Feeding Chicken Bones

[Cazzie]

Hi Guys 

Can you give me please as much info on feeding chicken bones as possible please. 

[Cob-Web]

Hi Guys 

Can you give me please as much info on feeding chicken bones as possible please. 

Raw, not cooked 
Non-weight bearing bones are softer than weight bearing 
Bashed up to start with until the dog learns how to crunch 

Umm......that's about the extent of my knowledge really - was there something specific you wanted to know?

[Nicola]

I'm guessing you know this but cooked bones should never be fed. Alfie has raw chicken wings a few times a week, he crunches them up with no problems. Tilly won't touch them though, she's not really keen on any raw meat so I don't push it with her. I wouldn't give Alfie chicken leg or thigh bones though as they are weight bearing and more friable (i.e. liable to splinter).

[Cazzie]

Hi Guys 

Can you give me please as much info on feeding chicken bones as possible please. 

Raw, not cooked 
Non-weight bearing bones are softer than weight bearing 
Bashed up to start with until the dog learns how to crunch 

Umm......that's about the extent of my knowledge really - was there something specific you wanted to know?

Nothing too specific, its for our kenneled working dogs after reading so much about people feeding them I think it would be good for them, the are used to getting bones (raw) as they are given Roe Deer part leg & feet to chew on now and again. What about Pheasant wings? they would be the same wouldnt they?

I wouldnt feed my dogs bones that small im terrified they choke    

[Cob-Web]

Nothing too specific, its for our kenneled working dogs after reading so much about people feeding them I think it would be good for them, the are used to getting bones (raw) as they are given Roe Deer part leg & feet to chew on now and again. What about Pheasant wings? they would be the same wouldnt they?

I wouldnt feed my dogs bones that small im terrified they choke   

A raw diet is a good one imo - but if you plan on offering raw as an extra to a complete food, then be aware that they are digested as different rates and so need a few hours between meals to avoid explosions 

I have freezer full of rabbit at the moment, and hopefully will have pheasant in season too; I skin/pluck and gut cos Molo is a fussy b***** and then cleaver it into portions; if I thought he'd take them with their jackets on I'd leave it on If your kennelled dogs are gundogs, then you might need to consider the implications of feeding them game 

[Cazzie]

Nothing too specific, its for our kenneled working dogs after reading so much about people feeding them I think it would be good for them, the are used to getting bones (raw) as they are given Roe Deer part leg & feet to chew on now and again. What about Pheasant wings? they would be the same wouldnt they?

I wouldnt feed my dogs bones that small im terrified they choke   

A raw diet is a good one imo - but if you plan on offering raw as an extra to a complete food, then be aware that they are digested as different rates and so need a few hours between meals to avoid explosions 

I have freezer full of rabbit at the moment, and hopefully will have pheasant in season too; I skin/pluck and gut cos Molo is a fussy b***** and then cleaver it into portions; if I thought he'd take them with their jackets on I'd leave it on If your kennelled dogs are gundogs, then you might need to consider the implications of feeding them game 

It wouldnt be a raw diet as in a main diet, but more as a treat for them, they get raw stuff now and again as treats but are on a dry complete diet. It wouldnt make any difference to them if they were fed game as they are trained adult dogs, but know where you are coming from. Yes they are gun dogs and not pets, both male labs.

[supaspaniel]

Matts working Lab is always chomping on rabbits..(its actually got worse as he gets older scavenging dead ones) and he still knows his job

[happydog]

If your kennelled dogs are gundogs, then you might need to consider the implications of feeding them game 

I'm pretty certain that is a myth.

[bluegirl]

It is a myth.

I have 3 gun dogs and also have ducks and rabbits running round my back garden. I feed my dogs raw meat and it does consist of duck and rabbit, now if it were true my dogs by rights should have eaten my ducks and rabbits years ago. They do not associate what they have in their dish with live animals. I even fed them outside with the ducks and rabbits milling round!

[Cazzie]

I did wonder though with the raw stuff 

[Cob-Web]

It is a myth.

I have 3 gun dogs and also have ducks and rabbits running round my back garden. I feed my dogs raw meat and it does consist of duck and rabbit, now if it were true my dogs by rights should have eaten my ducks and rabbits years ago. They do not associate what they have in their dish with live animals. I even fed them outside with the ducks and rabbits milling round!

I was particular thinking about feeding game in it's feathered/furred state.....which is the same as the game gundogs are asked to carry when they are working - not that they would lose their working ability or start to massacre local wildlife or livestock 
I think a trained gundog would be unlikely to eat feather/furrred game if it was introduced to the diet once the dog was trained anyway, as their training would be too strong for them to break it - I would be interested to know if it is harder to train a working dog that has been raised on raw food that closely resembles the game it is expected to retrieve 

[Cazzie]

It is a myth.

I have 3 gun dogs and also have ducks and rabbits running round my back garden. I feed my dogs raw meat and it does consist of duck and rabbit, now if it were true my dogs by rights should have eaten my ducks and rabbits years ago. They do not associate what they have in their dish with live animals. I even fed them outside with the ducks and rabbits milling round!

I was particular thinking about feeding game in it's feathered/furred state.....which is the same as the game gundogs are asked to carry when they are working - not they they would lose their working ability or start to massacre local wildlife or livestock 
I think a trained gundog would be unlikely to eat feather/furrred game if it was introduced to the diet once the dog was trained anyway, as their training would be too strong for them to break it - I would be interested to know if it is harder to train a working dog that has been raised on raw food that closely resembles the game it is expected to retrieve 

God    Id never give them a whole bird  I will find out about feeding raw to a young gun dog in training as its an interesting topic 

[bluegirl]

Most people who follow a raw diet do not follow the prey model it's usually BARF or similar so I still do not think whether working or otherwise they would have the association. Some dogs are harder to train than others, but I still believe even if reared on raw unless it just has a dead bird or rabbit thrown into it's dish it will not think of it as food.

[Nicola]

Well Alfie is a young gundog in training and has been fed BARF since he was 5 and a half months old. He gets a half rabbit carcass twice a week but it is usually skinned. However, there have been a couple of time when it's been fur-on which he has taken great pleasure in plucking off in the back garden and it has had no effect on his training whatsoever, he retrieves pheasant wings and rabbit fur dummies with no problems, he's not stopped to try to eat one yet  He doesn't even mouth them. He knows his retrieving commands and the difference in when he is being asked to work and when he's being told to go and eat his dinner so he never confuses the two.