Feeding chicken carcass RAW

Hooked

Mornin' all

Our husky, Hugo is raw fed and usually I prepare meals (mix of rice, veg, red meat, fish and chicken) and feed whole chicken legs (on the bone) twice a week in place of these 'parcels' I make. Today he is getting a big raw, red, meaty brisket bone.

I got my hands on about 30-35 chicken 'carcasses' yesterday (thanks dad), with the wings cut off, but also mixed in with these...



Can I just feed the carcass whole or do I need to trim anything off? How often a week should I be giving, say, a carcass and two wings (in a meal)?

Cheers all

DBB

Here's my take on carcasses, paranoid as it may be! I'm worried about the little ribs, tbh... Little small bones worry me. Whether there is any real basis in fact for this, I don't know, but I don't want to find out either.
So, do you see the bit that's behind the rib cage? The unribbed bit? I twist that off and feed that separately. Then I rip the breastbone away from the ribs and feed that. And then *ahem*, I break all the ribs at the spine and take em out. There's also another small bone running perpendicular to the ribs, parallel to the spine, that comes out too.
When I buy a chicken for the dogs, the ribs and that little bone are all that survive!

borderlinemeath

DBB wrote: »

Here's my take on carcasses, paranoid as it may be! I'm worried about the little ribs, tbh... Little small bones worry me. Whether there is any real basis in fact for this, I don't know, but I don't want to find out either.
So, do you see the bit that's behind the rib cage? The unribbed bit? I twist that off and feed that separately. Then I rip the breastbone away from the ribs and feed that. And then *ahem*, I break all the ribs at the spine and take em out. There's also another small bone running perpendicular to the ribs, parallel to the spine, that comes out too.
When I buy a chicken for the dogs, the ribs and that little bone are all that survive!

I got a great poultry shears in tk maxx for a tenner, does a great job on an aul carcass.:)

Hooked I would ask Conor on dogsfirst re nutritional content, as I recall when I bought the duck carcasses he said that there is more meat left on than a chicken carcass. I would maybe feed one or two a week as there's a lot of bone and maybe not a lot of meat.

Philip82

Hi,I dont understand the idea of feeding raw chicken bones?? What are the nutritional benifits Id like to know. I sometimes think people can get carried away with the
word "Raw". I am all for feeding natural foods to our dogs that have good nutritional values unlike some dry dog foods. However balancing the dogs diet can be tricky when you feed "raw" foods and sometimes ends up worse for your dog than say maybe feeding the complete diet in good dry food brands.
I feed chicken to ours on and off but only meat and that always gets boiled.

DBB

I think the wisdom is that bones contain minerals which contribute to the overall nutrition, calcium would have to be the most obvious one, but there are more. Eating bones is good for bones. They also clean teeth like nothing else, and provide real, proper roughage which reduces/eliminates anal gland problems.
That said, you've gotta take it easy with bones, I feel. 3 or 4 a week, and they're meant to be meaty bones, so the dog is getting benefit from the meat too. The pic which Hooked has linked to hasn't got anywhere near enough meat on it for my liking, I wouldn't feed it to my dogs if it looked like that!
Cooking meat is not considered ideal by many raw advocates, but I'm easygoing enough in that regard... Some dogs just prefer it cooked, and some owners just don't feel comfortable feeding raw. I have to think that cooked meat is far, far superior to any dry food.

Philip82

DBB wrote: »

I think the wisdom is that bones contain minerals which contribute to the overall nutrition, calcium would have to be the most obvious one, but there are more. Eating bones is good for bones. They also clean teeth like nothing else, and provide real, proper roughage which reduces/eliminates anal gland problems.
That said, you've gotta take it easy with bones, I feel. 3 or 4 a week, and they're meant to be meaty bones, so the dog is getting benefit from the meat too. The pic which Hooked has linked to hasn't got anywhere near enough meat on it for my liking, I wouldn't feed it to my dogs if it looked like that!
Cooking meat is not considered ideal by many raw advocates, but I'm easygoing enough in that regard... Some dogs just prefer it cooked, and some owners just don't feel comfortable feeding raw. I have to think that cooked meat is far, far superior to any dry food.

Yes I agree with that wisdom as we always feed big beef bones from the factory to our lads. Maybe its just hard to picture giving them chicken bones as a good way of cleaning teeth because I know it would be like throwing them into a mincer they wouldnt last 10 seconds!!

DBB

Philip82 wrote: »

Yes I agree with that wisdom as we always feed big beef bones from the factory to our lads. Maybe its just hard to picture giving them chicken bones as a good way of cleaning teeth because I know it would be like throwing them into a mincer they wouldnt last 10 seconds!!

Chicken bones are super teeth cleaners, and are soft enough not to cause damage to teeth. I won't give big weight-bearing bones at all here, they're too hard for my liking and I feel they're potentially damaging to teeth... You'll have to forgive my obsession with teeth! My young GSD has damaged all 4 of her canine teeth on those bloody antler chews, so any very hard bone or chew now sends me into a tizz!

Hooked

Thanks for all the replies. These carcasses are not meant as daily meals, hence my original post. I was given them (free) and just wanted to see how they would fit in as part of the the overall diet.

