Any advice on butchering a cow for the dogs, it will be done at a shop, but am looking for advice on how to have it cut. We are thinking of saving the good steaks, rest for the dogs.
the other part of this is can it be older? I understand the bones will be harder, but is the meat still as good?
The economics of it is almost half the price of buying discounted meat from grocery stores(forget the gas driving around)
We feed every part of the cow that could be eaten (rumen, tongue, brain, eyes, heart) and all. The meat will not be as tastey for humans if the cow is older, but the nutritional content is still ok. It just isn't as tender and juicy. We just portion everything into 1 pound pieces and package enough for 1 week per dog for thawing ease.
Typically, cow bone doesn't offer the correct balance as far as RMB is concerned (IMO) so we suppliment with chicken backs, necks etc. some days, ground egg shells occasionally as well. Cow bones are great for a recreational bone though.
Perhaps a more expert raw feeder can tell you if grinding the bones would make a difference, and if cow age would matter there.
I feed quite a bit of beef to my dogs, as long as there is some fat on it the dogs do quite well on it. I also feed every part of the animal, including all of the entrails (some of the dog's favorite parts). I cut the meat into chunks/slabs (small roast size) and freeze it.
If the ribs are cut in about 4-6" sections the dogs can chew them. Medium and large size dogs can chew the spinous process bones off the vertebra. If the leg bones are cut into about 4" lengths the dogs can get the marrow (fat) out. If the bones have dried out for a few days they get too hard for the dogs to easily chew.
If I have to add supplemental calcium the meat pieces shouldn't be too thick so that enough calcium will stick to the meat surfaces.
Watch the poops, too runny - they need more calcium, too hard - they need less calcium.
What is the deal with the cow? Is she sick? A beef cow or a dairy cow?
The meat will not be as tender as a youngster, and the fat will likely be around the meat rather than marbled thru it.
We also go with one pound packages. We have the long bones cut into 3" chunks. The roasts (large muscle of hind and forelimbs) we have cut into 3 lb chunks. If it is an older animal, we only save the ribeyes / tenderloin as steaks, the rest is too tough, we have it ground or, for dogs, you could just ask for small "chuck " and "arm" roasts.
We have the tongue and heart and liver sliced by the butcher. The liver is super gross in my opinion and the tongue isn't much better. We dont feed brain or eyes, we don't feed the feet or head or tail. I'm sure the tail would be something a dog would love but I have never requested it.
For this you will need a freezer. Most mature cows are going to yield something like
650 lbs of "stuff" minimum.
Connie Sutherland Moderator Reg: 07-13-2005
Posts: 31571
Loc: North-Central coast of California
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Quote: Debbie Bruce
I feed quite a bit of beef to my dogs, as long as there is some fat on it the dogs do quite well on it. I also feed every part of the animal, including all of the entrails (some of the dog's favorite parts). I cut the meat into chunks/slabs (small roast size) and freeze it.
If the ribs are cut in about 4-6" sections the dogs can chew them. Medium and large size dogs can chew the spinous process bones off the vertebra. If the leg bones are cut into about 4" lengths the dogs can get the marrow (fat) out. If the bones have dried out for a few days they get too hard for the dogs to easily chew.
If I have to add supplemental calcium the meat pieces shouldn't be too thick so that enough calcium will stick to the meat surfaces.
Watch the poops, too runny - they need more calcium, too hard - they need less calcium.
Good advice. I would be almost obsessive about using poop as a calcium-phosphorus ratio guide if I were feeding a lot of large animal meat and no small-animal RMBs.
(If I had growing puppies, I would consider this diet too risky.)
But with healthy adults, who have a pretty wide range of acceptable absolute protein, I'd feel OK using poop as a guide and never ignoring soft poops.
I know Debbie knows this, but for the information of other readers, adding supplemental calcium as kind of a preventive measure is not a good idea. Even though excess calcium is flushed from the system of a healthy full-grown dog, too much every day for long periods is not good (for several reasons).
So again .... I agree that poop watching on a large-animal diet is important.
Thinking of wild canids who might take down something like a big ungulate and gorge on the meat with little or none of the bone. These canids also eat rodents in their entirety. Lots of digestible bone (calcium).
Connie Sutherland Moderator Reg: 07-13-2005
Posts: 31571
Loc: North-Central coast of California
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Quote: Dave Owen
Any advice on butchering a cow for the dogs, it will be done at a shop, but am looking for advice on how to have it cut. We are thinking of saving the good steaks, rest for the dogs.
the other part of this is can it be older? I understand the bones will be harder, but is the meat still as good?
The economics of it is almost half the price of buying discounted meat from grocery stores(forget the gas driving around)
For a growing puppy, this meat is great for the added muscle meat of a raw diet.
IMO, it cannot substitute for the RMBs from small animals like poultry or rabbit.
the rbm's we feed is chicken, and do not have the cow yet, had one we raised done up for us this summer and it's quickly dissapearing.
not sure if we want a younger one(6-9 months) or find a older one, for sure not sick, but the older ones do go for less $ a pound at auction
we will for sure keep all the guts this time.
as for adding egg shells, that would be handy as my wife bakes for the farmers market and have tons of them left, but as mentioned it's not for novice feeders ( I'm just figuring out whole foods together)
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butcher a cow
#351294 - 12/11/2011 12:15 PM 
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