# Limited variety and vitamins



## Celt (Dec 27, 2010)

I was reminded today of how disgusting kibble “only” poops are. I would love to go back to mostly raw but, recently, things have been a bit tight, and even on clearance red meat is expensive with chicken being only slightly less so. So, I was wondering if I add a good multivitamin to my pups’ diet would chicken (mostly boneless breast) be alright. They wouldn’t be eating only raw (I’m a feed everything owner), so they would be getting kibble and can, but the majority of their diet would be chicken breast. I would really like some opinions on this.


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## naturalfeddogs (Jan 6, 2011)

Chicken would be fine, but I would go with a cut other than breast. The breast is the least nutritious, at least when boneless. Try giving bone in, that way you are getting the nutrition of the minerals in the bone as well.


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## Celt (Dec 27, 2010)

I’m going to try to buy more cuts, but right now boneless breasts, and occasionally thighs, are what is affordable. This week, I might be able to get some bone in chicken pieces. I won’t be feeding just meat. I’ll be feeding kibble, not the greatest ingredients wise, but the pups do well on it and it’s financially doable and canned when I can. I just want to make meat the basis of their diet, instead of an “add on”. Do you think a vitamin would help with the lack of bone and variety in their diet?


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## naturalfeddogs (Jan 6, 2011)

I'm sure it couldn't hurt.


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## Celt (Dec 27, 2010)

Thank you for your help. I really want to make meat their main diet, but am seriously worried that breasts with a vitamin may not be enough or way off balanced&#55357;&#56897;


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## naturalfeddogs (Jan 6, 2011)

I think you will be alright. I remember from years ago you have always fed this way. You seem to get variety of all kinds from all sources. I think you and I are the only ones still here from long ago...


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## Celt (Dec 27, 2010)

Yes, I’ve always fed different kinds of food but when I started raw everything else was more “toppers or snacks”. I joined awhile ago, I haven’t been on much due to having posting problems. I did noticed that I didn’t recognize most of the names. Thank you for helping me feel better about feeding mostly chicken breasts.


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## OtherGuy (Nov 30, 2016)

Feeding boneless chicken breast as the mainstay of the diet would throw off the critical calcium/phosphorus ratio.

Adding vitamins would not solve this issue. Either you need to feed 10% bone (out of the total raw portion) or you'd need to suppliment with a calcium source like bone meal or ground egg shells (which don't have the positive dental benefits of feeding soft edible bone).

I've never seen boneless chicken breasts being cheaper than bone in chicken. You could mix boneless breasts and bone in pieces to get to 10 bone.

I would not bypass feeding liver, kidney, and other organs. Much more important than adding vitamin supplements.


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## Celt (Dec 27, 2010)

I would need to check calcium supplements prices, or maybe I could use ground egg shells? I will try to add more variety, but right now money is tight. I can get boneless chicken breasts for .99 to 1.99 a pound, pretty consistently. Most other chicken cuts are 2.38 to 2.99 a pound. Most people, here, prefer bone in because you can use the bones to make a broth to cook rice, beans, and other legumes. People here use every piece of the beasts. Our grocery stores even sell the fat (.69 to 1.99 a pound). It’s nice that there’s so little “wasted”, but it does make feeding raw fairly expensive. I might have to keep meat as more of a topper, if a vitamin and feeding “processed” foods won’t be able to “balance” things out.


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## OtherGuy (Nov 30, 2016)

@Celt

I'm surprised that in your area that boneless breasts are cheaper than bone-in chicken. Not enough yuppies? LOL.

Here in Los Angeles, the pricing is reversed. I can get things like legs, quarters and drumsticks for $0.69-0.99 and boneless breasts are $2-3.

IMS the formula for supplementing with ground eggshell is 1/2 teaspoon per pound of meat (but please double check that).

If you have leftover eggshells this solution costs you nothing. Grind it finely.

I'd urge you to feed regular amounts of organs at 10% of the diet to provide vitamins and minerals. Organs are usually very cheap.

Bill


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## Celt (Dec 27, 2010)

Yuppies would probably pass out seeing most of the grocery store’s meat aisle. It’s not unusual to see testicles, intestines, eye balls, tongues, feet, whole heads, and during the holiday season you can order suckling pigs. &#55358;&#56618; I have to say the real shocker for me was seeing blood for sale, 79 cents a cup. It brought home the saying of using every part of an animal. 
I’ll look into adding egg shells.


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## OtherGuy (Nov 30, 2016)

@Celt, sounds like--other than the competion from local humans for the same parts--that you live in a raw feeding paradise.

I'd feed small amounts of things like blood at that price. 

Bill


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## Celt (Dec 27, 2010)

It would be. Before, I would kind of shake my head when people would say they had to go to “ethnic “ markets to get things like kidneys or tongue. I could just pop down to the “corner grocery shop” for that. The discussion over selling fresh intestines being allowed or not, made me scratch my head for a bit because I knew stores here that sold intestines that you had to rinse out and soak before cooking it up for people. It’s wonderful having the variety, but when people would say they got tongue for less than 3$ a pound, and I’m lucky to see it on clearance for 5$. I’d get a bit jealous. Heck, it seems like everyone is even feeding butcher scraps to their dogs, it goes for 99 cents a pound. But it’s whatever is on the top of the “trash” barrel: meat trimmings, fat, bone shards, organs, whatever has been used that “day”. Hades, the butchers actually still sell “dog bones” (cut up chunks of neck and marrow bones). So, good with the bad or vice versa.


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## [email protected] (May 12, 2019)

I am also surprised that the boneless breast would cost less than breast or other cuts with the bone in. Here they are more expensive because you get more meat. I recently bought some chicken quarters for $.99 a pound and I just saw bone in chicken breast for $1.99 a pound buy one package get one free. I like to feed a variety of meats. But so far I get the other varieties already pre-proportioned for meat bone and organs. I don’t buy from the main brands at the pet store. I have found a local butcher type business that sells this ratio for dogs for several other proteins. It is not available in stores and I drive about an hour to pick it up. But I buy 40 to 50 pounds at a time for my one dog.


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## Celt (Dec 27, 2010)

Recently, I was able to find boneless, skinless thigh for 1.99 on clearance, they were 2.99. This week bone in chicken pieces are .97, of course this week is a “no groceries” week.  Chicken is the mainstay, mostly boneless. Most of our meats are clearance. I’m hoping there will be “overstock” of ribs and ground beef from this weekend.


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## Celt (Dec 27, 2010)

Recently, I was able to find boneless, skinless thigh for 1.99 on clearance, they were 2.99. This week bone in chicken pieces are .97, of course this week is a “no groceries” week.  Chicken is the mainstay, mostly boneless. Most of our meats are clearance. I’m hoping there will be “overstock” of ribs and ground beef from this weekend.


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