# Beware of Chicken?



## Itty bitty Kitty (Dec 26, 2011)

Okay, so for some reason whenever I mention raw to family or friends, people see raw chicken meat like the plague. Why is that?

Vets especially, argue chicken bones are dangerous and will choke your pet. 

My mom constantly freaks that chicken his the highest form of salmonella and I should never feed raw chicken (She even goes as far to BEG me, if I ever feed raw I can do other meats just never, ever chicken).

Fellow raw-supporter I met at a holistic pet store aired some caution towards raw chicken. However this was more of a preparation and de-frosting thing I think.

I'm pretty sure this applies to if not all then most meat, but it seems there is special emphasis on carefulness on Chicken on making sure it's not left siting outside too long.


So, what's the deal with chicken here? Are there really some things about chicken I should be careful about? I call baloney on the dangerous chicken bone stuff. I'm pretty sure the salmonellae is blown out of proportion BUT I am wondering if I should take extra care on how I store and prepare chicken?

I was also told to be very, very careful of butchers.


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## creek817 (Feb 18, 2012)

Meh. I'm sure you will get better answers, but.....
I don't worry about it. I don't feed it if it's really gross and green, but even if it's a little bit off, I will feed it. Sometimes I feed straight from the store, sometimes it's frozen, sometimes frozen then defrosted....I do have one cutting board that I use ONLY for dog food, but that's mosly because I cut stinky organs on it, not chicken. I really don't worry about it. And chicken bones are pretty much the only bone my dog gets. They are definitely the easiest to digest. He gets roo tail bone occasionally, and lamb sometimes, and I will give him ribs when I can find them, but chicken is his main bone. 

Don't worry! And don't let people who don't know what they're talking about scare you. =)


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## Itty bitty Kitty (Dec 26, 2011)

creek817 said:


> Meh. I'm sure you will get better answers, but.....
> I don't worry about it. I don't feed it if it's really gross and green, but even if it's a little bit off, I will feed it. Sometimes I feed straight from the store, sometimes it's frozen, sometimes frozen then defrosted....I do have one cutting board that I use ONLY for dog food, but that's mosly because I cut stinky organs on it, not chicken. I really don't worry about it. And chicken bones are pretty much the only bone my dog gets. They are definitely the easiest to digest. He gets roo tail bone occasionally, and lamb sometimes, and I will give him ribs when I can find them, but chicken is his main bone.
> 
> Don't worry! And don't let people who don't know what they're talking about scare you. =)


Yeah it never made sense to me why people are scared of raw chicken bones. I mean, they're the most flexible and soft right? Wouldn't that make them the safest providing they are the right size? They're the cheapest meat too  Yet somehow, I keep hearing constantly how people think I should listen to the vet because they keep reporting about dogs choking and getting blockages from chicken bones. 
Good idea on the separate cutting board, I think I should do that too. Though should I avoid wooden?


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## Elliehanna (Jan 16, 2012)

I feed most all my meals frozen only because its easy that way and makes less mess and my boy gets chicken in almost every meal in some form or another (cheapest meat and organs so for a 65 lb dog it kinda needs to make up a lot of his meals) anyhow the reason vets deal with the bones is because of stupid people feeding COOKED bones, cooked bones of any kind are bad for the GI tract and about salmonella, with the resent recall of kibble a person on another forum I am on asked the question "why is it bad in kibble but ok in raw?" the reason given was "because raw digests so fast that the bacteria do not have a chance to cause any damage" it makes total sense


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## xellil (Apr 4, 2011)

Vets say dogs will have trouble with chicken bones but what they mean is cooked chicken bones.

And actually, when my dog ate a plate of eight cooked chicken thighs and I took him down for x-rays they couldn't even see any bones in his stomach, less than an hour after he ate them.

I've seen one person here who had trouble with cooked bones, when their neighbor threw a bunch of KFC chicken over their fence.

Really, the problems are normally non-edible items like socks, not bones. Last time I asked a vet how many times a dog has had trouble with RAW bones he couldn't tell me. Just that bones are bad, bad, bad.


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## creek817 (Feb 18, 2012)

Itty bitty Kitty said:


> Yeah it never made sense to me why people are scared of raw chicken bones. I mean, they're the most flexible and soft right? Wouldn't that make them the safest providing they are the right size? They're the cheapest meat too  Yet somehow, I keep hearing constantly how people think I should listen to the vet because they keep reporting about dogs choking and getting blockages from chicken bones.
> Good idea on the separate cutting board, I think I should do that too. Though should I avoid wooden?


Right, definitely easiest to digest! Like everyone else has said, it's only the cooked ones that can cause problems because they can splinter.

