i dont agree with this... weight bearing bones relate to 1000 lb cows, horses, pigs, moose etc not 5lb chickens..and dogs are scavengers as well as carnivores so will eat variety. a one meat dog will be deficient ..this is what i understand. have you read "GIVE YOUR DOG A BONE" by Billinghurst?. darcy.
--- On Thu, 11/18/10, Deanna Corey <[email protected]> wrote: From: Deanna Corey <[email protected]> Subject: Re: [Chihuahuas] Re: OK, lets talk Raw Feeding again.. To: [email protected] Date: Thursday, November 18, 2010, 11:17 AM There two sides to this "variety" issue. Most raw feeders are trying to create the "original" diet for carnivores...what carnivores are created/designed to eat... If you study wolves you see they eat the same meal for weeks...and even the same type of prey item for months dependant on their region and the season of year. Through winter they may totaly susist on rodents to have deer or bison in the spring etc. They don't get a "variety" to choose from as we would have opportunity to feed or eat ourselves. The top end food companies like Orijen, Taste of the Wild etc are trying to create species specific, regional, and biological appropriate diets...because studies have shown them that what a "species" eats is regional in nature. Again...not that much variety. Those top end companies are attempting to meet a need in the pet food industry as raw feeders are growing leaps and bounds in numbers which is impacting the market and they are realizing they need to offer what the "people" want. They are doing somewhat of a good job but they can't beat nature. Think about all kibble...most offer one or two...maybe 3 protein sources and dogs are on that kibble for life. Not much variety there either. So while I think variety is a nice idea and won't hut a thing...it is not that necessary IMO. Adding fish...especially salmon...is a good idea because of the Omegas...but most beef chicken pork lamb turkey etc has basically the same "nutrients" with taurine being in higher content in all hearts and organ meats and beef. Taurine is a very important nutrient. One of my favorite meats to feed which I forgot to list in my previous post is Venison. My freezer is usually full of it!!! My dogs love it and it is the closest thing to regionally specific as I can get. Not that I think we should all become wild game hunters but I can tell you our dogs would love us if we did LOL!!! I have many friends that "bag" a deer just for their dogs each year as well as wild pig, duck, Pheasant and dove. Last dove season one of our friends gave us 24 doves and a few phesants and a duck. They were the perfect little meal...no need to grind anything even for the littles. The bones were so very different than our commercially raised chickens...small, delicate, pliable etc. That really made me think about chickens in general...while they are not the only meat I feed I would say I feed them most often. Chickens are basically ground dwellers...they walk all day long...their legs are weight bearing...not true for flying birds...their bones don't need to be so strong. It really cememented my choice to grind the chicken legs...as really they are a weight bearing bone. It just made sense to me. Anyway...all this rambling to say that variety is our idea! Not what you actually find in a species specific, biologically and regionally appropriate diet for carnivores. Waggin' Tails in The Dog Park, Deanna and The Dog Park Pack: Nugget, Shuai-Li, Mouse, Myrtle, Mable, and Caleb and honorary non-dog members of The Dog Park: Stella-Macaw, Stanley-Amazon, Miles the cat www.joys4toys.com From: Kelly <[email protected]> To: [email protected] Sent: Thu, November 18, 2010 3:57:29 AM Subject: Re: [Chihuahuas] Re: OK, lets talk Raw Feeding again.. On Wed, Nov 17, 2010 at 10:06 PM, Darcy Jacobs <[email protected]> wrote: if you put a whole chicken, bones, organs, skin, and all into a grinder its a perfect balanced diet..adding fish (canned mackeral bones and all, and a red meat once a week or even bi-monthly, its perfection. I disagree. You should try to feed more variety than that - chicken most of the time with fish or red meat once a week or once every week isn't enough. I'd try to feed more fish, more beef, and other stuff like maybe pork, rabbit, lamb, etc. -- Kelly
