# Are leg quarters RMB or MM? Both?



## Minnieski (Jan 27, 2009)

I can't figure how if chicken leg quarters qualify as RMB, MM, or both. I have some recipes that call for boneless chicken thighs, but I would think that adding the leg and bones would cover the RMB requirement. Is this right? The recipe I have says that dogs should get about 50%RMB, 15% MM, 10% OM, and 25% veggies. Does this sound right?

Thanks!


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## shell nyc (Jul 19, 2010)

Chicken leg quarters are RMB. HOWEVER, "raw meaty bones" can vary greatly in meat:bone proportions. Think chicken leg quarters vs. turkey necks. 
This is why I find it easier to follow the following guideline:
80% meat
10% bone
10% organ

and then adjust for your dog's needs (mine needs a bit more bone to maintain healthy poops, so it's more like 75:15:10)


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

I do the same as shell nyc. I mostly feed poultry necks so my percentage of RBM is about 40% so 40/45/5 total


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## I_LOVE_MY_MIKKO (Oct 4, 2006)

I also do the same as shell nyc. 

I feed mostly chicken necks for RMB- which are mostly bone, so he gets one a day.


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## Minnieski (Jan 27, 2009)

So is 50% RMB a good number? I'm so new to this! :crazy:


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## I_LOVE_MY_MIKKO (Oct 4, 2006)

Minnieski said:


> So is 50% RMB a good number? I'm so new to this! :crazy:


I think it depends on what RMB you are feeding. If you feed something that is mostly bone, you might need to feed less than something that is mostly meat with some bone.

This is why I choose to follow the 10% bone method. I feed mostly chicken necks so the first time I weighed a few bones from chicken necks and averaged what they weighed and figured I would need to feed one neck/day since the bone weighed around 2-2.5 ounces and that is 10% of Mikko's total daily diet. I wrote this in a spreadsheet so when I feed different RMBs I do the same and keep track so next time I don't have to weigh the bone.


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## shell nyc (Jul 19, 2010)

:thumbup: What Mikko said 

Check out the USDA database to compare the relative bone content of various RMB. Chicken necks average 36% bone, chicken leg quarters are 27%, pork spareribs are 30% bone, etc.

This is why it is difficult to say "sure, 50% RBM is fine". 

Here's an example using your proposed proportions. For simplicity, let's say our dog needs 2lbs / day.
50% RMB (chicken leg quarters) = 11.7 oz meat, 4.3 oz bone
15% MM - 4.8 oz meat
10% OM - 3.2 oz OM
25% veggies - 8 oz

so you're actually feeding 16.48 oz meat, with is ~ 50% of his daily diet. That as compared to what most of us here feed which is 80%. Little buddy may not be getting enough protein or calories.
Bone content is ~13.5 %...not bad. Although if you use a bonier RMB you would increase this and decrease the meat content even more.

I would suggest cutting out the veggies, or if you really feel he needs them just supplement with them, do not include them as part of the "100%". Dogs can't digest veggies unless we break down the cell walls for them either by pulverizing or cooking.

Hope this helps!


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