Raw feeding

siennamiller

siennamiller

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Oh I wish I was not so dippy when it comes to working stuff like this out! I cannot get my head round the quantities. He has natures menu (various types of their meat only frozen), plus brown rice, and some green veg.
Natures menu have said to give him 60%meat, 20% rice and 20% veg, to a total of 4% of his body weight (25kg).
Can anyone tell me how much I give him of each, at each meal, of which he has 3 at the mo? Thanks in advance
 
Would it not be easier to use the Natures Menu nuggets which already have rice and veg in?

I am a bad raw feeder, I don't feed any carbs and don't weigh food. :o
 
They don't do the raw nuggets in my pet shop, they only do the blocks, and the big bags of beef chunks and poultry necks.
I don't want him to be one of those fat labs, so I want to try too get it roughly the right weight.
 
So he should be having 500gms a day total, 300gms meat 100gms carbs (you can use cooked potato, wholegrain pasta or brown rice) and 100gms veg. You can split it over the day how you wish, personally I would mix a days worth up and make 3 roughly even meals. Also worth remembering to use tripe once a week so you get a fully balanced diet. And I would keep and eye on if this is too much for him as my 36kg lab only has 600gms (100 less than recommended) as he is prone to putting on weight.

ETA if he is a puppy you will need to double that ^ until he is a year.
 
I don't feed carbs and I don't weigh either :o

Their diet is based around minced tripe/beef/lamb, I then add chicken carcasses or the like, offal and fish.

There is a great sticky - not sure if it's still at the top of the page.
 
Great, thanks :). He has the frozen blocks of meat, which include rabbit, tripe, mince etc, plus poultry necks and beef chunks. Have been reading on another forum that I shouldn't give a dog his size poultry necks though!
 
I only feed the meat, my girls get roughly 2.5% of their body weight daily, they are fit active Border Collies (competing at agility and flyball).

I've always heard you should feed 2 - 3% of body weight daily.
 
I don't feed carbs, they don't need it. Carbs are a filler and not easily burned calories. They don't really need veg either but you can do that if you want to add more bulk.

I go by eye and adjust according to weight loss or gain. If I had gone by the percentages my collie was on two whole blocks a day to start with so would have been way over, he is now on one split into two meals per day.

Remember that some meats are lower fat than other so if you want to cut calories turkey is good.
 
I have to say I don't feed carbs, he does have veg but I don't think its 20%. I cheat and use natural instinct which is meat and veg
 
I tried feeding the nature's menu blocks and adding the carb and veg content, for me it was just too much messing about. I would recommend natural instinct it's just ready prepared meat and veg, my dog goes loopy for it. The delivery service is excellent as is the telephone advice. I just supplement it with supermarket bought chicken wings, liver and natures menu duck necks. I was really quite nervous when I started on feeding raw but once you get into it is easy.
 
I don't feed carbs, and very little veg. I don't weigh meat, I just use my eye to keep a check on body weight, i have found manufacturers feeding quantities are usually excessive, (same with horse feed) Aside from health issues, I find a fat dog very unattractive visually.
I have a chihuahua, so its not expensive to feed her and I'm able to use human grade meat.
She tends to get a little loose on beef so I avoid that, but she has chicken wings and drumsticks, fish, Lamb chops (reared at home) pigs feet (not a whole one :) a little offal, raw egg, and occasionally tinned mackerel in oil. I'm trying to source green tripe in sensible quantities, can get bleached but don't want that.

Sometimes I follow the gorge and fast routine, if a drumstick or chop is a bit large, she will have a tiny portion of something the next day.
She is incredibly fit and healthy and doesn't do a bad job of keeping up with daughters whippets, which is hilarious to watch.
She is my first chi, so new to the breed, I understand dental condition is a huge issue in later life with them. I'm hoping the raw diet with enough bones and complete lack of rubbish food and treats will help her teeth and gum health, either way she loves it, and watching her with her whole chunks of meat or meaty bone is so much more satisfying for me than others I know who pick in a bored fashion at a bowl of dry biscuits.
 
Adult dog, isn't he? Then raw food should ideally be about 3% of his body weight! but like most raw feeders! I feed by eye! I never weigh, although it helps to do so at first. I don't feed veg either, seems pointless. They get chucked ends of stuff if I'm cooking for us and the occasional raw carrot. Veg should be blended to break down the cellulose walls if you do feed it.
 
I just had a look at the natural instincts, is it as expensive as it looks? Also,I out his weight in, and it showed a lot less for feeding a puppy than an adult, isn't it the other way round?
 
Natural Instinct is very expensive according to a mate with a dobie who started her pup on it. Can't remember if you said already, sorry, but have you got freezer space for raw? If it's just one dog, I'd say get a delivery every few months from a supplier. I'll have to recheck my percentages. Back in a mo.

Edit: thought so. 3% of expected body weight whilst growing, tricky with a cross. Maybe take the expected (breed standard) weight for both breeds and aim for the top end of the average of both. This will not be so huge as the dog reaches adulthood, same percentage, bigger dog. For a puppy and as you're new to this, yes, keep weighing. Once the lad is grown, you'll find it easier to feed by eye.
 
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Yes, loads of freezer space, who would you recommend buying off. ATM I am buying once a week, natures menu frozen from local pet shop. I realised how sad I am today, when I got all excited as I found a huge bag of tripe in their freezer!
 
siennamiller said:
Yes, loads of freezer space, who would you recommend buying off. ATM I am buying once a week, natures menu frozen from local pet shop. I realised how sad I am today, when I got all excited as I found a huge bag of tripe in their freezer!
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I use Manifold Valley Meats - they deliver to your door, they have fantastic customer service & excellent quality products which all my dogs love :) Not the cheapest, but I dont compromise on quality as I'm sure you don't :)
 
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