Chula had her first raw meal last night; 1 chicken back and 3 small necks, a dollop of yogurt, and salmon oil. I will get the vitamin 'e' today to add. Of course, she loved it! It wasn't her first taste of raw; I've been giving her 'in-between meal' snacks of backs and necks for awhile.
Do I need to add anything in the way of variety to the backs and necks? They are the most economical, and I will feed her them most of the time...

Yes, you can gradually add variety in the form of the muscle meat that the RMBs will need added (because those are all excellent but not very meaty choices).

And of course 5-10% organ meat, gradually.

Good job!

Are chicken thighs OK? She's a bit of a gulper and I'm not sure if she'd crunch a thigh bone or just swallow it whole. She does crunch the backs, but she swallows the necks whole...

Backs and thighs are about the same size, but thighs would probably slide down better, so she may swallow them whole.
You might want to wait a week so that her gut flora is adjusted so she will thoroughly digest the bones.
If you are worried about her choking she probably won't.
When one of my dogs tries to swallow a too-big chunk they immediately regurgitate and chew it some more before they swallow. For the first half-second of the regurg. it looks like they are dying , but they aren't.
My Dane/Mastiff female will give a BIG chicken leg quarter 2 or 3 crunches before she swallows. Never a problem.
I think that dog's taste buds are in their throats, not their mouth. They seem to love their food the best when they can swallow it without chewing.
I should also say (before Connie does) that there probably are a few dogs somewhere who would choke and die on their food. So you need to procede with caution. Start small and work up, or start big and work down.

Hello, I'm new to the forum and to the raw diet- the first time I gave my GSD's the chicken legs and Honest Kitchen I ran to the barn when I heard the crunching! It's now one month later and I'm better with it. They lost weight as I wasn't feeding enough-leg quarters are better,ground lamb upset the cats I think,kind of rich, got beef on sale this week. Figure 2 pds.each a day=4 pds.x7is120 pds. a month,very $$-from grocery store-any online places?This is a little scary as far as balancing the diet,even with the oil.What about the hormones in chicken etc.So far,the dogs are happy,energetic -guess I worry to much,

 Quote: annette karnatz

Hello, I'm new to the forum and to the raw diet ... This is a little scary as far as balancing the diet,even with the oil.What about the hormones in chicken etc....

Welcome to the forum.

If you are worried about drugs in poultry, I'm not sure why you think the poultry in commercial dog food would be better. It would be very unlikely to be as good as the chicken you buy fresh.

A balanced diet for your dog is pretty much RMBs and meat/fat in the proportion they "come" on the prey animal, 5-10% organ meat, a little bit of produce or green tripe, and the salmon oil and Vitamin E.

If you are combining RMBs with THK and adding salmon oil and E, you really can't go wrong.

Hormones aren't a problem with chicken, antibiotics would be more of a concern. You can always go organic ($$$), or find a farmer who raises pasture poultry. Even with the possible drawbacks of regular store meat you are still feeding your dog a superior diet compared to kibble.
If you pester the butcher at your local grocery store he can order chicken backs and necks for you (I get mine in 40 lb boxes).
Make sure you add the organ meats 1-2 times a week.

Make friends with hunters for their extra game meat and your food bill will go down.

 Quote: annette karnatz

very $$-from grocery store-

Are you only buying the prepackaged, for human consumption meats? Buying at grocery stores can be very expensive indeed. Focus on the specials of the week, and remember that dogs don't need tenderloin - chicken/turkey backs, necks, wings, legs etc are fabulous, and you can add in red meats as a variety. The RMB part of the diet, as you probably know, is very important. If they only get meat, or mostly meat, it is not balanced. But Connie and them know far far far more than I do so ask away if you have questions.

Ask the butcher for red meat scraps, chicken and turkey backs and necks - this will reduce your cost and is perfectly fine for animals.

The trimming they do is only for appearences to make the meat they package for us look nicer, or leaner. I buy trimmings and scraps, a mix of beef and lamb usually, for $.59/# and also ask about meat past the package expiration that they cannot sell for people. Some stores won't sell it, I get lucky once in a while and can get stuff for 1/2 price, but I had to write a letter stating that the meat is for my dogs store is not liable if I eat it and become sick.

Right before and after thanksgiving, and right before Christmas a lot of stores will have specials on whole fresh and frozen turkeys, chickens, and ducks. Turkeys tend to be the cheapest per pound, I rarely get duck unless they are under $1.25/# but I will to add some variety once in a while. http://www.leerburg.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Board=33&Number=165839&Searchpage=3&Main=17141&Words=Jennifer+Marshal&topic=0&Search=true#Post165839

And to the OP - isn't raw fun?! I've had several gulpers, dogs that are so incredibly enthusiastic about eating they don't even seem to realize they ate. If you are concerned about her swallowing everything whole, you can chop it with a heavy and very sharp butcher knife so that even if she doesn't chew, things are in smaller pieces to start with. I have done this occassionally for dogs that have vaccuum throats, if I was lacking in large pieces for their large mouths.

 Quote: Jennifer Marshal

And to the OP - isn't raw fun?! I've had several gulpers, dogs that are so incredibly enthusiastic about eating they don't even seem to realize they ate. If you are concerned about her swallowing everything whole, you can chop it with a heavy and very sharp butcher knife so that even if she doesn't chew, things are in smaller pieces to start with. I have done this occassionally for dogs that have vaccuum throats, if I was lacking in large pieces for their large mouths.

Yes, it is fun!
I think I will chop through the bone in 1 or 2 places, but still try to leave the thigh or leg intact (skin and ligament not severed). Then she still gets the pleasure of chomping on a larger piece of meat. Got to scope out some cheaper sources though; too pricey from the supermarket.

yes,I was thinking of antibotic and considered organic but you are right,that's out $$- we have our own pasture chickens(only 9 for the fresh eggs(they dogs like to eat them raw-hope that's ok.but could not kill/so maybe I'll go with the ordered packs. What about rabbit? There is a guy selling big white ones- now, I'm wondering "why" about organ meats? Hope it'not the blood- can you tell I'm semi-vegetarian? As long as the dogs are doing so well, I will get in the program of feeding,I sure do not want to risk "bloat" etc. from commercial food again.Sorry, promise not to ask/pester so much on this anymore! Annette