Another Raw thread - Page 4

Well after lots of research and questions i'm sure thre will be several of you I will ask a question to when one arises, Today was the first day my guys strted on raw, They loved it!! Even the finicky eater I have not only finished her meal in less than 10 min she licked the bowl clean!! When i went out for the evening meal there were much more interested in bringing me their bowls than playing.  None of them seemed to not know what to do with the food, they all took it and went to town!!!Amt would be the question I have now, feed once a day or twice.  Breakfast this morning was beef soup bones for the bigger guys and an egg, for the 9 wk old he got part of an ox tail, a smaller piece of meat off the soup bone with no bone and an egg.  Later for dinner the bigger guys got a chicken leg quarter, .5lbs of beef liver.  The pup got a smaller amt of chicken liver ground with a little ground pork and a tsp of greek yogurt.  They all lapped it up with tails wagging constantly.  So obv amts can be based on watching your dogs, but what is the general consensus of once a day feedings as opposed to twice a day feeding??? Am really having a hard time finding greent tripe.  talked to several butcher shops today (regs on selling it and bones) he gave me a few more to talk to, however he did offer me a job with deer season coming up making 500 a week, skinning the deer helping cut them etc, with the benefit of all the organs I need, bones etc you know get put in a box and what happens to them when he turns around he has no idea of, so no charge!!! But where is everyone finding green tripe? I can find white tripe but that obviously doesn't not have the predigested veggies etc in it for the nutrients?? What about animals like goats, can get those cheap and kill and cut them up myself, are those organs jsut as good??? I would just feel more comftorable with the raw diet with the green tripe added.  Rabbits etc I can get.  I'm not squimish if I know it is giving my dogs the best just need help being pointed in the right area's. Thanks so much for the contact info, I found the raw feed page on facebook today.  I really do appreciate all the help from everone, and contact info.  My dogs and I all thank you!!!!! 

Yes Justice, 2.5lbs, I thought I was underfeeding. LOL
My GSD's are done eating in under 2-3 minutes, unless there's some serious bone. Don't forget, my GSD's crap has decreased by 75%!!! Yes, I said 75%. I've cleaned up my pen for years, went to Raw about a year ago. Clean pen once every couple days now and don't even come close to filling bucket.
Used to fill same bucket in 2 pick up's, or a day and a half. All GSD's teeth are spotless, Titus's breath no longer stinks. Titus used to eat crap. Started raw and never touched it again. The benefit's go on and on. It cost a bit more than average kibble, a bit more work, but the saving's on vet bill's and less pen clean up, plus the healthiest Dogs I've ever owned, is all worth it!!!      Pete

Pete I too am amazed at the difference in the amt and texture of the poop, especially in Ace the 9 week old!! He sleeps in the puppy room at night. (well it's the whleping room but he's the only pup) my son says you know our dogs are spoiled when they have their own room! LOL Normally in the morning when he was on kibble I had several piles to clean up before I mopped his room every day.  And when I would put him in his room he would acknowledge the kibble but try to instantly come out to be with mom. They were fasted the day prior and I fed him in he morning he DOVE into the bowl, not concerned with following mom out until he had eaten every drop, same thing at dinner, and yesterday I had 1 pile to clean up, and one right before I went to bed.  Same with the kennels. It was GREAT!!! I know raw isn't for everybody but mine aren't going back they are soo happy at food time!! So the questions I had were some people have put their menus up here Thanks soo much, and I don't know if it got left out or it was under organ meat, The green tripe, having a very hard time finding it!!! I'm almost to the point of buying a small goat and just killing it and cutting it up. Is Green tripe something I absolutely have to have?? Nutritionally speaking I would say yes, could be wrong.. And where are you guys getting it??? I"m going to several more butchers tomorrow. If I can't find it there where do I find it?? How much do you ussually feed is it a daily every other day, or once a week thing?? And again are people feeding once or twice a day??

Congrats on your first raw meals!  I just wanted to point out a few things for you to make note of... You fed quite a variety for the first day.  That doesn't mean it's wrong, but typically you would start with one protein source and feed it for a week or so until your dogs system adjusts to it (depends on your dog).  Also, 0.5 lb of liver is quite a lot for a dog that just started eating raw.  So, the pup will more than likely be fine (they tend to adjust quicker), but IF the older dogs get loose poo for a day or two, it would be from the variety and liver...so don't worry, just offer less variety and cut the liver out until their poo is back to normal.  

Green tripe is great! but it is not an absolute must.  You don't HAVE to feed a certain amount of it regularly...if and when you are able to get it, feed it, if not, don't worry too much.  Just make sure that any green tripe you feed is from grass fed animals, otherwise it's fairly useless and your dogs would be ingesting the medicated feed that the animal might be on.

Goat is great if you can get it.  It's difficult to get in some places.  Venison is great, especially during hunting season when you can get some from your friends if they hunt...OR you can find people who have last years meat, who need to get rid of it, to make room for this year's hunting season ;)

And you can feed tripe from any (grass fed) ruminant animal - beef, bison, sheep, goat, venison, etc.

