# left my chicken out today



## dooneygirl09 (Mar 9, 2012)

Cn I still feed it?


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## AveryandAudrey (Sep 20, 2010)

How many hours was it out? If it isn't cold to the touch, I personally wouldn't feed it.


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## bridget246 (Oct 26, 2011)

AveryandAudrey said:


> How many hours was it out? If it isn't cold to the touch, I personally wouldn't feed it.


Agreed. Once it reaches room temp that is when the bacteria start the grow on it. If it was frozen before you left it out then it is probably fine.


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## Tobi (Mar 18, 2011)

:lol:

I feed things i've left out overnight for days, dogs have stomachs and immune systems that are meant to break down these things, i've left food out for Tobi on the floor for 2-3 days sometimes, he's never gotten sick, never gotten worms, nothing... Dogs eat carrion in nature, they eat bacteria, maggot infested carcasses. I've fed meat that was so far gone it nearly made me vomit from the wreaking smell, yet he was wagging his tail while nomming it down like it was the best thing ever... green meats are a staple here sometimes. Just a little gas sometimes.


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## Sheltielover25 (Jan 18, 2011)

If it makes you feel any better, my dogs have been eating on a whole prey chicken for three days now and it's been out in the yard all that time. They eat as they please.... so I'm sure overnight in a house will be fine!


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## Tobi (Mar 18, 2011)

Sheltielover25 said:


> If it makes you feel any better, my dogs have been eating on a whole prey chicken for three days now and it's been out in the yard all that time. They eat as they please.... so I'm sure overnight in a house will be fine!


That's awesome! :thumb:


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## Dude and Bucks Mamma (May 14, 2011)

Of course you can still feed it. 

We have accidentally left things out overnight multiple times. We have a bunch of calf legs in the freezer and when they get bored I just toss a couple out back for them to gnaw on and they will sometimes last a week or two and I leave them out in the yard the whole time. 

As I am typing this, Buck is sitting next to my chair (outside) gnawing on a bone that has been in the yard for weeks.

I have fed green meat and chicken that makes you want to vomit. We have some pretty rank chicken in the fridge right now that Dude will be getting tonight. The smellier, the better according to most dogs. 

The bacteria that would make us sick isn't going to effect your dogs. They can handle it. That's what their short digestive tract is for.


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## brandypup (Jan 23, 2012)

Well I dont do it on purpose or make a habit but yea I have fed things left out as well.


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## tuckersmom20 (Dec 12, 2010)

Ive done the same lol...

Ive taken frozen things out, forgotten about it and in the morning its still sitting there. So i grab it... and feed it! lol
They loveeee smelly stuff (barf)!


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## chowder (Sep 7, 2008)

Rocky gets the most excited over meat once it starts to smell. Then he's right at my feet, wagging his tail. Until it gets to that point, he's just not terribly excited about eating. 

I think it's like us......do we get excited sniffing a lasagna fresh out of the oven or sniffing a head of lettuce? The smell makes the meal!


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## naturalfeddogs (Jan 6, 2011)

Feed it! I have fed meat left out for days. During deer season, we put out large carcass parts and they stay out for sometimes a week. 

Your dog is designed for it, in fact they tend to eat older stinkier meat even better. After all, it needs to "marinate" just right!


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## Makovach (Jan 24, 2012)

I feed stuff that is left out. I don't do it on purpose, but sometimes I just forget if we are in a hurry or rushing around. I also used to fallow the three days limit for meats in the fridge before being used as instructed for humans. Yeah, not any more. when its gone, its gone. Even if it takes a week.


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## MollyWoppy (Mar 19, 2010)

Hell yeah! Feed it. If the chicken was for you, then not so much of a Hell yeah.
I've fed Mol chicken and pork where the smell has made me dry retch. 
I wouldn't have done so once upon a time, but I listened to the advice here, and it has absolutely no effect on the dog whatsoever.
If the meat is for a cat, I'd be a little leary though.


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## twoisplenty (Nov 12, 2008)

My guys will bury their food in the backyard on one of the hottest days and let it marinate in its own grossness then dig it back up and have a feast a couple of days later. Leaving chicken out on the counter for 24 hrs is nothin, lol.


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## magicre (Apr 7, 2010)

i'm going to give a different answer.

it depends on how far along your dogs are in transition.

if they are fully transitioned...then it's fine.

if they are under a year eating a raw, then re freeze and feed another time.


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## Dude and Bucks Mamma (May 14, 2011)

magicre said:


> i'm going to give a different answer.
> 
> it depends on how far along your dogs are in transition.
> 
> ...


