redman Posted May 30, 2003 Share Posted May 30, 2003 This is yet another dog-related thread. The BARF (Bones and Raw Food) diet has become a sort of movement in the last decade as a far healthier alternative for dogs than manufactured kibble. Anyway, this thread is from a message board devoted to the discussion of this diet. It starts out as a discussion about cost of BARFing, but goes on to . . . well, you'll see! Hilarious! :laugh: http://www.germanshepherds.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=66;t=000269;p=2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheKurp Posted May 30, 2003 Share Posted May 30, 2003 Oh and BTW to any one thinking of doing this be prepared....bunnies dont always die quietly....they can screem, some times alot. That is some of the funniest $hit I've read in a long time. Thanks Redman! Seriously though, some people really put a ton of effort into BARF. I'm not one of them. I use the same recipe week in and week out and I've got it down to about 30 - 35 minutes a week of preparation. Raising livestock for my dogs? Hell, I've got a herd of armadillos I'd love to feed my dogs but I'm too lazy to catch them and my dogs think they're just for chasing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redman Posted May 30, 2003 Author Share Posted May 30, 2003 Yeah, I had fun reading that one. I'm going to switch Molly over to a BARF diet as soon as her current store of kibble runs out. I've placed my first BARF order through a co-op, and in 3 weeks around 120 pounds of turkey, lamb and chicken will come in to the redman household! :laugh: You'll love checking out these websites, Kurp, for more info on this: my coop hard core BARFer site (the one who built the rabbitry; check out the Excel spreadsheet Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheKurp Posted May 30, 2003 Share Posted May 30, 2003 Redman, If you don't mind a little bit of advice..... I wouldn't start BARF cold turkey. I was given this advice prior to starting my oldest golden but failed to heed it. The result? I was cleaning projectile $hit 2 feet up on the walls. I kid you not! Even if you have to buy a small bag of your current kibble to get you through the switch over it'll be worth it. Start the 1st week by mixing just a quarter of the raw meat in with the kibble. 2nd week mix it half and half.... and so on over a 4 week period. I'm sure you've done your research but I'll just ask whether you're aware of the need to maintain a ratio of calcium to phosphorus when feeding raw meat? Chicken wings and backs, bones and all, are pretty much perfect so no need to supplement. But if you're going to feed just raw meat, no bones, then you'll need to supplement with calcium (bone meal, crushed egg shells, etc...) I'm glad to hear you've become a convert. I look forward to hearing about your experience! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redman Posted May 30, 2003 Author Share Posted May 30, 2003 I actually didn't know about a formal ratio, however I'm going to primarily feed chicken and turkey necks, with some lamb necks mixed in as a treat. All obviously have bones. I've read that the RMB's (raw meaty bones) should ideally end up being around 75%-80% of the diet, with muscle meat (ground beef; steak; ground turkey or chicken; fish; etc.) 15%-20%, and organs such as liver, heart or gizzard making up the balance. I've also read that the transition should be weighted towards RMB's, and then gradually filter in the richer muscle and organ meat to prevent the "trots". Some people recommend adding pumpkin or other squash to combat diahrrea. Every dog appears different in their short-term response to the transition too. We'll see what happens. I'll keep you posted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnny Punani2 Posted June 1, 2003 Share Posted June 1, 2003 You want some nice baby cow heads??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redman Posted June 2, 2003 Author Share Posted June 2, 2003 Yeah, I saw those A56. For those who haven't checked out that page, she's received those veal heads (complete with tongues!) by mistake when she ordered something else, so she just fed them to her dogs anyway. They of course loved them, and she has pics on her website of them eating them. :laugh: Gotta love those farm chicks! :laugh: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheKurp Posted June 2, 2003 Share Posted June 2, 2003 Redman, Since you're starting Molly out at a relatively young age you may not encounter this problem, but..... Believe it or not, some dogs, especially ones that have been fed kibble for quite some time, have to be taught how to eat raw meaty bones. The first time I handed my oldest golden a raw chicken wing she took it in her mouth, then dropped it. Over the next few minutes she gummed it, rolled on it, guarded it, threw it up in the air, and walked away from it. For the next few days I had to remove the meat and hand feed her and then give her the bone when I was done, which she then chewed and swallowed. After a week or so she finally got the hang of it and ate the wing without any help from me. My youngest golden was fed wings immediately upon weaning so no problem there. It doesn't surprise me that those dogs immediately took to those cow heads. Once a dog is a BARFer I imagine any dead animal is fair game in their world. Now if they could just learn to leave the cooked bones alone..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redman Posted June 2, 2003 Author Share Posted June 2, 2003 Thanks Kurp. I've already read warnings about that, so I'm prepared. As I had to buy three weeks worth of additional kibble to bridge the time between now and the first BARF delivery from my co-op, I bought adult kibble, which is larger. I've noticed that Molly is big enough now (50+ pounds) that she simply inhales even the large breed puppy kibble I've been feeding her. I've also periodically (even before I knew about BARF) given Molly 1+ pound beef soup bones which are simply too big to be swallowed. She's always known what to do with them. Finally in the event I actually observe problems, and I'll of course be watching to see how she does, I've read that you can hold for example the end of a chicken wing while your dog gnaws on it so that they learn how to chew and don't try to swallow it whole like they often do with kibble. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheKurp Posted June 2, 2003 Share Posted June 2, 2003 Redman, Saw your post about feeding schedule. I thought you might find this of interest. http://www3.sk.sympatico.ca/riverien/nutritogether.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poidog22 Posted June 2, 2003 Share Posted June 2, 2003 That was both funny and disturbing at the same time. I was OK until one of the posters went thru the step-by-step method of squeezing the guts out of the rabbit. :puke: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redman Posted June 2, 2003 Author Share Posted June 2, 2003 Good link, Kurp, thanks. I haven't read it all yet, but I've bookmarked it for later. poidog- that thread is outstanding because every time you think they've completely lost it, a subsequent post outdoes all others! :laugh: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.