Help... OOPS???

[BoxRChamP]

Ok... after a several hours of researching and asking all of you questions I finally started Rex (11 weeks) on chicken tonite. I gave him a neck thinking he would chew on it for at least a few minutes while I started dinner. Next thing I know he swallowed it WHOLE! He didn't seem to be in distress... looked at me with pleading eyes begging for more. The next one I broke into 4 smaller pieces and in 4 bites it was gone. I then gave him 3 pieces of chicken gizzard. That too was gone in seconds. My questions...
1. Should I be worried about the whole neck in his tummy?
2. Was it right to give him the gizzards with the neck?
3. Was that about the right amount of food for his age? (11wks on Sunday about 20lbs)

PS..I am excited that he is eating so furiously and scouring for more. We have been having trouble with him eating his kibble (He just picks at it) and he is VERY thin.

 

[SoCal Angela]

Joy, you are a nervous mommy just like I was when I started. My two were on necks for a while because it seemed to work for their stomachs best in the beginning. My two also swallowed most of them whole so I moved to chicken backs for more bone when I need it and they chew them. Anyhow, no, it should be fine. The worry would be more of choking if they don't chew up. Not such a big deal that the whole thing is not chewed up. One thing I had to learn was that canines do not start the digestion in their mouths, it's all done in the stomach so they just get it into managable pieces that they can swallow and the rest happens in the tummy. So, while I would probably reccommend you choose bigger pieces such as whole chickens halved or quartered or backs for bone (you need more meat to this but they are a good bone source or they have been for me anyway). Since you have a pup there, the necks are a good meal but you just need to supervise for choking. Consider other RMBs from chicken though as well...that way you get the benefit of jaw excersize and teeth cleaning.

As for giving gizzard with the neck...nothing wrong at all with that. Not sure what you were worried about there but no, it's not a problem. My two had pork brisket with bone and a ground offal mix with heart, liver and gizzard tonight so I give offal with anything. Usually with a bonier meal to balance in case of loose stool but otherwise, no problem.

You can relax, it'll be okay. My two gulped chicken necks for a while because I bought 50 lbs and I didn't want to waste. We never had a bad experience.

Good luck!!!

 

[BoxRChamP]

Thank you for your input! We are nervous trying this "new" form of feeding. I keep watching him tonite waiting for something to happen, but of course he is playing and sleeping normally. He has gone to the kitchen several times to see if there is any more food there. Like I said in previous post, that is a good thing. He has never seemed interested in eating and now he is actually looking for food! As for the question about gizzards with the necks, I suddenly had the thought that "offal" might have to be given seperately in an additional meal. I had read somewhere that if you fed too much meat and not enough bones you had really hard stools, or something along those lines. (I still feel I have a lot to learn about feeding raw.) Thanks again for your response. I'm sure all will be well.

 

[SoCal Angela]

I understand being nervous, I was very nervous for months. In my experience, it's actually good to balance offal with a boney meal. Some people give it as an entire meal but it's by preference. I do this occasionally but only recently because my two were still getting the occasional running poo. Anyway, the bone helps with loose stool (it firms the stool) and the offal can cause some loose stool. So the idea is that they balance each other out. You are doing fine...if your puppy continues to swallow the necks, I would try something a little bigger. Watch his poo a little, if you see a lot of undigested bone, this would be good indication that the swallowing is causing him to digest less...this isn't uncommon but my two were able to swallow them almost whole and didn't have too much that came out on the other end to concern me. But I would watch for that.

 

[jeffbotteril]

Sounds like he won't have trouble with his appetite anymore...

Don't really think imho there is any need to break down the chicken into too small pieces, as long as they can lift the piece easily they will break it down into the lumps they can manage anyway.

For example whole legs (minus feet) of a large chicken are no problem, Charlie (14mths) has a field day with them, I just chop a whole chicken into pieces around the same size - to the required weight each meal - around 1 1/4 lbs twice a day for him.

If he starts to put on weight reduce it a little and vice versa - best....

 

[BoxRChamP]

Rex definitely does not have appetite problems! Anytime I am in the kitchen now, he is looking at me wondering when I am going to make him another meal. This was our first complete day of raw and he eats in 10-20 seconds. I did hold a drumstick for him so he wouldn't try to swallow that whole, but everything else he has INHALED! I cut up most of his chicken into manageable pieces because I am afraid he will choke. I am hoping that he will soon see that he is getting "good stuff" all the time and won't be in such a hurry to eat it. Tonite he did have some runny poo, so tomorrow I think we will hold back on the gizzards a little.

 

[jeffbotteril]

Rex .............. Anytime I am in the kitchen now, he is looking at me wondering when I am going to make him another meal..........

........

 

[StellaBee]

I kind of skimmed the posts...sorry if I repeat. Gizzards really don't have a lot of nutritional value and aren't the best kind of offal to feed. That said, I give Stella gizzards every once in a while because she likes them. But make sure it's not the only kind. Also, after a while, he will get used to being fed raw food and won't look at his meals as a "treat" - hopefully, he'll start to slow down so you don't have to cut up his food. I'm so glad it's working for him and if all goes well, he should plump right up!

 

[BoxRChamP]

Thank you for the info about the gizzards. I wasn't aware of that.

I didn't cut up the legs or thighs today and he ate them at a more reasonable rate. I did keep a close eye on him and would place the chicken back in the bowl if I felt he was rushing. DH actually had to feed lunch all by himself and it went well with no incidents.

 

[StellaBee]

Oh good, I'm so glad DH is helping you out. I know a lot of people's significant others aren't always totally supportive of raw feeding, so that's great news! And good to hear Moab's starting to slow down a bit. Good boy appicon I didn't know about the gizzards until gmac posted about it a while ago - this is the best place to learn about feeding raw. I started the diet about a year ago and everyone on the site really encouraged me and helped me get going.