I agree to an extent. Dude follows the above statement. He can't eat green meat. Meat left on the counter overnight? Sure. He can even eat meat that isn't green but smells awful. And he is my sensitive guy.

On the other hand, Buck has been able to handle green meat and all sorts of nastiness since he was around 6 months old and 4 months into raw. I do believe that, the younger a dog is when transitioned, the easier it is on him and the faster the transition will be. 

My dogs will hit one year on raw on June 1st of this year.

I suppose, in short, that I feel it depends on the dog. Your iron guts will probably be able to handle it just fine but any delicate bellies should probably be fed something else.

In general though, yes, turned meat is safe to feed.


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## magicre (Apr 7, 2010)

i'm thinking this.

just because we can, doesn't mean we should.

a dog's immune system and digestive tract need to alter in order to accept larger amounts of bacteria.

i would feed my dogs food i left out overnight now. but i would not have two years ago.

i would have re frozen it and fed it another time.

but that's just me. 

i don't think you're wrong, Jess.....i just think i like to err on the side of the immune and digestive system and not stressing it.


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## xellil (Apr 4, 2011)

I'd love to leave the hogsheads and goatheads out in the yard but I'd be afraid the coyotes, possums, skunks etc. would have a field day with them. That would be cool, though! 

From the OPs post, it doesn't sound like the chicken was even left out very long. 

I don't like to waste meat so I feed rotten meat to my dogs until I can't stand the smell. They could eat it long after I could stand to give it to them.


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## pogo (Aug 28, 2011)

I leave everything i'm feeding out overnight and feed the next evening. I also have fed food that's been defrosted for days, to the boys the stinkier the better!


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## Dude and Bucks Mamma (May 14, 2011)

magicre said:


> i'm thinking this.
> 
> just because we can, doesn't mean we should.
> 
> ...


I agree. I do try to make sure I feed them fresh stuff but with a freezer tied shut some of it inevitably has to be crammed into the fridge and unfortunately, it just doesn't get eaten fast enough! Hahaha. 

I prefer NOT to feed my dogs turned meat because it stinks and I don't like a stinky kitchen but, if it happens, I am not at all opposed to it. Some of the chicken we have fed has been pretty bad because Dude only eats 1.5 lbs per day. When it stinks up my kitchen and it makes me put off feeding them because I don't like the smell, I use my garbage disposal dog to help speed up the process. Everything that comes out of the freezer is "fresh".


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## Noodlesmadison (Sep 18, 2011)

I've left meat out for 12+ hours (by accident... I have the attention span on a fly) and fed it to Noodles.. she was fine, she actually liked it more because it became a little stinky lol


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## Sheltielover25 (Jan 18, 2011)

You guys have me thinking... I took in a senior sheltie in September of '11. He was in bad shape and we switched him to raw immediately. I didn't ever start slow. He ate deer/elk/pheasant from the beginning and never got an upset stomach. He also ate chicken a few times when I ran out of pheasant, it was marked down, and we put it in the freezer forgetting it was unplugged. Realized it about three days later and it smelt bad. We fed it to him and the others, he did fine. He was adopted last week!!! They took him to the vet and realized he had testicular cancer... immune compromised to say the least... and he did fine on stinky chicken and mixed variety. I think it's a know your dog. I've had five fosters total and never switched them slowly, (all were babies, though minus him) and never had an issue. It's better to be careful because some people might give up easier if they have issues.


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## wolfsnaps88 (Jan 2, 2012)

When I first started feeding raw a few years back, I cut up chicken for my (then) two guys in the back yard. I forgot a package and it was left sitting in the hot summer sun for two days. It was slimy and disgusting. I showed it to both dogs to see what they would do (with no intention to actually feed it as I thought it was too far gone but I was curious). 


Both hungry dogs refused to go near that rotting, slimy, revolting chicken. So while I know dogs will eat things they shouldn't (antifreeze, etc.) they seem to know when the meat is expired even by dog standards. So, I trust their judgement on this issue. I leave heads, legs, and other body parts outside for them to do with as they please. If it goes untouched for so much time, I dispose of it. If I see them picking at it, I leave it. 

One day or so of sitting out in room temp shouldn't be too bad. I defrosted chicken for MY dinner and then had to put it in the fridge because we ended up going out to eat. I forgot about that chicken in the fridge until I smelled "That" smell. They ate it with no problems happily and I was happy to know I didn't waste food. 

Keep in mind, my dogs have only been PMR'ing it full time for about three months or so. 

I also agree that if your dog has a sensitive stomach, it might be wise to err on the side of caution. But this way of feeding is trial and error and there are no concrete, steadfast rules. Proceed with caution.


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