So I got a case of chicken necks and a case of chicken backs. They say KEEP FROZEN on the box but they were thawed...not warm or anything, just not frozen. So I repacked into handy dandy daily portions and put 90# in the freezer. The freezer was working on freezing that. It was a lot at once.

So is refreezing likely to cause any trouble? Do you typically get them thawed? or frozen?

EVERYONE got a neck or part thereof and LOVED it. Figures the most tentative eater is the one we switched. That or they all learned by watching him eat. I think the 4-12# dogs horked down their 1-2 inch chunk of neck barely chewed. Piglets.

Incidentally the only upset so far is one morning Norbie walked into our room and vomited up just the piece of grisel from the end of a leg bone. The Wart (4#) was about to lap it up when I cleaned it up. DOGS!

Gotta run up the kennel and get more and more dogs settled for spring break....chaos.

I thaw big packages of dog stuff enough to re-pack and re-freeze all the time.

If there are still ice crystals in the meat, the FDA even says that it's OK to do this with food for humans, although there might be loss of quality/texture.

I don't raise the temp of the meat to higher than fridge temp, as you said. (Not "warm.")

I usually get my cases of necks & backs fresh & then package & freeze. The restraunt suplier that I buy from gets these in fresh, since the restraunts use them for making fresh stock & want then fresh not frozen. But I have also on rare occasion gotten frozen ones & just let them sit out in the garage long enough to drop the cases on the floor to break up the pieces enough to package in several meal portions. I have never had any issues with feeding this food on a later date when thawed & fed to the dogs. Done this way the meat is still pretty frozen when I repackage it.

I don't know if these came fresh....as it seemed like it to me til I noticed the box said Keep Frozen, which made me wonder.

I wondered too....would you consider leg quarters synonomus with backs and necks or not since it seems like meat to bone ratio is so different?

Thanks by the way.

I get them fresh (not frozen & then thawed)usually, but can get frozen also. I guess it depends on your supplier. My place is specifically a restraunt supplier & their kitchens prefer fresh. Other cuts like leg qtrs are usually frozen. I frequently feed a leg qrt as a dinner meal.(actually the meat to bone ratio on them is a good meal) When I do that, I feed organ meat, fish, other meat varieties, (chicken breast, beef, lamb, pork, goat, turkey etc.)suppliments etc, etc, at their morning meal. I generally feed a heavier meal in the evening & after that the day is over. No more running around etc, it is quiet time for the rest of the day. When feeding necks or backs, which I also often do, I usually add additonal meat, as there is not enough meat to them. It is ok in the begining when starting a dog on raw,(for a short time) but I don't feel that it is enough meat for the long haul for a balanced diet, nor any variety, which is important. If that is all I fed my dogs with the activity level that they have, not considering the lack of variety, they would be skin & bones & not healty after a while. It is just too limited of a nutrition source.

Thank you Anne. I am starting to get a feel for it I think. I do have to "set out" the meals since I leave before my DH feeds(one of his only animal related jobs that he has 'claimed') and he has NO feel for it at all.

I did just talk to a friend who drives for Sysco Foods. He heard I was switching some of the beasts to raw and he mentioned he has an employee discount AND can get me cases of stuff. Prices change all the time but it does sound promising. He drives home right past my place too....so he will even deliver. I love this guy!

Sounds like a great friend to have. LOL The biggest problem that most people seem to have is finding a good source for purchasing in bulk. Of course you have to be able to store the bulk anmounts also.

I have called all around and found a couple local sources so far...thank goodness.

I have two freezers, one with reptile food and a dead cat that needs to be buried now that the ground is thawed. The other is a more "people" food freezer. The dog's chicken is in the people freezer but soon to be in both.

I have another friend getting a half of beef from an amish family and the butcher (another amish gentleman) has said he can throw in all the bones she wants. She asked how much and he said "Oh, I don't charge for bones" I could LOVE this man! We will see how it turns out this week when she goes up to get her half cow.

So, thankfully I do have some options opening up.

I am in the process of working on a veggie glop for Norbies allergies.

I did find a distinct downside. The little rats are starting to pester me for breakfast! The 4# poodle that forgets to eat....yeah, he doesn't forget so much now. Though he had a heck of a time with a neck this morning and I had to tear it into vertebra hunks for his little savage self. (he has muscles now...and a thicker coat...so he looks less like a wet rat)

 Quote: sonya gilmore

Thank you Anne. I am starting to get a feel for it I think. I do have to "set out" the meals since I leave before my DH feeds(one of his only animal related jobs that he has 'claimed') and he has NO feel for it at all.

I did just talk to a friend who drives for Sysco Foods. He heard I was switching some of the beasts to raw and he mentioned he has an employee discount AND can get me cases of stuff. Prices change all the time but it does sound promising. He drives home right past my place too....so he will even deliver. I love this guy!

You lucky dog! I want a sysco friend that drives by my house! Damn it!