She ate a huge blob of duck skin

[otto]

I've been cutting up a whole duck. More about that another time. Duck has this incredibly thick skin and Queen Eva helped herself to a huge blob of it. I have no idea how she didn't choke on it, but she got it all down before I could stop her and was quite pleased with herself. :lol3:

What can I expect in the coming hours?

 

[vball91]

LOL I thought Jennie was the food obsessed one. All I know is that duck skin is high in fat. I'm not sure what effect it will have on her. Maybe none with any luck. Fingers crossed.

 

[otto]

Yep, Jennie is, that's why I wasn't overly worried about Queen Eva having a lick at what remained of the carcass in the bowl. I figured she'd nibble at the shreds of meat on the drumsticks that I couldn't get off or something. Nope she went digging right down to the thick thick skin, holy moly is that stuff thick, and I turned just in time to see it disappearing down her throat.

They all went CRAZY over the duck wings I gave them, even Mazy, who is usually never interested in bone in meals (except Stella&Chewy's)

As much as they love it, I don't see myself doing this particular labor of love again. It was really hard work with my arthritic hands, and wasteful, there was some meat I just couldn't get off. However the positive side is, the duck was whole, including organs. The liver, gizzzard and heart I saved for meals, but the rest of the organs, lungs and who knows what, I added to the 'bone mash'.

After I cut up a Cornish hen, I cut up all the bones, anything that will cut with my scissors goes into the mash with the remaining shreds of meat. I chew it all together with the scissors and freeze it in .5 oz servings for Queen Eva and Jennie. I did the same with the duck, but added the organs too, and froze it into .75 oz servings since Mazy seems to like the duck bones too. They each get a .25 oz bone mash on Sundays, so at least they are all getting the nutrient benefit of some bone any way. Jennie is the only one who will eat a whole wing tip, or middle piece of wing.

Man that was some job.. The whole duck was $18 (bought frozen). With the 1+oz servings of muscle meat (including gizzard) I portioned out and the bone mashes, with one meal a week of either muscle meat or bone mash, there is about 9 months worth of meals, so I guess in the long run it isn't that expensive. If I was to feed it on a regular basis though, wow, I'd be saying who am I, Rockefeller? :lol3:

Anyway, I was wondering if Queen Eva might have some diarrhea from so much fat. Is there anything I can do to counteract it?

An extra dose of probiotic maybe? A meal of freeze dried chicken breast?

 

[vball91]

I'm glad they liked the duck after all your hard work. I have wondered how hard it was to debone and portion a whole duck. I'm about to try that in the next couple of months myself. I too have arthritic hands, so I'm a little leery now. How long did it take it you, start to finish?

I was wondering if diarrhea might be a concern from the duck skin. Maybe FD chicken may help offset the high fat content and turn it all into a more balanced meal? I'm not sure I would give her extra probiotics.

 

[otto]

Well don't go by me for degree of difficulty. It occurred to me half way through that I bet there is an..if not easier....more efficient way to go about it. Perhaps I should take some kind of butchering course. Or at least get the right kind of boning knife.

My method with Cornish hens, and now the duck, is to wait until it is partially thawed then start hacking at it.

As I thought about it while I was doing the duck, I remembered that I had the SAME EXACT THOUGHT the last time I did a Cornish hen. But forgot to look into it. There must be instructions on line, right?

I'd like to be able to cut whole carcasses more often. There's so much more they get, that way. All the connective tissue and stuff.....

I did give Queen Eva a couple of chunks of freeze dried chicken breast. If it had been Jennie I wouldn't worry at all, Jennie has the digestion of a goat. But Queen Eva, until I put her on raw, did have a very delicate digestion, prone to diarrhea.

 

[harleydiva]

Well don't go by me for degree of difficulty. It occurred to me half way through that I bet there is an..if not easier....more efficient way to go about it. Perhaps I should take some kind of butchering course. Or at least get the right kind of boning knife.

My method with Cornish hens, and now the duck, is to wait until it is partially thawed then start hacking at it.

As I thought about it while I was doing the duck, I remembered that I had the SAME EXACT THOUGHT the last time I did a Cornish hen. But forgot to look into it. There must be instructions on line, right?

