Changed to Raw :-)

tk123

Anyone know if the chicken necks from dogsfirst have skin/fat on them? Dublin run is tomorrow and trying to decide if I should get them since duck necks are out of stock?

toadfly

tk123 wrote: »

Anyone know if the chicken necks from dogsfirst have skin/fat on them? Dublin run is tomorrow and trying to decide if I should get them since duck necks are out of stock?

No skin, little fat but not much.

tk123

toadfly wrote: »

No skin, little fat but not much.

Thanks! I trim the fat/skin off the duck necks so didn't want to get chick if it was going to be loads of extra work :pac:

toadfly

tk123 wrote: »

Thanks! I trim the fat/skin off the duck necks so didn't want to get chick if it was going to be loads of extra work :pac:

They're so tiny you would be at it all day! I can stick up a photo when I get home in an hour if you want?

borderlinemeath

tk123 wrote: »

Anyone know if the chicken necks from dogsfirst have skin/fat on them? Dublin run is tomorrow and trying to decide if I should get them since duck necks are out of stock?

I don't think they're anywhere near as fatty as the duck necks, much smaller though. Here's a photo of some defrosted ones compared to a duck neck.

borderlinemeath

toadfly wrote: »

They're so tiny you would be at it all day! I can stick up a photo when I get home in an hour if you want?

Great minds;)

tk123

Thanks guys. Now I'm not sure about them again lol! I'm thinking they could be too much hassle and possibly a bit too small for Lucy - she'll swallow them whole!

sparky63

I get them all the time for my three. Toy breed, in between and large dog. Excellent as there's no cutting up. Perfect size for all three dogs. As there's bone in them, dogs naturally crunch them down to size to swallow.

tk123

sparky63 wrote: »

I get them all the time for my three. Toy breed, in between and large dog. Excellent as there's no cutting up. Perfect size for all three dogs. As there's bone in them, dogs naturally crunch them down to size to swallow.

My pup is still a gulper lol so gave them a miss to be safe I prefer the duck necks for them as I like the meat as lean as possible and duck has higher tryptophan levels. My big guy has lost a few kg after switching from chicken backs. Also the thyroid specialist advised me to avoid chicken as it's seen as a 'hot' meat in Chinese medicine...I don't really know what that means - something to do with anti inflammatory properties for his legs(?)...but she's a expert so I took her advise!

nightrave

It is too weird if I want to buy duck hearts from a dog butcher and cook them to eat them myself? I am desperate, as a dog butcher is apparently the only place where I am able to buy those...

tk123

nightrave wrote: »

It is too weird if I want to buy duck hearts from a dog butcher and cook them to eat them myself? I am desperate, as a dog butcher is apparently the only place where I am able to buy those...

Would you settle for chicken hearts? If so and you're in Dublin FX Bucklets in Moore Street sell them

nightrave

tk123 wrote: »

Would you settle for chicken hearts? If so and you're in Dublin FX Bucklets in Moore Street sell them

Naaah.... You can get chicken hearts at any Chinese shop and I cook them quite often. But then... Earlier this year I was in Paris and tried duck hearts. OMG! So tender, soft and delicious!

nemo32

We are thinking of changing our dog from a dry food diet with cooked chicken to Raw. We know he needs 1250g per day, 80% meat, 10% bone and 10% organ. Looking advise on how to break this down and what ingredients do you use to feed your dogs daily? Where's the best place to source the meat including green tripe?

Any other advise or suggestions welcome.

Bannasidhe

nemo32 wrote: »

We are thinking of changing our dog from a dry food diet with cooked chicken to Raw. We know he needs 1250g per day, 80% meat, 10% bone and 10% organ. Looking advise on how to break this down and what ingredients do you use to feed your dogs daily? Where's the best place to source the meat including green tripe?

Any other advise or suggestions welcome.

Make sure your dog likes a particular food before buying it in bulk. It's going to take me years to get rid of the large bag of liver in my freezer.

anniehoo

Bannasidhe wrote: »

It's going to take me years to get rid of the large bag of liver in my freezer.

Would you not sell it on? Even if at a loss it'd save you space in the freezer.

Bannasidhe

anniehoo wrote: »

Would you not sell it on? Even if at a loss it'd save you space in the freezer.

I'm trying to sneaky hide slivers of it in other meat. Got rid of a bit mixed up with diced heart tonight. They got bored of trying to spit the liver out as it was slowing down the heart gorge fest.

nemo32

Bannasidhe wrote: »

Make sure your dog likes a particular food before buying it in bulk. It's going to take me years to get rid of the large bag of liver in my freezer.

