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I'm new to BARFing my dog (1.5 year border collie). I'm basically giving her chicken neck/wings/backs in the morning and in the evenings ground meat with ground veggies, eggs with shells, yogurt, liver and additional supplements.

I need some help though:

1. I live in Germany and chicken necks and backs are nearly impossible to find - are the wings enough or is there something else i can/should try

2.I've read that alfalfa seeds are toxic and that I should use alfalfa powder as a good supplement source - are alfalfa sprouts also OK or are they toxic

Thanks,
Robin

I give alfalfa sprouts to rodents, lizards, and myself with no ill effects of anykind

First off welcome to raw feeding! It's awesome you are doing this for your (really lucky) dog

When I feed chicken I go for chicken leg quarters (thigh and leg are attached) I find (here at least) wings are at least twice the price per pound. Also you are getting more meat(as opposed to bone) for your money. If you think the quarters are to large for a meal try going for just thighs they also have a good balance of meat and bone.

Have fun!!

I read somewhere that leg quarters don't have the same calcium level as in wings/necks and backs. So if you use other parts it's necessary to add extra calcium to the diet. But I was also concerned that the bigger bones in the leg quarters would be too difficult. Let me know what you think on that point.

Also, my dog is fairly stopped up since eating raw. She gets 70% meaty bones 15% muscle meat and 15% other including veggies. Do I need to change something in order that she isn't constipated or just give the diet more time for her body to adjust?

Robin

>>>>"I read somewhere that leg quarters don't have the same calcium level as in wings/necks and backs. So if you use other parts it's necessary to add extra calcium to the diet.

Also, my dog is fairly stopped up since eating raw. She gets 70% meaty bones 15% muscle meat and 15% other including veggies. Do I need to change something in order that she isn't constipated or just give the diet more time for her body to adjust?"

It sounds as if she might be getting too much calcium in her diet, too much bone will cause constipation, and in the long run cause a major imbalance and run into bigger problems (but just as a side note: she isn't going to need to poop as much on raw since their bodies make such good use of the material, unlike kibble where they have all the extra stuff that's no good; my dogs has about 1-2 small bowel movements a day depending on how much he has exercised).

The meals should balance out to be about 80% meat; 10 % bone; 10% organs. This doesn't mean that you have to feed that combination at every meal, but over several meals that should be the balance...for example if I feed raw meaty neck bones one day I will try to follow it with something less boney and more meaty the next day...he will maybe get heart for a few meals but then won't get it again for a long while.

>>>>"I was also concerned that the bigger bones in the leg quarters would be too difficult. Let me know what you think on that point."

First off how big is your dog? I like bigger cuts/bones because they are harder to wolf down, the dog actually has to chew them. But if your dog is small then you can always cut the quarter between the leg and thigh and feed them separately(one in the morning and one at night), it will take a little more prep time but it should cost less and she would be getting more meat. I have heard stories about other dogs would have choked on chicken back, neck, and wing bones simply because they just wanted to chew twice and swallow, not saying your dog would have this problem or you should never feed those things...it's just something to think about if she is getting them everyday.

Oh and just a nice raw feeders tip I thought of, (it took me all of 6 years of raw feeding to think of it!) I don't know where you feed your dog right now but I found that feeding in the bath tub is an awesome place!! Tell em to hop in make them sit and give them their meat, (You may want to stand there and watch them the first few times just to make sure they know they have to stay in there til they finish) to wash just pick up the shower head and spray it out. And sometimes (depending on what they are eating) they will step in some of the "juices" so it's nice to have them in a convenient spot to wash up after supper and the bonus is when it's time for a bath they hop right in thinking they are getting something to eat!! Good luck

If you use turkey wings, and some other turkey parts the bone content is alot higher (bigger heavier bird, needs a heavier skeleton), if youy see constipation from extra bones you can solve this easily, lower the amount of RMB content a bit, increase the amount of either veggies or organ meats. Organ meats contain high amounts of certain nutrients and waste products so they cause diarhea if fed excessively. Just balance the diet a bit more, if in doubt add a small amount of canned pumpkin to the veggie content, it fixes this with the extra veggie fiber.
Ive never had a problem with chicken backs causing constipation, but if fed too muchbone from chicken legs (weight bearing bones have a hard dense coating on the surface to protect them from the constant high impact forces of walking, and running) just increase the veggies. Also Ive read warnings with puppies or small dogs eating weight bearing bones, especially old dogs with fewer teeth. Supposedly they cause extra wear on their teeth compared to non-weight bearing bones.
I recently got a good deal on leg thigh quarters myself (for us to eat), I actually spent .27 a lb on them, I get the backs for .45 a lbs, both of my pups are more than enough to handle weight bearing bones at the present life stages.