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Feeding Raw...And we're off

Buddy and brother got their first raw chicken today...2 wings each and 1/2 their regular NB Sweetpotatoe and Fish.  Brother didn't know what to think, which is strange cause he is so much more "doggie" than Buddy, so Brother licks his for awhile, and Bud goes right to chewing. 

 And then Bud urpped some up, and ate it again like Carol said.  They have chicken quarters on sale around here 10 lbs for $6.90. 

 Got one bag, may get a couple more to freeze.  We are all three pretty excited about it, hopin for the best.  Thanks for all the info, I gotta read plenty more, but we are started.

 

Steve

 

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Adam76's picture

Awesome

Only thing I would add is if your feeding raw and there dry food still you should feed them at different times. The reason is raw and kibble are digested at different speeds, so people who feed both try to space the meals out 12 hrs apart. This is if you feed twice a day. Otherwise I would just give them the raw and forget about the dry food, this way you can see how they are doing on the raw diet without any thing else added in. How old and how big are your boys?

IndyBulldog™'s picture

Buddy's around 63 and Brother 58 lbs

Buddy the Brindle is 2 year 1 month, and Brother will be 2 in Sept. 

 I didn't think about that, as far as different time of digestion.   Today they had three chicken wings and 2 soft boiled eggs and shells, 1/2 an apple and 1 1/3 cups NB Sweetpotato and fish, each.  They still act a little hungry, and on kibble, Brother had lost interest.

I've got chicken quarters for tomorrow, and I have 1/2 pound can of sardines for someday once they get going.  It's weird, but yes Carol they are excited, and me too.  They have been jumping and play fighting on the couch, and Brother is acting like more of a Bully, just pushing his way around.  Brother is also jumpin' round like he's lighter, and has more energy..

I wonder how much chicken only for a meal by itself at their weights

 

Thanks for the help

 

Steve

 

 

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Adam76's picture

The guidelines for raw

The guidelines for raw feeding are to feed around 2-3% of there body weight. So there both around 60lbs so that is between 1.2 and 1.8 lbs, or around 19-28 oz. I would probably start around 2% in the begining to get them used to it at first. I feed twice a day around 12oz in the morning and 12 oz at night. So you have to figure out how many times a day your going to feed and then go from there. I have a scale that I used in the beginning and still use at times now to weigh out the meals.  Your bullies are gonna love you for feeding raw, I love feeding it and its amazing how excited Duke gets when its time to eat.

Be careful with the chicken wings, Steve

Watch them closely because of the size, they can choke. If you want your guys to get the nutrients from the veggies and fruit they must be pulverized to  break down the cell wall.

Kofi began with ground chicken in the morning and chicken back in the P:M. Like Adam, I weighed the meat in the beginning. When her poos looked to chalky, I added more ground and less bone; if to soft, I reversed.

Soon it all becomes second nature.

Just remember that wings and chicken necks can pose a choking hazard on our guys because of their small size. If I feed them to Kofi, I give them partially frozen. She has never chocked on them, but since I've read that it has made me cautious.

If you can get your hands on chicken feet, they are great for treats or a meal. They are also rich in glucosamine.

Fun to read how they are progressing.

 

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Kofi and Carol

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CathyandAudrey's picture

remember 80-10-10

80% meat 10% bone 10% secreting organ (5% of that must be liver)

feed whatever amount keeps them at a good weight. If you are starting with heavy dogs, aim for 2% of their IDEAL weight. If your dogs are already at an ideal weight, aim for 2.5 to 3% of their ideal weight, and give it some time to see how they do. Adjust more or less accordingly.

One more thing, wings are super bony(calcium) and egg shells are high in calcium. If this is new to them that has the potential to be constipating. It also can throw off the calcium/phosphorus ratio. It is not going to happen from an occasional feeding, but is something to consdier for long term.

 

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IndyBulldog™'s picture

Thanks,

Tonight I gave them a chicken hind quarter, and a couple of gizzards. 

They fooled around a while playin' out front, and then hit the sack early, they seem real satisfied.

I took off some of the fat off them and cut the flesh a little to make it easier to tear, as Brother still wasn't sure about whole foods, but he pulled the meat offf as I held it and when I gave it to him he started crunching it up.  They both ate their food and no upchucking, so they must be learning.

Thanks againSteve

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In the beginning, I would try

to hold onto the piece of chicken until Kofi chewed it for awhile, so she would get the idea. Maybe you may need to try that with Brother.

When I took my grandson's bully a chicken foot the first time, it took him about 45 minutes to eat it. (he was about 4 months old) The next day he chewed and licked for about 15 minutes. Now he will devour anything that I decide to share with him.

