Adding More Variety

[washu]

I recently started my dog on raw and joined a co-op that has great prices for buying in bulk. My dog will eat about 60-90 lbs a month so buying in bulk is very practical. I can buy Blue Ridge Beef products from the co-op but these are just ground meat and bone without organ. I'd have to add in the organ. Most of the ground raw recipes call for only adding in liver, what about other organs? The co-op has an impressive variety of organ meats. There is chicken, beef, lamb, and pork for liver. Then also beef kidney, ground offal mix and thymus; goat spleen, fries and pancreas; lamb spleen and kidney; pork kidney and ground offal/meat mix; and a rabbit organ mix. It has taken me 8 months to figure out that Ohki is most likely allergic to chicken. She doesn't like duck, so she has only been eating turkey and rabbit. My co-op also has a nice variety of hearts. I'd like to add some for variety and to give my cats something to chew. They have chicken, turkey, beef, goat, lamb, and pork heart.

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

It's nice you have such options

 

[ldg]

Wow, that's impressive! Hopefully she enjoys anything you decide to try! My cats all have very individual taste. The only thing that is universally is loved is lamb, though one of my kitties, Sheldon, can't keep red meat down unless it's 50/50 with a light meat. 7 love pork; one hates it. 6 enjoy beef: 2 love it, one hates it, and Sheldon can't keep it down unless it's the 50/50 mix.

My liver lover really enjoys pork, but doesn't like pork liver. :dk:

All of the cats like goat - just not ground.

They all seem to like spleen and LOVE pancreas (though again, Sheldon has trouble keeping down the spleen).

Chumley likes freeze dried thymus - I've never had access to fresh, and would definitely try it if I could.

So.... what are you going to order?

 

[cprcheetah]

Wow!  Awesome options.  I wish we had a raw co-op here.  I just barely (after 3 years of feeding raw to my dog) found a good source for Kidneys and other organs that I don't have to have shipped.

 

[washu]

I'm slowly transitioning Worf, my dog, by adding 1 new protein per week. My first co-op order was mainly for Worf. I got turkey necks, turkey heart, pork necks, pork heart, beef tongue and beef heart. This week I added turkey. I will add some hearts to the next batch of cat food. I will start the pork next week, then beef. For my next order I'll get some of the Blue Ridge Beef grinds, including quail, and rabbit organs for the cats. I'm going to try the ground duck with Ohki, she might like this brand better. I haven't decided what else to get, I have until Thursday to decide.

 

[ldg]

:lol3: So much fun - and so much to choose from!

 

[washu]

I just made the first batch of this food and Ohki is refusing to eat it. I did 2 lb brb duck, 3 lb brb quail, 8 oz turky heart and 8 oz lamb liver. First meal Ohki ate hers slowly and left heart chunks behind. The other three gobbled it up and even devoured the extra that I scraped out of the bowl after portioning. Second meal Ohki ate about half. Third meal I added fish oil to and she ate about half then threw it up. Im not sure if the oil or the heart chunks made her sick. I tried to pick out the heart pieces from her fourth meal and she ate about half and did not vomit. I hope she's only having this reaction because it's a different recipe and she will overcome it with time. It is just very stressful when one of my cats is not eating well.

 

[washu]

At dinner tonight I added extra water to Ohki's and was able to remove heart pieces more easily. I also crumbled some of her new favorite treats (Orijen freeze dried lamb) over her food and she cleaned her plate!! So far no vomit.

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

Are you only removing the heart chunks, or also eliminating the fish oil at this point?  Many cats don't like fish oil in the beginning, and some do vomit when given it.

Glad she is finally eat.  Yes, it's very stressful with they don't eat

 

[washu]

I am removing heart pieces as well as not adding in fish oil. The fish oil I am using is Grizzly Pollock Oil. My plan is to rotate through pollock, salmon and anchovy/sardine oils. I use a pump bottle because I also give the oil to my 3 dogs and go through a lot of oil. Do capsules tend to have a less noticeable flavor?

This morning I missed a heart piece but she still finished her food leaving only the heart on her plate. I think the problem was that I changed too many things at once for a finicky cat like Ohki.I think next batch I'll chop the heart more finely in a food processor and save a few hearts intact for the other cats to chew. At some point I would like to try quail eggs in Ohki's diet. I believe she's allergic to chicken and her allergies flared up when I tried to include chicken egg yolk in her food. Right now my raw food co-op has quail eggs and I have also seen them at a local international grocery.  But for now I am going to take changes more slowly with her.

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

I have yet to find ANY type or fish oil that doesn't have a noticeable odor, even when they say "unscented".  

Definitely try adding just one thing at a time so in case there is a problem, you will know what's causing it.

 

[washu]

Ohki has been eating all her food for a few weeks now. She will tolerate fish oil if I give her about half the amount I give the other cats and I mix it in good. Last week I added pork kidney and had no issues. This week I introduced ground venison. They seemed to really like the latest batch of 1 lb ground venison, 4 lb ground turkey, 1 lb turkey heart, 4 oz lamb liver and 4 oz pork kidney.

Edea seems like he might eat prey model style raw. He sometimes tries to munch at my dog's chicken leg quarter while I'm prepping meals. What are some raw meaty bones that are good for PMR newbies?

 

[furmonster mom]

I like to recommend the rib cages and necks for beginning. 

Then graduate to the wing tip and "2-bone" wing, as well as the breast bone and cartilage .

Then graduate to the "drummette" wing bit... if they can handle it.  I have a girl that struggles with it, but the boys chomp on it quite happily.

The dog gets the actual legs & thighs.