Raw Feeding -- Ratio of Meat to Bone...???

[SGC]

I don't remember seeing this asked about and I would like to know more, as there seems to be a lot of conflicting info out there.

This question stems from my thread about the Blue Ridge raw food, this one --

http://www.thepitbullbible.com/forum/showthread.php?885-Raw-Food-for-1-28-a-pound-in-the-Southeast-US

Here is a comment I received --

"This is what the food co-op I'm part of uses, so I've used them a lot. The bone is HIGH - like 20%, not my preferred 10 or less. And it's just meat and bone - organ is sold separately. So the chubs aren't a complete meal plan, I still rotate in other boneless muscle and organ."

Now to me, 20% bones does not seem too high... so what is a correct ratio of meat to bone?

I remember reading something about a ratio of 40% bone to 60% meat being a good one, but that is double the above which is being called too much bone at 20%...???

What does everyone think about the proper ratio?

[R2L]

this is basic bones and raw food principle

55% muscle meat
15% organ meat including tripe
15% bone
15% vegetables including other products

or

50% fleshbone
20% muscle meat
15% organ meat including tripe
15% vegetables including other products


so 15 to 20 %, i think adding more bone wont harm nor does have any benefit to your dog. 40 % bone wouldnt harm your dog, but it means less % of meat/organs,ect
it doesnt matter if you feed that once or twice a week, but if someone feeds 40% bone consistently i consider that one shit menu

[Officially Retired]

I have heard many "prey model" aficionados claim 80% meat, 10% bone, 10% organs as the ideal ratio, as this is supposed to be the ratio of a whole carcass, but since I have never actually seen the figures I don't know if this is true (or just often-repeated hearsay).

To be perfectly honest, I personally don't really put a lot of time trying to figure out exact ratios like this.

However, just looking at my diet and giving a rough estimate, if eggs are to be classified as meat, I would say I feed approximately 55% meat, 15% bone, 10% organ meat, 10% vegetable mix, and 10% extra oils.

Jack

PS: If your dog is straining too hard to take a rock-hard dump you're feeding too much bone ... and if the poop is too watery/sticky you're not feeding enough bone. However, I like to see them strain a little bit, because 1) it means they're also expressing their anal glands (which will never get impacted) and 2) I won't have to be scrubbing any shit off of my above-ground pens :)

[SGC]

If your dog is straining too hard to take a rock-hard dump you're feeding too much bone ... and if the poop is too watery/sticky you're not feeding enough bone. However, I like to see them strain a little bit, because 1) it means they're also expressing their anal glands (which will never get impacted) and 2) I won't have to be scrubbing any shit off of my above-ground pens :)

Yes, this is very true, you look at how your dog is doing on the food. Each dog might have a little different needs and some need more bone, some need less.

I think many raw feeders tend to get too worried about the details and numbers when much of it is good old common sense. I'd rather keep things simple.

Thanks for the replies.