# Primal Chicken Necks/Backs?



## BrownieM (Aug 30, 2010)

Has anyone fed these to their dogs? I know it is much more expensive than going to a butcher, but I was at my local dog boutique and I decided to buy these for a try. They are meant to be meal replacements. I believe it is the same as if I would have bought it at the grocery store.

I usually feed premade raw for breakfast and kibble for dinner. Would it be fine to just replace their kibble tomorrow night by giving them a chicken neck? Or do I need to fast them first? This is not going to be a permanent change. I am just trying it out.

Thanks!

Also, I bought both necks and backs. Which is more appropriate for a standard poodle? (One is a puppy, 8 mo. 42 pounds and the other is an adult at 60 pounds).


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## Guest (Oct 5, 2010)

My dogs snack on chicken necks often, I get them at the supermarket. They are small and for my dogs not considered a complete meal. Just a snack. I've never fed backs.


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## BrownieM (Aug 30, 2010)

Great! Well I just learned that chicken necks are probably too small for my dogs? Since I already bought these, is there a safe way to feed it to them? What if I hold on to it while they chew? (gross.)

What about chicken backs? Are these a safe size? 

These are just supplements for now! I am not switching yet


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## Jodysmom (Jan 9, 2010)

I get them at Whole Foods for .99 cents a lb. and they are very meaty. I feed chicken backs along with some other protein. Are they more than .99cents a lb?


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## BrownieM (Aug 30, 2010)

Jodysmom said:


> I get them at Whole Foods for .99 cents a lb. and they are very meaty. I feed chicken backs along with some other protein. Are they more than .99cents a lb?


Definitely more expensive! I only bought these because of convenience.

ETA: When I do finally switch to raw, I will probably go to Whole Foods.


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## DaneMama (Jun 27, 2008)

They may not be too small for your dogs. It really depends on if they are chewers or gulpers. If you know they chew their food well, I'd go ahead and give them. If they aren't good chewers then I would smash them up with a hammer a bit first and then feed them.


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## BrownieM (Aug 30, 2010)

I tried out the chicken neck snack today! It worked out well! At first I was holding on to the necks because I was afraid they would wolf it down. They didn't though. They both looked at it for a minute, like WTH is this?? Then, they started licking. THEN, they realized OH!!! And started crunching away at the bone. Henry only crunched a few times and then it was gone. OOPS! He didn't choke though. Should I be worred about his intestines being punctured by any unchewed bone? Or will the bone be digested?

Millie surprised me the most! She chewed the heck out of it. Usually she is a gulper, but she chewed and spit out. Chewed and spit out. Kept repeating until it was all chewed up and then she swallowed it.

Should I be worried about Henry or am I in the clear since he didn't choke?


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## jdatwood (Apr 13, 2009)

BrownieM said:


> I tried out the chicken neck snack today! It worked out well! At first I was holding on to the necks because I was afraid they would wolf it down. They didn't though. They both looked at it for a minute, like WTH is this?? Then, they started licking. THEN, they realized OH!!! And started crunching away at the bone. Henry only crunched a few times and then it was gone. OOPS! He didn't choke though. Should I be worred about his intestines being punctured by any unchewed bone? Or will the bone be digested?
> 
> Millie surprised me the most! She chewed the heck out of it. Usually she is a gulper, but she chewed and spit out. Chewed and spit out. Kept repeating until it was all chewed up and then she swallowed it.
> 
> Should I be worried about Henry or am I in the clear since he didn't choke?


Don't worry :biggrin:

It's REALLY easy to scare yourself when you see your dog swallow this large piece of meat & bone. 

Some dogs with methodically chew their meals into very small pieces. Lots will chew on it just enough that it'll slide down their throat. If they try and discover it's too large they'll bring it back up, chew it some more, and send it back down.

Our 18 month old Dane swallows just about everything whole. She'll crunch on a chicken quarter 3 or 4 times before swallowing the entire thing. Turkey necks... gulp! She's swallowed beef ribs whole.... no problem.

One thing to keep in mind as you switch and their bodies adjust. You most likely will see bone fragments in their poops. This is perfectly normal as their body adjusts back to producing the proper digestive juices to fully break down bones. You'll see the fragments disappear as they progress through the adjustment period.


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## Lauryn2000 (Sep 18, 2010)

For the past four days (dinner) Max has been eating "Stella n Chewey" pre-made raw..lamb patties,which I was surprised he actually liked.

At 5pm I added two raw turkey (chopped) wings to the mix..+ 2 patties..for supper.

He ate them and with no hestitation..........:biggrin:

This is my first time going raw or pre-made raw for any dogs that I've owned.He eats canned food for breakfast,California Naturals,Pinnacle,Natural Balance,Blue Buffalo..sometimes I'll add a boiled egg to his breakfast.

But I'm stoked he ate the raw turkey..........baby steps...:biggrin:

I've been following the advise on this forum as far as raw...so thanks guys n gals!!!!!!!


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## whiteleo (Sep 7, 2008)

BrownieM, chicken neck bones are really very soft even softer than chicken bones in meat parts, my medium sized dogs eat them all the time with no problems, they just give it a crunch or two and they are gone.


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## magicre (Apr 7, 2010)

Lauryn2000 said:


> For the past four days (dinner) Max has been eating "Stella n Chewey" pre-made raw..lamb patties,which I was surprised he actually liked.
> 
> At 5pm I added two raw turkey (chopped) wings to the mix..+ 2 patties..for supper.
> 
> ...


what kind of dog is max?


