B.A.R.F. 101

[FransterDoo]

What's your pricing on those? I'm questioning that they have bellies that aren't uber expensive. After all, they are in good demand these days

For me, I'd look at if I had a nice mix of bone and boneless. It I had some nice fat on pieces and how much money I had to spend!

I talked to my friend and she said the bellys are really fatty, so Im assuming that wouldnt be a good idea?

Yes - bellies are what they make bacon out of. But cheap cuts is cheap cuts around here so I'd do something like 1/2 portion of a lean meat and 1/2 portion of the fatty meat.

have you started yet??

[FBODGRL]

I know I asked this either here or in my thread, but now I have a more in depth question about fish.

Khan has eaten tilapia, cod and catfish. Just fillets. Not whole fish with head and skin.

I read on the raw feeding group on yahoo a post where someone was saying feeding tilapia is bad because it is mos likely farm fish and fed corn and something else. Plus it was no good for any Omega's.

So my question is....is this true? What type of fish should I feed? Salmon is a really not cost effective. I suppose I could feed it occasionally, but not on a regular basis. I thought any fish was ok.

I haven't done any beef since I started in the beginning, but I think I may pick some up next week.

[starrlamia]

What's your pricing on those? I'm questioning that they have bellies that aren't uber expensive. After all, they are in good demand these days

For me, I'd look at if I had a nice mix of bone and boneless. It I had some nice fat on pieces and how much money I had to spend!

I talked to my friend and she said the bellys are really fatty, so Im assuming that wouldnt be a good idea?

Yes - bellies are what they make bacon out of. But cheap cuts is cheap cuts around here so I'd do something like 1/2 portion of a lean meat and 1/2 portion of the fatty meat.

have you started yet??

not yet, i wont get an order until the 17th or 18th you can only order once a month, but she talked to her manager and they will get me cheap marrow bones (not good for raw but good for my pocketbook!)

Turkeys around here are at about 90 cents a lb so Im going to try and pick up 2-3 turkeys this weekend and cut up and satrt, since we are out of kibble as of tomorrow

[starrlamia]

I hacked up my first turkey today, got 3 for .87 cents a lb at the grocery store. I only hacked one up so far it took a long while , but got a good 10 meals for 13 bucks and a back in tact still.
I didnt do perfectly in portioning, if it was off half an oz i didnt really do much unless i had bits left to fill in, i just paired slightly larger meals for the morning and slightly smaller meals for the evening. There are also some meals that are bonier but their second meal of the day is all meat. So I guess we shall see how it goes.
Tomorrow night 2 more turkeys to break down, I have a new found respect for both meat cleavers and butchers.

[FransterDoo]

AWESOME!!!!

remember that each meal doesn't have to be right on. Sometimes in the middle of a big butcher session, I'll start planning big meals to use with something smaller I have in the freezer. So Hank might get the whole turkey back one day and then a smaller, boneless meal for the next day or two (once he stops looking pudgy).

[starrlamia]

thanks! i hacked most of the meat off the back i have its mostly just fat now , i do have a few meals for them that are their whole day's worth like the drumsticks, it shouldnt be too much of an issue to feed them once a day a couple of times right?

[FransterDoo]

thanks! i hacked most of the meat off the back i have its mostly just fat now , i do have a few meals for them that are their whole day's worth like the drumsticks, it shouldnt be too much of an issue to feed them once a day a couple of times right?

shouldn't! You might want to hand out a couple of cookies or a slice of Nature's Balance roll during the missing meal and make sure that you have some amount of meat on those bones if they are prone to hard poops or bile pukes.

The cheapest way for us to buy green tripe is in the 5 pound logs. It means everyone gets super huge tripe meals. I just cut back by 1/2 the meals around it until we've evened out a bit.

[starrlamia]

thanks! i hacked most of the meat off the back i have its mostly just fat now , i do have a few meals for them that are their whole day's worth like the drumsticks, it shouldnt be too much of an issue to feed them once a day a couple of times right?

shouldn't! You might want to hand out a couple of cookies or a slice of Nature's Balance roll during the missing meal and make sure that you have some amount of meat on those bones if they are prone to hard poops or bile pukes.

The cheapest way for us to buy green tripe is in the 5 pound logs. It means everyone gets super huge tripe meals. I just cut back by 1/2 the meals around it until we've evened out a bit.

awesome thanks!
I have to go home tonight and hack up 2 turkeys UGH!

