# Random Questions



## luvMyBRT (Mar 8, 2010)

A few random questions:

1) Those of you who feed fish on a regular basis....do you add in a fish oil capsule daily? Duncan eats fresh fish (so far Talapia and Sardines), Lucky eats canned fish (so far Salmon, Mackerel, and Sardines). I am giving them each a fish oil capsule once a day.

2) We are coming up on 2 months feeding raw. I am getting ready to *slowly* begin adding in some organs. I know to just start with a quarter sized amount, then wait a few days to feed again. What organ should I start with?

I have these:
chicken liver
beef liver
lamb liver
beef kidney
I also have the organs from the turkey I butchered a few days ago.

3) I am planning on feeding organs once a week. Once we are done adding them into the diet, would Lucky (45 pounds) eat 1/2 an organ at a meal? And, Duncan (6 months, 61 pounds, adult weight ~140lbs) would eat a whole organ? Or would they eat more/less? Just trying to get an idea of the approximate amount of organs I should feed a week. Don't want to over do it and don't want to under do it. LOL.

Thanks to you all! :smile:


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## whiteleo (Sep 7, 2008)

Sara, I give salmon oil on a daily basis even when they have a fish meal.

I would start out with the chicken liver in a frozen form, partially defrosted. It will be less rich, and then you can go on to more richer liver like beef and lamb. My two only get beef and lamb liver. They prefer lamb.

As far as how much I can't help there as I don't really measure or weigh anything out. Every week when they get fish I'll put liver mixed in, or if I forget then every two weeeks or so I'll hack some partially frozen liver up and start feeding it to them. Sorry I'm no help there. by the way, the organs come in different portions and sizes so it would be really hard to gauge by the organ itself.


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## luvMyBRT (Mar 8, 2010)

Thanks Robin. :smile:

So as far as portions....do you think you fed your guys like a 1/2 cup of organs a week? More? Less? 

And about how much do your bullies weigh?

I'm thinking Lucky would have like 1/2 a cup and Duncan 1 cup a week....maybe?? LOL....

I'm really not trying to complicate things...I don't weigh anything too. Just wanting to get an approximation, ball park, estimation, about this much, etc....:biggrin:


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## RawFedDogs (Jun 16, 2008)

saraj2878 said:


> 1) Those of you who feed fish on a regular basis....do you add in a fish oil capsule daily?


I never feed fish oil. I feed fish once a week or so.



> 2) We are coming up on 2 months feeding raw. What organ should I start with?
> 
> I have these:
> chicken liver
> ...


It really doesn't matter. Over time, it would be good to feed both liver and kidney.



> 3) I am planning on feeding organs once a week. Once we are done adding them into the diet, would Lucky (45 pounds) eat 1/2 an organ at a meal?


Hehe, I have no idea what I feed my dogs. A glob at a time. Don't know how to describe what a "glob" is. It's probably different each time.



> Don't want to over do it and don't want to under do it.


You will probably do both over time. Don't worry about it. If you feed too much your dogs will get the runs. That means don't feed that much at one time again. :smile: If the stools look A LITTLE softer after organs have been fed, you probably got it just right. :smile:


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## whiteleo (Sep 7, 2008)

I'd say I feed between a 1/4 and 1/2 cup but that is just a guess. LOL 

I would still start with the chicken livers since you already have them, they are really messy to work with, but get them used up and out of the freezer.

The dogs poo definitely is softer and darker from the lamb liver!


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## DaneMama (Jun 27, 2008)

We only give fish oil capsules as treats every once in a while...maybe once a week. If I noticed our girls having dry or flaky skin I would add them in more often. But they also get a lot of natural, grass fed red meats which have lots of omega fatty acids in them as well.

For starting out I would give a walnut sized chunk to both of them for starters. Watch their stools and see how it affects them. The next week I would give less or more depending. If there was no change in the poos (for the most part) then I would up it a bit more, and vice versa. Eventually you want to be able to feed an organ exclusive meal without much change to their body function. We feed an organ meal once every 10-14 days "sandwiched" between two bone heavy days. I don't see much of a change in their body function. Even if I did notice them having diarrhea, it wouldn't worry me because 1). I know what caused it and 2). I know how to fix it (add more bone).

