Chicken reaction or not?

[corbinam]

The boys got their second chicken leg. They seemed to eat them up faster. Miko threw up about 7 hours later. But hubby said his poop the next morning was soft and a bit slimy AND there was a bone fragment about 1" long. If that came out the other way, ouch. Now I'm worried again.

Koji was fine and poop was fine.

How long ago did you give them their first chicken leg? I found that giving Bentley raw once a week was not often enough to keep him from getting sick. He got the gross/slimy diarrhea.

Now I'm feeding 2-3x a week and (knock on wood) he hasn't had any issues at all. I think you need to give it to them often enough for their stomach to get used to it.

 

[marymrumfelt]

I think you need to give it to them often enough for their stomach to get used to it.

Yes, you hit the nail on the head! That's exactly what it means as their system can't get used to it when it's only once a week or whatnot. Here's what the people I consulted with when I first saw mucous in Hadley's stool said:

"When first switching to a raw diet, this may be a sign that the digestive track is ridding the junk out of its system, which is a normal part of detox. It can also mean an inflammation of the intestinal track. All of which are pretty common. Only if you notice traces of blood, along with the mucous covered stool, is a trip to the vet is encouraged."

Just keep an eye on him and let us know how he's doing in regards to his activity level and also how his next bowel movement goes. More than likely. it's just a normal reaction like mine had. It did cause me to become concerned too though so I know how you feel!

 

[BarbV]

Well, its still early days for us, as I've only fed it twice over the last two weeks. I was supposed to give it yesterday but I forgot until I read the post today. Since they've already had their supper, it will have to wait until tomorrow.

I did not really notice any strange reaction with the dogs with the two feedings they got. Though they did seem a little sleepier then usual. I got to thinking that maybe it's the raw food equivalent of having Thanksgiving Day dinner!

If I recall correctly they also wanted to go outside a little more "frantically" then normal the next morning. However there was no sign of diarrhea. Poops nice and firm.

The second time I fed it, I left it a little bit frozen to try and slow them down a little. Didn't seem to make much difference. They still scarfed it. I think I might leave it just a little more frozen next time.

If I were you, I would give it one more try and monitor. If you get the hot ears again, I would discontinue the chicken and perhaps try something else. I've heard that duck is less allergenic????

Have to laugh....we eat grocery store chicken, and pups get gourmet duck!

 

[Crouton]

The boys got their second chicken leg. They seemed to eat them up faster. Miko threw up about 7 hours later. But hubby said his poop the next morning was soft and a bit slimy AND there was a bone fragment about 1" long. If that came out the other way, ouch. Now I'm worried again.

Koji was fine and poop was fine.

Crouton got mucous when I switched her over too. She was fine after a week. Oh, and she also had diarrhea too. It's just them detoxing. Also the bone fragments are normal in the beginning, their stomachs are getting used to breaking down the bone. The more you feed them raw the better the acids will break down the calcium and absorb the nutrition. Although the detox will probably be a longer period for you because you're switching back and forth.

When I first started with raw it was 5 years ago with premade raw and I alternated with kibble all the while. She had the mucous then when she switched over. Then about 1 1/2 years ago I switched to whole prey raw, and even though I had already fed her premade raw all the while, she still had detox symptoms. I found out that even though they are both types of raw meat they are still like apples and oranges. Dogs' stomachs still have to adjust to bone, whole unground meat and whatnot.

Just make sure that after they have made the adjustment period in about 1-2 weeks, (maybe longer if you are also feeding kibble) that you introduce variety and not include more that 10% bone in their daily meals (if you are following prey model raw)

 

[k9kreationz]

I will keep an eye on Miko. Hubby hasn't said anything about poop, but I'll ask about today's.

The first time he ate it, he was fine, no issues. Maybe a bit soft poop, but by all means, nothing gross. This was only our second feeding. I'll give it a go this weekend (once a week) and see what happens. If it turns into slimy or diarrhea I will either try to feed more often or may stop all together.

I think the next time, I will watch Miko eat his drumstick. I was focusing on Koji because he scarfs food down. But he crunched the bones into little pieces like a good little boy. Miko may have scarfed his. Next time, separate feedings (I just feel bad cuz Koji has to wait soooo long, lol).

Thanks for the feedback. If he has poop issues, I'll have to decide to either feed raw more often, or not at all.

 

[BarbV]

I'm with you Cheryl! You and I are embarking on this journey together!

