# Freezer-Burned Meat?



## Sasha1/2 (Dec 22, 2011)

My puppy was weaned onto raw wild meat. I am not a hunter. I have been offered last year's meat from a neighbour's deep freeze. Would this be safe for my dog to eat?


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## Shell (Oct 19, 2009)

Freezer burn is just moisture evaporation. It is safe to eat but just of lower-quality for taste. If you were going to cook it for humans, you'd want to trim the freezer burnt part off before or after cooking to avoid eating the drier, less good tasting part. 
I doubt dogs care about the quality difference.

USDA reference


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## Sibe (Nov 21, 2010)

It's absolutely fine. I read here on DF about someone feeding meat that had been in the freezer for 7 years. No problems


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## Sasha1/2 (Dec 22, 2011)

I have the meat and unwrapped a roast. It looks completely fine, not freezer burned at all. It was in a deep freeze and well packaged for a year. Now I must figure out how much to give Sasha.


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## marsha=whitie (Dec 29, 2008)

Sasha1/2 said:


> I have the meat and unwrapped a roast. It looks completely fine, not freezer burned at all. It was in a deep freeze and well packaged for a year. Now I must figure out how much to give Sasha.


2-3% of her ideal adult weight, broken into 2-3 meals a day. 

Since she's a mix, feed her the IAW of the bigger parent, then adjust if she starts to get pudgy.


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## Sasha1/2 (Dec 22, 2011)

marsha=whitie said:


> 2-3% of her ideal adult weight, broken into 2-3 meals a day.


Thank you. She'll get deer for supper. Wish us luck.


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## Sasha1/2 (Dec 22, 2011)

Does it make sense then, that a 25lb puppy who is 12 weeks old and likely to grow to 55lbs should be fed 7 oz of meat per meal? That seems like a lot. Sasha is enjoying the deer. Her poo is suddenly massive, though.


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## Bordermom (Apr 28, 2010)

You want to feed about a pound a day or so, yup! 

Make sure that part of the diet includes bones she can eat (so boneless roast for breakfast means chicken backs for dinner) and some organ meat included in there too for good measure. Her poops should be small and firm once she's adjusted, if they're too soft increase the bone, too hard increase the meat.......


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## Kathyy (Jun 15, 2008)

Has she had venison before? If not it would be a little easier on her tummy to start with a bite and increase the amount of it fed each day. Lucky dog, venison is really great stuff.


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## Sasha1/2 (Dec 22, 2011)

Kathyy said:


> Has she had venison before?


Yes, she was weaned onto wild venison and domestic beef by the farmers that raised the litter. I'm putting her back onto it because she has had extreme itching since going onto kibble. I know there may be other reasons for her itching, but I'm willing to try anything. She sees a second vet this weekend.



Bordermom said:


> Make sure that part of the diet includes bones ...


I wasn't given any deer bones and we are trying to avoid chicken because that's the main ingredient in the food she's been eating while itchy.


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## BlueChaos (Mar 29, 2010)

make sure you research about raw diet, its not just a matter of throwing a hunk of meat in a bowl, you need to balance with bones and organs. Most raw feeders start out with chicken/turkey frames/necks, then increase meat content after a month or so. Some dogs that cant handle chicken kibble, do just fine or raw chicken, so its worth a shot.


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## Sasha1/2 (Dec 22, 2011)

Although she was weaned onto raw meat, I am not feeding raw. I am warned that raw deer can be full of worms, so this meat is cooked and I add canola oil, veggies and barley. If she does well on the venison then I'll likely feed her a venison kibble because I won't have a steady supply of deer meat.


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## Sibe (Nov 21, 2010)

The Mayo clinic says freezing for a mere 24 hours kills tapeworms. It's usually recommended that any wild caught game is frozen for at least a week to ensure the parasites are dead. After that you're good to go!


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## BlueChaos (Mar 29, 2010)

I freeze everything for at least 3 days prior to feeding, it kills the parasites.


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## Sasha1/2 (Dec 22, 2011)

Sasha got her deer meat raw at supper tonight. It was in a deep freeze for a year.


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## sehzad (Feb 18, 2013)

In case anyone is looking for a small compact freezer, I found this great site:

http://www.minifridge24.com/


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