestines? Is that really bone and intestines? Either way, it too, is gross! My first drawback with raw - ORGANS ARE NASTY FEELING!!!

by **katiek0417** » May 22nd, 2006, 10:11 pm

LOL

Yeah....raw organs can be pretty gross...they have gizzards and hearts at my market

Definitely not fun handling them...but the benefits are incredible...

by **cheekymunkee** » May 22nd, 2006, 10:12 pm

Yep, a hand full of nasty is what that is.........wait until you get a wiff of beef kidney. :sad2:

And just WAIT until you drop a whole beef heart on your foot.....or you are cutting up fish & it is staring at you.

by **dogcrazyjen** » May 23rd, 2006, 9:02 am

Liver can give the runs, so be careful how much you are giving her. I have heard 70% bone in, 30% whole meat. Make it 5% of total organ meat. Think about natural proportions of liver to meat ratio in a cow or chicken. Not much organ meat.

I didn't know you could get kidney!

We are still only on chicken because of Tallulahs allergies, the vet said one protien source only for a few months. I would really like to try mutton with them next. I think it is fairly cheap at the store, and I may have a fresh source soon.

by **Maryellen** » May 23rd, 2006, 9:17 am

ooh mutton will be rich.... and she might get the runs..... i would do some other protein first before lamb....

by **dogcrazyjen** » May 23rd, 2006, 9:52 am

Think so? She handles fat in her diet just fine?

Is it like pork where the fat is marbled throughout the meat?

by **cheekymunkee** » May 23rd, 2006, 9:59 am

Feeding lamb to my three almost made me move out of my house & burn it to the gorund the stench was so bad. They didn't get the runs ( though many dogs do) but they had noxious gas that even THEY could not stand. I had to air out my entire house, I kid you not. When I first walked up to my front door I thought something had died in the garage...............until I got closer to the bedrooms the dogs were in. Never again will lamb cross my threshold. :lookaround:

Jenn, check your pm's!

by **LindsaySF** » May 23rd, 2006, 12:36 pm

Liver disgusts me as well. :lol3:

When I had to feed a population of planaria (freshwater flatworms) for an experiment, I had to feed them raw liver.

As if the liver isn't bad enough, try watching chunks of it disintegrate in the water and float around...
:puke:

~Lindsay~

by **SpiritFngrz** » May 23rd, 2006, 12:42 pm

When my husband goes hunting I give the heart and liver to Sismorphine for Wally. Those things weigh a ton!!!
Liver is gross

by **SpiritFngrz** » May 23rd, 2006, 12:43 pm

LindsaySF wrote:As if the liver isn't bad enough, try watching chunks of it disintegrate in the water and float around...

~Lindsay~

BWAHAHA I perfuse mouse liver and grind it up like a milkshake. Then spin down the hepatocytes. Yum!

by **katiek0417** » May 23rd, 2006, 1:06 pm

Some of us are TRYING to eat our lunches!!!!

LOL :wink:

by **LindsaySF** » May 23rd, 2006, 1:54 pm

SpiritFngrz wrote:BWAHAHA I perfuse mouse liver and grind it up like a milkshake. Then spin down the hepatocytes. Yum!

EWWWW!

I bet it looks like a chocolate milkshake too with the brown color.

~Lindsay~

by **SisMorphine** » May 23rd, 2006, 3:24 pm

SpiritFngrz wrote:When my husband goes hunting I give the heart and liver to Sismorphine for Wally. Those things weigh a ton!!!
Liver is gross

And boy does Wally love it!!!

I make liver brownies as dog treats and I have to take chicken livers and put them in the food processor. I normally have a pretty strong stomach but I gag the whole time I make them!!!

by **bahamutt99** » May 23rd, 2006, 3:49 pm

Hehe. This reminds me of when my husband hit a deer. I yelled at him for not bringing home some of the organs for Loki. (But dang that venison tasted good!)

by **Magnolia618** » May 23rd, 2006, 4:43 pm

Yeah, liver is pretty nasty.

I'm SO excited because my boss is giving me venison that she doesnt eat!!!

There are TONS of hunters around me, I really need to find someone to give me the stuff they dont want.

This reminds me of when my husband hit a deer. I yelled at him for not bringing home some of the organs for Loki.

When I've seen freshly killed deer on the road, I can't say that the thought hasnt crossed my mind :oops:

The best was when someone gave me a huge cooler full of organic, free-range, local, fresh beef...

... and I fed it to the dogs. :twisted:

by **turtle** » May 24th, 2006, 1:07 am

dogcrazyjen wrote:We are still only on chicken because of Tallulahs allergies, the vet said one protien source only for a few months. I would really like to try mutton with them next. I think it is fairly cheap at the store, and I may have a fresh source soon.

I still feed some raw lamb neck pieces but it is rich. If I feed it more than one day at a time she gets the runs so I feed it sparingly. Veal necks are good but rich too. How about turkey? Mine does well with turkey wings and they are huge!

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