# Does red meat have to be fed often?



## nickiklaus (Dec 10, 2011)

Hi all
Currently i am feeding lamb beef and chicken (chicken wing for bone for all meals) and i go one day lamb one day beef one day chicken and repeat so they are getting an equal amount of all meats (well slightly more chicken since they get a bit of chicken wing everyday)
But this is getting expensive as lamb and beef is more expensive than chicken.
How often does red meat need to be fed to have enough variety?
Any advice is very appreciated 
thank you


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## naturalfeddogs (Jan 6, 2011)

I would say as much as you can, since red meats are the most nutricus for a dog. I am like you though, I feed mostly chicken because of money issues but I do give our puppy more considering he is still growing. All the red meat you can is best, but I understand you can only do what you can do.


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## Halliebrooks (Dec 8, 2011)

naturalfeddogs said:


> I would say as much as you can, since red meats are the most nutricus for a dog. I am like you though, I feed mostly chicken because of money issues but I do give our puppy more considering he is still growing. All the red meat you can is best, but I understand you can only do what you can do.


Do you find that your dog gets the runs? With mine and my foster I was noticing that liver, beef heart, steak, and fish gives them the runs.. So now I feed one of these for breakfast and then none in chicken for dinner - they finally both have consistent stools. So how about you? How do you do it ?


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## MissusMac (Jan 6, 2011)

I buy beef hearts and cut them into big (2"x3") cubes and stick one in each of his meals so that he's still getting some of that excellent beef nutrition, but making my dollar stretch a bit more.


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## twoisplenty (Nov 12, 2008)

Lamb is expensive. I only feed lamb once a week, I then feed beef a couple times a week, pork a couple times a week and rabbit once a week. The rest of my week is turkey, chicken or fish. I try to feed red meats 75% of the time. I include pork and rabbit as red meats even though most see them as lean white meats but to me white meat is chciken and turkey.


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## kathylcsw (Jul 31, 2011)

I am feeding about 60% red meat with the bulk being venison. I have been very lucky and been given 30-40lbs of free venison so right now cost is not an issue. I feed red meat almost daily and use chicken mostly for my boney meals. I feed very little turkey and both fish and an egg once per week.


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## naturalfeddogs (Jan 6, 2011)

Halliebrooks said:


> Do you find that your dog gets the runs? With mine and my foster I was noticing that liver, beef heart, steak, and fish gives them the runs.. So now I feed one of these for breakfast and then none in chicken for dinner - they finally both have consistent stools. So how about you? How do you do it ?


The only time I see any runs is with Copper if she dosn't get enough bone with it. Heart will do it also because its so rich. When I feed a richer red meat, I will feed it in the morning, and then like you chicken for supper. Pork does it as well if its not got a lot of bone it. Shes the only one who seems to be real sensative to it. Generaly, I will just give it in smaller amounts.


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## magicre (Apr 7, 2010)

i feed about 80-90 % red meat, but that includes pork, lamb, goat, beef, emu, etc.

the only thing i feed that's not red meat is for edible bone, such as duck necks, quail, chicken feet and every once in a while, chicken.


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## wolfsnaps88 (Jan 2, 2012)

Nicki I am in the same boat. I feed primarily chicken right now. Since we are just starting its ok. I am trying to find a way that I can affordably work red meat in. I think it is important to balance nutritionally. I am no expert but I am thinking even if the diet is more chicken than red meat, it still beats kibble.


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## LucyinSweden (Feb 20, 2012)

Oh! So pork is considered a red meat due to the fat content? I was wondering because Lucy loves pork (though she really prefers chicken) and beef is almost unobtainable for me it's so expensive here. I can get pork and chicken and even some lamb cuts easily, but beef is... 2x's as expensive.


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## magicre (Apr 7, 2010)

pork is considered a red meat. it's marketing and advertisement in the usa that says it's the 'other white meat'.

to those who are in a financial bind.....do you eat meat? because if you do, cut the trim off for the dogs...

watch for sales...the cheapest cuts of meat are what you want to feed...the fattiest cuts...

when i go to the store, i look for these little coupons...and every week, all of my stores are selling roasts for far less than what we would normally pay for.

there is also buy one get one free

plus, google meat suppliers...you may well be able to buy meat by the case. or trim, even.

i have an oriental market that sells beef trim...wagyu no less...they also give away their fish carcasses....if you feed salmon, they are huge as are halibuts....and if you don't mind the work, cut that down...especially the salmon...if you feed salmon.

there are ways to get meat....talk to deer processors....they usually have trim....

i have noticed that an awful lot of people are jumping on the raw dog food bandwagon.....and why wouldn't they sell you the organs and offal and trim and carcasses and make a few bucks...rather than it going to waste.

but, it's also true that chicken as a mainstay is certainly better than kibble. just keep in mind that it's not as nutritionally dense and appropriate for dogs....as red meat is.


