inexpensive roosters or old hens-iowa

[Akane]

We can't raise our own chickens anymore but they made up a major part of our dogs' raw diets so we are looking for any free or very cheap roosters and retired laying hens for butchering. Age is unimportant except that I have nowhere to grow them out so they must be at least 10weeks. Will accept adult bantams. Please inform of any medications they have received in the past month. Can travel within a few hours of Iowa city depending on the number of chickens.

 

[Sierra pachie bars]

Wish you lived near me I could help you out. I am extremely interested in the raw diet for your dogs. Do you mind me asking about it? I have a female lab thats so active and I am never able to get weight on her. I have tried feeding her puppy food, giving her more food then she can eat you name it.

 

[Akane]

Sorry I don't have time to log on here much anymore. There are different types of raw diets. Raw prey model is easiest. It subscribes to the philosophy that everything a dog needs is found in the whole prey animal. So you try to feed as complete of an animal as possible. Now with big animals this can be heard so we have numbers to go by which can be found here http://www.rawfed.com/myths/preymodel.html . However when using small prey like chickens or rabbits you want to save everything or close to it and then just cut it in to small enough meals. They don't need to get the right percentage of everything daily just over time. Rabbits are the easiest example. I don't give mine the head, intestines, or skin for cleanliness and I want the pelts for my use. After removing those parts I separate the hips and shoulders at the socket and then cut the spine in half leaving the organs inside the body. Bag individually and stick in the freezer. After that the dogs get 1 front leg each per day, 1 back leg each per day, 1 dog gets the back half and one dog gets the front with organs, then another front leg each per day, back leg each per day, the opposite dog gets the front and the other gets the back so by the end of a week both dogs have eaten 1 whole rabbits. Chickens can just be divided in to parts but it's more difficult or if you have bantams the whole chicken can be given as is. We tend to skin because while feathers are useful fiber they make a mess plucking them all out before eating the chicken. You want to secure at least 3-4 types of animal which can be rabbit, chicken, fish-extra time spent freezing required for parasite risk, beef, venison, pork-extra time spent freezing required for parasite risk, elk, bison.... the more sources the better and a lot of places will at least give you the bones.