Do ground whole carcasses need supplementation?

[dhammagirl]

Hi.

I started feeding raw a couple weeks ago.  Started with boneless ground chicken or turkey with TC Feline supplementation.  I've found a local small butcher shop where I can get fresh ground turkey and chicken at a decent price.  So far they prefer the turkey.

I just put in my first order at Hare Today for ground organs, Alnutrin with calcium, and some new meats for the kitties to try.  I'm getting a pound of ground boneless rabbit, and one pound each ground whole carcass mouse ($$

), cavies, and quail.

I know that ground meat with bones and organs needs supplementation, but what about the whole carcass?  I mean, isn't ground whole mouse a complete nutritious meal? 

I didn't get any Alnutrin for meat with bones and organs, yet.  I figured the ground whole mice, cavies and quail would be like little samples for the kids to try, and to have a little something different.

Since someone here previously directed me to the rawcalc.org, in the future I'll probably have a go at using ground meat with bones and organs and adding the necessary extras to get the preferred 80-10-10 ratio of meat, bones, and organs.

For now, I just want to see how they'll take, or not, to the rabbit, mouse, cavies, and quail.   

I see that the whole carcass ground rabbit, fur and all, is much much cheaper than the boneless ground rabbit, and even the ground rabbit with bones and organs.  If the kitties like the rabbit, I'd like to try the whole carcass ground rabbit, since the price is very reasonable.  Also, the whole carcasses ground rabbit is listed as having the 80-10-10 ratio.  (I didn't notice this until after I placed my order.

I'm just wondering about the need to add supplements to the whole ground carcasses.

Thanks!

 

[nora1]

I don't supplement when feeding a ratio of 80/10/10. The only thing I add is krill oil for omega oils.

However that being said. A whole carcass is a lot of bone! Be careful of constipation. I would add muscle meat to the carcass to even out the bone ratio. 

Another thing to consider, rabbit is very low in taruine, so make sure to supplement that with hearts or dark chicken meat to make sure they are getting taurine!

 

[Columbine]

It's very difficult to find a balance if feeding a combination of prey model raw and ground raw with supplements/commercial raw.

nora1 is absolutely right that too much bone can cause problems. I've never heard of feeding ANY pre ground meat (even whole carcass ground) without supplementation. Our [thread="272287"]​[/thread] has lots of recipes that are truly complete and balanced. I really wouldn't want to take any risks by omitting supplementation. And unbalanced homemade diet - raw or cooked - can be downright dangerous.

 

[dhammagirl]

thanks for the input.

I wasn't planning on using the whole ground carcasses as the sole food, just to have some variety in their diet. 

But, it sounds like it would still be a good idea to add some supplement to the whole ground carcasses, then.

thanks y'all!