I'd like to be able to cut whole carcasses more often. There's so much more they get, that way. All the connective tissue and stuff.....

I did give Queen Eva a couple of chunks of freeze dried chicken breast. If it had been Jennie I wouldn't worry at all, Jennie has the digestion of a goat. But Queen Eva, until I put her on raw, did have a very delicate digestion, prone to diarrhea.

Have you tried scissors/shears?  I got a good pair of poultry shear that cut meat and bone.....think they were $17 at Bed, Bath & Beyond.  I don't carve up a lot of carcasses, but they make cutting up chicken thighs into strips a whole lot easier than trying to use a knife.

 

[otto]

I do use scissors for cutting meat, thanks. They hurt my hands a bit, but definitely better than a knife for cutting meat. But deboning, getting the meat off the carcass for cutting, I know there is a special knife and process for that. I need to learn how to do it. My hands are really hurting after this morning's work.

Plus:

I have three blisters on my scissors hand (on the knuckles) from today's effort. I didn't notice them until I put that hand in some very hot water. Then I screeched, as they had already burst.

 

[otto]

So far nothing is happening, as far as the fat passing through or causing trouble. I did give her two nice sized chunks of FDCB. And she had a little raw breast too, with all the fat trimmed off.

Later she will have her usual Sunday meal of beef.

Today is dump and replace the litter day. They are down to two boxes at the moment (I stop adding litter, and consolidate instead when it gets close to dump and replace day) and the box liners definitely need to be changed. However, no way am I putting out nice fresh and clean box liners with the possibility of Queen Eva having a lot of messy diarrhea, those things are too expensive to throw away after one use. :lol3: They can wait one more day.

 

[ldg]

Mmmmm nummy num num LOL. I think she'll be fine. Cats can handle quite a bit of fat. Too much can result in vomiting and an upset tummy for a few days, but that "too much" is more than a good sized mouthful (usually).

Fingers crossed she just got a good, unexpected snack!

 

[otto]

Thanks Laurie. So far Queen Eva's appetite is normal which is incredible to me considering the size of the blob. I'm just wondering about diarrhea at this point. It was more than a good sized mouthful It was more like the size of a fat mouse, at least. I still can't believe it hasn't made her sick!

And you're right, she was definitely saying nom nom nom, if you could have seen the smug look on her face as the last of it slid down her throat, and out of my reach.

Maybe I should get more fat into her diet. But the other two don't need more fat. Hmm...I guess the next time I cut something up I'll do small .1oz pieces of skin to add to just her meals. I should have saved more of that duck skin since she likes it so much, but too late, it's gone out to the trash. Wish I'd thought of it before, phooey. I hope she likes other skin as much.

 

[otto]

Here's a video of them eating their first duck wings. I am just amazed at Mazy, it is the first time she ever has eaten a fresh raw bone in meal.

[VIDEO][/VIDEO]



All is well with Queen Eva by the way. Still kicking myself for not thinking of saving that skin to add to Queen Eva's meals. Hope she likes the chicken and turkey skin as well, but she really seemed to love that duck skin.

 

[ritz]

I too was wondering how difficult (painful) it would be to cut down a whole duck.  My hands didn't hurt when I cut down a rabbit, but my back sure did.

I find it somewhat easier to cut down partially frozen rabbit and quail.  Easier to get into the nooks and crannies.  Fresh meat is like rubber to cut.

I think a really good pair of shears would help cut the meat, but by good, I mean the $100 kind.

 

[vball91]

Glad to hear Queen Eva suffered no ill effects from her stolen treat. Love the video of them eating the duck. They do seem to love it.

 

[ldg]

Aw, glad to hear there were no ill effects!

And LOVE the video!

 

[meranaldar]

All three eating the food in their plates, I wish mine would do that. She has to pull it out beside the plate to eat it.

And yes ducks certainly do have thick skin. I bought one a couple of weeks ago and cut it up. I don't have arthritis, but it's still a big job. A really sharp knife helps, but have been thinking of looking at getting some shears... one day, when I can spare some money.