# Chicken feet?



## Kat (Jul 12, 2011)

Stupid question, but are chicken feet considered to be a bone-in meal? I have some in the freezer and i want to give one to Ruby for dinner. And if they are considered bone-in, do I have to take the nails off? They have been clipped short, but they are still there.


----------



## xellil (Apr 4, 2011)

I think it depends on the size of the dog - for Ruby, that would probably be a bone in meal.

And don't clip the nails - look at the rest of the foot! Its very hard. Nails are fine.

With snorkels, since she is smallish I usually give her a couple of toes but with her teeth I have to cut them up. And then Rebel gets a couple of feet, sans two toes.


----------



## Kat (Jul 12, 2011)

Are feet harder than drumstick bones? Does it take longer to eat a foot over other chicken bones? 

And ya I wasnt sure if it was considered bone-in or not, chicken feet feel different so I wasnt sure if it was classified as being bone.

Since I am giving her liver detox supplements in .50 oz ground beef meat balls, I need to get smaller meals for breakfast and dinner so I dont overfeed her. I give her 1.50oz of the beef per day. 
I cant feed her chicken wings anymore because she chomps on it twice and then the little brat swallows the whole thing whole which makes me cringe. 
Chicken feet are perfect because they are all around 2 oz.


----------



## xellil (Apr 4, 2011)

i would think they would be fine as her bone for now.

To me, they seem alot harder. Especially the ankle part. It could just be my imagination because there's no meat and all cartilage. AND, Rebel eats them as easily as he eats any other bones. So maybe it's all in my mind. I mean, a chicken bone is a chicken bone, right?

i quit feeding Snorkels chicken necks because she has gotten to where she doesn't chew them at all. I don't mind the not chewing - she digests them fine, but I want her to spend her time on edible bones actually cleaning her teeth also.


----------



## kathylcsw (Jul 31, 2011)

I have used chicken feet as treats for my small dogs. I don't give them often so they don't get overfed. Mine can eat them in about 2 minutes flat! I was expecting to get more chew time out of them than I did.


----------



## twotonelover (Jan 10, 2011)

I usually add them to a boneless meal. Rosey eats 5oz a day, and the feet I get are normally about 1oz or so. I try to give duck or chicken feet a couple times a week to help her hips..she loves them!


----------



## shellbell (Sep 24, 2011)

I don't think they are considered a bone-in meal, they do not have the same vitamins and minerals and such that are found in bone. But, having said that, they are similar to bone in that they can help keep stools firm. I would think it would be fine to give her one for dinner. I use them for bed time snacks if mine have had a light dinner or something that digests fast, to keep hunger pukes away. But my dogs are much larger than Ruby, so that is why they are a good snack for them....


----------



## creek817 (Feb 18, 2012)

They are very bony, with not much meat on them. Dobby eats one in about 30 seconds, and he weighs 22 pounds. I usually try to feed them at least a few times a week for joints, but I make sure he has one when he gets organs to prevent loose stools. Not that he's ever had any trouble, but it makes me feel better. =D


----------



## xellil (Apr 4, 2011)

shellbell said:


> I don't think they are considered a bone-in meal, they do not have the same vitamins and minerals and such that are found in bone. .


they don't? I knew they had more glucosamine but I thought that was from the tendons, and ligaments, and the rest is real bone.


----------



## naturalfeddogs (Jan 6, 2011)

I would not consider feet a meal, but more of a treat. Thats all I have ever used them for.


----------



## Kat (Jul 12, 2011)

The reason Im using them is because she is getting an extra 1.50oz a day of ground beef to hide her supplements in. So I dont want to overfeed which is why for todays dinner Im going to do a 2 oz chicken foot with .50oz ground beef. 

I bought them as recreational chews in the beginning, but I need to give her a small dinner today. She had an almost 5 ounce breakfast so I need to keep the dinner smaller.


----------



## creek817 (Feb 18, 2012)

Kat said:


> The reason Im using them is because she is getting an extra 1.50oz a day of ground beef to hide her supplements in. So I dont want to overfeed which is why for todays dinner Im going to do a 2 oz chicken foot with .50oz ground beef.
> 
> I bought them as recreational chews in the beginning, but I need to give her a small dinner today. She had an almost 5 ounce breakfast so I need to keep the dinner smaller.


I would definitely consider them a bone in meal. They're mostly bone. I'm definitely not an expert, but...that's my opinion. =)


----------



## xellil (Apr 4, 2011)

creek817 said:


> I would definitely consider them a bone in meal. They're mostly bone. I'm definitely not an expert, but...that's my opinion. =)


yes, me too. I can't imagine feet are some different kind of bone than the rest of the bone. They just don't have meat on them.


----------



## shellbell (Sep 24, 2011)

xellil said:


> they don't? I knew they had more glucosamine but I thought that was from the tendons, and ligaments, and the rest is real bone.


I know I read that somewhere that they don't have the same things actual bone does and are different, I thought maybe I read it on here but maybe I read it somewhere else...


----------



## Chocx2 (Nov 16, 2009)

I give them as a treat and my Aussie needs bone in all his meals so I throw a foot in sometimes. LOL You know when I started feeding them I asked if I should cut the nails too LMOL


----------



## pogo (Aug 28, 2011)

For my two no i don't consider them a bone in meal, plus i'd have to feed a load to make a meals worth, i do however give them as frozen treats, but even frozen they last 5 seconds


----------



## Sapphire-Light (Aug 8, 2010)

creek817 said:


> I would definitely consider them a bone in meal. They're mostly bone. I'm definitely not an expert, but...that's my opinion. =)





xellil said:


> *I think it depends on the size of the dog* - for Ruby, that would probably be a bone in meal.
> 
> And don't clip the nails - look at the rest of the foot! Its very hard. Nails are fine.
> 
> With snorkels, since she is smallish I usually give her a couple of toes but with her teeth I have to cut them up. And then Rebel gets a couple of feet, sans two toes.


Agree, when Pompadour eats a feet, he makes a very small whitish chalk like poop, even my mom was surprised to see it.

But it seems they digest more faster than other bones for example chicken wings, the last time he got a feet he made the poop in less than 24 hours.

I cut the nails because I find them gross to see them when I fed him LOL , I also have the fear it might scratch his throat in the inside.


----------



## magicre (Apr 7, 2010)

i believe chicken feet are bone tendon and ligament.

i use them as a bone part of a meal, especially if i'm also feeding those meatballs or they are on a diet, which both are.

i think they weigh about an ounce or so..there are minerals in the nails....and whilst they aren't the most nutritious, they do have chondroitin....which is good for ruby.

i say feed away.

if the stool is loose tomorrow, well, you know what to do.


----------

