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Post by orpheous87 on Apr 7, 2013 19:46:59 GMT
As some of you are probably aware, I've been feeding Pepper and Ellie on raw food at weekends for a few weeks now. I've been feeding them 2% of their body weight. Pepper is 23.5kg, so gets 460g of food and Ellie is 18.4kg, so gets 360g of food. Last night's tea (they're fed once a day) was Natural Instinct Working Dog Turkey. Tonight's tea was the rest of the NI turkey along with some steak mince, pork ribs and an egg (the green stuff is Billy No Mates & Resist!). Both dogs ate all of the NI and mince first before they started on the rib bones. Ellie was the only one to eat the egg shell (along with Pepper's egg shell), weirdly. Pepper was very wary of the egg at all, and wasn't even willing to eat the insides at first. Ellie on the other hand, picked it up, dropped it and then ate the whole thing. I do have a question though. As I'm only feeding raw at weekends, and they're getting mostly the complete NI minces, should I be feeding any offal as well? Attachments:
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Post by petitsfilous on Apr 7, 2013 19:50:47 GMT
Is there a reason you're only feeding raw on the weekends and not all meals? I shouldn't think a little offal would hurt and I reckon they'd enjoy it
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Post by orpheous87 on Apr 7, 2013 19:55:07 GMT
The main reason I'm only feeding raw at weekends at the moment is a) we still have most of a 12.5kg bag of Applaws to finish and b) I don't have the freezer space to bulk buy raw food yet! I'm planning on moving them over to full time raw as soon as I can though.
Just thought of another question too - if I feed them some offal, what is the best type to start them off on? I'm thinking liver...
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Post by petitsfilous on Apr 7, 2013 19:58:55 GMT
Pop to your local butchers and get them to mince up the offal. My butcher does it for £2.50 per kilo. The offal includes liver, heart, kidney and lung. It's best to get a good mixture IMO and then just add a small portion to one of their meals daily.
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Post by orpheous87 on Apr 7, 2013 20:02:37 GMT
Oh that's a good idea. I think my only other option is to get it from Tesco and they only sell it in quite big packs.
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Post by petitsfilous on Apr 7, 2013 20:08:27 GMT
I wouldn't use just liver. They need a bit of everything and too much liver can cause problems.
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Post by orpheous87 on Apr 7, 2013 20:14:25 GMT
That's what I was thinking. I know that overall, only 5% of the diet should be liver, but as I'm only feeding raw on weekends I wasn't sure whether I should be factoring this in.
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Post by petitsfilous on Apr 7, 2013 20:19:15 GMT
I really wouldn't know as you never know what is actually in kibble which is exactly why I like feeding DIY raw, I know exactly what my dog is eating.
Tricky one. Hopefully someone else will come along and have some advice.
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Post by caz2golden on Apr 7, 2013 20:22:25 GMT
Orpheous hope you don't mind me joining in I have heaps of food to use up too before my move over, had not really thought about it till I looked in the cupboard today! Think I will be weekends only for a while yet too!! I also lack the freezer at the moment and also need to find lots of sources for the food!! lol Friday evening Prize choice turkey mince and egg (in all cases the lump of green is CSJ herbs mixed into some of the mince and the white pill is Gypsy joint supplement) Saturday am chicken legs (no pictures) pm rabbit and chicken prize choice mince with 1.2 tin of sardines (rest will be for me) and some beef heart Sunday am other two chicken legs and a banana (chopped into a bowl obviously!!) pm Prize choice tripe with beef heart
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Post by orpheous87 on Apr 7, 2013 20:32:49 GMT
I really wouldn't know as you never know what is actually in kibble which is exactly why I like feeding DIY raw, I know exactly what my dog is eating. Tricky one. Hopefully someone else will come along and have some advice. This is true. I'm happy enough knowing that Applaws is 75% meat, but I don't know whether any offal is included in that and doubt there's a way to find out. Both girls love that kibble too, so I don't mind continuing to feed it for now. Thanks for the advice so far petitifilous! Caz, I don't mind you joining in at all! In fact, I hoped you would! It's nice to compare what we're feeding. You're ahead of me with the offal so far.
