Raw chicken neck safe to feed?

[txcatmom]

So, my cats all love ground raw.  (Right now they are eating 50% ground raw, mostly Hare Today and 50% grain free canned.) 

Every two weeks or so I cook a whole chicken and offer the "innards", raw, to the cats.  Leo and Lucy love the raw chunks.  Emily and Eko look at them like, "Are you sure you should be eating that?" 

My question is....is it safe to give them the neck?  I'm iffy on whether the bones would be safe.  (I'm pretty new to raw so sorry if this is a dumb question.)  Lucy has very few teeth but loved eating chunks of the innards.  (I cut them smaller for her.)  Leo will eat anything raw and I'm pretty sure he would grab the neck and run off with it.

By the way...I love all that I have learned on this forum.  Little things like feeding them raw egg yolks (which I was throwing away several times per week) and offering sardines as an occasional treat.  We tried the sardines the other day and they LOVED them.  And I was glad they were getting a great source of omega 3's.  (They do get an omega 3 supplement too.)  Anyways, I love all the tips I pick up here and wanted to say THANKS!

 

[txcatmom]

Any advice on the chicken necks?  I hate to keep throwing them away if they are safe to feed.  Those little tiny bones seem like they could cause problems.

 

[mschauer]

Well, I don't feed bone in meats but since no one else has responded I'll just say this: I know people do feed chicken necks. They should be good for jaw strengthening and tooth and gum health. I wouldn't guess the size of the bones should be any more of a concern than with any other bone in part but...

 

[sugarcatmom]

I have fed my guys chicken necks. Well, mostly just the 2 youngsters, as my old guy won't touch 'em and my momma kitty is too dainty for such barbarianism 

, she just licks them to death. I should do it more often but it can get a bit messy. You may want to smash the necks at first to make them a bit easier to eat or until they get the hang of it.

 

[goingpostal]

Necks are fine, probably a good addition if you are giving the organs to keep stool firm, my cat won't eat necks, I guess not worth the work for the amount of meat. 
 

 

[furryfriends50]

The primary source of bone I feed is chicken necks.  Most of mine have no problem eating chicken necks that are whole, they make a nice size meal for mine as well.  I do smash them (with a hammer) for the four that are missing most of their teeth, and for the kittens.
 

 

[redvelvetone]

my cat loves chicken necks

They are definitely safe to feed, but if your cat is not used to eating bone, it may take some to work up to the jaw strength to crack 'em

 

[princessesme]

Great to know! I haven't tried feeding necks yet, but when we make whole chickens, this might definitely be worth a shot, to see if they like it or not.

 

[korina]

Necks are cheap.

At our Hmart (chain korean supermarket) I got a bag for another animal, it was like two bucks for a bunch (probably a pound or two).

For those fearing bone size, turkey neck is bigger.

I got bag of these frozen from HT,  I will begin to defrost and seperate them tonight.

My plan is on my return home from work when I know they will be hungry, I will just place a neck on top of their food (still 50/50 wet/raw commercial beef blend) and watch for their reactions.

Was thinking of making little incisions in the skin of the neck to entice them to bite.

As kittens (4 months now) they are really biting things,  their imperial cat carbard scratchers have chunks bitten off.  so hopefully they will go at these necks with glee.

 

[catsallaround]

I feed chicken and turkey necks to my cats and young puppy who is smaller then many of my cats.  No issues feeding anything yet.  Any change in what your giving could result in a runny or to solid stool so just keep in mind to start little.  Nothing like finding out any food gives the runs after a full meal.