blackmagic Posted November 17, 2009 Report Share Posted November 17, 2009 You've got a good variety there. Don't give too much variety at once. Stick to one for a week, then introduce one other variety, again for a week and gradually add in the other varieties. Sometimes giving a lot of variety at the beginning puts them off. so slowly does it. I picked my order up from Steve yesterday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rumpole Posted November 17, 2009 Report Share Posted November 17, 2009 fab choice the venison, pheasant and offal meats are quite rich and for some of mine i mix it with the chicken mince Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
celeste Posted November 17, 2009 Author Report Share Posted November 17, 2009 Good tip Mel, I wouldn't have thought of that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blackmagic Posted November 17, 2009 Report Share Posted November 17, 2009 Some people have found that their dogs won't eat pheasant, so maybe introduce itlater, rather than sooner, and just a little at a time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
celeste Posted November 17, 2009 Author Report Share Posted November 17, 2009 Some people have found that their dogs won't eat pheasant, so maybe introduce itlater, rather than sooner, and just a little at a time. I was worrying about using pheasent at all in case there was any lead shot in it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
celeste Posted November 17, 2009 Author Report Share Posted November 17, 2009 Nuther question...how much and how often do you feed bone ? I read in the BARF book that they recommend something like 60% bones but then I read on another site (and this makes perfect sense to me) that thats way to much, no animal in the wild is composed of 60% bone, more like 25% so why feed so much ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
khanu Posted November 18, 2009 Report Share Posted November 18, 2009 I feed RMBs every day for the morning meal. They get meat based meal in the evening. I base their "menu" on around 40% RMBs through the week, and as I use fairly meaty RMBs they probably get around 25-30% bone in all, probably the lower end of the scale. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blackmagic Posted November 18, 2009 Report Share Posted November 18, 2009 Nuther question...how much and how often do you feed bone ? I read in the BARF book that they recommend something like 60% bones but then I read on another site (and this makes perfect sense to me) that thats way to much, no animal in the wild is composed of 60% bone, more like 25% so why feed so much ? I haven't used the pheasant, but the minced rabbit does sometimes have lead shot in it. I break the minced meat up in the dish before feeding it and can find the lead shot easily. It is grey as opposed to the red rabbit meat. BARF recommend 60% raw meaty bones- note 'meaty' not 60 % bone. 60% rmb's as in chicken wings- Billinghurst's recommended raw meaty bone- can work out at about 15% bone. The bone content of an animal is quite low- an elephant is supposed to be 12% bone. The ideal is to feed whole animals, but not practical for most of us, although many do feed whole rabbits and whole chickens. Based on feeding a whole animal it is recommended you feed 5-15% actual bone (not meaty bones), 10-20% offal( liver, kidney) and 60-70% meat. Some dogs tolerate a small amount of offal each day, rather than all in one meal, which can lead to explosive results. Excess bone in the diet of an adult dog will be excreted, but can cause constipation or even a blockage. That is why raw feeders become poo watchers! Too soft, add more bone to the diet, too white and crumbly, feed less bone. I feed minced meats - some of which do have bone in, and a small amount of rmb's each day. Others feed a whole meal of rmb's once or twice a week. People feed what suits them and their dog. You can also feed whole raw fish, if your dog will eat it. Tinned pilchards or tinned sardines also contain bone and are a good source of omega oil. Raw eggs can also be fed. One of my dogs will eat the shell as well, the other wont. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
celeste Posted November 18, 2009 Author Report Share Posted November 18, 2009 I haven't used the pheasant, but the minced rabbit does sometimes have lead shot in it. I break the minced meat up in the dish before feeding it and can find the lead shot easily. It is grey as opposed to the red rabbit meat. BARF recommend 60% raw meaty bones- note 'meaty' not 60 % bone. 60% rmb's as in chicken wings- Billinghurst's recommended raw meaty bone- can work out at about 15% bone. The bone content of an animal is quite low- an elephant is supposed to be 12% bone. The ideal is to feed whole animals, but not practical for most of us, although many do feed whole rabbits and whole chickens. Based on feeding a whole animal it is recommended you feed 5-15% actual bone (not meaty bones), 10-20% offal( liver, kidney) and 60-70% meat. Some dogs tolerate a small amount of offal each day, rather than all in one meal, which can lead to explosive results. Excess bone in the diet of an adult dog will be excreted, but can cause constipation or even a blockage. That is why raw feeders become poo watchers! Too soft, add more bone to the diet, too white and crumbly, feed less bone. I feed minced meats - some of which do have bone in, and a small amount of rmb's each day. Others feed a whole meal of rmb's once or twice a week. People feed what suits them and their dog. You can also feed whole raw fish, if your dog will eat it. Tinned pilchards or tinned sardines also contain bone and are a good source of omega oil. Raw eggs can also be fed. One of my dogs will eat the shell as well, the other wont. Ahh, I see, thanks BM and Khanu that makes things a lot clearer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
khanu Posted November 18, 2009 Report Share Posted November 18, 2009 The reason I feed rmbs and meat every day was because of the poo watching. On days I only fed rmbs they had very crumbly poos and on more than one occasion I had dogs yelping as they passed stools. Now their poos are firm but don't shatter as they hit the ground! I don't try and get a "balanced" diet every day, but balance it out over the week. But I do try and offset a bony meal with a meat meal. I haven't really worked out what % of bone I actually feed. Some of the mince I use has bone in, and the rmbs vary in their meatiness but the dogs poos are pretty consistent regardless and they don't yelp anymore. Actually that's not true the GSDs do if I have given them a knuckle bone to gnaw, but this will be because they somehow manage to demolish them really quickly and end up eating an awful lot of bone in one go. They don't get them very often anymore. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
celeste Posted November 18, 2009 Author Report Share Posted November 18, 2009 I'm going easy on the bone at the mo, he's getting a few bits of lamb rib every day, but until I get my first delivery of meat I don't have access to a decent amount, he seems to manage them very well though, he's doesn't gulp his ribs, unlike Spud who swallowed one whole yesterday and then took 20 min's to boak the whole thing back up again....thanks for that Spud Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
celeste Posted January 17, 2010 Author Report Share Posted January 17, 2010 Just thought I would do an up-date on how Ben's getting on with the raw diet.....very well I'm pleased to say, he didn't like the venison, beef and tripe are his favourites, he's eating really well and has reached his ideal weight, his poo's are fine, no gusty buttocks and sweet smelling breath, I've had to change his suppliments as he could sniff that SA 37 replacement stuff a mile off and would turn his nose up He much prefers to have his food partially frozen, which is a weird one, but at least it keeps everything cleaner, I'd like to increase his veg a bit, and I add the occasional portion of wheatgerm ( for the fibre) cold pressed flaxseed and salmon oil, but not every day. I'm a bit worried I'm not feeding enough bone, but I guess thats where the suppliments step in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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