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Feeding Turkey Necks

S

stephescott1

Hi all

Jude had his first experience eating turkey necks and almost gave his mom a heart attack. They're a good size so I assumed he would bite off in chunks. He started to chew it down as he swallowed and eventually swallowed the entire thing whole. Then proceeded to throw it up. We managed to get it from him and cut it up into pieces (still pretty large). He chewed down a little but essentially swallowed the big chunks whole and almost regurgitated again trying to get a larger piece down. He didn't seem to have any trouble afterwards and all his stools have been normal. They are VERY bony and is what initially concerned me. Has anyone had any experience with turkey necks or have tips when feeding? I read somewhere that giving them frozen should help

Thank you!

Stephanie
 
Yes Stephanie, these might be the best treats/food he ever got!

So their "value" is high and his natural inclination is to wolf them down.

One tip for feeding the turkey necks. is to hold them while he gnaws.

Even frozen won't stop him from scarfing down big pieces.

However frozen definitely makes them less gross to hold onto.

You also might want to order a box of rubber gloves for you to wear while you hold onto the necks.

Gloves are also great for handling any raw meat.

 
Hi all

Jude had his first experience eating turkey necks and almost gave his mom a heart attack. They're a good size so I assumed he would bite off in chunks. He started to chew it down as he swallowed and eventually swallowed the entire thing whole. Then proceeded to throw it up. We managed to get it from him and cut it up into pieces (still pretty large). He chewed down a little but essentially swallowed the big chunks whole and almost regurgitated again trying to get a larger piece down. He didn't seem to have any trouble afterwards and all his stools have been normal. They are VERY bony and is what initially concerned me. Has anyone had any experience with turkey necks or have tips when feeding? I read somewhere that giving them frozen should help

Thank you!

Stephanie
Dear Stephanie,
Depending on the size of your dog, turkey necks may not be the optimal choice, as the neck fibers are so tough. Even small dogs can manage turkey necks with practice, but if this is Jude's first raw neck, I would start with chicken necks.

The bones are not a problem to a raw fed dog. My previous Newf would regurgitate whole leg quarters after about a half hour, and the bones were like rubber from the stomach acid.

I start my Berner pups at 6 to 7 weeks with chicken wings, and invariably one will try to swallow it whole, so I do hold the wing. Pups don't have the same tooth and jaw strength as adult dogs, so if Jude is quite enthusiastic about his meat, I would suggest holding the food item with a clamped down vice grip. It is much safer to have the tool holding the meat, and Jude can't accidentally tear off a piece of glove.
Cheers,
Dr. Sara
 
Every dog will have his style of choice, and this may change with age, experience, and size of turkey neck. I have had some carefully chew each cut-up piece, others that tractor-feed and chew as they work their way down the whole neck. One technique that has worked for me is to bash each neck thoroughly with the cleaver, not cutting all the way through, but ensuring that every vertebra gets smashed enough to eliminate risk of sticking in the digestive tract as it passes.
 
You can see there are many opinions. Hopefully this will help you realize there is no one correct way, and you can continue to discover what works for you.

I find that feeding something even bigger, like a quarter of a whole chicken can slow them down.

It is ok to have bony stools - just feed less bone.

And as Dr. Sara said, the stomach acids quickly render the bones soft. Even after 25 years of cutting up whole backs for my cats, I would flinch sometimes when I saw the sharp edges - never a problem.
Dr. Christina
 
thanks so much everyone! I definitely feel more at ease and will start incorporating these suggestions.
 
Murphy (12 weeks old) scared me this past weekend when I gave him 2 single bone chicken wings and before I know what was happening, they were GONE! That afternoon he had a very puddingish stool and that was it. The next stool was normal and life went on.
 
Yeah for Murphy's balance!⚖
 
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