# What exactly IS variety?



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

When I talk about variety I'm talking about different PROTEINS.

A good raw diet will hav at LEAST 5 different proteins.

The easy ones to find and usually cheapest - chicken, beef, pork, turkey, fish.

The more difficult ones to find or more expensive - duck, lamb, goat, venison, rabbit

The 'wild' ones - buffalo, emu, yak, kangaroo, llama

It should be no problem to feed 5 different proteins each week.

My guys get chicken necks, backs and LQs and turkey necks as RMBs. The big guys also get pork neck bones. Everyone gets buffalo organ meat mix and venison liver. Beef and pork hearts are the main MM.

That's 6 different proteins without ever trying!







Throw in some fish each week and the occasional offbeat protein and they are getting a very good variety of proteins.


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## elisabeth_00117 (May 17, 2009)

Sounds like Stark's diet plan.

I usually have 6 main proteins in the house.

Chicken backs
Chicken quarters
Turkey necks
Fish

Beef hearts
Pork hearts
Piglet
Ground lamb

Chicken liver

I have also feed the 'wild ones' but usually have a hard time finding them, so when I do it's a treat.

Good post Lauri, I know when I first started feeding Raw I worried A LOT about the varitey Stark was getting.


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

The 'wild' ones I use are the premades. Yes, they are expensive but since I only use them once a week it works out.

Omas Pride has the Yak, Kangaroo and Llama.


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## elisabeth_00117 (May 17, 2009)

I usually get mine ground from a local butcher who has them on his farm (we like to drive by and get out by the fence so Stark can listen and watch them.. haha).

I may have to look them up so I can have a regular supply of them. Thanks!


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## elisabeth_00117 (May 17, 2009)

By "wild ones" I mean Llama, buffalo, emu, goat, etc..


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## Tbarrios333 (May 31, 2009)

I'm not that varied in a week, mostly chicken, pork, turkey, and mackerel. Beef was out this month but maybe next month.


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## Amaruq (Aug 29, 2001)

I get LOTS of "wild" Venny for free. 

I really wish I could get more variety from ONE source. Instead I travel the tri-states area and get beef and pork from NY; Chicken and turkey from PA and more turkey from Ohio. I also get duck delivered from MI (and tripe from buffalo, sheep and beef). I would MUCH prefer to have ONE source, one delivery and ONE weekend of thawing and packaging but life is simply not that convenient for me. However, I am not going to complain too much because even if we get in "funks" like we have recently with more chicken in their diet than I prefer, I know hunting season is just around the corner and chicken will again be only fed a couple times a week. 

My guys do get a lot of Venny and Duck. Chicken, turkey, beef and pork are also staples. Their fish is basically canned mackerel. We had a bad experience with other fish and Rayne seems prone to not tolerating most fish so canned Mack will do. 

As my pack gets a bit older I will soon be looking into grinding more of the bones and possibly some of the meat too. 

The sick bay girls (Lakota e-surgery and Rayne spay) have been getting ground duck necks with turkey and duck and a little chicken.


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## aubie (Dec 22, 2008)

We usually have turkey necks, chicken quarters, beef heart, turkey heart, beef liver, ground turkey, canned mackrel, chicken livers all mixed throughout a week or two. Then I add in eggs, raw tripe, yogurt, fish oil, etc. 

It keeps them guessing as to what they get and I get different deals on different things.


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## AK GSD (Feb 27, 2008)

Even with the premade raw Scout is on (Common Sense) they suggest you feed all 3 varieties they make for better balance. She loves the Buffalo, likes the Beef, hates the Chicken. So I "hide" the Chicken by mixing it in with the other flavors. 

She also gets moose, pork, turkey, salmon, etc. leftovers from our meals but with no set schedule or precise portions with that I doubt it counts much.


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## phgsd (Jun 6, 2004)

I think I have a good variety going - chicken, turkey, beef (most of my OM is beef), pork, and venison. I may be able to get a sheep or two although I am NOT looking forward to butchering it. My hubby said he'd do it...but I still don't love the idea...although it's 100% grass-fed, free-range sheep so I need to just suck it up!
It is a lot of work to get everything for a decent price! But to me it's fun, I really don't like shopping for myself but I enjoy finding the best deals and types of food for the dogs.
Once a week I'll try something very different - buffalo, duck, rabbit, goat, salmon...but they are expensive, so I really can't feed it more than that. Overall though I am really happy with the variety I've managed to find!


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## krispifsu (Dec 23, 2007)

Lily gets:

Chicken: leg quarters, wings, neck, backs, gizzard, hearts and liver
Turkey: ground, necks, wings
Beef: Ground, chunks
Lamb: neck or ground
Fish: canned mackrel, sardines, and salmon since she flat out refuses fresh caught stuff
Pork: ground or neck bones but rarely as they cause her stomach issues
Venison: ground if I get some in from a hunting friend or the Nature's Variety raw

I just recently found rabbit at my groccery store and bison as well so I will be trying those slowly. I like to give her a variety as each meal.


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## elisabeth_00117 (May 17, 2009)

> Originally Posted By: AmaruqI really wish I could get more variety from ONE source.


I hear ya!

I have to go to like 10 different sources for my meat.

Chicken from one source, beef from another, pork hearts, piglets, and fish from one, turkey necks from another, etc...

I also do not have a car (student) so I have to arrange these things when my parents come to visit or rent a car to go and pick it up... ugh!


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## lhczth (Apr 5, 2000)

I feed:
Chicken: whole, backs, leg quarters, offal
Turkey: whole (minus the legs), backs, thighs, wings, necks, offal
Beef: ground, heart, liver, and at times neck or soup bones
Pork: primary just necks; at times they get hearts or ground
Lamb: hearts
Fish: canned mackerel or sardines
Eggs, yogurt, fish oil,
On rare occasion they get duck, rabbit (which Alexis hates) or venison.

The adult dogs that run with me when I work get field mice and rabbit at times.


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## Qyn (Jan 28, 2005)

Quynne gets:
Ox: cheek, tail, heart, tongue
Chicken: qtrs, thighs, wings, drumsticks, frames, liver, giblets, eggs (scrambled)
Beef: chuck steak & bone, minced steak, kidney, liver, heart, marrow bone (recreational only)
Fish: Sardines (canned in oil), mackeral (canned in oil), smoked oysters and mussels rarely as a treat
Lamb: necks, shanks, kidney, heart, liver (lamb's fry), flaps (rib bones), minced
Pork: raw trotters & hocks but rarely
Kangaroo: both dogs had some of this years ago but I don't agree with the way it is harvested so while it is readily available it is no longer in the menu.


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