# Zippy had his first serving of raw chicken today



## Zippy (Dec 31, 2010)

Zippy had his first serving of raw chicken today. My wife is home from work all day so she is going to keep an eye on his belly to see if all looks OK. Me, on the other hand, have to get back to work until 5:30 so I'm going to be nervous thinking about it all day!

We are thinking about keeping him on a dry senior food for most of his meals and supplementing with a small portion of raw a couple times a week in order to stop canned food altogether. With maybe an occasional chicken heart or beef or poultry liver from time to time when I can get to the butcher. Any friendly ideas/advice that anyone has to offer would be greatly appreciated.


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## Brodysmom (Jan 8, 2009)

Supplementing with raw is a grand idea. Just don't feed the raw and kibble together. Some theorize that it digests at different rates (pure raw protein versus the dried carb cereal) and that you want to always feed them separately so they aren't in the stomach at the same time. 

Heart and liver are both very rich and you may experience loose stools as a result. If you are just using raw as a supplement, I'd stick with meaty pieces and not do organs.


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## Lin (Jun 7, 2006)

OMG! I never in a million years thought I would ever say this, but when we got the wings out last night to prepare for dinner; I came so close to snatching one up before it was seasoned and let the four have at it. BUT, I let it go because I have neither the resources nor the discipline to do the raw feeding correctly and I already have an immuno-compromised baby that I am dealing with.


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## Brodysmom (Jan 8, 2009)

Lin said:


> OMG! I never in a million years thought I would ever say this, but when we got the wings out last night to prepare for dinner; I came so close to snatching one up before it was seasoned and let the four have at it. BUT, I let it go because I have neither the resources nor the discipline to do the raw feeding correctly and I already have an immuno-compromised baby that I am dealing with.


LOL Lin! Are we rubbing off on you ... just a teensy tiny bit?  I felt the same way the first time I gave Brody a chicken wing. I had read everything I could, I felt I was ready to dive in - I gave him the wing and he went to town on it. At first he just gnawed on the end, then he took it in his mouth and CRUNCHED and I freaked out and grabbed it away and threw it in the trash. Was scared to death he would choke. I didn't try again for several months. But during that time I read everything I could get my hands on. Next time I felt more confident.  Perhaps someday you will feel the same way?


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## Lin (Jun 7, 2006)

LOL Tracy, you just may be rubbing off and that's a good thing! I'm not totally close minded. But it all sounds very complicated, and my plate is so full right now, I can't keep anything straight. But don't write me off.


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## Brodysmom (Jan 8, 2009)

Lin - I would never write you off. Or anyone else who is interested in raw. You know where to find me.


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## Lin (Jun 7, 2006)

Brodysmom said:


> Lin - I would never write you off. Or anyone else who is interested in raw. You know where to find me.


I do my dear, and don't be surprised....


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## jan896 (Dec 9, 2009)

Lin said:


> I have neither the resources nor the discipline to do the raw feeding correctly


I thought the exact same thing... and now won't go back to kibble for Chico...I thought it would be horribly difficult figuring out the amounts/organs.... all that.... but found it quite easy to work with...


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## Lin (Jun 7, 2006)

jan896 said:


> I thought the exact same thing... and now won't go back to kibble for Chico...I thought it would be horribly difficult figuring out the amounts/organs.... all that.... but found it quite easy to work with...


Are you offering to help this old numb-skull? rofl Actually I told Tracy that we just finished drying the does (goats) and the next couple weeks are rest time for me and them in prep for kidding. That's the toughest time of year, so I'm not likely to be starting anything new at the mo.  Animal husbandry! Not for the meek. *cheesy grin* Regardless of the species.


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## Zippy (Dec 31, 2010)

jan896 said:


> I thought it would be horribly difficult figuring out the amounts/organs.... all that...



Speaking of which, if I'm not mixing the raw meat with kibble, how much raw meat should I give him for one sitting? Zippy weighs about 8/8.5 pounds.

BTW, Reliable sources report that his poo was normal and about 4 hours later.


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## Brodysmom (Jan 8, 2009)

According to this raw feeding calculator:

Calculate

You'd want to feed about 2 ounces per meal of raw. That's about the size of two ice cubes. A chicken wing cut in thirds - you'd give one section usually. Or if you buy a cornish hen that weighs 1 pound, you can whack it up into 8 chunks of meat and bone and that would give you 8 meals that weigh 2 ounces each. Easy!


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## Zippy (Dec 31, 2010)

Thanks for the info!


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## ExoticChis (Jun 20, 2010)

Brodysmom said:


> LOL Lin! Are we rubbing off on you ... just a teensy tiny bit?  I felt the same way the first time I gave Brody a chicken wing. I had read everything I could, I felt I was ready to dive in - I gave him the wing and he went to town on it. At first he just gnawed on the end, then he took it in his mouth and CRUNCHED and I freaked out and grabbed it away and threw it in the trash. Was scared to death he would choke. I didn't try again for several months. But during that time I read everything I could get my hands on. Next time I felt more confident.  Perhaps someday you will feel the same way?


haha gotta love the crunch of a chicken wing


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## Zippy (Dec 31, 2010)

For a dog that I sometimes have to kind of convince to eat his food (kibble *or* canned), Zippy really gobbled up the raw chicken! The 2oz of cut-up breast lasted all of about 25 seconds! Today is only his second serving of raw but his belly seemed OK after day one on Thursday so this seems a pattern that we will most likely be keeping up with. Thanks for the good advise; I'll pop back in if any other questions arise.

BTW, sorry for putting this in the wrong subcategory before. Will try to match subject with forum better in the future.


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## Brodysmom (Jan 8, 2009)

Sounds like you are doing well! Good job. Once he is stabilized on chicken over the next week or so, you can gradually start adding in new proteins. I usually recommend pork next. Then beef. Then organs are last and only a fingernail sized piece to start. I use cornish hens almost exclusively for the bone content so it's usually a chunk of bone-in chicken followed by several meals of meat only meals, then repeat. I aim for about 80% red meat as it is more nutrient dense than birds or fish. But variety is the key after you have the proteins introduced, then you can mix it up however you'd like.


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