Feel free to take a look at my website for some pics and info: http://rawbasicsllc.com/raw-diet/grass-fed-green-tripe ...there are also a few excerpts that refer to the debate about wolves eating the stomach contents of prey, etc.

Ditto uvw- I feed once a day.    Pete

I didn't give the pup liver, I did give him a chicken liver ground in with a little ground pork and greek yogurt.  None of them have had runny poop but boy are they excited about food time!! I did get a goat I live in a rural area and we just bought a full grown goat for 30, we are picking it up later to slaughter.  As for the tripe I found several slaughter houses that even though they aren't supposed to sell it have told me when the kill days are and I can go through the organ bins and pick whatever I want for free, one is killing 13 cows today, another is killing 2 and putting all the organs etc in a tub with my name. So I will have plenty.  As far as the pup what is a typical feeding for them?

FYI I had heard green tripe is stinky... Well when you are at a slaughter house that slaughtered 14 cows today and said here are some tubs just take what you want and you get 60 lbs of it free and you are digging and cutting it to get it out of the tubs it is GROSS!!!!!!! I was covered from head to toe in blood and green tripe.  The guys thought it was great a "little bitty" girl as they put it that was not squeamish and could pick it up herself.  I don't think the smell will ever come off, and now getting ready to go slaughter a goat.  The things we do for our dogs!!!!! That along with taking a part time job in a slaughter plant during dear season for 500 a week so I can take what they won't use and I need for free.  Turns out if you life in the right are raw is ALOT cheaper, almost free. Going to put up some rabbit hutches for the rabbits.  I think Chickens are NASTY, they poop everywhere, so haven't decided on that, I do however have a 5 acre lake so this spring ducks are in order we can get them for 4 a piece.  Step son fishes so fish is no problem and the dogs are SOOOO HAPPY!!!!!!!!! Thanks everybody, spent an hr at the slaughter house talking about raw think he's going to it to for his hunting dogs.. Thanks sooo much!!!!!!!!!!!!

Green Tripe is pretty smelly, but the dogs really love the stuff! It's great for puppies on raw, as it's easy for them to chew. I  also stuff it into a sock as a drag to lay tracks for green dogs and puppies, as our fire ants are a problem.

I like to order rabbit, (skinned and bladder removed) and the dogs love that too. Ground whole rabbit is great for raw fed cats, but I would hate to grind all of the time. I knew of a raw feeder who bred rabbits exclusively for her dogs.

If your slaughterhouse is willing, it's great that you could ask them to keep back a few tripes for you - you could ask if they might even put the hose through them to clean out the rumen contents - that's the stuff that stinks the worst.  It wouldn't take them a minute.

Ask them to keep back the tripes from veal calves too, if and when they get them - veal tripe is lovely stuff, almost golden yellow in colour and the smell is milky - same with any tripe from a ruminant that is still suckling. It's not as fatty as mature ox tripe, and full of enzymes and  highly digestible.

I wouldn't want to go diving into the bin - there's a massive risk of you infecting yourself with campylobacter or some such - better to take a sturdy pole with a hook attached, and you can drag the 'by product' whether it's tripe, lungs, heart, spleen, pancreas etc out. 

Worth investing in some large-ish lidded plastic containers to take the food home and some gauntlets and overalls that can be boil washed.  I've given myself campy in the past from being careless with hygiene, and it's not pleasant!

Make sure you have a dedicated cutting area, with knives only used for the purpose of cutting (not your kitchen knives) and a decent meat cleaver, and have a supply of water, bleach and paper rolls for cleaning up after you've bagged and frozen your food.

Your Ace will need feeding (depending on age) three or four times a day - feed about 8% of anticipated adult bodyweight divided into several smaller meals. As he grows and can take more food on board, you can cut down the number of feeds.  He can be fed the same stuff as the adults, but while he's small, it'd be better if most of his meat can be minced or broken up.  Should be okay with with chicken wings, or if you have some slighty heavier bony meats, such as pork rib, wrap it in a teacloth and smash it up with a mallet, then pick out any bone spikes before giving him the mushed bony meat.

I know what you mean about the delights of watching your youngster eat raw... the last pup I had, had been weaned onto kibble, never seen any 'real' food, but when I presented him with a rabbit saddle as his first meal here, he sank his needle teeth into it like a starving wolf cub - I thought it'd take him a while to realise what it was, but it was the highlight of my day to watch this little tacker get to grips with it straight away.

One more thing - Slaughterhouse men will look forward even more to your visits if you take along the occasional box of shortbread or biscuits (I think you call them cookies?) as a 'thank you' and for them to have with their tea breaks.  Works for me, and it's been a long time since I was a "little bitty girl."

Good luck, and it sounds like you've found yourself a real goldmine.
Well done you!
Maggie

Not sure about gold mine that was horrid! we did get the goat slaughtered when we got home, as far as the butcher shop I can take what I want they said.  We also bought the stuff to up rabbit cages for the food for the dogs. i did feel bad when i forgot to thaw out dinner tonight and had to give it to them frozen although none seemed to mind at all. Again thanks for everything.