As far as amounts...what would you say you eyeball their current meal ration to be? Try and get that amount similar in size to that but it doesn't need to be exact. I think that if they get a variety of different organ meats on a regular basis their bases are covered nutritionally.

I am personally not a fan of chicken livers because they are a pain in the a$$ to deal with. I can see feeding them if your dogs will eat them freely...but there is a chance that they wont like them at all and the easiest thing to do would be to force feed it (which is what we have to do with 3 out of 5 of the girls). In that case I would choose livers from larger animals, like lamb or pork but not from HUGE animals like beef because those livers are GIANT. My personal favorite is pork livers because of size...

Good luck! I hope you don't have picky eaters when it comes to organs...


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## Ania's Mommy (Feb 8, 2009)

I really don't know exactly how much liver Ania gets. Every other week or so, I give her almost a whole days worth of liver, poundage-wise. And, yes, I do as others have said and sandwich it between two bone heavy meals.

As far a liver types, I think I'm about the only person here that likes chicken livers. Foster Farms sells them in these convenient little tubs that are about the perfect size. I just plop them in a bowl (or on a plate) and let her have at 'em. It is one of the few meals she's allowed to eat in the house on rainy days when I'm too lazy to wipe her down when she comes inside. Another bonus is that soon, I will complete my white-trash Tupperware collection. Mwah ha ha!!

I look at liver / kidney as a great opportunity to add variety to Ania's diet. I am able to find organs from much more varied animals than I am other meat. So as time has gone by, I am feeding less and less chicken livers because I feel that she gets plenty of chicken in her diet otherwise. 

Currently, I am feeding mostly bison liver. I ordered a case of them from the co-op, and those suckers are monstrous! One liver is almost as big as my entire torso! So... have a ways to go with those...


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## luvMyBRT (Mar 8, 2010)

Thank you all! :biggrin:
It is weird that I'm as excited about this as I am??? LOL....
I don't think I'll have any trouble with Duncan. He eats anything an acts like a crazed lunatic at feeding time. Lucky...I may have trouble with. We'll see. She's the princess that won't eat fresh fish. 



Ania's Mommy said:


> As far a liver types, I think I'm about the only person here that likes chicken livers. Foster Farms sells them in these convenient little tubs that are about the perfect size. I just plop them in a bowl (or on a plate) and let her have at 'em. It is one of the few meals she's allowed to eat in the house on rainy days when I'm too lazy to wipe her down when she comes inside. Another bonus is that soon, I will complete my white-trash Tupperware collection. Mwah ha ha!!


Yup. These are the chicken livers I have too. I had never thought about a new tupperware collection. Now that's an added bonus! Not only does your dog get liver, but you get some sweet a** containers. What a deal!



> Currently, I am feeding mostly bison liver. I ordered a case of them from the co-op, and those suckers are monstrous! One liver is almost as big as my entire torso! So... have a ways to go with those...


Bison liver! Wow. I'll have to keep a look out for that. Is it up on a database right now?


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## Ania's Mommy (Feb 8, 2009)

saraj2878 said:


> Bison liver! Wow. I'll have to keep a look out for that. Is it up on a database right now?


Nah, that was a couple months ago. Not sure how often they do that database. I think it's only once a year though. Maybe our resident co-op master will chime in. :biggrin:


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## EnglishBullTerriers (Sep 10, 2008)

I feed my boys (55lbs EBT and 70-80lbs Neo/AmStaff mix) chicken livers. They eat it freely and with tails wagging. If I find any other organs on sale, they get that too. I am bad though because I only feed organs about once or twice a month. I go to WalMart and get the little 'tub' and each gets their own container. I do notice that their poos get soft for a day or two, but that's when they get turkey leg or wing meals for the bone. After the first time or two of attempting, I have never had a problem with my dogs refusing organs (knock on wood!) Owen started raw first, but when I started Titus on raw I would make sure that Titus could see that Owen didn't die when he ate the food.... Basically I played the dogs off of each other, but never against each other. Titus has grown up with Owen being the teacher and he was the little (annoying) student. Then last Thanksgiving, Titus decided to try and take Owens place. Now they play fine outside but have to be separated while inside. Owen still teaches Titus a thing or two but neither of my dogs seem able to pass up eating anything!


