turkey necks - how to break down

[roguethecat]

Hi there,

just asking you folks who have been feeding turkey necks for longer than my cats are alive: how do you break them down? They get ignored if left in one piece. My otherwise reliable kitchen shears won't do it. I tried smashing with a hammer but was afraid to break the kitchen tiles instead... do you use a bone saw?

thanks for advice,

Simone

 

[goingpostal]

I don't feed necks to my cat or ferrets, turkey ones I think would be too hard for them to get through although I guess it would depend, some I get are smaller hen necks around 6oz and some are huge tom necks that are almost 2 pounds.  Anyways I've tried chicken and duck necks and my smaller carnivores will not touch them whatsoever but they would be better sized for a cat.  I think they are just too boney to be worth it for them.  To break them down I have to snap them with my hands to make a space between vertebra and then slice through the muscle.   

 

[furmonster mom]

Turkey necks are pretty thick, I stick to chicken necks that can be easily cut between vertebrae with shears. 

But if I needed to cut/split a turkey neck, I would probably use my heavy duty cleaver.  Treat it like you would an axe & chunk of wood: set the knife and tap-tap-tap it to stick in a good position, then bring the neck up with the cleaver and WHAM! bring them both down together... watch your own fingers, of course. ...  You do have a nice, thick, sturdy, cutting board... right? 

 

 

[washu]

I haven't tried turkey necks for my cats. I get a 40 lb case of turkey hen necks for my rottweiler. The hen necks weigh about 8 oz each. I have managed to cut them in half without a problem. First I use a sharp knife all the way around then I twist and snap it in half.