Hi everyone

I previously fed my 3 year old female Australian Shepherd/Lab mix raw meat, it was in the form of ground beef or turkey, chicken gizzards, beef kidney, some pulped veggies, crushed eggshell, ground flax, vitamins C and E, and some enzymes and probiotics.

10 1/2 months ago I got a foster dog, so I started feeding both dogs Wellness kibble.

The foster has been adopted and I wish to go back to raw feeding. I have been reading this board and noticed that you guys don't feed ground meat (which I agree with as it destroys the taurine). I see references to chicken quarters, half a rabbit, etc.

So I went to the grocery store today after work (butcher's was closed) and they didn't have any chicken necks or backs. They DID however, have turkey necks, so I bought a package of those, and they had whole fresh chicken for half off. So... I bought a whole chicken.

I saw on here that beginners are told to feed chicken backs and necks for bones at first, and I've followed the GSD puppy Carbon's adventures somewhat - and have learned that skin and fat are bad at first (?)

Now seeing as how the only raw food my dog has had for almost a year is the occasional raw ground beef, what parts of this whole chicken should I give her and which parts should I remove? And how should it be served? (chopped, etc)?

P.S. I'd like to give her the turkey neck tonight, but I have a faint memory of someone saying that turkey bones are not safe like chicken bones are. Is it OK to feed her the turkey neck?

Thanks for helping a beginner.

Edited by Angela Burrell (04/11/2007 05:20 PM)
Edit reason: typo

Hi Angela.

You can feed turkey bones. I've never seen a turkey neck, but I've seen chicken and duck necks, and they have to be similar.

Buying a whole chicken was a good thing. I buy them for my 3 month old. Depending on your dogs weight, you might have to feed him half a chicken, or a quarter of a chicken. After I chop my chicken, I end up with the chicken's back, and then half of the chicken I chop in quarters (I eat the other half).

I don't remove the skin, although I remove excess fat. Some here remove all the skin, but if your dog is not fat, I don't see the point. My dog started raw when he was 7 weeks old, and never had a problem dealing with the fat. It's up to you whether you remove the skin or not, but he'll be happier if you don't

Feeding him the turkey neck sounds good. Dogs should eat 2-3% of their body weight.

Good luck!

Hi Richard,

She loved the turkey neck. It took her a while to figure out how to eat it. At first she licked it like a lollipop, for a long while. Then she used her little front teeth to strip some of the flesh off. Finally she got fed up and just crunched it into bits and ate it. It was fun watching her. This is the first time I've ever given her raw meat with the bone still in.

My dog weighs 55 lbs. Previously when I was giving her ground meat she ate 1.5 lbs per day divided into two meals.

When you feed your dog the chicken quarters, do you feed him the leg or the breast? And do you just hand it to him, or separate the bones first or chop it up in any way? I already know my dog likes the organs.

Chicken quarters are usually legs and thighs. I feed them whole to 3 of my dogs, # is a gulper so she gets her meat ground (bone and all) and I grind the bigger pieces for the two pups.
The pups do okay with necks and backs whole.

When I buy whole chickens I cut them in half down the center of the breast and the 4 older dogs each get half about twice a week. The gulper gets hers partially froze so she has to work at it and chomp it to pieces.

Angela, if she liked the turkey necks and ate them ok, just give her the whole quarter and stand back

My 7 mos old GSD now eats quarters like they're going out of style. She has no problems with bones and loves the skin and fat.

I also give her chicken livers, beef liver, beef heart, some raw fish or canned fish(low sodium) and whatever might be in the cut out bins at my grocery store. I've avoided weight bearing bones, but that's just me. She does like to chew on them but I don't give her anything small enough that I think she could actually eat...just chew on. Hope that makes sense.

She also gets some veggies blended up once or twice a week with ground turkey or ground beef and some raw eggs.

wings and necks are good raw meaty bones, but as I found out from friends here, they don't have quite enough meat on them for her to rely on them for all of her protein, so make sure she gets some cuts with a higher meat to bone ratio.

 Quote: Angela Burrell

When you feed your dog the chicken quarters, do you feed him the leg or the breast? And do you just hand it to him, or separate the bones first or chop it up in any way? I already know my dog likes the organs.

Hi Angela

Sorry I didn't respond yesterday, but I went to sleep early.

Here's how I cut the chicken.

Step 1

Step 2

Step 3

Step 4

Some of the pics might be blurry. My camera isn't that good up close. Hope you get the point.

I sometimes hand feed my puppy, but it's happening less and less as he gets older.

I feed him both the breast and the leg. I usually let him munch for a while then I take the food away and feed again later. He's just a pup.

I'm glad your dog liked the turkey neck. He'll love the chicken!

Good luck and keep us posted.

Thanks for all the input!!

Tonight I gave her another turkey neck, and a chicken quarter (dark meat). I removed the skin and the drumstick bones (I left the back bones in though). I figured she had enough bones in the turkey neck. Plus drumstick bones still make me nervous.

Anyway, my dog adores raw meat and as far as she was concerned, I couldn't cut the carcass quickly enough.

I thought I would put the chicken quarter in her dish, and then while she was eating I would cut the rest of the carcass and divide it into ziploc baggies for storing. My plan didn't go well as she finished her chicken practically before I could even pick the knife back up. So she sat there staring at me, begging for more scraps the whole time I was cutting. It's funny because she NEVER does that when I am preparing my food. She obviously LOVES it.

Now, I am going to join the ranks of those who faithfully follow their pooches around the back yard, magnifying glass in hand.

P.S. Thanks for the pictures, Richard!! They helped! I cut my chicken just like that!