Raw Questions

[Wonder]

I've done my research, talked to people feeding raw, joined a few yahoo raw groups and now ready to jump in. Actually, jumped in last Sunday

 

A friend gave me a spreadsheet that she uses, to help me calculate how much to feed of what, etc.

 

Here's just one day for example:

 

Pork Neck 22.46 Grnd Trky 12.10 Kidney 1.73

These are oz

 

I picked up pork neck bones at the grocery story. I weighed them out, and bagged for a day and some bags are 3-4 hunks.

My question is, these seem more bone than meat (his poop is normal already for RAW, crumbly) but I'm worried he's not getting enough meat.

 

Also, it takes him forever to eat just 1 hunk - like 20 minutes. I don't have time to watch him while he eats this in the morning but it would take him an hour at night to eat 4-5 hunks.

 

I'm thinking of giving him a chicken quarter instead of the pork necks and see if that is quicker for him to eat.

 

 

[Remolacha]

I stopped using pork necks, even though they are cheap, because if they are whole, they take forever to eat, and if they are cut up (how you usually see them) the edges are too sharp for my comfort. They are mostly bone, so you would want to give more meat, either with them, or at the other meal of the day. Same with lamb necks (except for the cheap part!)

[XTRAWLD]

Bone makes poop hard. Organ makes poop soft. These will be some guidelines as you go along to make the perfect ratio....each dog is different. Kasey usually needs less bone than Ryder for instance. It should be the middle amount for your ratios so yours sound way off. How much meat is on the bones? Should be more like 80% meat, 10% bone, 10% organ

 

Honestly, prolly need one "hunk" but I have no idea how big that is in comparison to the rest of what you have. I've never tried pork neck bones. Might I suggest something a like turkey neck/leg or chicken instead? Would be a little easier to eat as well since it's softer.

 

It really will take some trial and error to get it just right.

Edited July 19, 2013 by XTRAWLD

[Wonder]

I bought 50 lbs of pork neck bones so they should last me a while, I guess

 

These look like more bone than meat.

 

I'm going to order chicken quarters and just give a pork neck once every few days or when I have time to sit and watch him eat it.

[XTRAWLD]

50lbs! WOW!

 

Certainly, you might even be able to get away with bone in one meal of the day, and not in the other to keep it steady (provided you are feeding twice a day). Depends on his system really. Feed more organ with the bone as well to even it out if needed.

Edited July 19, 2013 by XTRAWLD

[RedHead]

Pork necks are okay to feed (lots of raw feeders use these), but just balance it out with boneless meat (either at the later meal or going boneless every other day). You just don't want to overdue the calcium in the long term...high levels of calcium bind other minerals like zinc for example (which is one reason why some people claim raw made their dog's coats dull, when in fact they are just overdoing the calcium/bones). A good rules of thumb I use for meat is half raw meaty bones/ half boneless. So...if you feed the pork necks just balance it out each week with an equal amount (or a bit more) of boneless.

[Guest Marsroving]

If I feel like Mars is getting too much bone ill back off a couple days and switch to livers with broccoli or ground beef with peas. I gave him a pig foot as a treat once and his poo was crumbly and dry for two days! You will know when you've over done the bone because the poor pups get very constipated : (. No one likes straining to pooh! When feeding raw its great to start off with bird meats, thighs and the like, because that gives the dogs body time to adjust back to a natural diet. After a few weeks then you can throw in more pork, veal, and beef. Just don't give them turkey legs! The turkey drumsticks are very hard on their teeth! As far as I can tell the rest of the turkey is just fine ; )

[Wonder]

I found chicken qtrs at Walmart so picked up 20 lbs. He had one last night and loved it

 

I am going to give the pork necks just once a week or when I need him to stay busy. I gave him 2 chunks on Sat and it took him an hour to eat them both.

[BatterseaBrindl]

Is there any way you can get the pork necks ground up and then just add to his other 'soft' meats?

 

Nixon is more 'sensitive' to bone than the others.

I feed a pre-mixed raw feed, so can not control the bone content. I sprinkle a little bit of Metamusil on his food, or top-dress with a bit of kibble if I find he's getting 'bunged up'.