Raw duck necks.....Oh my

[richards6402]

I just got back from a new pet boutique I found. They had a nice selection of different foods and freezers full for raw feeders. I bought some raw duick necks to try but I'm a little scared to try.

The lady told me to thaw one neck out and cut it half or thirds for a Yorkie.

1. Any suggestions on how to keep my babies from hauling their raw duck necks all over my kitchen?

2. How far down should I let them chew? The necks have quite a bit of raw meat on them do I just let them chew until they don't want to chew anymore?

These things are really gross looking......I hope they taste better than they look.

[Teresiana]

They do look gross, don't they? It takes some training to get them to stay in one place to eat. I have 3 & there are times I have them eat in their crate when I don't have the energy to watch them for 30+ minutes. They've carried their duck necks off & buried them under pillows and I've had to spend hours washing sofa covers and disinfecting floors. Sometimes, it's just easier to put them in their crate. That being said...you still have to watch them carefully in case they choke or something.

I have 3 beach towels for them & they each have their own. When they started eating raw, I'd watch them very carefully & the second they'd walk off their towel, I'd take their food away & place it back in the middle of the towel. It took months, but they've finally learned that if they walk off the towel, their food gets taken away. It also makes for easy clean up. You can just throw the towels in the wash with hot water & bleach.

I wouldn't cut them too small. There's less potential for choking when the peices are larger. I'm pretty sure that your dogs will eat the entire neck if you let them. Mine LOVE their duck necks!! Maybe you can cut a meal sized portion off lengthwise. That way, it can be gnawed on like a bully stick. I started my tiny off like that, but now she can handle 1/2 a cornish game hen like a champ.

Also, maybe you could feed it on bath day. They typically don't use their paws to eat. But a first timer might be a little perplexed & try different methods. They do figure it out pretty quickly though. 2 of mine have long beards & their faces are quite messy after they eat.

Your dogs are going to LOVE them!! Good luck!!

[richards6402]

Thanks for the ideas. I am going to thaw one out and cut it in half and try tomorrow before bath time.

The towel idea sounds perfect. I am a little nervous so I'll probably be hovering over them when they eat their delicious duck necks. Dumb question but do you just keep letting them gnaw on the bone until they are done or do you take it away after a period of time?

[Teresiana]

I still hover over mine & they've been eating duck necks since they were puppies I cut mine into meal sized portions because I feel bad having to take food away from them. They'll eat up the bone, which is actually very good for them! It's a wonderful, natural source of calcium. The bone in duck necks is flexible cartilage, so don't worry that they'll crack a tooth or anything. But they'll eat it all up & you'll find out that there won't be anything left to take away!!

Don't be alarmed if their poopies are a little ashy the following day. That happens when they eat a bone-heavy meal. It's completely normal.

[richards6402]

Originally Posted by Teresiana

I still hover over mine & they've been eating duck necks since they were puppies I cut mine into meal sized portions because I feel bad having to take food away from them. They'll eat up the bone, which is actually very good for them! It's a wonderful, natural source of calcium. The bone in duck necks is flexible cartilage, so don't worry that they'll crack a tooth or anything. But they'll eat it all up & you'll find out that there won't be anything left to take away!!

Don't be alarmed if their poopies are a little ashy the following day. That happens when they eat a bone-heavy meal. It's completely normal.

One more question.....do you feed them a duck neck in place of a meal? I was just going to use it as a treat but should I consider that a meal?

[Teresiana]

Originally Posted by richards6402

One more question.....do you feed them a duck neck in place of a meal? I was just going to use it as a treat but should I consider that a meal?

I feed it as a meal. But mine are raw eaters. Duck necks are hearty & technically, a complete meal. If you have a kitchen scale, you can weigh the portion size to see if it would qualify as a "meal". Small breed dogs should eat roughly 3-6% of their body weight daily, but that really depends on the dog, their age & activity. An average 6 lb dog should eat an average of 2 ounces per meal. So if you're feeding 2 ounces of duck neck to 6 lb dog, they probably won't devour their next meal (unless it's another duck neck, lol). If you don't have a kitchen scale, I'd say that 2 ounces of an average duck neck is probably the length of your thumb.

[richards6402]

Thanks for all the info. Tomorrow is yummy duck neck day!!

[Teresiana]

Yay!! They're gonna love it!

[richards6402]

Holy Moly!!!! I just gave Macy and Molly a piece of a duck neck and they loved it. I started out holding a piece of neck in each hand and they were so excited they were nibbling on my skin. I finally got brave and just put them on a big towel and let them chomp away. They both ate it all and didn't have any choking issues like I thought they would.

Now it's teeth brushing, baths and bleaching the towel they ate off. I think raw duck necks are going to be a weekly treat from now on. They loved gnawing on the hard part which I think is cartlidge. Hopefully no runny poohs or throwing up tonight from the duck.

[kjc]

Haha! I used to feed mine chicken necks... amazing how fast they can make it gone!

[Teresiana]

Yay! Glad they liked them

[Verbena]

Originally Posted by kjc

Haha! I used to feed mine chicken necks... amazing how fast they can make it gone!

They eat the whole neck ? . . . Do you take the skin off? I have been giving Galen primal and I was thinking about giving him some bones also. This is all new to me.

[richards6402]

Originally Posted by Verbena

They eat the whole neck ? . . . Do you take the skin off? I have been giving Galen primal and I was thinking about giving him some bones also. This is all new to me.

I bought mine and they were already skinned. They were just meaty, raw necks that look really disgusting and are about 6" long. Mine were frozen so I let it thaw in the refrigerator a day and then cut one in half. I was scared to death they would choke when the neck got down to about an inch long but they just keept on chewing and ate everything. Now they twirl when I say something about duckie necks.

They both had little pieces of raw duck meat in their lady beards so they had a bath and teeth brushed afterwards but it was worth it to see them enjoy something so much.

[Verbena]

I am right now on dehydrated raw and so far so good. He is loving it. I want to give him different things to hopefully keep him eating.

[richards6402]

My Macy has a cast iron stomach and can eat dehydrated raw without a problem. Molly even gets a taste of dehydrated raw and throws up for some reason. I couldn't believe Molly ate her duck neck and didn't have a problem.