I bet your guys will be very excited about their mealtimes. I was really surprised at how much Kofi loved raw from the beginning.

Keep us informed.

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CathyandAudrey's picture

How exciting!

I still use a scale, because I am absolutely horrible at eyeballing things. If Audrey gets too much it gves her diarrhea.

We stopped giving her chicken for a few months, and when we started again it gave her terrible gas, so no more chicken for Audrey. For bone she gets mostly pork ribs.(We freeze all pork for a minimum of 2 weeks) My husband still cuts them into big chunks, he is so paranoid about her swallowing too big of a piece, plus he can't deal with the nasty mess when she takes it out of her bowl and chews it on the floor.

She really loves lamb ribs but last time we went shopping it was $25 a POUND. Um, that's a big NO! The other bone she gets is rabbit. I am trying to convince my husband he doesn't need to chop it but he is stubborn. If I get to it before he does I give her the quartered rabbit parts whole. She LOVES munching on them!

Audrey only needs a small amount of bone, for her it is definitely no more than 10% of her total diet.

Chickens are very bony critters, which makes them an excellent starting point. Just make sure to gradually add in boneless meat, and red meat should be the majority of it. Then add in the organs. Beef liver (or lamb or any red meat animal) is VERY important. It needs to be 5% of their diet. The other 5% organ requirement can be any other secreting organ. I have a very difficult time FINDING other secreting organs, so lately Audrey has been getting mostly beef and chicken livers and the organs from the rabbits she gets.

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IndyBulldog™'s picture

Kibble

I tried to give kibble this AM, Buddy will eat anything at anytime, but Brother wouldn't, then he did later.

  I have some chicken quarters and I thought some liver and maybe a little beef. 

 I'm gonna make up a packet in  plastic bags for a couple meals ahead, as to spread out the beef and liver. 

 May cut the liver up and freeze some to only add a little at a time.  They liked the soft boiled eggs.

Looking for a grinder.  I'm sure the family has a hand crank one.

Thanks to everyone for all the good tips.  I'd say the chicken wings and eggs really made Brothers day, Buddy, loved it too, but he's so easy going, he's always happy.

Here is a pic of Buddy, I

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CathyandAudrey's picture

Liver

some dogs can eat their liver requirement in a few meals a week, others in small bits every day. Liver can give nasty runny poops, so go slow at first with it.

Audrey gets her liver in small bits every day, we give it with her morning meal where she also gets her bone. I would highly recommend you only add one new thing at a time, if your dogs have not had beef or liver yet I'd pick one or the other (probably the beef and save the liver for the last thing to add).

Audrey is one of those "will eat anything" dogs, although she hasn't had kibble in a year and a half. So far she loves anything we put in her bowl, except for egg shells! She can peel a hard boiled egg and leave the shell. She usually gets her eggs raw but OH MY!! the egg farts!

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Also, u may need to

wait to introduce liver until the dogs have got use to the chicken. Chicken for at least a week, maybe two before introducing anything else. That way you will be able to tell if there is a culprit with any new food.

Chicken backs have a good bone to meat ratio, and that's why they are good to start with. Every dog is different, so proceed cautiously and watch the results.

And, most importantly......have fun!

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Kofi and Carol

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IndyBulldog™'s picture

Grinder

What type of grinder does it take to grind chicken with the bone in?  I got some gizzards to feed with the thigh / leg piece, so I may just freeze the liver for a week or so.

 

Steve

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Adam76's picture

Yeah I would hold off on the

Yeah I would hold off on the liver for a while, let them get used to the chicken first, before adding in new proteins.

I bought a SamBaere grinder.

It does a great job of grinding chicken bones. Once I started doing PMR, I quit grinding, but I still use it to prepare her meals when I'm going to board her. I never feed bone in without supervising her.

Kofi also loves Mackerel and gets it about once a week. I buy the cans, rinse it well and one can is two meals for her. Canned salmon the same. I give one or the other once a week. I recently bought some dried sardines at our local Asian mkt which she also enjoyed for treats.  Funny tho that Bo Kitty wouldn't touch them.

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Deb and MacKenzie and Ester's picture

Fish Breath ??

Do you let her kiss you?....ewwwww.  Ester is always burping in my face, Not sure I could deal with sardine breath.

Lol, I wish she would

kiss me. I must smell to bad to her. She'll only give me some sugar if she wants something really bad. 

Honestly, her breath never smells. Maybe if she ate fish more often. If I give her sadines, she only gets a couple at a time.

 

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Kofi and Carol

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