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## Tobi (Mar 18, 2011)

Mostly Red meats are prime, as others have stated. In nature dogs eat mostly red meat, in my readings it's more rare for a wild dog, or wolf to get much fowl. usually their diets consist of large ungulates (dear, elk, etc).


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## kady05 (Jul 29, 2011)

I feed quite a bit of red meat.. mostly venison or beef with some pork thrown in as well. I'm lucky, I'm able to feed quite a variety (compared to some; they get chicken, turkey, beef, pork & venison regularly) without breaking the bank. I'd say since starting raw I've been given easily 400lbs. of venison!


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## CorgiPaws (Mar 31, 2009)

Red meat is nutritionally superior. 
We feed probably 75-80% red meat these days, and I do feel that my pack seems better off this way, mostly in the skin/coat area. They didn't dry out this winter like they tended to in the past when being fed mostly poultry. I have dogs with very fast metabolisms, probably because they are in daycare so much right from the start, and I find that when feeding mostly red meat, I feed about a pound less per day per dog, on average. It is not nearly enough to counter the cost per pound increase, but it is enough to tell me they are getting more out of the red meat ounce per ounce than the poultry. 
That said, I don't think you should stress out TOO much over it. If you are remembering to include organs and bones, but feeding a lot of chicken you are still leaps and bounds ahead of any commercial food out there. If that is what your budget allows, you shouldn't feel bad at all. I think a lot of people get overwhelmed at the prices of red meat and ultimately leave raw because of it, when there is just no need to. 

ALso, adding heart of any kind is usually an affordable, but awesome way to get those added nutrients in. We feed both heart and fish daily here.


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

Buck gets all red meat with the occasional hunk of chicken. He gets primarily beef heart and beef scrap with beef fat added in because our hearts are trimmed for human consumption. Once in a while, when some of Dude's chicken is going to go bad and we need it eaten fast Buck will get a meal of chicken. Buck does much better on red meat than he does on poultry. He loses weight like crazy on poultry. He also doesn't require a ton of bone so I can feed him several boneless meals of rich beef heart and only add in a bone-in meal ever four or five days and we see no runs or loose stool. 

Dude gets probably 80% chicken with the rest being beef. He just can't handle a whole meal of beef because 1) He won't clean the bone like Buck does and therefore eats a pretty bone light meal 2) he is my more sensitive guy. He gets cannon butt without a ton of bone with his beef meals. He just seems to do better on primarily chicken (and turkey when we can get it). I continue to add in the half a beef meal once or twice a week simply because I know that the red meat is better for them but he just does better on chicken. He does well on pork so he gets most of the pork when we have it.

When we have fish, we do a meal of all fish once a week with another fish thrown in a couple of other days a week. If not, we do fish oil. When we find lamb on sale we will buy that but we simply cannot afford to spend $4/lb on a regular basis. We buy pork chops for us all the time from the sale bin and eat them for a couple of days until we aren't comfortable eating them, cut the sharp bone out and add them to the red meat Tupperware tub we keep in the fridge for the dogs. We get venison for free when possible and right now we have about 60 lbs of meat in the freezer that is a mix of beef and elk and possibly has some bison in it.


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## nickiklaus (Dec 10, 2011)

Thank you all for the replies 
so red meat is the best it seems... i will feed as much as my budget allows (right now 4times a week)
i wish i lived somewhere it is easier to get red meat (we have no hunting,meat supplier,beef hearts ect in japan)


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

In all honesty, your dog is getting more red meat than one of mine is and it sounds like you have a decent amount of variety going. We could all do better but we all do the best we can with what we've got.


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## eternalstudent (Jul 22, 2010)

If I could feed as many red meat meals as you do I would be a very happy bunny. As it is I am lucky if they get one full meal a week as read meat. Yes it is more nutritionally dense for the amount. But to be honest that would mean you need to feed less of it compared to white meat. The only element it has (that I know of, so if wrong someone else chime in and correct) that white does not is omega oils. So yes when I feel the need I give these as a supplement but otherwise my pair are 80% chicken fed. 

One day after I win the lottery or move to rural alberta / australia maybe I will be able to get enough red meat for my little pack


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## Amy18 (May 17, 2011)

I feed mostly red meats too, i'd say about 70%. With small dogs you can't help but feed some chicken because it's a good source of soft edible bone. I try to avoid factory farmed chickens now and get farm raised instead for the nutritional value. Right now i feed chicken, beef, pork, lamb, duck, goat and hearts. I'm looking forward to adding in bison and venison soon. I think we all do the best we can given our locations/budgets etc but as long as it's fresh and balanced they'll be fine.


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## twotonelover (Jan 10, 2011)

Rosey gets beef and/or venison at least 3 days a week. I think the more red meat you can feed, the better


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## KittyKat (Feb 11, 2011)

Meat here is expensive, besides chicken. Diets are mainly chicken because of this. We feed beef heart as a red meat as it's cheaper.


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