Supplementing Hare Today Whole Prey Grinds

[geely]

I was wondering if it is necessary to supplement the whole prey grinds from HareToday. I thought since they were whole prey they would not need supplements But i saw someone post that due to the grinding we need to supplement.  If so, would anyone know how to supplement these compared to the other meat/bone/organ grinds. I won't think we would use the Alnutrin with these. I am mainly speaking to the whole rabbit, quail and mice grinds. thanks

 

[silverpersian]

I use the whole animal grinds (other than mice) and supplement them with taurine, B complex, vitamin E, fish oil, and manganese to be on the safe side - basically the catinfo.org recipe, but with 5 mg of manganese added per 3 lbs of meat. I don't add the lite salt (even with the poultry grinds) because I use Plaque Off, a dental supplement made of seaweed that provides enough iodine. I usually "dilute" the whole animal grinds with additional boneless meat (usually heart) to lower the bone content and avoid constipation.

I would not omit the taurine, even if you omit the other supplements.

 

[cat7bird]

I think it was my post about the mouse. So my understanding is that it is whole prey fed whole that doesn't require supplementation (and prey model / frankenprey), but whole prey grinds are not what is meant by whole prey, and does require supplementation due to nutrient loss from grinding (in addition to freezing). When I started with raw ground, I used Dr. Pierson's recipe, and both the recipe for whole carcass rabbit, and poultry thighs call for the same supplementation -- taurine, fish oil, vitamin E, B-complex, and eggs (the eggs are optional in the recipe), except iodine which is omitted in the rabbit recipe because the thyroid gland is included in the wholefoods4pets rabbit grind that she uses -- I could have sworn that it used to say on the haretoday site that the thyroid gland is included in their whole carcass rabbit as well, but since they updated the information, it doesn't seem to specify anymore. I think Alnutrin for meat and bones is designed to be an appropriate supplement for whole carcass grinds as well as parts, except it does contain iodine, and too much could be an issue, and the Vitamin D could also be an issue / too much. Any veterans care to weigh in? I am not an authority on this, but this is my (well-researched) understanding...

 

[cat7bird]

I would definitely get the information I supplied confirmed, and I'm not sure about the minerals in Alnutrin -- iron / copper / zinc -- though I'm aware that many people do supplement manganese. I know that unlike taurine and B complex, which are water soluble, minerals have an upper limit / there is a risk associated with too much -- I imagine they are in safe amounts or wouldn't be included in this reliable supplement, but I don't know if the higher mineral content associated with whole carcass / organs in particular, compared with something like chicken thighs with added liver, would render Altutrin unsafe with whole carcass grinds...

 

[geely]

thanks I guess i missed the catinfo.org whole rabbit recipe,  I have the supplements , so i will use them instead of Alnutrin thanks again.