 

[k9kreationz]

Well, Miko threw up part of his chicken again last night. This time, only about an hour after eating.

Question. Do you think it'd be better, or worse, if I just cut it up? Maybe give him the ends of the bones, but otherwise, just feed him chicken? I was hoping to use this as a way to help keep his teeth clean, and he does chew on it with his back teeth a lot, but he also eats it as though I'm going to take it away. I'm wondering if he's just swallowing whole and it's not sitting right with him so up it comes.

Koji hasn't had any issues, yay! And no poop issues for either one. Another yay! Especially since I had to kinda change their food overnight.

 

[Crouton]

Well, Miko threw up part of his chicken again last night. This time, only about an hour after eating.

Question. Do you think it'd be better, or worse, if I just cut it up? Maybe give him the ends of the bones, but otherwise, just feed him chicken? I was hoping to use this as a way to help keep his teeth clean, and he does chew on it with his back teeth a lot, but he also eats it as though I'm going to take it away. I'm wondering if he's just swallowing whole and it's not sitting right with him so up it comes.

Koji hasn't had any issues, yay! And no poop issues for either one. Another yay! Especially since I had to kinda change their food overnight.

There's no reason to cut it up. I do cut up boneless meals when they get down to the last bit about the size of my fist because I know that she gets lazy with the last bit of boneless meals and doesn't chew it, but other than it's fine to leave food whole. When first feeding raw they don't think that it's their daily food and eat with gusto. I know with Crouton she ate like I was going to take it away at first but then as I continued feeding it and she knew it was a forever thing she calmed down a bit and now eats normally.

Couple of questions, how much food are you are you giving them? Is it appropriate for their body weight? (ex.2%-2.5%) Sometimes they will regurgitate food if they eat too fast (which sounds like Miko is doing) and it is not sitting well in their stomachs, it's really not a big deal. A lot of raw feeders I know including me will just let their dogs eat it back up again (no need to waste expensive food) then they re-chew the food and it stays in the stomach, if you're open to them eating throw up . I was watching my sister's dog and Crouton regurgitated her whole prey lamb into two neat even piles and before I could do anything about it they each ran for a pile and ate it up, each keeping an eye out for the other, lest their pile of vomit gets stolen. That time since she was eating a whole prey lamb I think she just ate too much. You would think by their teeth showing that the regurgitated lamb was like gold! But regurgitation is a natural thing and I would just let them re-chew and eat it back up, at first Crouton was weird about eating it back up because she thought she did a bad thing (based on my grossed out expressions, which I changed) and now she sometimes throws up because it's not sitting right and she eats it back and I just have to deal with clean up. But regurgitating only happened with us in the beginning because she was too excited about her food and ate really fast.

It was easier for me to start out raw feeding with bone in chicken breasts because the bone % is less than drumsticks or leg quarters and it might be easier on the stomach. Also you can feed their food partially frozen and that will slow them down a lot. That's great that you're not getting poop issues, give thanks for the little things

 

[corbinam]

Bentley threw up the other day, I think, as a result of his raw meal. I think he does what Crouton's owner explained...eating way too fast. He still thinks we are going to take it away from him. So he chews a little, and gulps. I was thinking of trying a thigh instead of a drumstick. That way there isn't a huge piece of bone that can get lodged in his stomach and make him feel sick if he doesn't chew it correctly.

 

[k9kreationz]

To answer some of your questions.

1. I think Miko may be scarfing it down because he gets it once a week (and no, I won't be going full-time raw). So that could be part of it like Crouton was doing at first too.

2. I give him one chicken leg. And he weighs 18lbs. Now granted though, it may be too much food for him, I dunno. I seem to on the lower end of how much I feed kibble compared to others (1/2c per day).

3. Not so much a big fan of allowing dogs to eat their own vomit. Besides, it smelled very sour (as in it was a lot of stomach acid, yuck).

4. Hmmm...chicken breast huh? You wrote to feed 2-2.5%. Of what? Their weight? So, Miko should be getting 0.35 lbs a day? I bet you that chicken leg weighs WAY more than that. Hmmm.....I feed their regular kibble in the AM, then feed the raw at night. Then feed kibble again the next morning. Is that too much food? Uh-oh.

5. My next feeding was going to be partially frozen, so he'd SLOW DOWN!!!


Thanks and I hope that answers some questions, and hopefully you can answer mine (about the amount). I'll also skim some more threads while I'm waiting for a reply.