Re-serving leftover raw meat

FlashTheRottwuggle · 02-08-2010, 09:51 PM

I was wondering if I could get some input from other raw feeders. I couldn't get a turkey and some chickens cut down to small enough pieces to be a single serving for my pup Flash. So what I do is give her a chunk and what she doesn't want, I pick up with plastic wrap, wrap it, put it in a ziploc and put it in the frig or freezer. Then I serve it again at another meal. So far none of the meat I have done this with has started smelling like it is going bad and she is fine with it. I know I have read where some raw fed dogs bury meat and eat it later. What are some of your opinions on this?

So far she is thriving on raw and loves meal time. We are guessing her adult weight to be between 30-40 lbs and I base the amount she should eat on that. We are halfway through week 4 and she has not eaten the total amount I calculated for a week yet. She seems to be self-regulating. Sometimes she looks at the bony meat I give her and whines at the frig until I pull out some boneless. Other times she is ravenous for the bony. And she always seems to know when she really wants the organ meat. I just want to make sure I'm not jeopardizing her health by putting meat in and out of the frig/freezer. I should add that most of the time the meat is partially frozen as she prefers it that way. I guess it's easier to chew off partially frozen chunks than to chew the rubbery thawed meat?

misty073 · 02-08-2010, 11:04 PM

I do it with their meaty bones. They chew and have fun for a while and then I wrap them up and put them in the freezer. usually after 2-3 chewings they are done with it.

DJEtzel · 02-08-2010, 11:19 PM

I'm kind of confused at what you're asking, but we thaw out a chicken or two at a time, prepackage ziploc bags for the week, then re-freeze the meat that we don't need right away. then keep two bags at a time in the fridge. generally meat won't start to go bad being thawed for at least a week, if that helps.

FlashTheRottwuggle · 02-09-2010, 05:04 AM

Yes I do that too DJEtzel but my question was more along these lines...I can't get the sections cut small enough (can't get through some of the bones), so I let her eat at a section until she's full, then I put it back in the frid/freezer for another meal another time. So it's been out and chewed on, then put away and re-served again. I had read one raw feeding website that said that after the dog eats what it wants of a meal, you must throw away the leftovers and not put them back in the frig. This would be an awful waste if I did that.

DJEtzel · 02-09-2010, 05:57 AM

ooh, gotcha. I don't see a problem with doing this, however, you should be measuring out what your dog is being fed to properly balance his diet with raw, not just letting him eat until he's full. You could end up with an underweight, overweight, or sick dog this way. Buuut, yeah, if you just rinse of the rest and throw in back in the fridge, i don't see a problem. Same as it thawing on the counter for the day, really.

FlashTheRottwuggle · 02-09-2010, 11:35 AM

I have a digital scale and I weigh the piece before and after and keep a chart of how much she is eating. So far she eats less each week than I have calculated she should get, not because I don't offer it, but because she just doesn't want to eat that much. She definitely doesn't look underfed. There is a good covering over her ribs but you can still feel them. I make sure she eats the right amount of organ meat each week but I haven't really figured out how to know how much bone she is getting as every bony meal is heavy with meat as well.

DJEtzel · 02-09-2010, 12:28 PM

I've had the same problem figuring out bone from boney meat and such, but as long as you're monitoring how much she eats, and she's still healthy, and not underweight, it sounds good.

Kathyy · 02-09-2010, 06:16 PM

Sounds like she isn't going to be as large as you think!

Also sounds like she knows what she needs. My main concern is with the bone content. What if you put the leg quarters away for now and only feed backs, wings and breasts that are easily cut into smaller bits? Max is 38 pounds and one of those half backs from a dark quarter is just right. A wing is just right. I can cut rib sections up small for small bone meals.

I get out a bunch of meat. Sometimes I measure out a meal. Sometimes he gets the whole thing and I wash off the leftovers and save for the following day. I have been amazed at how fresh big meals like his whole prey lambs stay even for 4 days treated that way. It is only out of the refrigerator for 1/2 hour or so and is still cold when it goes back into the refrigerator. Don't seal the meat up, I think it stays fresher if a little air gets to it.