# Does anyone feed chicken backs or leg quarters reguarly?



## emric

Does anyone feed chicken backs or chicken leg quarters every day? Just curious to see if this is safe to do so if my dog does good on chicken.


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## malluver1005

emric said:


> Does anyone feed chicken backs or chicken leg quarters every day? Just curious to see if this is safe to do so if my dog does good on chicken.


Chicken leg quarters probably every other day or so...I don't see a problem as to why you can't do it every day.


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## Grandiose

We feed chicken quarters almost every day. Maybe once a week or once every other week, they get some turkey or pork. They get mostly beef organs though, since they are not exactly fond of the chicken stuff.
Unemployment sucks  but at least the kids still get their PMR, and thats all that matters to me!! We've seen no ill effects at all. 
Back when we were first feeding, and got into a lot more red meats and were feeding red meats all the time, 2 straight weeks on chicken made the dogs lethargic...but I havent seen that at all recently and we've been feeding about 95% chicken around here for about 2 months now....


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## Tobi

It really depends on a few things.

How long has your dog been fed raw?
if longer than 8-10 weeks, is he getting organs?

you'll need to do some type of organs, whether it be beef liver, or chicken liver. Chicken hearts, gizzards etc are all pretty darn cheap and easily accessible as well.
I'm sure that a dog will do just fine for prolonged periods of time on chicken, as for me i'd prefer feeding whole chickens if chicken was all i was able to get or afford, and add in chicken livers hearts, and gizzards as well.


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## BoxerPaws

The only reason I'd think there might be a problem is if your dogs don't need that much bone. They'll get super-hard poops/constipation from too much bone. Some dogs need more bone than others (mine!), and do great on bone-in chicken every day. We do give other proteins with the chicken, or alternate meals. She got a chicken leg quarter and wing quarter for dinner last night, and boneless venison this morning. She'll probably get a chicken back, a little organ bit, and some beef or pork tonight (since the backs are only around 7-8 oz each and she gets 10 oz per meal.


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## emric

I'm just asking because I will be switching my dog to raw soon, and I need to place my order with my butcher soon. I just want to have everything ready when I start. I'm nervous.


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## emric

For someone who hasn't started raw yet, what kind of meat should I buy? I have a general idea, but what do you recommend I have in my freezer for the first month or so?


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## maplewood

Chicken quarters are a staple in our dogs diet. I agree whole chicken would be better, however for me I can get quarters everyday for $.59 a pound and whole chickens run $1.29 usually. If I find whole chickens for $.69 per pound or less I will stock up, but the quarters are fed more often than anything else. 

Weekly I feed turkey once a week, Beef 2X a week, Chicken (usually quarters) 3x a week. Then small organ (chicken or beef liver) meals 2x a week and add pork or anything else when I can find/afford it. Organs are usually given with the chicken quarters. Example Polly eats 2 1/2-3 1/2lbs a day so she might get 2lbs of chicken quarters and 1 lb of organ or boneless pork.


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## maplewood

emric said:


> For someone who hasn't started raw yet, what kind of meat should I buy? I have a general idea, but what do you recommend I have in my freezer for the first month or so?


Chicken...


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## xellil

Here are two great websites:
How to Get Started | Prey Model Raw

and 

Skylar, Zack, and Abby on the WEB

Both great sites made by people from here to get you started. Just chicken at first!


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## Tobi

maplewood said:


> Chicken...


Exactly this, you'll just need chicken if your dog hasn't started raw yet. you'll be doing primarily chicken for the better part of 8-10 weeks and then you can use your discretion on how well he's doing on it after that time.


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## emric

Tobi said:


> Exactly this, you'll just need chicken if your dog hasn't started raw yet. you'll be doing primarily chicken for the better part of 8-10 weeks and then you can use your discretion on how well he's doing on it after that time.



Would you stick to one part of a chicken for 8-10 weeks, for example only feed chicken backs?


