Have a 2 y/o K-9 raised German Shepherd who was raised on raw chicken legs and thighs. He will not eat kibble unless it is mixed with cut up raw chicken. He will go for days without eating if no raw chicken is added to his diet. Is this safe and healthy?
By Carol R.
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Personally, I don't feel it's safe because of the high amt. of salmonella in almost ALL raw chicken. One of my dogs even got food poisoning from a roasted turkey leg because the vet said the marrow of the leg probably didn't reach proper temps to kill salmonella. Check it out online and you will find that almost ALL raw chicken is contaminated with salmonella. I wouldn't take the chance if it were my dog.
I would say it is safe to feed some raw chicken under certain circumstances. I have raw fed one of my cats for 10 years with no problem. What I do is get very fresh raw chicken (7 to 10 days from pull date and from a local source)
This has required me to get to know my local meat guys and have their cooperation because the stuff in the case is always too old. They are usually holding the fresh stuff until the older stuff sells. Ask for chicken with a better pull date and they will usually get it for you.
I wash my chicken only because it requires me to go over it carefully for anything that looks suspicious. I then dry it and cut it up and freeze it. I do this all on the same day I buy it. You can freeze chunks on a cookie sheet and bag them and take out as needed.
Cats, and dogs to some degree, have shorter digestive tracts than humans. They do not develop food poisoning like humans do. Which is not to say they cant get it, they can. But it requires a higher load of bacteria than for humans.
My cat has never gotten sick from his food, and salmonella is very common in raw chicken. Do not feed bones, especially cooked bones. Cooked bones may splinter and cause intestinal perforations that can be deadly.
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