And personally, I probably would avoid a wooden cutting board, plastic is just much easier to clean IMO. I have seen some people have a big like butcher block thing outside somewhere that is just used for dog food, which would be great if you had the space for that, then it doesn't really matter! But since that cutting board lives on top of my refrigerator in my kitchen, I try to keep it as clean as possible. Although, it's too big for our dishwasher, so who knows how clean I actually get it with hot water and dish soap!


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## doggiedad (Jan 23, 2011)

salmonella can happen but i think salmonella is overrated. think about how much
chicken is consumed in the USA compared to the amount of salmonella outbreaks
there are? i don't feed raw but i do give my dog raw ground beef and raw chicken
backs. i freeze a few peices of the backs and i make a few patties of the beef
and freeze them. sometimes i let the backs and beef patteis sit out untill thawed.
sometimes i let the beef patties thaw in the refrigerator. i've never had a problem
with the backs or patties.


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## xellil (Apr 4, 2011)

creek817 said:


> Right, definitely easiest to digest! Like everyone else has said, it's only the cooked ones that can cause problems because they can splinter.
> 
> And personally, I probably would avoid a wooden cutting board, plastic is just much easier to clean IMO. I have seen some people have a big like butcher block thing outside somewhere that is just used for dog food, which would be great if you had the space for that, then it doesn't really matter! But since that cutting board lives on top of my refrigerator in my kitchen, I try to keep it as clean as possible. Although, it's too big for our dishwasher, so who knows how clean I actually get it with hot water and dish soap!


I no longer own a dishwasher - I love Comet 

I read recently that plastic cutting boards also retain the germs after long term use because of the little tiny scratches in them. Mine has alot of scratches but i have no idea if that's really true.


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## creek817 (Feb 18, 2012)

xellil said:


> I no longer own a dishwasher - I love Comet
> 
> I read recently that plastic cutting boards also retain the germs after long term use because of the little tiny scratches in them. Mine has alot of scratches but i have no idea if that's really true.


Yeah, I don't think plastic is ideal either. but not sure I'm up for glass....I think it would get broken pretty quickly in my house, with 6 and 7 years old kids, and a 14 year old who drops things a lot haha. I clean my cutting boards with the steam cleaner occasionally....don't know how much it helps, but it makes me feel better. Otherwise, it's dish soap, and sometimes white vinegar.


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## xellil (Apr 4, 2011)

No way would I have glass either! I just broke my last most favorite coffee cup.


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## sozzle (May 18, 2011)

I personally don't worry about it for my dog. He eats chicken that has been thawing all night and sometimes is very room temperature, a real breeding ground for bacteria.

Obviously it can be serious for humans so good hygiene is important after handling chicken and making sure it is cooked through properly.

Common sense prevails.

Remember dogs are basically scavengers (well they are very good at it) and eats all sorts of revolting things without adverse effects as many dog owners here will tell you.

My dog doesn't seem to have a sensitive stomach at all.


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## wolfsnaps88 (Jan 2, 2012)

First off, if raw chicken were this horrible, disease ridden meat that WILL tear through doggy stomach lining, then why do you not hear any raw feeders ever mention how dead their dog is from it? I mean, ok, quite a lot of raw feeders have only just started feeding raw....but...whether you have been doing it for weeks, months, or years, you would think we would see threads like:

"My dog died because I gave him a raw chicken wing"

or

"Fluffy has salmonella from her raw chicken dinner"

Nope. Does it ever happen? Yeah, I am sure it can and does happen. But is it this huge threat that would cause me to quit feeding raw? No. There is risk with everything, even kibble.

As far as cutting boards go...ugh. I used plastic for a while until I found out it can harbor bacteria because plastic is porous. So I went and bought a nice expensive wooden board. Um, ok, there were no directions on it and here I was soaping it up and rinsing it off like any other kitchen utensil. Nope, I warped the stupid thing. Now, the wood has seperated in places and blood just seeps right through onto the counter. ERGH,

SO I am going back to plastic and will buy a NEW PLASTIC (or maybe glass) board for human consumables while I will use the current plastic ones for the dogs. To keep a wooden cutting board in good shape, its too much work for this lazy bum.


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## doggiedad (Jan 23, 2011)

i wipe our cutting boards with bleach (plastic and wood). sometimes i cover the
wood cutting board with Kosher salt.


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## Rvent (Apr 15, 2012)

I have fed mine some chicken that smelled a little off after I defrosted it, no problems at all not even from my guy with a sensative stomach, I have a few cutting board mostly plastic, I use them for all my food cutting even my own.....I have a spray bottle with bleach and water I use on them and on my counters....I havn't killed anyone in my family yet!


