# Feeding *just* chicken necks?



## Eyssa (Jul 28, 2008)

...I mean, besides the pureed veggies, do chicken necks alone have enough meat, etc. to feed to your dog besides thighs and wings and all that? We ordered a forty pound case for $25 in order to try feeding raw - it's something I've been hoping for now for quite a while, but since I've never literally seen a chicken neck, I have no idea even what it really has in it.


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## briteday (Feb 10, 2007)

Chicken necks are no where near a complete diet. They are very high in cartilage and bone, little meat. If I feed a chicken neck then I also give a meatier cut along with it, or even just some meat off the bone.

If you have large or many dogs buying a case of chicken necks is a good deal. Otherwise I would look for whole chickens.

If you want to try raw, buy some whole chickens the next time they are on sale and cut them up into appropriate meal portions. But before trying raw I would do a whole lot more research. You need a lot more info before buying a case of chicken necks. And I would start with a good plan for initiating a raw diet, not just buying a case of chicken necks.


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## Eyssa (Jul 28, 2008)

Well I'm not actually the one who bought them... it was my aunt who has four dogs and who is going to split the case with our family, and we have three dogs here. I've been doing quite a bit of research, but so far I haven't seen anything on this particular bit of info. I've actually written up a pretty in-depth menu with veggie meals and meat meals.

But I'll look into getting something a bit more meatier than chicken necks. Apparently a lot of people in my county are buying things like this and we had to preorder... who knew some many people were interested in feeding raw!

Thank you for the info! I'll be sure to get something a little more meatier so I can incorporate both into their diet.


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## MafiaPrincess (Jul 1, 2009)

I get ground raw to feed along with bonier pieces. I get turkey necks, this time I got chicken necks and pork necks to go with ground pork and sometimes ground chicken. We have a decent local supplier with a large stock. You name it she can likely get it- including ground offal and tripe.


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## DobManiac (Aug 12, 2007)

You would have to feed boneless meat along with the chicken necks. But unfortunately boneless chicken is pretty expensive. That’s why most raw feeders choose to start with whole chickens, as the calcium and phosphorus is balanced if you feed the entire bird over time. But you could purchase some boneless chicken thighs for maybe $1.50 lb. You would have to do at least a 50-50 ratio of boneless meat to chicken necks to keep them from getting constipated. And as they get used to digesting the food you will most likely have to up the meat portion again. But the goal is really just to get through the case of chicken necks so you can buy better cuts of meat.


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## rosemaryninja (Sep 28, 2007)

Definitely not just chicken necks; not even just chicken. I would rather feed my dogs Science Diet than chicken necks every day... it's just not a complete diet. Definitely get some wings, some breast meat, backs, thighs, and so on.

Your dogs will only be on a chicken-only diet for the first two weeks of raw feeding. After that you'll need to start looking into other protein sources, as well as organs. Have you thought about what you're going to be feeding in the long term?


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## chrisn6104 (Jun 8, 2009)

Where did you find that much chicken?
I found chicken necks and backs online in 50lbs orders for $10-$15 but it's only sold in Canada. 
Would love to get my hands on something like that in the US.


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## SupaSweet777 (Aug 22, 2009)

rosemaryninja said:


> Definitely not just chicken necks; not even just chicken. I would rather feed my dogs Science Diet than chicken necks every day... it's just not a complete diet. Definitely get some wings, some breast meat, backs, thighs, and so on.
> 
> Your dogs will only be on a chicken-only diet for the first two weeks of raw feeding. After that you'll need to start looking into other protein sources, as well as organs. Have you thought about what you're going to be feeding in the long term?


My pup is on chicken only for the most part. She gets the occasional soup bone. As soon as she gets over this allergy issue I'm gonna add some carbs to her diet too.


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## phoebespeople (May 27, 2009)

When we had a case of chicken backs and necks, we alternated meals of beef heart or pork shoulder or another mostly meat meal with them. We noticed alternating dry crumbly poops and soft poops, so you can tell quite easily what poops come from what meal. A scoop of veggie puree can go with both meals. 
I have a question for SupaSweet though, why are you going to add carbs and what carbs are you going to add? If your dog has a food allergy, you should cycle through chicken, turkey, beef, lamb, duck, pork... to find out if any one protein causes allergies. Everything I've read about raw feeding indicates that carbs are not necessary.


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## BoxMeIn21 (Apr 10, 2007)

SupaSweet777 said:


> My pup is on chicken only for the most part. She gets the occasional soup bone. As soon as she gets over this allergy issue I'm gonna add some carbs to her diet too.


