# Can dogs eat a whole stewing hen?



## GSDSammie (Dec 13, 2010)

Hi there,

My 1 year old GSD has been on a raw diet for the last 8 weeks and we've been feeding him combinations of chicken back, chicken leg quarters, chicken liver and green tripe depending on day and ratio per meal. He eats twice a day, and we add a salmon oil pill at each evening meal and on occasion some yogurt or 1 egg. 

I noticed a great price on whole stewing hens at my local grocery store today and picked up a few. Can dogs eat these whole? Should this be given as an entire meal? I'm wondering what the ratios would be regarding bone/meat, organ and muscle. 

Does anyone have any experience or suggestions with stewing hens?

Thanks for your assistance!


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## ZAYDA (Apr 22, 2010)

Well my guess is YES they physically can but should they.

I would like to know the weight of this hen and determine from there how much you should actually feed.


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## Lin (Jul 3, 2007)

What is the lbs on it? Yes, they can, but should they depends on the size. I'm not familiar with "stewing" but google says it refers to an older bird? I frequently let my dogs eat entire 4 lbs chickens with fasting before or after to even things out. But be forewarned, gas is frequently a side effect of gorge meals 

You can easily divide them up if you have a good pair of poultry shears. You can divide them in half, or even into smaller pieces. I frequently take off the wings and use them to feed the cats. When taking off wings and legs, its best to dislocate the joint and then use a good knife to cut through the connective tissue. To just divide up a chicken or turkey into 2 halves, I use the poultry shears. 

If all of the organs were there, the entire chicken would be perfectly balanced as far as ratios. I no longer weigh things out or pay much attention to ratios, I eyeball everything so I'll allow someone else with a better memory to assist you there!


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## GSDSammie (Dec 13, 2010)

Thanks for the info! The stewing hens are approximately 2 lbs each...


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## lhczth (Apr 5, 2000)

Those are small compared to the ones I get, but that is still a lot for one sitting.


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## Lin (Jul 3, 2007)

Then yea thats a gorge meal but not dangerous or anything. 

Last new years eve my 2 GSDs and a chihuahua mix finished off a 16lb turkey by themselves. NOT intentional, lol. I had set the turkey on top of the fridge to start thawing. I had a pub height table sitting next to the fridge. The dogs actually pulled one of the chairs out from the table, used it to get on to the table, and the table to get on to the fridge... When we came home and saw, my then bf said "well, if they went to all that trouble they deserved it."

It WAS for them, but not intended for one meal!

Oh, and I guess you could say they were also partying up and celebrating the new year while we were.


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

GSDSammie said:


> Hi there,
> 
> My 1 year old GSD has been on a raw diet for the last 8 weeks and we've been feeding him combinations of chicken back, chicken leg quarters, chicken liver and green tripe depending on day and ratio per meal. He eats twice a day, and we add a salmon oil pill at each evening meal and on occasion some yogurt or 1 egg.


You have been feeding protein sources OTHER than just chicken, right? I recommend people aim for at least 3 different sources per week. My own dogs get 4 - 6 sources each week (chicken, beef, pork, fish, turkey are the mainstays).



> I noticed a great price on whole stewing hens at my local grocery store today and picked up a few. Can dogs eat these whole? Should this be given as an entire meal? I'm wondering what the ratios would be regarding bone/meat, organ and muscle.


Since they are 2 lb hens I would just cut them down the middle and feed each half as a meal.


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## BlackPuppy (Mar 29, 2007)

Yes. It was her first birthday, normally I would cut it down the middle and give half. She finished this off in less that 15 minutes. Though I fed her very little the next day.


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

blackpuppy said:


>


*"It's MINE! It's MINE! It's MINE! It's MINE! It's MINE! It's MINE! It's MINE! It's MINE! It's MINE! It's MINE!"*


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## Lin (Jul 3, 2007)




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## Dainerra (Nov 14, 2003)

Lin said:


> YouTube - Finding Nemo- MINE (full version HQ)



lol I loved those birds  Haven't watched Nemo in a long time...


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