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## maplewood

emric said:


> Would you stick to one part of a chicken for 8-10 weeks, for example only feed chicken backs?


Not quite. You'll want to start with chicken backs or quarters for the first 2-3 weeks depending on the dog. Then add a different protien every week or two untill you have all the protiens available to you. But you'll still be feeding backs/quarters say every other day.

If you start a "new" protien and have runny stools, you'll need to go back to the backs/quarters for a couple day's till the stools firm up then try the "new" protien again...


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## Tobi

emric said:


> Would you stick to one part of a chicken for 8-10 weeks, for example only feed chicken backs?


That truly depends on your dog, and how it handles it, for instance, if the poops are very hard, and solid, i might try some leg quarters to soften things up a little bit, chicken backs are EXTREMELY bony, I personally have changed over 2 dogs on leg quarters, one did better with skin off, and one did better with skin on, and he is still eating mostly chicken and doing great at 10 weeks.


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## emric

I figure after a few weeks on chicken, if it goes well, my next protein will be turkey necks. I can get them for a decent price. 

I am going to get some chicken feet to use mainly as a treat. Is that ok when first starting out, or is it best to wait on those things until much later?


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## Tobi

we were giving chicken feet for treats far before we started feeding raw  they are fine! :becky:


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## KittyKat

My dog gets a half a chicken back every morning, and some sort of boneless meal of beef/fish at night.


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## Liz

We are a year and a half into raw and still feed backs most days of the week usually with heart and or organ. Love backs and quarters.


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## emric

Tobi-

You recommended feeding chicken for 8-10 weeks. Maplewood said 2-3, then adding another protein. Is is good to just use my own judgement on how he is handling it?
Sorry for all the questions! I really appreciate your patience and answers!


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## frogdog

My dog is beginning his 3rd month on raw and it's been fabulous. I followed the instructions on How to Get Started | Prey Model Raw and also joined the group https://www.facebook.com/#!/groups/261761471359/. You can't go wrong by the info provided by these two.

My dog had the following:
1st week - chicken backs
2nd week - alternate chicken backs and chicken quarters every other day
3rd week - introduce turkey necks alternating with chicken quarters

Follow the instructions to the links above and you can't go wrong...make sure to take it easy and slow. GOOD LUCK!


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## magicre

emric said:


> I'm just asking because I will be switching my dog to raw soon, and I need to place my order with my butcher soon. I just want to have everything ready when I start. I'm nervous.


ah, it begins to make sense....

how much does your dog weigh?

many of us started with chicken backs...some with chicken quarters...others with chicken carcasses.

i am thinking you'll be feeding twice a day.....in the beginning, you'll want to pick one protein, usually chicken because it's easiest to digest....so you'll be feeding chicken twice a day before adding in boneless chicken....

it's a slow process.....so i wouldn't worry about ordering meat right now, unless you get the raw excites as we all do, and then order every protein in the book  red meat is what they need most of all....but chicken, turkey, pork, beef, organs are a good basic.

and had i read the previous posts....i would have seen you have already gotten great advice...

if your dog transitions well.....then i think 8 to ten weeks is un necessary.


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## Tobi

emric said:


> Tobi-
> 
> You recommended feeding chicken for 8-10 weeks. Maplewood said 2-3, then adding another protein. Is is good to just use my own judgement on how he is handling it?
> Sorry for all the questions! I really appreciate your patience and answers!