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Post by caz2golden on Apr 7, 2013 20:36:05 GMT
The prize choice is not complete and very low bone. I have not got enough bone in the food yet! You are definitely better balanced on that front
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Post by petitsfilous on Apr 7, 2013 20:43:34 GMT
This is Bernies weekly menu which is stuck on the kitchen wall Hope you don't mind me sharing, thought you might find it of interest
BERNIESMENU
Daily feed amount of 375g (split into 3 feeds) 300g meat, 37.5g bone, 37.5g offal | MONDAY Breakfast – 2 chicken necks (115g) Lunch – beef mince (92.5g) & offal (37.5g) Tea – beef mince & beef chunks (130g) small piece of banana | TUESDAY Breakfast – 2 chicken necks (115g) Lunch – chicken mince (92.5g) & offal (37.5g) Tea – chicken mince (130g) & probiotic yoghurt (tsp) | WEDNESDAY Breakfast – 2 chicken necks (115g) Lunch – lamb mince (92.5g) & offal (37.5g) Tea– lamb mince & beef chunks (130g) | THURSDAY Breakfast – 2 chicken necks (115g) Lunch – white fish (92.5g) & offal (37.5g) Tea – white fish (80g) & raw egg in shell (50g) | FRIDAY Breakfast – 2 chicken necks (115g) Lunch – rabbit mince (92.5g) & offal (37.5g) Tea – rabbit mince & beef chunks (130g) | SATURDAY Breakfast – 2 chicken necks (115g) Lunch – tripe mince (92.5g) & offal (37.5g) Tea – tripe mince (130g) & cottage cheese (tsp) | SUNDAY Breakfast – 2 chicken necks (115g) Lunch – turkey mince (92.5g) & offal (37.5g) Tea – turkey mince (100g) & fish (30g) |
Add to one meal every day: 1 scoop Easy Greens 1 scoop Keepers Mix 1 tsp olive oil 1 garlic and fenugreek tablet
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Post by orpheous87 on Apr 7, 2013 20:50:21 GMT
Caz - Haha, you'll get there though!
Petitfilous - No, don't mind you sharing that at all! It's very helpful! Do you class the chicken necks as bone or meat then? Or a bit of both? I've never fed those, so I have no idea how meaty they are.
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Post by smokeybear on Apr 7, 2013 20:55:21 GMT
THere are all sorts of models of raw feeding, I do not follow any model other than my own. If you want to feed offal you can either feed it as a whole meal or add to other meals it does not matter. I am far too lazy to make up little bits to add to meals daily and, as I work away from home alot, this model of feeding would not suit me. So my dog gets for example one meal of hearts, or one meal of liver(s) etc. Remember it is about OVERALL balance, not a balanced meal (whatever that is) every day. There is no need to be a scientist to feed a dog raw successfully just as it is not necessary to have a degree to feed your family! All that is needed is good information from a reliable source (not all books are "correct") and some common sense. I do not spend my time worrying about the classification of different parts of the body, what is the point?
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Post by petitsfilous on Apr 7, 2013 21:09:57 GMT
Caz - Haha, you'll get there though! Petitfilous - No, don't mind you sharing that at all! It's very helpful! Do you class the chicken necks as bone or meat then? Or a bit of both? I've never fed those, so I have no idea how meaty they are. There is a fair amount of meat but a good amount of bone too. If you google image raw chicken necks there are many pictures I slice them up into chunks for him. I class it as both meat and bone. I don't really stick religiously to the percentages of bone and meat, I go on Bernies poop lol. If they are too soft I up the amount of bone, if they are too hard or cause problems with going to the toilet then I know to feed him less. The chicken necks are by far his favourite meal out of all of them. He always looks forward to his breakfast
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