[Jem]

Does anyone feed their small dog chicken necks? Yogi the dachshund has been on raw for 2 weeks. I have been feeding him 2 chicken wings a day. He has done well on them, but now he is starting to get a little constipated because they are so high in bone content. I am considering ordering a 40# case of chicken necks but I don't really have any idea what size they are and what the meat/bone ratio is. Anyone feed them? How much does one neck weigh? Thank you!

 

[DaneMama]

Chicken necks are pretty high bone content probably comparable to the wings. I got them once when Akasha was a puppy and the big dogs ate them fine as well. Have you tried drumsticks? Those have a bit higher meat to bone ratio. Or you could add in a bit of boneless meat (try turkey since it's been a few weeks) to a bone in meal.

 

[RawFedDogs]

Chicken necks are 36% bone and wings are 46% bone. So they have approximately 3/4 the bone that wings do. If a wing is the appropriate size for your dog, necks should be also. You might want to buy a smaller quanity to try out before investing in a case. I've never used necks so i don't knwo the weight.

 

[DaneMama]

I wouldn't use exact numbers like that because every neck and every wing is different in actual bone to meat ratio. I would say that even within wings and necks their bone content could vary by ~10% :tongue:

I would also say that it's safe to invest in a whole case because they would be a good size for Yogi, and not to mention Jemma is a good chewer too. Plus if you don't like them we will take them off your hands gladly :wink:

 

[RawFedDogs]

I wouldn't use exact numbers like that because every neck and every wing is different in actual bone to meat ratio. I would say that even within wings and necks their bone content could vary by ~10%

USDA uses those exact numbers. I guess that it's a average of many measurements but I'm not sure. I bet if you fed 1,000 necks and 1,000 wings, the numbers would be pretty accurate.

 

[DaneMama]

Either way I wouldn't worry about exact numbers like that :wink: :tongue:

Both wings and necks are high bone content things to feed and since Yogi is having light constipation I would just add a bit of boneless meat to his meals.

 

[RawFedDogs]

100% correct. :smile:

 

[Jem]

Have you tried drumsticks? Those have a bit higher meat to bone ratio. Or you could add in a bit of boneless meat (try turkey since it's been a few weeks) to a bone in meal.

I haven't tried drumsticks, and I don't think I am going to because they have a larger bone than wings and he already struggles with the wings. I think I'll get a case of the necks :smile:

 

[RawFedDogs]

I haven't tried drumsticks, and I don't think I am going to because they have a larger bone than wings and he already struggles with the wings. I think I'll get a case of the necks :smile:

Drumsticks are 33% bone. My cats eat them regularly but only eat about half the bone so I guess they are eating about 15% or so of bone. :smile:

ETA: Drumsticks are considerably cheaper per pound than wings around here.

 

[Jem]

Yeah they are cheaper around here, but the poor guy has very few back teeth, so the smaller/finer the bone the better. I may try giving him one someday. I just ordered chicken necks so we'll see how he does no them by the end of the week!

 

[DaneMama]

Whack it with a hammer a bit. That is what I do for the cats with drummies. They chew up all the smaller pieces of bone completely so they still get the dental benefit.