Could comeone please tell me how much liver, kidney and heart should be given per week. I'm starting my two out on mainly chicken because they have both had intollerances (sp) to certain foods before so i want to introduce new meats slowly and see what they can and can't tollerate.
Also i'm just about to put my order in for a raw delivery and can't believe how expensive it is. About a months worth of raw is nearly double what i'd normally pay for kibble, don't get me wrong i think it'll be well worth it but where am i going wrong? From what i've read on here you all seem to feed your dogs pretty cheap and i'm going to be spending a fortune

Hiya
I think heart is counted as muscle meat as opposed to organ meat, Obi loves lamb hearts and gets them a couple of times a week, usually with a chicken quarter or whatever.
Liver and kidneys he gets a portion of each a week, but I've found he doesn't like the texture much, so he has them mixed with canned fish, which seems to make them more appealing
It varies as to the size of the packets they come in, but he'll usually have 2 lamb kidneys and a small pot of chicken livers, or half a packet of lamb/pork liver. I haven't got any handy as I need to go shopping so not sure of the weight of the packets
I know what you mean about the expense, I think some peole find it considerably cheaper if they have the right contacts who supply off cuts and bony bits free or at much reduced price, which I don't either.
All of my meat etc comes from the supermarket or butcher, so is more expensive, although ask around at butchers as mine will save me lamb breast which is cheap but I find hard to buy in supermarkets as people don't like it much
Like you I find that the cost is offset by the fact that it really is worth it, Obi can't tolerate any commercial dry or wet foods, and his good health is the most important thing to me
XX

Thanks for that

Does anyone know where i can get green tripe and is it something that should be introduced slowly? And what is tripe exactly?

tripe I believe is stomach lining and the green tripe is the un processed un bleached stuff, my Olie loves it but isn't allowed it any more as he is on a low fat diet and so tripe is banned unluckily for him.

Finding the right contacts is definitely the key to feeding raw cheaply, My most expensive thing is when I buy the mince pre packaged from PAH or similar, or the fresh stuff I get from the butchers is free or pence, I'm not gloating but I can fill my freezer for less then £15 with all the goodies from the butcher.

It's really worth spending the time ringing around all your local butchers with a list in front of you and asking what price they do things for, the two butchers I use prepare all there own meats on the premises, that's the sort of butchers you need to target, a lot these days buy it in ready prepared so thee carcasses come in with no heads, trotters etc and so there is no waste for them to sell on as dog food.

Agree with what has been said fot heart; it's also a good source for vitamins B1 and B2 which is important if you don't feed grains. Liver can be fed 1-2g per kg bodyweight daily, but not more. For me this works out at about a quarter of a pound of ox liver every week. Some dogs get the runs from liver - you have to -*test*-('") this. I am now making up mixtures of heart and liver - this will supply all the vitamins a dog needs as well as copper and iron. I haven't fed kidney except in pet minces, as I have not yet found an affordable source. There is a rough rule that says liver/kidney should make up about 10% of the meat fed.... They're both low in fat and rich in protein.

Tripe is one of the stomachs of ruminants, mostly muscle meat but with an extra touch - look here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rumen . Green tripe has not been washed out, so it contains half-digested vegetable matter whose nutrients can be used by dogs. It is high in protein and very moderate in fat and most dogs simply adore the evil smelling stuff! For Rhian tripe day is a feast day!

Bjshabub --

Love that new Avitar!!!

Hi, as I am a Science teacher and we've hit "the parts of the body" section school has offered to give me all the lungs, hearts and eyes that will be dissected, is it safe to feed these to Darwin? If so, how much should he get, he's now 20.25Kg, were at the vets yesterday! =)

When I first started to feed my two Raw I will admit that the first couple of months was quite expensive. You do learn quickly.
!. Find a butcher and buy all of your meat from Him
My butcher throws in loads of meat/ bones for the dogs just because he values my custom
2. Shop late at the supermarket you will get some great bargains.
I have never shopped for my girls food on line I can fill the freezer from my local butcher and out of date supermarket food.

finding a good butchers is the key I have just found a local one that sells meaty bones for 50p per pack all sort too
also found cheap chicken in sainsbury on sat £1.00 per pack woudl will do as extra's with meaty bones or a couple of main meals.