Chicken Neck Warning

[jenners]

In case you feed raw chicken necks, the second article here would be of interest

 

https://tinyurl.com/y9lrk5pc

 

Jennie

[macoduck]

Jennie, that was very scary article.

[JohnF]

It would seem that nothing is safe, especially after My Peggy got so much trouble from salmonella in human-grade chicken last year!

[racindog]

I have fed raw for many many years because my dogs do so much better on it. I NEVER feed raw chicken. I feed raw everything else---ostrich, emu, beef, buffalo, goat, sheep, lamb, turkey, rabbit...... you name it...but I don't feed raw chicken. I read an article in Whole Dog Journal eons ago(back when it was a worthwhile read before it went all centro-pet and down the toilet) and they had tested raw meats. Raw chicken had pathogens in it that NONE of the other raw meats did. So I decided right then no chicken. And of course just look at the studies done on human grocery store chicken-an unbelievable amount of it is pathogenic. So raw chicken is not an option for us.

[RaineysMom]

I feed Zeke raw fine ground TURKEY necks from My Pet Carnivore and hope they don't fall under something like this Both get raw turkey (Butterball) and raw hamburger (Costco 88%). Zeke also gets their Turkey Delight (which is fine ground with bones and some organ meat) and their fine ground rabbit (Larry doesn't get any that has bone as he gets a daily famotidine tablet and I don't know if he can ingest the bone as well, not going to take a chance).

 

[racindog]

I feed Zeke raw fine ground TURKEY necks from My Pet Carnivore and hope they don't fall under something like this Both get raw turkey (Butterball) and raw hamburger (Costco 88%). Zeke also gets their Turkey Delight (which is fine ground with bones and some organ meat) and their fine ground rabbit (Larry doesn't get any that has bone as he gets a daily famotidine tablet and I don't know if he can ingest the bone as well, not going to take a chance).

 

I feed a lot of MPC turkey. I am 100% confident in its wholesomeness. I'd eat it myself. I actually think the MPC product is safer than the grocery store stuff but thats just me hehe. I fed their raw turkey necks for years without incident. Only reason I stopped was some propaganda I read about the neck vertebra causing problems. I like turkey necks because it firms up their poop so nice with all the bone and the nice minerals etc in it so I still buy it in their 1 lb tubs ground up. We like their rabbit too! And the ostrich, emu, mutton, lamb, goat, duck etc etc.

Edited February 7, 2018 by racindog

[NeylasMom]

The link in the OP isn't working for me, but I am assuming this is an article related to the study that (falsely) linked feeding raw chicken and APN (which is virtually unheard of by the way). I think it's always best to read the original study and think very critically before getting up in arms over an article or headline meant to incite fear. So if you are interested, here's the actual study:

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jvim.15030/full

 

Lots of issues with this study - small sample size, poor selection of controls, correlation is not causation, done in Australia, not the US, etc. Is it worth considering that feeding raw chicken, especially those cuts found with higher levels increases your dog's likelihood of exposure to bacteria? Sure. Does it make sense to take precautions by not feeding those cuts, freezing to kill parasites, and choosing sources of raw meat that are less likely to be contaminated? Sure. Does it make sense to reconsider your dog's raw diet and whether home cooked is a better choice if they are immuno-compromised? Sure. Does this one (poorly done) study mean we should all freak out about the possibility that feeding a raw diet is going to cause our dog to get some incredibly rare disease, from which they are likely to recover. Uh, no.

 

Two rebuttals that outline some of the issues with this study and how it was presented:

https://www.dogsfirst.ie/raw-chicken-does-not-cause-paralysis-in-dogs/

https://therawfeedingcommunity.com/2018/02/03/raw-chicken-linked-to-paralysis-in-dogs-a-closer-look/

[Batmom]

FYI, many bacteria (including salmonella) are not killed by freezing.

[NeylasMom]

FYI, many bacteria (including salmonella) are not killed by freezing.

Yes, that's why I said parasites, but thanks for clarifying in case anyone thought I meant bacteria.

[Batmom]

The articles on the linked page were discussing bacteria .

[NeylasMom]

The articles on the linked page were discussing bacteria .

Yes, I know. I wasn't sure if your comment was directed at me since I mentioned freezing meat to kill parasites and was just saying if it was, I truly meant parasites. I was speaking generally there, not specifically to what was in the article. Though there is some evidence that freezing, defrosting, and refreezing does decrease bacterial load.

[Batmom]

Good evidence, tho? If you're defrosting at room temperature, you'd increase the bacterial load. I mention this because I've known a lot of folks over the years who do defrost at room temp. Not usually a big issue if you keep your hands and tools clean and you cook the stuff well.

 

Note also that some parasites take a good week to die in the freezer -- you can't just pop things in overnight -- and some types of parasite eggs can survive freezing just about forever (those mostly wouldn't be a problem for things people tend to eat, but still).

 

Not trying to be a pest, just a microbiology oriented person .

[RaineysMom]

I feed a lot of MPC turkey. I am 100% confident in its wholesomeness. I'd eat it myself. I actually think the MPC product is safer than the grocery store stuff but thats just me hehe. I fed their raw turkey necks for years without incident. Only reason I stopped was some propaganda I read about the neck vertebra causing problems. I like turkey necks because it firms up their poop so nice with all the bone and the nice minerals etc in it so I still buy it in their 1 lb tubs ground up. We like their rabbit too! And the ostrich, emu, mutton, lamb, goat, duck etc etc.

isn't their stuff great??? I originally tried the coarse ground beef but Zeke literally ran from it, and the coarse ground has just a bit too big of bone pieces in there for me, I worried about it. The fine ground is awesome. I wish they'd get the lamb back, and do the fine ground on that one. Their turkey gizzards and the duck hearts! Man it was so hard for me not to try them myself but they say their stuff isn't for humans but....

[RaineysMom]

Good evidence, tho? If you're defrosting at room temperature, you'd increase the bacterial load. I mention this because I've known a lot of folks over the years who do defrost at room temp. Not usually a big issue if you keep your hands and tools clean and you cook the stuff well.

as a ServSafe certified chef this makes me bonkers. :lol

 

and most parasites need a good week at 0 degrees to be killed....nasty little buggers

[NeylasMom]

Good evidence, tho? If you're defrosting at room temperature, you'd increase the bacterial load. I mention this because I've known a lot of folks over the years who do defrost at room temp. Not usually a big issue if you keep your hands and tools clean and you cook the stuff well.

 

Note also that some parasites take a good week to die in the freezer -- you can't just pop things in overnight -- and some types of parasite eggs can survive freezing just about forever (those mostly wouldn't be a problem for things people tend to eat, but still).

 

Not trying to be a pest, just a microbiology oriented person .

No worries, I have a biology degree so I appreciate it. There are some studies that found freezing or freezing and refreezing lowered counts. Having said that, it takes a small amount of Campy to cause infection in people and freezing didn't lower the count that much. But of course, we're talking about dogs, who are equipped to handle bacteria anyway (at least when not immune-compromised).

[GreyTzu]

My dogs do well on free-range cats.

[Batmom]

Links to the articles about thawing and refreezing lowering counts? 'Course they're probably not talking about thawing the Thanksgiving turkey on the counter for 3 days (yes, I survived that one; not my own family), but still.

 

 

I'm just curious as my degree was microbiology heavy as well.

 

 

Currently my dogs eat birdseed and dryer fluff, along with the occasional Kleenex.