# Raw bones breaking into shards - safe???



## Rua (Jan 2, 2012)

I'm a couple weeks into doing a half raw half kibble diet for my 14 week old. Fortunately for me, she takes her time when she eats and isn't really a gulper. But I still have some concerns.

My girl LOVES raw chicken so every day I give her either a chicken thigh or a couple chicken drumsticks for her lunch as she is still eating 3 meals a day. 

However, quite often when she gets to the end of the drumstick bone, it breaks into very sharp shards and pieces. I keep reading that raw is safer and that COOKED bones are the ones that splinter and are dangerous. However, I get a bit freaked out when I see that she's eating raw shards that seem just as sharp as cooked ones. When she poos, sometimes I see white flecks that I assume are the bone passing through.

I just worry that I'm doing something wrong with the whole raw feeding thing. Am I putting my girl at risk by letting her eat these raw shards of bone?


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## onyx'girl (May 18, 2007)

As long as the chickens aren't old when butchered, they should be pretty soft bones. I give pork neck bones and those are much sharper/harder. If the dog can't digest them they usually barf them up. 
I would give a bit more MM so the bone isn't the major portion of the meal. Green tripe has natural digestive enzymes, a good addition to the leg or thigh.


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## BR870 (May 15, 2011)

Yeah, I stopped giving Ez raw drumsticks after he barfed up a bone that was over 3 inches long and razor sharp. I'm glad he didn't try and pass that...


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## kbella999 (Jan 6, 2012)

I did the same thing with easing into raw and I would definately suggest to just go raw completely. It is much easier on their digestive systems.



Rua said:


> I'm a couple weeks into doing a half raw half kibble diet for my 14 week old. Fortunately for me, she takes her time when she eats and isn't really a gulper. But I still have some concerns.


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## Rua (Jan 2, 2012)

onyx'girl said:


> As long as the chickens aren't old when butchered, they should be pretty soft bones. I give pork neck bones and those are much sharper/harder. If the dog can't digest them they usually barf them up.
> I would give a bit more MM so the bone isn't the major portion of the meal. Green tripe has natural digestive enzymes, a good addition to the leg or thigh.


Sorry...I know this is gonna sound dumb, but could you define "soft"? To me, the shards seems sharp and hard. When people say soft, do they mean they are flexible or just easier to digest?

I'm not sure of the exact time the chickens were butchered. They were store bought ones. I plan to cull a few of my own hens in the spring and give them to Juno. But for now, I've just been buying her meat from the shops.


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## nitemares (Dec 15, 2005)

they are hard to us, but they are easier to digest. they would be more flexible if you're superman i presume LOL I dont have the strength to bend it.
New to raw dogs take time to adjust to digesting bones properly that's why chicken is recommended cause its the softer easier bone. it's normal for the first couple of weeks to see bones in poop.


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## CookieTN (Sep 14, 2008)

You could take away end of the bone once the meat and skin is gone if you like. The skin and meat act as "cushions".


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## Rua (Jan 2, 2012)

CookieTN said:


> You could take away end of the bone once the meat and skin is gone if you like. The skin and meat act as "cushions".


That's usually what I do. Once I see she's gotten to the end of the broken bone - about the last 2 inches - and I can see it's really sharp, I take it away. Unfortunately when I do, she always gives me this sad "look" as if to say, "what did I ever do to you?".


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## onyx'girl (May 18, 2007)

I would just let the dog have the chicken bones. As long as you are feeding a balance of organ meat, muscle meat and bone the digestion should be fine. 
By "soft" I mean chickens that are butchered young. In the US they are grown for meat, and very young when they are processed. The leg bones will break supporting the weight if they are left to gain more. 
I never had the time to pull a bone from my puppy, he was a crunching machine and still is! 
I gave my dogs turkey wings yesterday, those are older, denser, but they still digested them fine.


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## Rua (Jan 2, 2012)

onyx'girl said:


> I would just let the dog have the chicken bones. As long as you are feeding a balance of organ meat, muscle meat and bone the digestion should be fine.
> By "soft" I mean chickens that are butchered young. In the US they are grown for meat, and very young when they are processed. The leg bones will break supporting the weight if they are left to gain more.
> I never had the time to pull a bone from my puppy, he was a crunching machine and still is!
> I gave my dogs turkey wings yesterday, those are older, denser, but they still digested them fine.


Yeah, it's the same here. Supermarket chickens are usually of the Cornish X variety and are butchered at around 8 weeks. Actually, that's got me thinking about giving her our hens though....our girls are coming up to two years old this spring. I am going to do a cull soon, and had planned to give a hen or two to Juno. But I wonder if the age of my hens will make the bones too hard for her? Anyone have any experience with giving their dogs their own older laying hens?


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## nitemares (Dec 15, 2005)

Not my own hen, but i do buy older hen for my dog because they're a lot cheaper. like I said once her digestive tract is used to bones she should be able to digest any type of bone. My pup now eats chicken, rabbit and turkey bones and no trace of bones in his poop anymore.


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