# Chicken Back question



## BowWowMeow (May 7, 2007)

Hi all,

I got some antibiotic, hormone free chicken backs for Rafi. He normally eats Bravo grinds plus a hunk of turkey neck or a raw egg. These are average sized backs. What percentage of a meal would one chicken back be?

Thanks!


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## Lauri & The Gang (Jun 28, 2001)

You have to go by weight. What's average for you could be giant for me.


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## rjvamp (Aug 23, 2008)

Example: If Rafi is supposed to get 12 oz per meal, then weigh out the chicken back to see if it is 12 oz plus or minus. It is possible you may need to feed more at one meal over another depending on the weight of what you are feeding if you don't want to have to chop it up or make it smaller.

Angeles gets a chicken quarter and those on average are 16 oz each for him. He can have 2 of those a day.


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## BowWowMeow (May 7, 2007)

So how many ounces of chicken back for a very active, 60 lb. dog per day?


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## rjvamp (Aug 23, 2008)

a very active 60 lb dog should be 2.5 to 3% of body weight. Maybe more depending if your dog isn't keeping the proper weight amount on that you feel is needed.

so 60 x 2.5% or 60 x 3% to get total daily intake. Then decide if you want any muscle meat and organ meat to be included with that meal. Lauri has a great excel file on her website to do different % of RMB, OM, MM. http://www.rawdogranch.com 

I've been doing more the prey model from Tom Lonsdale so it is slightly different. Here is how mine are eating:

http://jealousofangeles.blogspot.com/2010/01/spin-brush-for-dogs.html


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## Martie (Jun 3, 2008)

You need to know how much (in weight) Rafi is getting in each meal and how much the chicken backs are - and then replace however much of his normal meal the chicken back is.

Chicken backs are very bony, so watch the poop! Can you tell us how much Rafi is getting and how much the chicken backs weigh?


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## rjvamp (Aug 23, 2008)

Just a question - I thought all chicken was hormone free according to USDA standards?


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## Woodreb (Oct 27, 2008)

Ruth,

Is the chicken back replacing the turkey neck?

Since the chicken back is RMB and assuming 50% of a meal, it would around 7.2 ounces of a 14.4 ounce meal (at 3% of body weight).

Granted it's really a little more complicated since the Bravo has bone in it as well. I think it should be somewhat less than 7 ounces of the meal since the Bravo has some bone as well.


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## Lauri & The Gang (Jun 28, 2001)

> Originally Posted By: AngelesVonLobosJust a question - I thought all chicken was hormone free according to USDA standards?


Yes, any chickens processed through USDA facilities are hormone free.


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## BowWowMeow (May 7, 2007)

Rafi eats about 1.5 pounds of Bravo per day. He also gets either 1/2 pound of honest kitchen or two big pieces of turkey neck or some combo of those two. The Bravo has quite a bit of bone in it.


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## UConnGSD (May 19, 2008)

Ruth, I don't know how much bone Bravo or HK has but I guess I wouldn't go over 60% of x% of body weight for RMB (including the chicken back and bone percentage in the Bravo grind). Just as a comparison, Wolfie does 2.8% of body weight in terms of total food intake a day.


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## GrandJan (Aug 11, 2006)

> Originally Posted By: MartieChicken backs are very bony, so watch the poop!


I think even this may depend on the supplier. The chicken backs I get are very large and meaty, and even come with some innard goodies that I figure into the mix. I will trim some of the skin and fat off for one of my boys because I am watching his weight, but I personally think backs are one of the easiest and most complete raw foods there is. When I use chicken or turkey necks, I am much more careful weighing them out because they have very little meat on them. JMO.


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## BowWowMeow (May 7, 2007)

Thanks everyone! These backs do have a decent amount of meat on them but I had to take off the skin because Rafi can't handle much fat. The turkey necks I get also are very meaty.


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