How to feed raw liver

[LilF]

I have had some raw liver defrosting in the refrigerator and need to know how to feed--cook or raw----she is used to eating cooked food. How much do you feed in one meal---I think for my other dogs the vet said to feed about an inch square. The stuff I have will last for a year at that rate. What is the amount to feed to get some real nutrition from it. Thanks

 

[Dr. Jeff]

Start with 1 tbsp of raw liver.

@GinnyW what do you say?

 

[Dr. Jean Hofve]

The rule of thumb is you can substitute up to 15% of something else (like eggs or liver) in a balanced diet without throwing off the nutrient percentages. If you're feeding 1 cup of food you could substitute up to 1/8 cup liver for an equal amount of food (don't just add it to a regular meal unless you are wanting weight gain). If the whole diet is homemade, then you could use more liver (like 25% liver, 75% meat per day), or even liver instead of meat one or two days a week. As with any significant diet change, do it gradually. Cook the liver, at least in the beginning. Beef liver must be organic due to severe contamination issues in the beef processing industry.

 

[LilF]

The rule of thumb is you can substitute up to 15% of something else (like eggs or liver) in a balanced diet without throwing off the nutrient percentages. If you're feeding 1 cup of food you could substitute up to 1/8 cup liver for an equal amount of food (don't just add it to a regular meal unless you are wanting weight gain). If the whole diet is homemade, then you could use more liver (like 25% liver, 75% meat per day), or even liver instead of meat one or two days a week. As with any significant diet change, do it gradually. Cook the liver, at least in the beginning. Beef liver must be organic due to severe contamination issues in the beef processing industry.

ok, thank you Dr. Jean and Dr. Jeff for the specifics. I will try tomorrow and cook gently and watch for BEAM. I think the liver is grass fed, not sure if organic. Would need a source for organic. This is all good to know really in terms of percentages and feeding guidelines. I really just prefer a raw processed diet because I am not confident doing a diet the right way.

 

[Dr. Jean Hofve]

Maybe find out how the cows are slaughtered. If it's a small farm that handles its own slaughter duties, and the cows don't go to a big slaughterhouse, then as long as cows were appropriately treated for parasites with a proper withdrawal time, I would have no worries about contamination. (Sorry, this is one of my better run-on sentences but I'm about half asleep, not enough brain cells to edit!)

 

[LilF]

Thank you Dr. Jean for all the detail. I am going to ask. I do think these are small farms and the animals are treated as you suggest for clean liver. This helps a lot and you know this stuff so well, seeeeeee, you can even do it in your sleep quite well!! Thanks for the guidance on this. )

 

[GinnyW]

I'm NOT gonna answer - OK, I am gonna....I just give them a piece. I'd start with an ounce or two. But it's not going to cause anything worse than loose stool in any case.
This is one thing I like about www.greentripe.com products if you can find them: They make an organ mix with about 10% tripe in it. All their stuff is from grassfed animals. Easy to handle, easy to feed, easy to repackage and store, and a little bit of all the major organs. Tripe is added to keep humans from eating it

Nice answers, all...

 

[LilF]

Maybe find out how the cows are slaughtered. If it's a small farm that handles its own slaughter duties, and the cows don't go to a big slaughterhouse, then as long as cows were appropriately treated for parasites with a proper withdrawal time, I would have no worries about contamination. (Sorry, this is one of my better run-on sentences but I'm about half asleep, not enough brain cells to edit!)

Dr. Jean, here is the answer from my liver source: Does this pass your muster? I have cooked the liver (shhhh don't tell Ginny to start and have increased the amount. Blossom eats mostly anything. So thought I would give it more raw and progress to all raw. I will order from the green tripe site too. It sounds like it is best to go with natural stuff like this over capsules which I am trying to remember. Thank you all. Next I am going to post something about bones. She loves bones too but is an aggressive chewer and I take it away when it gets small which is about a "New York Minute" Well, she IS from NYC....

"Our practices are beyond organic. We refuse to pay our state of Missouri a tax to utilize the term organic. Speaking directly to your question about our slaughtering procedures, we demand cleanliness. Our cattle are slaughtered in a small/medium size facility; The USDA ensures they are handled safely and humanely throughout the entire process. I can not speak for parasitic withdrawal times, but I can tell you the USDA inspector looks for parasites in their inspection process."

 

[Dr. Jean Hofve]

Well that's a bit of an evasive (and rather belligerent) answer. There is no such thing as "beyond organic." If they would like to share how their practices compare to National Organic Program standards, I'm sure we'd all love to hear it. ? BTW the NOP is a federal program, not state.

USDA inspectors have just a few seconds to examine each carcass as it whizzes by, so relying on the one inspector working at that facility for a medical diagnosis of parasites is pure fantasy. Moreover, if the liver, or the whole cow, is not intended for *human* consumption, then it can be full of parasites, and the inspector won't even see it since USDA only inspects human food.

All of which they know quite well. Probably the liver is just fine, but I find their tone a little off-putting.

I'm with Ginny on the grass-fed part, that is probably even more important than organic status, since it likely has greater implications for the health and welfare of the animals.

Oh (putting on Columbo overcoat) one more thing... as always, proceed with dietary changes gradually!

 

[LilF]

Start with 1 tbsp of raw liver.

@GinnyW what do you say?

I have been feeding Blossom the liver. I have been lightly cooking like Dr. Sue was discussing to do on the webinar she did a few weeks ago. I notice when I cook the liver it often looks green in patches. The raw liver seems to look bright red but cooking it brings out this "other color" . I was inclined to throw away those pieces and feed her what cooks up normally. I also bought heart btw. But what is the green kind of color with cooking and is it safe to feed her or is it funky somehow? I read online it can be "bile"? If you could let me know by suppertime which is when she will get it... Also is it ok to likewise feed a whole food vitamin/mineral along with the organs at a different meal that day or do the organs provide everything. I was going to start including folate supplement like Dr. Sue was talking about for methylation. (actually I think she suggested some foods with folate in them but wanted to cover that base. Thanks for your expertise as always...

 

[GinnyW]

Raw liver is fine to feed. The cooked stuff is fine, but certain elements have been destroyed by heat. The color is not a big deal, but merely shows some oxidation from the heat. Raw is nutritionally far superior. Bile is from the gall bladder, and not in liver; you won't see it, normally, in purchased meats, and it's a pretty unbearable flavor. If she will eat it raw, I would feed raw liver over cooked any day Doesn't have to be a lot, and you can cut it up and mix it in whatever. Try to find other organ meats, too, over time; heart would be excellent, and easier for you to handle. Actually, muscle meat is - ounce for ounce - the least nutritious part of the animal carcass - but all parts belong in a prototypical diet.

Just keep on offering a variety of stuff, with emphasis on raw meats, good oils, perhaps some enzymes - I wouldn't worry about supplements much; they are "supplemental" in the true sense, and can wait.

BTW, about a hundred years ago when I was still fairly new to the concept, I was "dared" to eat a piece of raw liver. Now, it's no big deal, but then, I had to put on a brave face. I won the dare, though