# Not interested in chicken quarters?



## lrandf (Nov 3, 2009)

Hi everyone. 

This is my first post.







Thank you in advance for all your help. I have been lurking on these boards for awhile now and learned a lot from reading all the topics. Thank you! 

My dog, Nova, is 9 months old and his weight is around 75lb. I have been feeding him 16oz chicken quarters in the morning, and 16oz chicken hearts and gizzards, 1.5oz chicken livers in the afternoon for about four months now. I also feed him fresh smelts once a week in additional to his Nuvet supplements. 

Just recently I added ground beef to his diet, so I am feeding him 16oz chicken quarters in the morning, and 8oz ground beef, 8oz chicken hearts and gizzards, 1.5oz chicken livers in the afternoon. He is doing very well with the ground beef but he has stopped eating his chicken quarters in the morning. I have tried several methods (cooked the chicken a little, soaked in egg, yogurt, or chicken liver juice) to try to get him to start eating his morning meals but he just would not do it. 

Out of desperation of maintaining his correct portion of RMB, I bought him Turkey necks and he really like it. But I still would like Nova to eat chicken quarters since they are a lot cheaper and much easier to find at the grocery store. I also tried to find some chicken necks and beef neck bones for him but was not able to do so. I did find some ox tails but they were around $4 per pound, a little bit expensive. We have not tried pork yet and I am not planning to do that for another 3 months. 

Any suggestions on how to get Nova to start eating his chicken quarters again? Or should I try another RMB?


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

Check his mouth. Is there any reason why crunching the bones would bother him? Bad tooth, cut, ?

Do you give the LQ whole? Try cutting the leg from the thigh and give them separately. Try using a hammer to break up the bones in the LQ - maybe that will help (it will help YOU get out any frustrations







).

Sometimes dogs just get tired of one item. Look for chicken necks - those are usually cheap and easy to find. If you are going to use alot of those (or the turkey necks) I would cut back the amount of RMB and increase the amount of MM since the necks are MUCH bonier.


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## lucymom (Jan 2, 2009)

Do they like fish oil? Maybe a spritz of salmon oil on the quarters, but they may just lick it off!

Do you have any meat wholesalers or Oma's pride distributers around your area? You can get meat way cheaper and there are more options than what you can find in the grocery store.


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## lrandf (Nov 3, 2009)

Thanks, Lauri. I didn't see anything wrong with his mouth and he was fine with the turkey necks. 

I was feeding the LQ whole at the beginning but stopped doing that a few weeks ago. Usually I would cut them into four pieces and feed them to Nova that way. I'll try to use a hammer to break all the bones next time, maybe it will work.









I was not able to find any chicken necks today at the grocery stores but I'll extend my search to some other stores tomorrow. Also how much should I cut back on the amount of RMB? 

Before:
16oz RMB - Chicken quarters
8oz - Ground Beef
8oz - Chicken hearts and gizzards
1.5oz - Chicken livers

After:
12oz RMB - Turkey necks or chicken necks
10oz MM - Ground Beef
10oz MM - Chicken hearts and gizzards
1.5oz OM - Chicken livers


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## onyx'girl (May 18, 2007)

You can call grocers and they may be able to order you chix necks. A case wouldn't cost that much. I get my turkey necks that way all the time. I'd rather feed turkey than chix, less fat.
Kacie goes off chicken now and then, she has a hard time chewing because of her underbite. The skin causes her problems, I think.
BTW, Nova is gorgeous!!!


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## lrandf (Nov 3, 2009)

> Originally Posted By: JenniferDDo they like fish oil? Maybe a spritz of salmon oil on the quarters, but they may just lick it off!
> 
> Do you have any meat wholesalers or Oma's pride distributers around your area? You can get meat way cheaper and there are more options than what you can find in the grocery store.


Yep, I did that except with egg, yogurt and chicken liver juice, he just licked them right off the quarters.

Thanks for letting me know about Oma's pride. Found a retailer in richmond, I am going to email them tonight.


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

If you are feeding turkey or chicken necks as the staple RMB I would go with 10% more MM and 10% less RMBs.


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## IslandStorm62 (Dec 12, 2009)

I know everyone says the the dogs are fine with the bones from chicken legs. But I got to tell you, when I started feeding Mocha the Chicken legs he choked on the bone. The chicken leg bone "shaft" actually got stuck in his throat. He was able to hack it out by himself, but it was pretty scary. It really scared the %^& out of me. So now when I give the chicken leg and thigh, I use chicken shears and cut out the bone "shaft". I pretty much clip the ends and pull out the shaft. He gets to eat both ends of the bone, but the shaft gets thrown out, yes it is a lot of work, but I get my warm, fuzzy, safe feeling. I am not brave enough to go back to giving him the whole leg and thigh. So now my chicken leg and thigh is re-classified MM, no longer an RMB (I think).

Yes, this is a long story just to say, maybe he had a bad experience with the bone shaft. You could try to cube it up for awhile and hand feed him (kinda like a snack), hoepfully, he will get back to liking chicken. Good Luck.


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## SouthernThistle (Nov 16, 2005)

> Originally Posted By: Mocha But I got to tell you, when I started feeding Mocha the Chicken legs he choked on the bone.


The former #1 American Staffordshire in the U.S. (Westminster BoB winner and multi-titled boy) choked on a turkey neck and died while waiting his turn to show at a dog show so always be careful.


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