Thanks Bannsidhe, We know he likes chicken for sure so we are going to start off on chicken for the first week. Do you have any guidance on what else we can feed and how we break it down between the percentages that is required so he gets all the right vits and min?

toadfly

nemo32 wrote: »

Thanks Bannsidhe, We know he likes chicken for sure so we are going to start off on chicken for the first week. Do you have any guidance on what else we can feed and how we break it down between the percentages that is required so he gets all the right vits and min?

What I done was feed only chicken for 3 weeks. Make sure he is ok on that and then gradually add in other meats. Add one and feed those two for three weeks etc.

Most days Lex gets chicken&duck necks (from dogs first), liver, veg and salmon oil. Occasionally I feed her the Salmon chubbs from DF. She also gets tins of sardines a few times a week, a fillet of raw fish or a raw salmon head.

If I forget to take out food for her at night, I do up a batch of rice, sardines and scrambled eggs. I usually do enough for 2 or 3 days. I do a batch of that for her once a fortnight usually to change it up a bit.

I feed about 90% meat, mainly chicken and duck. All the meat has bone so not sure of percentages but she is thriving on it.

nemo32

Tks million, I was on the dogs first website lady night, the seem pretty expensive. Do you still think you spending the same as you would on dry? Not our reason for changing but just interested. Do you ever feed tripe?

tk123

Bannasidhe wrote: »

I'm trying to sneaky hide slivers of it in other meat. Got rid of a bit mixed up with diced heart tonight. They got bored of trying to spit the liver out as it was slowing down the heart gorge fest.

would they eat liver cake? You could make up a batch and freeze portions of it?

nemo32

Tk, I know you have one big boy and one on his way, how much do you feed your oldest each day, kg?

tk123

nemo32 wrote: »

Tk, I know you have one big boy and one on his way, how much do you feed your oldest each day, kg?

He gets 2 meals a day of 1 duck neck, 1 scoop of veg mix and a a 1-2 tablespoons of whatever wet food the pup is getting. We have to keep him thin with his legs. Last time he was weighed he was just under 29kg
Puppy is 7 months and would get approx 800-1000g a day of meat + wet food - naturediet/rocco/lukullus. She hasn't be weighed in a while but would be 20-25kgs i think.

tk123

If anyone is using kelp you can get 2.5kgs on amazon for approx €15..compare to €30 for just 350g(!) from dogsfirst

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00792F2C8/ref=oh_details_o02_s00_i02?ie=UTF8&psc=1

toadfly

Got 8 Salmon Heads yesterday when I was buying fish for myself. They work out the correct weight so one head per day :P

juniord

tk123 wrote: »

If anyone is using kelp you can get 2.5kgs on amazon for approx €15..compare to €30 for just 350g(!) from dogsfirst

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00792F2C8/ref=oh_details_o02_s00_i02?ie=UTF8&psc=1

cant see from that link which kelp that is,kelp laminaria is the one thats most beneficial ,kelp ascophyllum nodosum which is useful too is available @ 5kg for €12.50 in tri equestrian supplies

tk123

Guys I got a lovely whole salmon yesterday (for the humans) and they cut it down and gave me the head, tail and spine too. Can I give the spine to the dogs or are the bones too dangerous? (I'm paranoid having had a fish bone stuck in my throat when I was a kid! )

DBB

Personally, I wouldn't risk it. I'm a bit paranoid about sharp bones like that.
When I get a salmon skeleton, I boil it up to make a fishy stock to go over the dogs' dinners!
Also, with the head, mind the gill covers. There's a sharp edge on them!

sparky63

Could throw it into a blender with some meat and kelp.

tk123

DBB wrote: »

Personally, I wouldn't risk it. I'm a bit paranoid about sharp bones like that.
When I get a salmon skeleton, I boil it up to make a fishy stock to go over the dogs' dinners!
Also, with the head, mind the gill covers. There's a sharp edge on them!

I made a stock and poured it over potatoes, off cuts, loads of meat off the spine and half the tail and head each.. Bailey lapped up the stock first savouring his meal but Lucy - thank god I fed them outside - she went straight for the head then there was fish and potato flying everywhere :P

toadfly

Got some oxtail pieces yesterday, they were €4/kg so got some for a change for Lex. Do any of you feed these? The bone seems really hard so I took it off her when she had eaten the meat and chewed the bone a while as I didn't want her swallowing the bone. Don't know if I'm being over cautious or not.