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## xellil (Apr 4, 2011)

Rvent said:


> I have fed mine some chicken that smelled a little off after I defrosted it, no problems at all not even from my guy with a sensative stomach, I have a few cutting board mostly plastic, I use them for all my food cutting even my own.....I have a spray bottle with bleach and water I use on them and on my counters....I havn't killed anyone in my family yet!


We have a meat cutting board and a veggie cutting board - but I use the meat cutting board for dogs and people I figure chicken is chicken no matter who stomach it ends up in.


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## creek817 (Feb 18, 2012)

xellil said:


> We have a meat cutting board and a veggie cutting board - but I use the meat cutting board for dogs and people I figure chicken is chicken no matter who stomach it ends up in.


Yeha, I only use the seperate one because of the liver and kidney. But to be completely honest, it also ensure that I always have that one cutting board to use, even if a certain 14 y/o is behind on her chores and hasn't done the dishwasher, I always have my doggy chopping board. So that's probably the real reason =D


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

IMO, I think it has to do with the fact that we eat our beef and some game meats with some pink in it but we ALWAYS make sure poultry is thoroughly cooked. Because people are against eating any kind of poultry less than well done they are against feeding it raw to any species.


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## xellil (Apr 4, 2011)

creek817 said:


> Yeha, I only use the seperate one because of the liver and kidney. But to be completely honest, it also ensure that I always have that one cutting board to use, even if a certain 14 y/o is behind on her chores and hasn't done the dishwasher, I always have my doggy chopping board. So that's probably the real reason =D


I don't even have a teenager as an excuse.

I got up yesterday and hubby was drinking coffee out of a measuring cup.

Of course I don't feel too sorry for him - how hard is it to wash out a coffee cup?

I decided that the more dishes, the more to get dirty. So we have almost no dishes any more. Four plates, four cups etc.


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## wolfsnaps88 (Jan 2, 2012)

I just bought a new set of dishes (finally! a matching set!) so I wouldnt run out. And I havent. But I do dishes a lot more often now on raw so half my dishes never get used. Therefore, my logic is flawed


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## Itty bitty Kitty (Dec 26, 2011)

> First off, if raw chicken were this horrible, disease ridden meat that WILL tear through doggy stomach lining, then why do you not hear any raw feeders ever mention how dead their dog is from it? I mean, ok, quite a lot of raw feeders have only just started feeding raw....but...whether you have been doing it for weeks, months, or years, you would think we would see threads like:
> 
> "My dog died because I gave him a raw chicken wing"
> 
> ...


That's very true! I need to remember that so I know how to counter an argument next time lol.


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## Malika04 (May 14, 2012)

Raw chicken. This is all we have dealt with for 2 weeks. 

No one has gotten sick, the dogs enjoy the bone/skin/flesh chewing. 

I use clorex wipes for sanitation.

I also wash up with soap after handling raw partially frozen chicken.


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## naturalfeddogs (Jan 6, 2011)

The only way chicken bones are dangerous is if they are cooked. Then they will splinter and cause problems, but raw they are crunchy, nutrious and digestable.

As far as salmanella, a dogs stomach acids are about 10-12 times stronger than ours so its really not a problem for them. Their stomach acids are just too strong for salmanella to live there.


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## naturalfeddogs (Jan 6, 2011)

Heres a link from a vet on youtubeRaw Meat Diet for Dogs and Cats - YouTube She explains the salmanella issue.


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## Itty bitty Kitty (Dec 26, 2011)

naturalfeddogs said:


> Heres a link from a vet on youtubeRaw Meat Diet for Dogs and Cats - YouTube She explains the salmanella issue.


OMG thank you for the link! I now love this woman! Now maybe now I can convince my friends that I'm not going to murder my pets!


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## chowder (Sep 7, 2008)

xellil said:


> I don't even have a teenager as an excuse.
> 
> I got up yesterday and hubby was drinking coffee out of a measuring cup.
> 
> ...


LOL.....You just always make my day! I can just sit here, picturing a husband drinking coffee out of a measuring cup. :rofl:


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## Chocx2 (Nov 16, 2009)

I saw a cooking show recently and they said quail should be served to peps pink? Anyway I thought I shouldn't use plastic cutting boards, does everyone use plastic or wood? Or just the counter what ever it is?

I feed chicken with most all meals, not the whole meal but my main meat.


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## bett (Mar 15, 2012)

ok. my husband is a butcher and when we fed raw(more as a treat with giblets) , he would only feed chicken necks (don't ask the discussions but ok). salmonella is harder for the dog to get than us humans (see my diamond thread) but they can be carriers. salmonella isn't just from chicken. it's basically from not handling the chicken properly-like defrosting outside of the fridge (big no-no for all defrosting of meats or chicken or anything probably other than breads and cakes).
so almost any meat can get salmonella. it's the handling or mishandling that does it.


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