The1930sRust wrote:

How often do you all give whole chicken parts? Weekly, every other day?

I don't feed raw exclusively, we feed a combination of dehydrated or freeze dried raw with raw. With that said, I typically will feed raw chicken parts (I feed mainly chicken quarters and chicken breast) about 3-4 times a week. Sometimes I sub other protein sources and parts but on average I feed raw meals 3-4 times/week. It'd be a lot more than that if I fed prey model raw.

The1930sRust wrote:

What about raw oysters? I have 12 dozen in the basement for a garden party this weekend.....

I have no idea on the oysters. Couldn't find any mention of raw oysters on the raw feeding forum I'm on either. I would think that in small quantities they'd probably be okay but don't quote me on that. My concerns with oysters would be possible mercury if they are wild caught and obviously stomach upset if it doesn't agree with the dogs.

Neither Violet our our Beagle Nola like raw oysters. More for us! But, they love the shells! Both carrying one around now. Good source of Calcium I guess...

We've been giving raw chicken about every other evening and they do love that.

Starting Blitz and Bullet out on a partial raw diet on Monday! We are gonna do half raw half kibble until our kibble is gone, and also to ease them into it! I'll post pictures of how it goes! When the kibble is gone I may have to try THK... I've never heard of it, but from what I've found online it looks like a good product!

KaylaNL wrote:

Starting Blitz and Bullet out on a partial raw diet on Monday! We are gonna do half raw half kibble until our kibble is gone, and also to ease them into it! I'll post pictures of how it goes! When the kibble is gone I may have to try THK... I've never heard of it, but from what I've found online it looks like a good product!

THK is great, and it's already balanced, so it's way less work trying to figure out the specific vitamins and minerals that they need on a daily bases. Grandma Lucy's is another great food. Just got a bag and tested it out with Kale and his stools were great still.

Here's Blitz's first introduction to partial raw! Ground beef, chopped green beans, and Eukanuba kibble. (The pictures are bad quality, I'll do better next time )






If I wouldn't have hand fed it to him I think he would have woofed it down like Bullet did. BUT he ate ALL the kibble too!! I figured he'd eat the meat and then be done with it because when I put wet dog food with gravy over kibble he just licks the kibble, but he ate them all this time! Looks like it'll be a good transition into raw!

Aww, I'm glad they liked it. I alternate between mixing my dogs' raw with Grandma Lucy's and The Honest Kitchen. Feeding a dehydrated or freeze dried raw with raw is better and easier on their digestion than kibble and raw. But you do whatever works best for you and your pups. And while you're in this transition period keep an eye on their weight and adjust feeding amounts as necessary until you find the right balance for your dogs.

Thanks Valerie! I am looking into THK, I still have half a garbage can full of kibble since I was used to buying it in bulk, so once that is gone I am going to switch to THK I believe
Just got my chest freezer today and am getting 10lbs of chicken & fish to start them out on for the next couple weeks. I'm excited and so are they! Starting off with probably 1/4 a lb a day and then will work out way up to whatever each dog needs!

KaylaNL wrote:

Thanks Valerie! I am looking into THK, I still have half a garbage can full of kibble since I was used to buying it in bulk, so once that is gone I am going to switch to THK I believe
Just got my chest freezer today and am getting 10lbs of chicken & fish to start them out on for the next couple weeks. I'm excited and so are they! Starting off with probably 1/4 a lb a day and then will work out way up to whatever each dog needs!

Fish is great! Just remember that salmon always needs to be cooked first, if you were to feed that.

hypers987 wrote:

Fish is great! Just remember that salmon always needs to be cooked first, if you were to feed that.

Thank you! I did not know this. The fish we are getting is tilapia but it is good to know that for future reference!!

hypers987 wrote:

Fish is great! Just remember that salmon always needs to be cooked first, if you were to feed that.

what's the reason for salmon needing to be cooked first?

cmanding wrote:

hypers987 wrote:

Fish is great! Just remember that salmon always needs to be cooked first, if you were to feed that.

what's the reason for salmon needing to be cooked first?

http://www.itsfortheanimals.com/must_cook_salmon_for_dogs.htm

Freezing can kill the parasites, but better be safer than sorry IMO.

I tried raw for the first time yesterday and she likes it. I had chicken breasts and was a little nervous about giving her the whole thing because I didn't want chicken juice all over the house, so I cut off a piece of the meat and gave it to her, she of course took it into the livingroom and continued to lick it and nibble at it, it took about 10 minutes for her to eat it, but loved it and came back for more.
So I cut it up into chunks and mixed it with her kibble (about a cup) and then gave it to her, She ate all the chicken and left the rest.
I ended up cooking some chicken and thats what she got for dinner.
Maybe I will lock her into the bathroom or something so she can have the whole chunk next time. That way it not on the carpet and easy to clean. I don't have a crate anymore because I never used it.
I will send pictures next time. I'm trying to start small because I didn't know if she would throw up or not.
She did great, This seems like it would be easier, she eats when I eat.

Brooke, thanks for the heads up on salmon. I never knew that! Learning something new every day.

Christine, will Libby eat outside? I like to feed my dogs their raw food outside, weather permitting, that way I don't have any mess to clean up. lol Otherwise they drag their raw food all over and it's so frustrating and time consuming after a while.

I have given her treats outside and she will want in right away. I don't know if she thinks a animal is going to come steal it. I will try it though. I guess I could always get a baby gate and put it up so she cant leave the kitchen.
It was just nice to see her sit so nicely waiting for it.
She kept just nibbling it with her front teeth at first to get the a feel of the texture.

First day of their partial raw diet! Chicken thighs with bones and skin! They LOVED it. Blitz licked and licked and licked at it and then chomped away!

Dinner last night! lol

Chicken legs and quarters with the natural mix ground.

*Bump* for newer members and new raw feeders.

arooroomom wrote:

Dinner last night! lol

Chicken legs and quarters with the natural mix ground.

dinner time around there must be crazy!

Can they eat the bone for the chicken drumsticks? Sorry for the question, I'm new in feeding raw. I still feed kibble in the morning but I'm changing their lunch and dinner to raw food. The only bone I gave them is the ones in chicken necks because I'm not too sure which bones can be eaten and which ones to avoid.

Our setup

- Prepping
- The dog's section of the freezer
- Ground beef/veal/pork mix, chicken heart/liver & egg
- bon appetit
- mmm
-

Titus&Lycan wrote:

Can they eat the bone for the chicken drumsticks? Sorry for the question, I'm new in feeding raw. I still feed kibble in the morning but I'm changing their lunch and dinner to raw food. The only bone I gave them is the ones in chicken necks because I'm not too sure which bones can be eaten and which ones to avoid.

Yes, they can. Mine has been eating drumstick bone since she was 4 weeks old.

Great pics Kelly!

Cato enjoying a neck:




Delilah, deciding which meat is worthy of her to eat:


Throwing the food around the kitchen (thank god for cleaner):


Cato's Natural Mix and turkey necks:



This is going to sound morbid, but I love watching them eat. It seems so natural.

Thanks Val

Trying a raw dinner;

Still not completely comfortable with feeding bones other than chicken necks. So I had ground chicken with bones first.
Is that dinner??

Waiting for release..