Sorry for the confusion, I was referring to the amount that you should buy, about 8-10 weeks worth as you will be most likely using that as a main bone source so you will likely be using that while introducing new proteins and such.

you'll be adding in different proteins WITH chicken as a bone source for instance, you won't be doing just chicken for 8-10 weeks, it all just depends on how your dog transitions, tobi for instance transitioned with no problem and on week 4 he was doing pork, week 5 he was doing fish, 8 he was doing some beef... it just really depends. Our little foster needed more bone than tobi did, he needed a bit more bone in chicken for about 10 weeks with the boneless beef, so by 8-10 weeks i was simply referring to the amount that you may need, but not how long you have to feed it :wink:


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## shellbell

I am on week six of raw with my two lab boys. For the first two weeks all they ate was chicken quarters (I don't have access to chicken backs). Tux did start to get some hard, sandy looking poop towards the end of that first two weeks, so I went and bought him some boneless chicken to feed in the evenings to help with that. He was getting too much bone with the chicken quarters. But Cabo did fine and did not have this problem. 

Week three I started giving turkey necks every other day. Week four I introduced pork ribs. Week five I introduced beef. Now on week six, I have so far introduced whiting fillets and I scored a free pheasant from a friend, so they split that. I will probably give them some free venison I got from my uncle later this week as well. And I have a few other new proteins and things I can try out next week. If they continue to do well, I want to try introducing them to organs next weekend. I will start with chicken liver. 

I fed very bone heavy in the beginning, now they usually get one bone in meal and one boneless meal per day. And when introducing new proteins, "frame" them with bone heavy things like chicken backs or turkey necks before and after the new protein meal.

And oh yeah, I am one of those people who got the "meat crazies" and starting buying all sorts of diffferent proteins, lol. I've got so much stuff I can't wait to have them try! 

Honestly, the first two weeks for me were the most stressful. I was very particular about measuring things out, watching poop like a hawk, etc. I still do measure and monitor poops, but I'm more relaxed about it now. Everyone will keep telling you to go by the poop as to how well they are doing and what you need to add/take away. It will make more sense once you start doing it and you will get the hang of it.


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## barneysmom2510

I am really knew almost three weeks. I have been feeding almost all chicken. I would judge how much bone for each dog by their poop.Cuttung up a whole chicken also went alot better than I thought it would it was my first time. I am glad I read this I did not know people kept feeding the backs for o long and so often. I always give them for a day or two straight for my puppy he had giardia so he has such a sensitive tummy. So far the raw diet has worked wonders. Now would be a good time to get some turkey becasue you can get good deals right now.. Plus alot of markets will order turkey necks because of the holidays


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## bully4life

About 210 pounds a months for 3 dogs ,,and no problems in the last 10 1/2 years


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## Khan

Chicken quarters every morning for Khan. He does better with a consistent amount of bone every day.


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## Dude and Bucks Mamma

we feed chicken quarters every day or nearly every day depending on how tight money is. We live off of a military salary so money is always tight and chicken is cheap. When we have the opportunity we buy other meats. Right now, our freezer is about half full of beef so they have been getting quite a bit of that lately.

For pork, we buy the cheap, almost expired chops and eat them ourselves for a day or two until we aren't comfortable with them then cut the bones out of the rest and feed it to the dogs. It is likely still ok for us to eat but we don't want to chance it and the dogs love their pork! That way, they are getting their pork but we are still able to eat some meat too. 

We are always on the lookout for red meats on sale and buy everything they have when we find one but the dogs do go through periods where they are eating mostly chicken quarters for a few weeks. Just make sure they are getting enough organs!


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## naturalfeddogs

Chicken quarters are the staple here most of the time, but we also add in beef/calf liver regular as well. I also try to keep beef heart around as much as I can too. So as long as at least liver is added on regular basis it should be fine.


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## splitnightsky

Scorch gets chicken quarters once a day (I feed 2x a day, seems to help with his energy levels).
I do try to feed him red meat as well, but with the price of chicken being $.98 unenhanced and beef being around $1.68-2.33 reduced,
I feed the chicken in order for him to get his bone in and so that the husband doesn't complain about it costing too much 

some of them do come with bits of liver on them, so be careful for that.


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## Sprocket

My dogs (the bigger ones) get chicken leg quarters almost every day. It is mixed with a little turkey and a bite of pork as well.


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