I'd probably feed 2 a week, and like DBB said - remove the ribs and that other bone you spoke of. It all looked a bit dangerous to be given in one piece. They've got the wings included which have a bit of meat on, so I'll balance them out with the rest of his (varied) diet.

Don't get me wrong, he makes light work of a chicken leg or meaty brisket bone (bone and all) and I've no doubt this all contributes to his general good health, great teeth, squeaky clean *ahem* bum, etc... I was just a bit cautious to start throwing a full carcass at him without a bit of research.

Thanks again!

tk123

DBB wrote: »

Chicken bones are super teeth cleaners, and are soft enough not to cause damage to teeth. I won't give big weight-bearing bones at all here, they're too hard for my liking and I feel they're potentially damaging to teeth... You'll have to forgive my obsession with teeth! My young GSD has damaged all 4 of her canine teeth on those bloody antler chews, so any very hard bone or chew now sends me into a tizz!

+1 I stopped giving beef bones although he seemed to have the sense to know the hard bones were too hard for him!! I find lamb shoulders/legs perfect for him - he eats the softer parts and leaves the hard pieces. Also the 'effects' last a week

Madisonmenece

We feed chicken carcass fairly often somtines 2/3 per week where the other meal might has contained far more muscle meal and little bone, the chicken carcass help balance things out.

I have not had any problem with our guys as yet (hopefully never), one is a husky and the other a malmaute, perhaps some close supervison for the first couple of carcass.

bluecherry74

I don't feed chicken carcasses very often as they're not meaty enough for my liking. I get them for free from my butcher every once in a while though, and I usually stuff them with some ox heart before freezing to make it a more complete meal.

Hooked

Thanks for the above 2 posts. I've a good few portions of heart frozen in small amounts so I can feed with these...

And as I feed Hugo on my lunch hour I can supervise as suggested.

looking_around

as a treat/once a week meal ..(when I get raw chickens crazy cheap from the supermarkets.)
I literally cut it in half. And give to the husky and large lab/red setter cross.

I was wary the first couple of times, but neither seem to have any trouble ..and seem to munch quite thorough.
I don't bother cutting any bits out. They seem to chomp down on them fine, and the bones, even the smaller ribs don't seem to splinter/cause any problems.

Husky absolutely LOVES raw. The cross, not so much XD.

Vince32

I can tell you that feeding bones (carcasses) has little nutritional value, some yes, but not enough as a meal, at least not as far as I have been told. I'm also a member of a species appropriate diet forum, and they insist that all bones fed must be surrounded by plenty of meat. i.e whole chicken legs, pork hocks, etc. let me see if I can find the page I read it on and get back to you... copyright Eskimohuskies.com (they insisted)

ALL Meat that we purchase are from the Value range, Reduced items or Special offers from ALL the supermarkets along with Rabbits & Offal purchased from all the Butchers shops.
ALL Meat we feed is Fit For Human Consumption.
ALL Beef bones and ALL weight bearing bones are a big NO - The ones the Butchers offer you free of charge that are stripped of all the nice juicy Meat. These have NO use to your Husky & WILL wear down over time & BREAK teeth.
NO Minced Meat should be fed as this sticks to teeth and causes TARTAR.
Give your Husky the closest to what it would eat in the wild.
DO NOT use Internet suppliers as these mainly supply Minced products and Chicken Carcasses, which have far too much bone content and NOT enough Meat (In 98% of cases, it's NOT Fit for Human Consumption either)
As a beginner your hunt for Whole Raw Foods should begin - NOT think the easy option of Internet suppliers as your source.
Food from Internet suppliers is not presented in a "Natural State" - Huskies need to have their food presented in as "Natural State" as possible - Example: NOT minced or ground or any unnecessary supplements.
NO Chicken wings for Adult Huskies, these are fine for Puppies from the age of 5 - 8 weeks, but are far too small & bony for Adult Huskies. (Chicken wings 46% Bone - Chicken quarters 26% Bone - Hence, Chicken Quarters are BEST)
Feeding Chicken Quarters to puppies after the age of 8 weeks sends messages to your Huskies brain, these messages will start to tell him / her they have to CHEW UP & DOWN, RIP, TEAR, SLIME CRUNCH & SWALLOW - NOT GULP it down because it's BIGGER!
Feed your Adult Husky the appropriate sized portion of Meat - At least 500 Grams in weight for a 25 KG Husky based on 2% of his Ideal Adult Body Weight - Feed 3% if working him / her.

I know you mentioned you got the carcasses from your dad, I'm not suggesting they are not fit for human consumption, just note the highlighted area, too much bone and not enough meat.

I know this forum is a "meat and bone" only forum (Species Appropriate Diet) which basically means they only feed dogs (huskies mainly, but not exclusively) what mother nature intended, which means, no grains, no veg, no human food what so ever. But I think the point is still valid if you are (BARF: Biologically Appropriate Raw Food) feeding.

Too much bone may lead to constipation, blockage, internal damage etc, which is why Eskimohuskies.com recommend only feeding 10% of the dogs diet as bone, and they insist the bone MUST be surrounded in good MEATY meat, rather than a stripped bone or carcass.

Anyway for what it's worth, that's my advice, thank your dad for the carcasses and discard them, instead try feeding whole chickens with wings and necks removed. That would be a far more substantial meal for your pooch.

Laters
V