Is game from hunting safe to feed? - Page 1

I have a friend who is an avid hunter.  He is also starting to dabble in raw.  His question is

would there be a problem with feeding deer, elk, or antelope?  Parasites is his main concern.

If parasites are a concern, would the bones also be contaminated, or would they be safe to give?

Thankyou.

Becky

 My dogs love venison and hunting season.  I've never had a problem with parasites from game and I'm not sure that they could even be passed to the dogs.  They may eat a little lead though!

Game should be safe to feed, even raw. Your friend plans to eat his venison or elk, doesn't he? The thing I would worry about more than parasites is wasting disease (Creutzfeld Jakov disease), but if it isn't in the population that he's hunting then there should be no problem with this either. It's in brain and nerve tissue (like the spinal cord) so avoid those to be safe. 

I make do with raw bison that I buy. You are lucky someone is willing to share his hunt with your dogs. If you are still uncomfortable feeding raw game, then cook it first. But take it! Dogs love game.

I feed venison a lot during hunting season.  I have a butcher 5 minutes from me who gives me all the bones I want and sells us ground up meat scraps for almost nothing.  I do freeze all the deer bones before feeding.  The first time I fed them fresh my dogs ate the bones so fast that it made them sick and they vomited everything up.  So now I freeze first.  The butcher and several other people I know feed fresh bones with no problems.  My dogs love this time of year!!

:-))

Thank you for the quick response.  I'll let him know what was said.

Becky

I love hunting season! (and so do my dogs).  A lot of the hunters around here don't even want their kill, they just enjoy the sport.  So during hunting season it is not unusual for me to have 2-3 deer a week dropped off.  I have to do all of the dressing out, which is not a pleasant task, but I keep focused on all of the meat and bones my dogs will have, and that makes the work a lot easier to deal with.  I bought a meat grinder and just make ground meat out of everything.  It is much easier to store and freeze like that.  It sure helps with the winter food bills too.

Only about a month into the season, and already my freezer is filled to the brim with deer meat!

KÖNIGTUM

Next time I hit another Bambi, I'm throwing it in the back of the truck and bringing it home... if the truck is still operable, that is. LOL

But seriously... Do you grind the bones up along with the meat? What parts do you leave out of the mix?

SS

Absolutely safe. I know many people who feed hunted game. In some cases it is actually better for the dogs because it has not been unnaturally modifed ( hormones, etc.) as some store bought meats are. Karen

I've been feeding my dogs raw venison for several years. Between a friend and my husband hunting, our freezer is packed full of deer all year long. I have had no issues whatsoever.

 It's too bad I live in city limits.  I have a big herd that is hanging out in the field next to our house.  Deer are very smart in Michigan.  Except when they happen to hit your car.  I could have roadkill every day if I wanted it.