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## EnglishBullTerriers (Sep 10, 2008)

Ania's Mommy said:


> Nah, that was a couple months ago. Not sure how often they do that database. I think it's only once a year though. Maybe our resident co-op master will chime in. :biggrin:


I want some Bison liver!!!! Send some of that down my way to Ga!!!!


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## SerenityFL (Sep 28, 2010)

Ania's Mommy said:


> As far a liver types, I think I'm about the only person here that likes chicken livers. Foster Farms sells them in these convenient little tubs that are about the perfect size. I just plop them in a bowl (or on a plate) and let her have at 'em. It is one of the few meals she's allowed to eat in the house on rainy days when I'm too lazy to wipe her down when she comes inside. Another bonus is that soon, I will complete my white-trash Tupperware collection. Mwah ha ha!!


Listen, it's not a white trash collection unless you have a few margarine tubs. :biggrin:

Chicken liver is about the only thing I can find in the store. Do you think the butcher at the store would have cow liver? Do they get the whole cow and cut it up? Wouldn't they put out what they get or do they throw some stuff away? (This is a whole new world...talking to the butcher for strange parts.)


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## magicre (Apr 7, 2010)

my dogs are small and medium...one weighs exactly double....

so the liver i give is a half inch cube for the pug and a one inch cube for the corgi mix. that's a guesstimation. it's the one thing i don't weigh because i treat them like vitamins.

i also give them salmon gel caps, 500 mg each...because they eat fish a few times per week.

they get liver and kidney and salmon oil every day. for me, it's vitamins.

i feed any and every kind of liver i have on hand....i try to give them variety and i feed every kind of kidney i have on hand....be it from chicken, cow, bison, lamb, pork...etc...


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## magicre (Apr 7, 2010)

SerenityFL said:


> Listen, it's not a white trash collection unless you have a few margarine tubs. :biggrin:
> 
> Chicken liver is about the only thing I can find in the store. Do you think the butcher at the store would have cow liver? Do they get the whole cow and cut it up? Wouldn't they put out what they get or do they throw some stuff away? (This is a whole new world...talking to the butcher for strange parts.)


sometimes stores carry beef liver in the frozen sections...or ask the butcher...

my grocery stores sell beef liver and chicken livers...


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## magicre (Apr 7, 2010)

EnglishBullTerriers said:


> I want some Bison liver!!!! Send some of that down my way to Ga!!!!


my guys love it.

move to washington.


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## whiteleo (Sep 7, 2008)

I believe we can get bison liver once a year for sure but sometime other sources will pop up!


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## magicre (Apr 7, 2010)

whiteleo said:


> I believe we can get bison liver once a year for sure but sometime other sources will pop up!


let's see. i have pork liver, bison liver, chicken liver, beef liver, lamb liver....with the weight of my dogs....it'll BE a year before i need liver LOL


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## luvMyBRT (Mar 8, 2010)

SerenityFL said:


> Chicken liver is about the only thing I can find in the store. Do you think the butcher at the store would have cow liver? Do they get the whole cow and cut it up? Wouldn't they put out what they get or do they throw some stuff away? (This is a whole new world...talking to the butcher for strange parts.)


My local Walmart has both chicken livers and beef livers on a regular basis. I agree....ask the butcher what they have.


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## luvMyBRT (Mar 8, 2010)

whiteleo said:


> I believe we can get bison liver once a year for sure but sometime other sources will pop up!


Did I ever mention that I love our co op??!! :biggrin::biggrin:

I'm so excited because I have some of that lamb on it's way too!


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## EnglishBullTerriers (Sep 10, 2008)

magicre said:


> my guys love it.
> 
> move to washington.


No way!! It's too cold up there for me! I am actually looking at moving further south then Ga! Lookin more towards the Austin Tx region. =}


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