[cshawgst]

hi ive been transitioning my dog to the barf diet and so far so good. i just want to make sure she is getting the necessary nutrition. Shes eating wings and turkey necks no problem ive been putting a salmon oil pill in each meal and a table spoon of cottage cheese 4%. I also give her a raw egg every 2 days shell and all and muscle meats including beef tips, chicken breasts, now ive been looking for the green tripe whats it look like and where can i find it and what else can i put in it to make it a complete nutritous meal??

[El_EmDubya]

You need to add more Omegas to that diet. Try 1gram Salmon Oil/10 lbs of dog per day, minimum. All OUR diets are severely lacking in Omegas, so that ratio goes for people too.

Green tripe can be found at greentripe.com.

[FBODGRL]

Can someone answer this for me

I know I asked this either here or in my thread, but now I have a more in depth question about fish.

Khan has eaten tilapia, cod and catfish. Just fillets. Not whole fish with head and skin.

I read on the raw feeding group on yahoo a post where someone was saying feeding tilapia is bad because it is mos likely farm fish and fed corn and something else. Plus it was no good for any Omega's.

So my question is....is this true? What type of fish should I feed? Salmon is a really not cost effective. I suppose I could feed it occasionally, but not on a regular basis. I thought any fish was ok.

I haven't done any beef since I started in the beginning, but I think I may pick some up next week.

couple more questions too.

Venison is considered a red meat, right? Not sure where I read they should eat more red meat, than white or if it even matters

Also...I used salmon oil for the longest time, but when I ran out I got fish oil. I was doing the salmon oil for his allergies, so I thought changing would be fine. So is just regular fish oil still ok for omega's?

[El_EmDubya]

Yes, venison is red meat.

Depending upon your dog's nature (and your feeding philosophy), red meat may or may not be necessary. If you wish to feed only "fast twitch" animals (rabbit, chicken, rodent, smelt, sardine) vs "slow twitch" (cow, pig, large fish (grouper, not tuna)) to keep your dog lean, it is not necessary to feed ANY red meat. BUT, you must feed liver and other organs to have a balanced diet. Just feeding a certain cut of meat over and over will not provide the variety needed for a complete and balance diet.

Re the issue of Omegas: It is a long and politically charged topic. Here's a little "light" reading:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Omega-3_fatty_acid
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginfo/natural/993.html

What IS known: animals eating a natural diet have more Omega 3s than those fed unnatural diets (for bovines natural would be grasses, for example, rather than corn and soy mixed pellets fed on feed lots). Therefore, if you are feeding meat that has been fed an "unnatural" diet, you will need to supplement with Omegas.

Now, regarding the term "fish oil"...You are going to have to investigate what the manufacturer means by "fish oil". Not all fishes are created equal. You can see from the Wiki page a list of Omega 3 concentrations for each type. Depending upon the average depth that they live, their bodies will have more or less Omega 3s. The deeper the water and the colder the water, the more omega 3s because they are more flexible and therefore remain liquid in lower temps than the longer chain Fatty Acids.

Some of the other things to consider is the length of the food chain:
Krill oil is the most green of the non plant producing Omega 3 sources, but it is very expensive.
As you move up the food chain, there is a greater likelihood of heavy metal contamination, which is bad.
But the FDA says the risk is worth the benefit, so that might be good. (Then again the FDA is a political machine, so you need to consider the source.)
You can always feed Flax or Hemp oils, although they will also have plant estrogens, which may be bad ...esp, for the boys.

Sigh. Is this helping?

I feed Grizzly Salmon Oil. It suits my budget and the fact that my dog is old, so we probably won't have to worry about heavy metal issues. In younger dogs, where brain development might be an issue, I'd choose to feed Krill over Salmon.

LMW

[cshawgst]

also ive been putting a little liver in each meal should i keep that going or cut it down some i think ive got the barf diet almost dont just a few kinks to work out! and how do you know if vegetables are puree??

[El_EmDubya]

If you are feeding veggies, they need to be steamed to break down the cellulous plant walls so your dog can get 'some' nutrition. I used to do the grind regime, but have since kept my boy's diet pretty simple as he has a very low stress life and has few health issues. It is up to you, but green tripe does a pretty good job of being a veggie grind, if you ask me.

LMW

[cshawgst]

ok thanks really helpful!