Dogs don't need carbs and more times than not, can be the culprit of an allergy issues themselves. Not sure what type of allergy issues your dog is having, but your dog will need to have more variety of protein sources other than just chicken to be balanced.


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## SupaSweet777 (Aug 22, 2009)

BoxMeIn21 said:


> Dogs don't need carbs and more times than not, can be the culprit of an allergy issues themselves. Not sure what type of allergy issues your dog is having, but your dog will need to have more variety of protein sources other than just chicken to be balanced.


She seems to be allergic to any and all kibble I have ever given her. I didn't think she needed carbs but the vet said she should have some.

What other protiens do you suggest? She does very well on the chicken leg quarters. I'm always open to any suggestions if it helps my baby girl.



phoebespeople said:


> When we had a case of chicken backs and necks, we alternated meals of beef heart or pork shoulder or another mostly meat meal with them. We noticed alternating dry crumbly poops and soft poops, so you can tell quite easily what poops come from what meal. A scoop of veggie puree can go with both meals.
> I have a question for SupaSweet though, why are you going to add carbs and what carbs are you going to add? If your dog has a food allergy, you should cycle through chicken, turkey, beef, lamb, duck, pork... to find out if any one protein causes allergies. Everything I've read about raw feeding indicates that carbs are not necessary.


I was told that pork wasn't good to give raw? Am I misinformed?

She gets the occasional beef (soup bone) and I bought her a turkey drumstick and it made her sick. I'm not sure if there was too much bone in that for her or what.

Like I said, I'm not sure the exact allergy to foods she has but every kibble I tried made her yeast flare up horribly.



phoebespeople said:


> When we had a case of chicken backs and necks, we alternated meals of beef heart or pork shoulder or another mostly meat meal with them. We noticed alternating dry crumbly poops and soft poops, so you can tell quite easily what poops come from what meal. A scoop of veggie puree can go with both meals.
> I have a question for SupaSweet though, why are you going to add carbs and what carbs are you going to add? If your dog has a food allergy, you should cycle through chicken, turkey, beef, lamb, duck, pork... to find out if any one protein causes allergies. Everything I've read about raw feeding indicates that carbs are not necessary.


Oh, and I forgot to tell you the carbs. The vet told me to try rice and potatoes.


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## BoxMeIn21 (Apr 10, 2007)

SupaSweet777 said:


> She seems to be allergic to any and all kibble I have ever given her. I didn't think she needed carbs but the vet said she should have some.
> 
> What other protiens do you suggest? She does very well on the chicken leg quarters. I'm always open to any suggestions if it helps my baby girl.


I feel your pain. Rowdy was highly allergic to pretty much everything I fed him. 
With a raw diet you want to include as many protein sources as you can. I feed lamb, turkey, fish, rabbit, beef, venison and pork. Variety is a must to achieve balance, feeding chicken alone is not going to cut it.

Some carbs are not bad, but I would opt to feed veggies, not starches.


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## SupaSweet777 (Aug 22, 2009)

BoxMeIn21 said:


> I feel your pain. Rowdy was highly allergic to pretty much everything I fed him.
> With a raw diet you want to include as many protein sources as you can. I feed lamb, turkey, fish, rabbit, beef, venison and pork. Variety is a must to achieve balance, feeding chicken alone is not going to cut it.
> 
> Some carbs are not bad, but I would opt to feed veggies, not starches.


Raw veggies or cooked?

I will have to check with some local butchers and see about getting scraps for her.

Also, the vet mentioned putting her on vitamins. Is this necessary?


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## BoxMeIn21 (Apr 10, 2007)

SupaSweet777 said:


> Raw veggies or cooked?
> 
> I will have to check with some local butchers and see about getting scraps for her.
> 
> Also, the vet mentioned putting her on vitamins. Is this necessary?


Raw veggies and they need to be puverized for the dog to gain any nutritional value from them. 
As for the meat - scraps are nice, but they are not going to cut it either. You need good meaty pieces to feed. Like the same stuff you and I would eat, but with bone.  

I would check with yahoo's raw food supplier group and find yourself a good supplier. http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/CarnivoreFeed-Supplier/

Or you might also check out Dogaware to see if there are any good co-op's in your area. That will cut your raw food cost down a great deal. 

http://www.dogaware.com/dogfeeding.html#co-ops


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## SupaSweet777 (Aug 22, 2009)

BoxMeIn21 said:


> Raw veggies and they need to be puverized for the dog to gain any nutritional value from them.
> As for the meat - scraps are nice, but they are not going to cut it either. You need good meaty pieces to feed. Like the same stuff you and I would eat, but with bone.
> 
> I would check with yahoo's raw food supplier group and find yourself a good supplier. http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/CarnivoreFeed-Supplier/
> ...


