CockersOnline Forum
Cocker Specific Discussion => Feeding => Topic started by: screamingswifts on September 26, 2007, 11:47:16 AM
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Hi,
I picked up my first batch of wild food last night from a friendly local guy who organizes shoots in my area. I got a box full of frozen rabbits and a load of goose breasts, all in exchange for a bottle of whiskey :D
A few questions though - the rabbit has been skinned, gutted and de-headed, but also the feet have been removed leaving sharp pointy ends - would you bash these first before feeding, or take the joint of up at the 'knee' so to speak? I will ask him to leave the feet on next time. I know you can feed the fur as well, but I have a new addition to the house in the form of a rescue greyhound who is still settling down with my cats, so I don't really want to feed her 'fluffy' things at the mo - or is that silly?
In terms of feeding geese he was a bit unsure about giving me the legs/wings as he said these were quite splintery - has anyone any experience of feeding geese? I've asked for some neck next time and will also ask about carcasses.
I'm also hoping to get pigeon/venison/pheasant as the season dictates - does anyone know anything I should be avoiding in terms of 'wild food'? I plan to freeze it all before feeding.
Cheers
Tanya
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I skin/gut the rabbits I am given myself and I take the feet off in order to skin them - I have never had a problem with the "pointy bit" at the end of the leg......it is scrunched up by my two with no problems ;)
Vension is quite rich; so I would introduce it gradually....but like you, I am filling the freezer with as much as I can at the moment and haven't said no to anything I have been (legally) offered.......no geese, though ;)
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Ok that's good to know, Thanks :D The geese are legal - I assume he has a licence, this is his livelihood to take people out stalking/shooting/wild fowling and goose season has just started, we have tens of thousands of them up here now - I do feel a bit guilty, as I'm quite an avid wildlife enthusiast, but they are being shot anyway, so it's a good source of free-range meat in my book (which is all I will buy, even for the dogs, so it makes the food bill a bit lighter!)
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if you have cats, let them have the rabbit feet to play with - guaranteed to bring out the kitten in them ;)
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if you have cats, let them have the rabbit feet to play with - guaranteed to bring out the kitten in them ;)
No cats of our own - but next door has one......and I'm still chuckling over their reaction to the snake she took indoors over the summer........I might just leave the rabbits paws on the fence next time I'm preparing them :005:
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If the way my lot play with moooses heads is anything to go by. bunnies' feet would sent them delirious ::) :005:
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If the way my lot play with moooses heads is anything to go by. bunnies' feet would sent them delirious ::) :005:
:huh: Oxfordshire moose Joules?
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If the way my lot play with moooses heads is anything to go by. bunnies' feet would sent them delirious ::) :005:
:huh: Oxfordshire moose Joules?
I mean Mickey mooses!! :005:
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If you get offered any venison or pheasant whatever you do do NOT feed it to your dog!!
...eat it yourself!! :lol: :lol:
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I am trying to get my cats over to raw as well but they are very hard compared to the dogs, but they did have a bit of a nibble on the rabbit - which is more than I can say for Frida, my greyhound - who wouldn't touch it with a barge pole >:( Fargo of course wolfed it down in typical spaniel fashion :005: Frida is getting a bit too fussy recently so I took the tough approach and left her without any dinner and only a small amount of breakfast, so hopefully the rabbit will be more appealing to her tonight !!
Nicola - the geese breast looked quite tempting I have too say - I'm sure the odd bit might bypass the dogs to my belly instead ;)
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I know this is a few months old, but it made sense to tack my query on to the end of this thread, rather than start a new one.
I have just come back from our local butchers with a huge bag of organic meat bones for Fern, chicken backs, wings and lamb ribs mainly which I know she is OK with. :D .
There are also venison ribs in there. Do you think she will be OK with these? I am thinking larger animal = harder bones :-\ .
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I know this is a few months old, but it made sense to tack my query on to the end of this thread, rather than start a new one.
I have just come back from our local butchers with a huge bag of organic meat bones for Fern, chicken backs, wings and lamb ribs mainly which I know she is OK with. :D .
There are also venison ribs in there. Do you think she will be OK with these? I am thinking larger animal = harder bones :-\ .
Oooh, lucky you :D
I would feed mine the venison ribs - I would keep and eye on them and probably only give them once a week, but IMO, the occasional meal of harder bone won't hurt ;)
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Thanks Rachel ;) . I'll just make sure she doesn't feel rushed :lol: .
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There are also venison ribs in there. Do you think she will be OK with these? I am thinking larger animal = harder bones :-\ .
Venison has ended up being the main meat at the moment from my 'supplier'. I too wondered about the ribs to start with as they are harder than lamb ribs, but they seem to be coping just fine with them :D
I get the venison in whole carcass form with the main cuts removed - you should have seen my postmans face when he saw me with washing up gloves covered in blood, a big chopping knife in hand and a carcass in my kitchen :005: ph34r :005:
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i just picked up some rabbit about an hour ago - so we will see how the H boy tackles that tomorrow once it has defrosted.
Would love to find a local game supplier :blink:
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i just picked up some rabbit about an hour ago - so we will see how the H boy tackles that tomorrow once it has defrosted.
Would love to find a local game supplier :blink:
Prompted by this thread I have just contacted a local estate. I think they have shooting there so wonder whether there is anyone there who might be able to help me. Local butchers really are useless, and now that I can't/won't buy cheap chicken, Buddy's bone supply has dwindled to nil! :'(
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What did the estate have to say Annette?
