Turkey neck-1st time??
Submitted by 2bds2010 on October 20, 2010 - 6:29pmI usually grind for my bullies(bone and all). I came across some nice meaty turkey necks at the store. Since they have NEVER had a meal that wasnt ground, would a turkey neck be a safe bet??. Im sooooo nervous......
Vote "NO"
When mine were already several years eating chicken necks, backs, lamb bones, etc I would occasionally try and cut the turkey necks (hen necks not the gigantic turkey ones) in two smaller pieces with my poultry shears. Not an easy job. Nine times out of ten it would go half way down with them regurgitating several times to get the whole neck swallowed. A big mess! Turkey necks are not for the faint of heart. On the other hand, Bravo stocks duck necks at my local pet store, and those are meatier than the little chicken necks. You have to special order them and they are pricey, but a nice alternative to chicken. Just my two cents.
I keep hearing mixed things
I keep hearing mixed things about turkey necks in all of the online resources I peruse about raw feeding. Some people think they're a choking hazard, too high in bone content, and therefore not worth feeding. Other people think they're good for joint health (due to the cartilage content), an excellent workout for the teeth, and perfectly okay to give their dogs on a regular basis. I have been feeding mine turkey necks as a breakfast option for several weeks now and have encountered no difficulty from my dogs with respect to eating or digesting them (I usually follow them up with a boneless meal or two, to make up for the high bone content). I tend to be nervous too (although much less so than initially), so I do supervise closely, to make sure everyone is chewing and not just gulping (I'll sometimes even hold part of the neck to make sure they chew it up carefully). So, it may be a "know your dog" type of thing - if yours are careful chewers, I imagine they would be fine with these...I'm actually about to go feed some as breakfast here in a moment! =)
Susie, Eddie, and Alex
Actually, one caveat
While watching my dogs eat a moment ago, I remembered one thing - as Barbara and Myka mentioned, turkey necks do take some considerable strength to get through, because the bone is denser than the average poultry bone. As I said, my dogs haven't had a problem with them, but they do work hard to eat them, and I have never ground any of their food. They are definitely better at eating turkey necks now, compared to before, when we first started them (I imagine it has something to do with improved jaw strength). If you have consistently ground your pups' food for them, I'm not sure how easy turkey necks will be as a first-time bone-in, unground meal. Some sort of chicken would probably be much easier as a first-time, unground, bone-in meal before working up to some turkey necks. =)
Susie, Eddie, and Alex
I'd say No also
Audrey has issues with her teeth, but still from what I've read I would not introduce raw bones with turkey necks.
Cathy and Audrey
I wont be doing that again
Well, Roxy tolerated it well. Chewed it up like a pro. Cooper, not so much. Took it away after tons of foamy slobber and no progress other then swallowing and regurgitating a few times. I ended up pounding it out and chopping up in small pieces. Live and learn right......Back to the grind.......chicken that is.....