Thanks. You are awesome!!!

Any specific veggies that are best or worst to feed?


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## BoxMeIn21 (Apr 10, 2007)

SupaSweet777 said:


> Thanks. You are awesome!!!
> 
> Any specific veggies that are best or worst to feed?


Good veggies to feed are brocolli, carrots, celery, cauliflower, green beans, leafy greens, spinach, squash, tomatoes, garlic, bok choy...I know I am forgetting some. 

In the beginning just start with one veggie and see how your dog reacts before you move on to something new. You might want to add some plain non-fat yogurt to the mush as well.


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## DobManiac (Aug 12, 2007)

SupaSweet777 have you should check out the two stickies at the top of the food forum on RAW. One gives a list of just about every raw feeding site on the internet, and the other is a list of possible menus from people on the forum tht feed raw to their dogs. Both stickies were immensly helpful to me when I switched my dogs over to RAW.

ETA: I particularly like this article. It gives a really great lay out on how to feed a raw diet without putting as many contraints and regulations as other sources suggest. One of my favorite things about RAW is you can cater it your dogs specific needs and the easiest way for you to meet those needs.


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## phoebespeople (May 27, 2009)

Supa,
I am sure I read somewhere once that raw pork was not good for dogs as well, but I can't remember the reason they gave, and every other website and forum says that pork is just fine. My new vet, who is a raw dog food advicate, said that pork is fine as long as you freeze it completely for several days first.
Also, in regards to veggies, I added minced kale to my last batch of veggie puree, and Phoebe seems to really like it. It sure smells a lot like lawn clippings, and you know how much dogs like eating grass, it must taste good to them. And, it's very high in nutrients.


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## AkiraleShiba (Dec 9, 2007)

There is some kind of bad bacteria on pork in certain areas, I know that pork from France is free for it but the name of it escapes me completely.

Why is rotating so important ? I mean I don't even get to eat those exotic meats and in the 3000 years of existence of the Shiba Inu it probably ate mostly rice and some fish or bird if he was lucky ?


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## DobManiac (Aug 12, 2007)

AkiraleShiba said:


> There is some kind of bad bacteria on pork in certain areas, I know that pork from France is free for it but the name of it escapes me completely.
> 
> Why is rotating so important ? I mean I don't even get to eat those exotic meats and in the 3000 years of existence of the Shiba Inu it probably ate mostly rice and some fish or bird if he was lucky ?


Rotating is important for a few different reasons. First of all our soil is depleted now, so meat just doesn’t have the same nutrient reserves as it used to. Also most meat you feed your dogs will be farm raised, which generally means fed mostly grain, and that again leads to less nutritious meat than wolves would have ate in the wild 100 years ago. Some wild or grass fed meats are a much more complete diets nutritionally but they are more expensive to come by. For instances grass fed beef is very rich in nutrients and most dogs would well on a primarily grass fed beef diet. But that is very expensive to feed your dog 100% of the time. 

I have also heard of people in very cold climates leaving a whole dear outside in the freezing cold for their dogs to consume over a period of time. They said they had great results. But that would also be the definition of a "prey model diet" as the entire animal is given to the dogs, including head, brains, eyes, and every other part you can think of that we generally don't see at the supermarket. 

So we all chose to bridge the gap between what we can offer our dogs now and what their natural diet would be. And I personally try to even improve off of what their natural diet would have been. We do this in several ways and pretty much every RAW feeder has their own approach. We feed a great deal of variety in meats, and some will also try to get those meats from different parts of the body as every body portion as a different degree of nutrients. Some will also feed a veggie mush or add supplements either natural or synthetic. The sky is the limit when it comes to a RAW diet. We all just base it off of where are priorities are and what we think or dogs do best on.


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## MafiaPrincess (Jul 1, 2009)

Trichinosis is the reason people shy from pork. Freezing pork kills the larval worms if there are any... as does cooking it properly (which is why undercooked pork is considered bad for humans). Trichinosis is north american swine is at a fairly low rate, and it's less of a concern here than ever, but it's a concern that is often raised anytime pork and dogs comes up.

Pork is the cheapest meat I can get here for the dogs. It's the primary staple in my kids diet, but they do get other meat sources fairly often.


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