Raw issues......
Submitted by Alicia Jay Deuc... on January 25, 2011 - 4:17pmSo we have been feeding raw now for about 2.5 weeks. We have been feeding all chicken except for one meal of beef. I live in the Chicago area and meat here is not cheap, for read meats it will be at least $3-$4 a pound. Chicken is cheap, I can get quarters for $0.49 a pound. I know they can't have strictly chicken, I know I need to be feeding red meats as well. How often do you feed red meat? Is it ok to feed chicken two days, then beef, chicken two days, then beef, and perhaps throw a fish day in there as well? As for bone, we have been giving bone at every meal because we bought chicken quarters, is that bad? Too much bone? How many days a week do you feed bone?
I guess I am just starting to question if this is the right thing for us. I know that it is better for the dogs and I am probably making it more work than it is. We never had any kibble issues, we were feeding Orijen and Acana so the best of the best when it comes to kibble. Now that we are on raw, Oliver is getting tear stains which I do not want and he has developed reddish brown gunk in his nose rope. I am hoping it is a detox and it will all go away.
Ok, thanks for letting me rant.....any suggestions or thoughts.
This is a great site
on feeding raw.
http://dogfoodchat.com/forum/raw-feeding/
I have had Kofi on raw about 7 months. She mostly chicken and beef, and some organ meat. I do a variety of different methods, grinding bone and crushing too.
I just alternate according to what's on hand and what I think she may need. We do fish once or so a week.
I don't really think too much, just watch her poops and try to give as much variety as I am able.
Hope it works for you too.
I feed Audrey red meat daily
Just this week we have stopped feeding her chicken entirely, but she was only getting 2-4 oz of chopped chicken a day. Since chicken is the only consistant thing she's had since day one, and she STILL has tear stains, we decided to stop it entirely for a while and see if that helps them go away. And the last bit of chicken we got had to have been enhanced because she got runny poops and was itching her face again.
We can get beef like london broil and stew meat for around $2 a pound, and pork for close to that. The pork is very frequently enhanced also, it is a pain how hard it is to find unenhanced meat. The lamb ribs are OUTRAGEOUS! $10.99 a pound at Costco! She really loves it though and she can handle the bones easily so for now we will get her that for close to half her bone requirement. We got pork ribs from Costco and my husband chopped them (MUCH harder than chicken to chop!) and we'll see how she handles that. They are only $3.99 a pound so HOPEFULLY she will be able to digest them just fine and the lamb will just be once a month. (it was $17 for the rack of lamb we got and my husband removed the meat from the bone. It looks like that will be enough bone for her for 7-8 days plus enough meat for about 2 days. I told him it costs $20 to go see a movie, I'd rather spend that on Audrey to have something she really loves)
As I mentioned below, Audrey did go through a detox, and it lasted MONTHS. She was really suffering from the processed food, it took a long time for her body to get rid of the toxins and adjust with the proper bacteria and digestive enzymes. She no longer needs daily probiotics.
I know a LOT of people that feed mostly chicken, and their dogs do just fine. I feed bone daily because it's chopped and easy to measure. She only gets 1 oz of bone. Chicken quarters only over time will be too much bone, but it is a very good way to start. They need more bone at first.
There is no one correct way to feed raw. If you want to feed bone daily that is perfectly fine. The recommendation from one site is to feed one boney meal and one meat meal per day. There is a website I sent a link for in one of the posts below, I can't remember the topic. But that was an excellent site for raw feeding menus.
For better prices, look for butcher shops-ask what they do with their sawdust? What do they do with un-saleable meat? Can you get a deal on bulk purchases?
Co-ops also are a good source.
Cathy and Audrey
here is that great article....
http://www.b-naturals.com/newsletter/raw-diet/
this site has some very good information
Cathy and Audrey
Wow, Cathy, pork ribs harder to chop?
I read on one of the raw sites that the bones were softer......just goes to show the variety of info out there. When I feed Kofi ribs, I use the poultry shears to cut between, and feed her a section with a couple of bones. She hasn't had for awhile, so I'll watch her carefully the next time.
Kofi had no tear stains on kibble, and her kibble wasn't chicken based. I'll be anxious to hear the outcome with Audrey.
Great post. I appreciate all your info!
My husband said it was MUCH harder
to chop the pork than chicken. The lamb was easier than the pork also. Audrey handled the whole lamb rib just fine, but Eric is paranoid about her choking and I am not going to argue with him about it. I wish we could find the lamb cheaper! $10.99 a pound is a bit much. We can get Angus filet mignon for $9 a pound!
Cathy and Audrey