# Raw - how many protein sources?



## CT Girl (Nov 17, 2010)

I rotate. I use commercial raw and I rotate beef, chicken, rabbit and turkey. I also give Swizzle pork but only cooked for that. For bones I have done ostrich, turkey, chicken and duck. I don't think variety is as important in bones and I will probably feed chicken and turkey necks more as I find duck and ostrich necks too big.


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## fjm (Jun 4, 2010)

The raw element is usually chicken wings, lamb rmb, pork ribs and green tripe. Sometimes they get one of the minces raw, but usually I cook those.

Home cooked varies, and will vary even more now I can source in quantities less than 20lbs (mine are toys, too - even with two toys and two cats 20lbs takes some getting through!). I get minced chicken, turkey, rabbit, beef, lamb, duck, salmon and mixed offal, and buy liver (pig or chicken, usually), heart (ox or pig) and kidney (pig).to supplement it. I tried minced venison, but it was very high, and too smelly even for the dogs. Their absolute favourite is rabbit, which is also inevitably by far the most expensive, but Tilly cat brings home a young rabbit most nights during the season, so we may go for full-on prey model feeding ... ! They also get the occasional tin of sardines, meal of scrambled eggs, or healthy leftovers.


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## tortoise (Feb 5, 2012)

You can get rabbit cheap in cold climates in the fall. Breeders cull their herds because they don't want to feed the rabbits that didn't sell and they won't breed. Nothing like getting 50# of rabbit for free.


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## PoodlePowerBC (Feb 25, 2011)

Russell gets organic fed chicken backs/ribs, elk, venison, beef, pork ribs, lamb & Beef kidney, salmon, trout, wild duck breast (Usually cooked, for some reason he upchucks this every time if it's raw??), dehydrated and raw beef heart & liver, turkey,sardines, eggs, fish oil tablets & kelp. I occasionally feed a locally bought beef mince product that is a complete meal. 
Nice to know about rabbit ... will have to look into that


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## tortoise (Feb 5, 2012)

*Thank you for reminding me about fish!* I'll go fishing for crappies for him in summer. The little fish we usually throw back will be perfect size for mpoo food. If you feed caught fish, double check for swallowed hooks and cut off he dorsal fin. I gave a previous raw fed dog fish carcaii after we filleted. She just about swallowed them whole! She was eating one and suddenly stopped, acted confused. We checked and the fish had a different fisherman's hook in it's stomach. We are lucky that she didn't eat it. Even if you're feeding a small fish whole, open it up to check the stomach for hooks.

PoodlePower - what is the cost per pound on those items and where do you get them?


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## Panda (Jan 7, 2010)

fjm where do you source your meat from?

For Panda I mainly feed tripe and beef then he gets through about 3 lamb hearts every few weeks and liver mixed in about once a week. I add lamb meat, venison, rabbit, chicken etc when i can get it cheap depending whats at the supermarket. I also add ground egg shells and sometimes salmon oil. 

For bones Panda normally gets poultry necks but I haven't been able to source them for a while hence the egg shells.

Tonight Panda had tripe and chicken with lamb hearts, yesterday he had beef chunks and lamb hearts.

Panda wont eat fish so we use the salmon oil.

I am hoping to find a supplier though so get more variety, I would like to feed rabbit and venison more.


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## tortoise (Feb 5, 2012)

Always look to hunters and butchers for scrap and organ meat, for a Franken-prey model diet. It's really easy to get muscle meat. The other parts are a challenge.


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## Panda (Jan 7, 2010)

I dont think butchers sell scrap meat over here. I would like to find someone who culls deer though and buy venison that way, Panda loved it but its just so expensive in the supermarket and rarely reduced in price.


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## CT Girl (Nov 17, 2010)

I forgot to add that Swizzle also gets cooked fish. A little bit of what we are having - so salmon, swordfish, tuna, cod ect. I don't give raw fish. Someone I knew in college got a parasite she will have the rest of her life from eating raw fish.


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## fjm (Jun 4, 2010)

Hi Panda - I buy DAF raw. They will deliver in my area - free for over £50, at a small cost for over £30, but my local kennels has started stocking their meats too, so I will probably source through them in future, and get more variety without filling my freezer to the brim. Raw To Go does DAF mail order, and are very helpful. DAF; Durham Animal Feeds :: DAF Petfood - Durham Animal Feeds Raw To Go: Home & Announcements Rabbits - talk to Tilly cat, but she rarely leaves much!


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## Panda (Jan 7, 2010)

Tilly Cat? Is that your cat who catches rabbits?

I can see DAF have a pet shop about 25 mins away from me so I may pop along on the weekend and see what they have, are DAF minces chunky mince? Panda is funny with texture and doesnt like meat to be too finely ground, he wouldn't eat natural instinct at all.

I see thier minces have bone already ground in, thats good, I guess thats why its more expensive than landywoods, I like it has bone in and organ so you know you are feeding it balanced.

I want to buy another freezer when we get our own place again and just have it for pandas food so i can buy in bulk, I would get tripe from landywoods as its so much cheaper (although prices have gone up) but then i have heard people complain about them too.....

I really want to find a deer stalker who I can get venison off.


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## fjm (Jun 4, 2010)

DAF is rather a fine mince - I think that is why the cats are not keen, and Sophy is not sure (Poppy eats anything!). I cook it with a little more offal, and then they all seem to love it, I reckon they get plenty of enzymes etc from the raw meaty bones and tripe they get, so don't worry too much about cooking the mince. I can't get Landywoods up here, unfortunately - I buy the Prize Choice tripe chunks as they are the right size for my toy dogs, and tend to haunt Morrisons for bones!


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## tortoise (Feb 5, 2012)

Oceanfish must be cooked for parasites. Freshwater fish does not need to be. I don't worry about parasites that are killed in routine worming.

I don't know about how the rules work where you are, but here, I can go to certain certified butchering plants. They/I cannot take anything out of containers marked "inedible". BUT I can bring my own buckets and they can dump into my buckets. You have to be there right when they are butchering to watch for what you are looking for.

I would usually get something really gross, like tripe. The butcher would feel sorry for me and usually I'd get it all for free. I'd fill up the trunk of my car, never paid more than $5 for it.

Good memories, lol.


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## Panda (Jan 7, 2010)

Hmmm, I might drive to that petshop on Saturday if I can fit it around obedience and socialisation classes and buy a selection to see if he will eat it. Today for the first time he ate a different prize choice block, chicken and tripe. He normally only eats the tripe one. I might try get their tripe mixes and see what he thinks, and some rabbit and venison if they do it.


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## PoodlePowerBC (Feb 25, 2011)

tortoise said:


> *
> PoodlePower - what is the cost per pound on those items and where do you get them?*


*

The chicken is .98 to 1.10 lb from a local (BC) supplier. Beef, lamb, pork, beef kidney/heart is from local butchers sales, normally $1 to $1.80/lb. Green unbleached Tripe is bought from a pet food company @ 1.25 lb. Venison, elk, moose, salmon, duck, goose & trout from my brother-in-laws either free or pay for cutting  I bought 2 turkeys for .79/lb after Xmas = score!! Sales, sales, sales!!!*


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