# BONE? Do you have to feed it in raw diet



## Ruffio N Reinas (Oct 30, 2012)

Before I ask my questions, I just wanted to thank all you beautiful chi mommas for all the helpful information you post. I discovered the idea of raw feeding on here, and it was all the helpful info that taught me how to do it. 

So a couple days ago I decided I was finally gonna give the raw thing ago on my own. I have been feeding pre made raw, but do to the cost and how fast mine were going threw it, I wanted to do it on my own.

So I went shopping and was able to pick up alot of different things like small whole cornish hens, pork that was already cut into cubes, chicken wings, chicken liver, chicken gizzards, steak chuck, beef neck, 

One of my question is do you have to feed bone? Yesterday was the first day I feed bone. I gave each of them a leg off the cornish hen. My oldest who i 8 months ate the bone, but my younges who is 3 months did not, I think the older one also ate hers. But I just dont like the idea of them eating bone, im scared that they are gonna choke on it or something. And can their bodies digest it? I think my oldest one was swallowing it in small pieces.

Is it possible to just give them some kind of supplement instead of letting them eat the bone??

Also when I went shopping to get all the meat, I went to 3 different asian markets and could not find kidney anywhere! Do they have to have the kindey? would a supplement cover that too? Or is there something else I can replace the kidney with??

Thank you all soo much for your feedback


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## Wicked Pixie (Oct 14, 2011)

They can definitely digest bone. If you are worried you can bash the chicken wings etc with a hammer first. Here in the UK you can also buy mince for dogs that already has ground bone in. (I'm not sure where you actually are.)
Chicken bones, Cornish hens especially, actually have very soft, flexible bones. You can cut through them easily with a knife. Remember you only need 10% bone, it is actually a very small amount, once your dogs are used to raw you will only be feeding a bone-in meal a couple of times a week. You could use ground eggshells instead to add the calcium, but bones actually have lots of other benefits. They clean the teeth and exercise the jaws. It gives them a nice slow meal that they have to work on,which is great mental stimulation. Chewing is very relaxing for dogs.
Have you got liver? Half of their organ allowance should be liver, the other half any other secreting organ. So kidney isn't essential, but it is a highly nutritious organ, so a good choice. I try and feed as wide a variety of organs as possible.


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## Brodysmom (Jan 8, 2009)

The short answer... YES, they must have bone. Why? Because it contains minerals... mainly calcium, phosphorus, and minerals that are essential. You can't feed a raw diet without a calcium source. Bone is 10% of the diet. For a typical 5 pound chi, that is a couple ounces a week. It is not much. But it is critical and necessary. Most people way overfeed bone, which is not a huge problem when just starting out as it helps keep the stools firm, but it is important to keep the ratios of the prey model, which is 80% meat, 10% organs, and 10% bone.

Most dogs handle bone just fine. Some are gulpers. In that case, feed large bony pieces, and take away after they have gnawed off some of the bone. Or you can crush the bones in the meat with a hammer until floppy. There is a learning curve. But you can't just decide to skip the bones. It would be better to stick with a pre-made raw or even kibble, rather than just feeding a meat only diet. 

I really can't stress enough, especially to new people, that a raw diet requires the correct ratios of mostly meat, a little organ, some bone. You can't just make it up as you go.  Having said that, some people like the security of a pre-made providing most of the essential vitamins/minerals and then adding in raw foods along the way as a supplement to the pre-mades. That's fine too. Most prepared foods contain over 150% of the calcium required, so if you are feeding a premade food, the calcium needs are being met. 

When just starting out, if you give a big variety of meats, you will be sure to cause an upset stomach and diarrhea. Start slow, with chicken or cornish hen parts ONLY until fully transitioned. Then you can slowly add in other meats and eventually organs.

Organs are last, so its not critical that you find kidney right now. But yes, you will eventually need another organ source besides liver. Kidney can be found in ethnic markets pretty easily. You can also do brain, spleen, pancreas, reproductive organs. All good. As a last resort, you can order organs through the mail from raw suppliers such as mypetcarnivore.com or hare-today.com. There may be a raw co-op of raw feeders who buy in bulk and you can get all kinds of goodies that way. Or network with farmers and see if you can buy organs from them. Or hunters. I have gotten some absolutely beautiful organs from hunters who save the hearts, kidneys, and livers for me from their deer. 

As for supplements, I like to use a rotation of oils... salmon, fish, krill, emu, coconut, vitamin E. Fatty acids are often missing in factory farmed meats, so unless you are buying grass fed meats, supplementing with oils is a good idea.


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## Ruffio N Reinas (Oct 30, 2012)

Yes I got 2 different types of liver. They had it for the first time last night. I gave it to them a little frozen and they ate it no problem. I think it made my little one a little some gas though, lol.

what other organs beside kidneys should I give. If I cant find kidney I wonder if I will be able to find anything else. Is a secreting organ something they absolutly have to have?


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## Brodysmom (Jan 8, 2009)

I'm surprised you haven't had loose stools as a result of the liver. How long have you been feeding raw? Not long? Throw that liver in the freezer and use it later. Much later.  As for other organs, I outlined some ideas in my last post. But yes, a secreting organ other than liver is necessary. Absolutely.


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## Ruffio N Reinas (Oct 30, 2012)

Thank you Brodysmom. I started feeding the fresh raw meat 4 days ago, although prior to that they have been on premade raw. I have been giving them just chicken for the first 3 days. I am using LostLakeLoua ~Kat's "Prey Model Raw" Cheat Sheet~ that I found on the raw forum.

So I am going to be feeding them bone and organs 2 times a week. Yesterday was the first day that they had bone and liver after having chicken the first 3 days.

So how long should I keep them on just chicken before I start giving them bone and liver?


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## Wicked Pixie (Oct 14, 2011)

If they were on pre-made raw they should be fine, that will have had organs in it. Organs can be very rich for dogs who are unused to them, you need to work up to them gradually. The bone helps to keep things firm, which is why Kat's cheat sheet feeds them together. If they don't have loose stools after their liver, consider it a success and keep going.


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