A Feeding Guideline and Rule of Thumb

If you are just starting raw, STOP feeding kibble and begin raw, a straight swop is best rather than a gradual as the stomachs ph balance needs to adjust.

The 80 –10 –10 Guide

Proteins = 80%

Bones = 10%

Offal / Organs = 10%

Most pre-made raw foods if they are following a good feeding ratio will have the 80/10/10 balance, However when you first start out have a look at what the ratio’s are as those that contain offal, can cause an upset stomach as Offal is a very nutrient dense source.  We advise offal being added slowly and in smaller portions at a time when the body has better adjusted to raw.

For the 1st week to ten days the stomach PH will be adjusting.  Once you start to feed raw the stomach acidity will start to strengthen to be able to digest bone.  From a kibble ph of around 4-5 feeding raw will encourage the stomach acid to drop to a ph 1-2.  During this transition period we would suggest feeding boneless protein for the first 3-5 days before starting to introduce bone, either in a minced/ground form or by way of soft edible bone like chicken breast bone/ribs.

For the 2nd week begin adding bones.  This can be in the form of bone-in chicken breast, wings, necks, backs, legs, thighs, hindquarters or carcass.

If by the end of the 2nd week your fur child is tolerating the chicken and bones, its time to introduce a new protein. Do this gradually until the first protein is replaced entirely by the second and the fur child is doing well.  This should take about a week to accomplish.  Continue adding new proteins one at a time until your fur child can eat them all without issues.

After your fur child has successfully been introduced to 4 proteins you can start slowly to introduce the 10% offal/organs.  We suggest starting with the liver first, remember this will only be a total of 5% of their daily intake.  You do not want to give them the full portion to start, you want to very slowly introduce liver to their diet.  Going to fast will result in loose stool, take this slow

How Much to Feed

Most Adult dogs eat around 2% to 3% of their ideal adult weight per day weight (start with 2.5%, more if active, less if couch potato – depends on individual dogs).  This will include the 80% proteins (muscle meat). 10% bones, 5% liver 5% other secreting offal/organs.

After your fur child has been eating the 5% liver portion, you now are ready to introduce the other 5% of the offal/organs. We recommend introducing this very slowly as well.

How Much – Guidelines for Dogs

How Much – Guidelines for Cats

What to Feed

Minimum of 3 to 4 proteins, the more variety the better with more red meats. Fish & Eggs should only be added AFTER introducing 3 to 4 proteins successfully, and your 5% liver and 5% other offal/organs have been added to their meals.  Please note, they should be introduced slowly and small amounts.

At Raw4pets we have a vast number of quality products, to start you shopping, visit our shop or see our specials 

 

Proteins: 80%

  • White Meats: Chicken, Farmed rabbits, Turkey
  • Red Meats: Pork, Beef, Lamb, Goat, Duck, Goose, Venison, Elk, Bison. Roo, Wild rabbit, game birds, moose, Bison
  • Game/wild animals needs to be frozen for 2 to 3 weeks.

Organs Fed as Muscle/Protein Meat:

  • Tripe, Heart, Gizzard, Tongue, Trachea and Lungs
  • Red meats/proteins should be fed more in the diet.  Green tripe should only be 15% of the diet.  The more variety of proteins fed the better.  Heart is considered meat and should only be fed 20% of protein requirement because it is very rich and can cause runny poops.

Bones 10% – NO COOKED BONES or weight bearing bones.

  • All parts of chicken, duck, turkey, rabbits, game, fowl, small prey
  • Ribs (feed in sections) Neck, shoulder – Pig, Lamb, Goat, Deer

Offal/Organs 10%

  • 5% Live
  • 5% Other Offal/Organs – Kidney, spleen, thymus, brain pancreas, testes and eyes.

Oily Fish

  • 2 to 3 times a week (after introducing 3 to 4 proteins successfully).
  • Examples : Sardines, Mackerel, Sprats, Herring, Trout, Salmon, Needs to be frozen for 2 to 3 weeks before feeding.

Eggs

  • Twice a week (Last item to be introduced)
  • Examples:  Chicken, Duck, Goose and Quail