How many chicken necks should I feed my dog? Tips and Tricks

Safety around raw feeding and chicken necks

Raw feeders feed mostly raw meat. Any grain is typically used for its fibre value for the dog intestine. If you don’t feed whole prey to your dogs, then your dog’s stools might become loose without added non meat fibre.

Many true raw feeders feed chicken carcasses and raw chicken meat even road kill. While suburban raw feeders might concentrate on raw red meat meals and cooked chicken. The chicken necks are invariably raw for their calcium benefit and teeth cleaning properties. Cooking small bones too much as the increased potential for bone splintering. That was their main caution in the past.

If you read up on Human food safety and food storage you will know that between 4 C and 60 C is often the temperature you don’t want to have your raw or cooked food sitting for too long. This is the temperature range that most ‘bad’ and good bacteria can breed fastest. It is the AMOUNT of bad bacteria which is really the problem for most healthy humans and dogs, not just the type.

Did you know that while raw feeders and humans are told to freeze their raw meats until required and freezing raw meat and offal and bones for dogs while stall bad bacteria population growth (if the meat has any ‘bad’ bacteria), it won’t kill most of the bad types unless the temperature falls below 70C which is out of reach of most domestic freezers, and many commercial freezers too.

So ideally: buy your raw meat for your dogs from a good source, freeze immediately if you are not going to use the chicken necks. Make sure your refrigerator is between 2 and 4 C and put the necks in batches for two days feeding so they dont stay in the refrigerator too long before feeding.

NOTE if you have a very small dog, old dog, young dog or any dog with a compromised immune system – you may consider finding another source of calcium if you are a raw feeder. Your dog’s safety is our primary concern. Of course any of these dogs can eat our 100% meat jerky range of healthy dog treats to get a good chew and nutrition.

If you want some real science you might look to references such as this from “Journal of Applied Microbiology” 2006 ” As for samples inoculated on cut muscle, only freezing had a significant effect, as had already been observed by other authors. For Campylobacter cells which were frozen on boneless chicken breasts, the largest drop in cell counts occurred during the first 24 hours of storage – after which there was a more gradual or no decline (Abram and Potter 1984). We observed a clear tailing effect after 2 weeks. This is consistent with the findings of Moorhead and Dykes (2002), who studied Campylobacter on beef trimmings, and at minus 18C found a log CFU decrease during the first week but no subsequent decline.”

What you might also want to know is that Campylobacter ” will not survive thorough cooking (temperatures above 70°C). It is important that when cooking foods such as eggs, chicken, fish and pastry products, they are kept at this temperature or higher for a minimum of two minutes”. However other bacteria need temperatures well over 100 C temperatures to be killed.

Dog food companies often cook grain and meat concoctions as much higher temperatures to reduce cooking times (and increase profits – by speeding up manufacturing and reducing gas costs). However cooking at too high temperatures can kill enzymes and all of the natural goodness (including vitamins).

This fact is a good reason to buy meat based healthy dog treats. They are cooked at the right temperature for killing bacteria, but not too high as to kill all of the goodness. This is why our treats are the perfect dog food supplement.

Why Chicken Necks for Dogs with Cancer?

Yeah, we know. Eating chicken necks sounds gross to many of us.

However, just because chicken necks are often considered a “throwaway” part of the chicken carcass by humans doesn’t mean they have no nutritional value!

Dr. Dressler recommends feeding chicken necks as an excellent source of calcium and other minerals.

You can serve chicken livers raw or cooked. These nutrient-dense organs provide protein, B vitamins, vitamin A, zinc, iron, niacin, copper and phosphorus. Chicken livers are a good source of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids, and amino acids vital to your dog’s health. Feed small amounts daily or every other day.

Australian veterinarian Ian Billinghurst, who says dogs wouuld be healthier if they followed the diet of their predecessors in the wild, maintains that raw chicken necks are soft enough for most dogs to chew and digest. Pet owners nervous about feeding neck bones, can grind meat or purchase it already ground. According to Natural Dog Health Remedies, chicken neck bones become too brittle once they are cooked and should only be served raw. Brittle bones can cause numerous problems, ranging from choking to stomach and intestinal issues. Raw chicken necks provide calcium and act as a tooth brush to keep your dog’s teeth clean. If you choose to feed raw chicken necks as part of your dog’s diet, select necks from chicken raised without antibiotics or hormones. The necks should make up no more than 30 percent to 50 percent of your dog’s nutritional intake.

Based in Las Vegas, Sandy Vigil has been a writer and educator since 1980. She taught high school and middle school English and drama for 11 years. Vigil holds a Master of Science in teaching from Nova Southeastern University and a Bachelor of Arts in secondary English education from the University of Central Oklahoma.

Chicken hearts share many of the same benefits as livers, although they are less dense in nutrients by comparison. The heart of the chicken is a lean protein that contains fatty acids and vitamin A along with iron and B vitamins. Because they also contain taurine, chicken hearts are good for your dog’s heart. Serve chicken hearts cooked or raw as part of your dogs dinner or as an occasional treat.

While many veterinarians are supportive of pet owners feeding chicken hearts, livers or necks, each dog has specific nutritional needs based on breed, age and health. Consult your vet before feeding any these chicken parts to your dog. The VetInfo website warns that dogs who are fed chicken livers as more than 5 percent of their overall diet can suffer from loose stools or overdose of vitamin A. Bone spurs and deformities, stiffness, weak muscles, upset stomach and weight loss are symptoms of vitamin A overdosing. A dog that eats chicken heart as more than 5 percent of his overall diet is at risk for loose stools. Small dogs and puppies are not good candidates for feeding chicken necks, as they can easily choke on them.

Should you feed raw chicken necks and wings to your dog? Dr Kate, Bondi Vet

Commercially prepared dog foods have been recalled and brought under scrutiny for the ingredients used. Because of this, many dog owners are looking at alternative methods of feeding their pets. So many dog diets exist that it can be confusing as to what you can feed your dog. Chicken is an inexpensive meat source thats frequently used in dog food. Some parts of the chicken are prime, some are not so prime.