Have you asked your local butcher if they do wild rabbit??? Another of my local butchers also does pet sticks, which is all the off cuts put in a sausage skin and then frozen - all for £1!!!
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do you not have a local market nearby? Our market has a very good farm shop, who specialises in free-range chook, wild rabbit and venison etc....can be a bit pricey, unles you can buy in bulk, but he also does bags of wings really cheaply....
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do you not have a local market nearby? Our market has a very good farm shop, who specialises in free-range chook, wild rabbit and venison etc....can be a bit pricey, unles you can buy in bulk, but he also does bags of wings really cheaply....
Are they free-range wings? :D I got caught out by my our local butcher once - he stocks local produce, by when I asked him for chicken wings, he brought out a box labelled up from Norfolk :-\
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What did the estate have to say Annette?
Have you asked your local butcher if they do wild rabbit??? Another of my local butchers also does pet sticks, which is all the off cuts put in a sausage skin and then frozen - all for £1!!!
My local butchers are dreadful. I wanted lamb ribs once and they tried to charge me the same as for breast of lamb! Honestly!!!!
Whenever I ask for bones they say that I should have asked "yesterday". Further afield, in Pangbourne, the butcher only offered me a cow's pelvis once and said he was too busy to cut it up (I was alone apart from the 3 butchers!)
I think it must be me :'( :huh:
My request to the estate has been sent on to the head gamekeeper so I may be in with a chance.
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What did the estate have to say Annette?
Have you asked your local butcher if they do wild rabbit??? Another of my local butchers also does pet sticks, which is all the off cuts put in a sausage skin and then frozen - all for £1!!!
My local butchers are dreadful. I wanted lamb ribs once and they tried to charge me the same as for breast of lamb! Honestly!!!!
Whenever I ask for bones they say that I should have asked "yesterday". Further afiels, in Pangbourne, they butcher only offerend me a cow's pelvis once and said he was too busy to cut it up (I was alone apart from the 3 butchers!)
I think it must be me :'( :huh:
My request to the estate has been sent on to the head gamekeeper so I may be in with a chance.
You could take up beating Annette, then you would get all you wanted :shades: :005:
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Prompted by this thread I have just contacted a local estate. I think they have shooting there so wonder whether there is anyone there who might be able to help me. Local butchers really are useless, and now that I can't/won't buy cheap chicken, Buddy's bone supply has dwindled to nil! :'(
Same here, as in I won't buy meat unless it's free range - have you looked here?
http://www.sheepdroveshop.com/acatalog/Chicken.html
Not the cheapest, but they are very good for wings/carcasses/necks and their 'doggy bags'. they deliver nation wide I believe.
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Bobby says I want a squirrel BARF diet but every day it makes it up the tree in time. Got one of the pet chickens by the neck yesterday but mum made me let it go. . I was only sitting on it, honest!
My vet says the latest thinking in publications on dog gut disorders is that is just about all of it comes down to allergies and modern diet, ie BARF feeders are right!!!!! Shame we don't all have friendly gamekeepers and caring butchers. Pet chickens beware!
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Bobby says I want a squirrel BARF diet but every day it makes it up the tree in time. Got one of the pet chickens by the neck yesterday but mum made me let it go. . I was only sitting on it, honest!
My vet says the latest thinking in publications on dog gut disorders is that is just about all of it comes down to allergies and modern diet, ie BARF feeders are right!!!!! Shame we don't all have friendly gamekeepers and caring butchers. Pet chickens beware!
Same could be said for the modern human diet, but you wont get me going back to eating like a cave man :005:
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Bobby says I want a squirrel BARF diet but every day it makes it up the tree in time. Got one of the pet chickens by the neck yesterday but mum made me let it go. . I was only sitting on it, honest!
My vet says the latest thinking in publications on dog gut disorders is that is just about all of it comes down to allergies and modern diet, ie BARF feeders are right!!!!! Shame we don't all have friendly gamekeepers and caring butchers. Pet chickens beware!
Same could be said for the modern human diet, but you wont get me going back to eating like a cave man :005:
Why not? Free range meat, fish, and loads of fresh fruit, veg and leaves - sounds like the sort of diet my GP keeps recommending :005:
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Bobby says I want a squirrel BARF diet but every day it makes it up the tree in time. Got one of the pet chickens by the neck yesterday but mum made me let it go. . I was only sitting on it, honest!
My vet says the latest thinking in publications on dog gut disorders is that is just about all of it comes down to allergies and modern diet, ie BARF feeders are right!!!!! Shame we don't all have friendly gamekeepers and caring butchers. Pet chickens beware!
Same could be said for the modern human diet, but you wont get me going back to eating like a cave man :005:
Why not? Free range meat, fish, and loads of fresh fruit, veg and leaves - sounds like the sort of diet my GP keeps recommending :005:
What raw meat :-\ Nah :005:
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I've eaten squirrel :luv: I'd opt for Nicola's suggestion of eating the Venison yourself as well. Bonnie gets ribs all the time but its a rich meat and will give them the squits if they aren't used to it so small amounts, don't worry about the bones they don't have any problems with them at all. Ayla likes the feet for some reason as well they are like a huge prize.
I've never fed them goose if we've shot one of those it tends to get roasted and the dogs don't get any plus i don't feed game that i expect them to retrieve. Rabbits on the other hand I skin and gut and just chuck them at the nearest dog or cat all mine except for graf like rabbit but he turns his nose up at it and refuses to eat it. :luv:
Don't forget to either give plenty of raw garlic or worm regularly.