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## magicre (Apr 7, 2010)

BrownieM said:


> Has anyone fed these to their dogs? I know it is much more expensive than going to a butcher, but I was at my local dog boutique and I decided to buy these for a try. They are meant to be meal replacements. I believe it is the same as if I would have bought it at the grocery store.
> 
> I usually feed premade raw for breakfast and kibble for dinner. Would it be fine to just replace their kibble tomorrow night by giving them a chicken neck? Or do I need to fast them first? This is not going to be a permanent change. I am just trying it out.
> 
> ...


i think you're doing very well on your journey...i know it's been a long time coming, but you're almost there.....soon, you'll be teaching them to eat on a towel or eat in a crate or eat somewhere and stay where you tell them...

soon, you'll be searching high and low for all kinds of food.....and maybe, just maybe, where you live in missouri, there are farmers who are willing to part with some animals for cheap or there is a co op....you'll join....and a freezer you'll buy..

you're getting there...be proud....


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## Lauryn2000 (Sep 18, 2010)

magicre said:


> what kind of dog is max?


Hound/Shepherd mix...very vocal and can get very nippy/mouthy when playing...........:redface:


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## BrownieM (Aug 30, 2010)

Okay, so today I decided to give them each 2 chicken necks as a snack (To finish off the pack). After it was all said and done, I got nervous that I fed them too much and they are going to get sick.

Should I skip dinner for them tonight? Henry ate his a little faster than I would have liked, but did chew them up. He was coughing a little bit like 20 minutes later. I get very paranoid about him because he already had bloat/torsion.

Normally their dinner would be 1-2 cups of kibble, but since they just had these raw chicken necks I was going to either skip dinner or feed their NV pre-made raw instead.

What to do?


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## magicre (Apr 7, 2010)

how much do they weigh?

are you feeding twice a day?

they get kibble in the nature's variety in the a.m. and kibble at night? is that how you were doing it?

what exactly are you giving them and how much per meal?


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## BrownieM (Aug 30, 2010)

magicre said:


> how much do they weigh?
> 
> are you feeding twice a day?
> 
> ...


Okay this is what they currently eat: 
(Today they each got AM meal, 2 chicken necks and have not yet had dinner)

Millie, 42 pounds, 8 month old puppy

5 NV raw medallions in AM (5 oz.)
1 cup ACANA kibble in PM

Henry, 60 pounds, adult

5 NV raw medallions in AM (5 oz.)
2 cups NV Kibble in PM

ETA: If I am this incompetent with feeding my dogs raw snacks, how will I ever figure out PMR?!


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## magicre (Apr 7, 2010)

you're not overfeeding...you're learning...feed what you normally feed...and if you're worried, just give them 3/4 cup of kibble..instead of a cup.

i don't know how to convert kibble to ounces of meat, ya know?

what i know is your dogs are too big for necks.....although if they are methodical chewers, they could eat bone no matter how small....but why?

they would do great with turkey necks (full sized) or chicken frames or chicken backs...

for a sixty pound dog, i'm thinking about 18 oz...to start.....

i got that number by taking 60 lb dog and multiplying by 16 oz in a pound and multiplying that number by .02 which is 2 per cent of their ideal body weight. it came out to about 19.2 oz, i think...but i would feed less rather than more in the beginning to give them a chance to adapt.

and you too, for that matter 

not sure about puppies...others here know more about how to feed them and when to increase and decrease according to their ideal weight.

i think it's a lot easier than you think...although i myself have been told i over think things, which is very true....

one of the neatest things about pmr is you can judge how much to feed by how they look.
don't have to weigh them. just look down at them and see how svelte they are...if they pudge up, feed less...if their ribs stick out more than you think they should, although lean is good, then feed more...

you work into raw very slowly, very methodically, introduing one protein at a time....feed a known protein with the unknown, so if some problem arises, you'll immediately know what it is.

you judge how much bone they need by the consistency of their stools. you will learn more about poo than you ever thought possible...and once into it, you'll love it and live for the perfect poo....

if the poo is loose, add bone. too chalky, less bone.

organs...you don't worry about for the first few months.....it's balance over time....

i think you are a smart cookie...and can do this....i really do.

you have everything you need in the form of bone/muscle/organ/


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## BrownieM (Aug 30, 2010)

Thanks magicre! Yes I learned about the chicken necks being too small after I had bought some. I tried it out and Millie chewed the heck out of it, so that is good. Henry did a crunch crunch crunch swallow. I won't be getting chicken necks anymore, though. :smile: I will hopefully be switching to PMR in the next month or 2. (After the bags of kibble are gone!)

I'll just give them a couple raw medallions tonight instead of kibble. I don't want to give kibble so closely to raw, just in case the combo would cause digestive upset. 

It's so hard with my poodles to look at them and tell their body condition. All that hair! Especially Millie! She is in a Continental trim (the trim you see show poodles in) and has a few inches of hair around her front half! I frequently feel her sides though to make sure her ribs aren't disappearing on me!

Thanks again for the help!


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## magicre (Apr 7, 2010)

not that your dogs need chicken necks, but it's a good sign that henry did a crunch crunch swallow and that millie ate methodically...a chicken neck....

that's what dogs do. they inhale meat. crunch crunch swallow on bones.

a gulper tries to swallow without crunching at all....which is also to say that you have bigger dogs, so you can feed larger sized bones....instead of chicken necks...

see? you've already learned something.

i like giving my dogs the chicken frames i get from my distributor....and backs..when i need to give them bone.....i think the frame is just a stripped off breast carcass and the back is, well, the back...

it allows them to learn how to eat raw; and, at the same time, keeps poop more normalised during transition, and gets their mouths and teeth and neck and jaws ready for other proteins.....chicken is a great training tool for them..


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