I posted this in raw feeding, but didn't get a reply, so maybe someone here in puppies may have an answer. At what age is a puppy capable of eating the thicker bone in a chicken wing - the one about as thick as a lady's little finger? The other day Willow had a wing but she seemed to be struggling with the thicker part, after chomping through the thinner part with no hesitation. In the end, I just cut the meat off that bit. Do you think she's too young (9 weeks), or perfectly capable and just needs to work it out?
Re: Raw chicken wing Sorry, I read your post but got distracted and didn't reply. Plus, I don't feed raw, so I'm not sure of the answer! I remember reading an article from Pippa about feeding a small pup a raw chicken wing. It's here: http://www.thelabradorsite.com/raw-food-dealing-with-problems-and-conflicting-advice/
Re: Raw chicken wing Good article! It doesn't answer the question of whether she can cope with the bone at this age, but it does explain the reason she tried to swallow it whole! Maybe next time, I'll try in her crate so she knows she's safe from the scourge of chicken wing theft. Again, this is an issue with so much conflicting advice, because I read elsewhere that you *should* hold the chicken wing so that they don't try to swallow it whole!! How's a mum to know what to do?!
Re: Raw chicken wing It is the role of puppy mums to worry worry worry. : For what it is worth, Pongo has adored raw bones (mainly little lamb bones) from very early age - what he can't eat becomes a favourite chew for days on end. Although these days he can eat pretty much anything...
Re: Raw chicken wing Its impossible to get raw bones where I live we have no real butchers and supermarkets have all stopped doing them its so annoying as mine loves a raw wing but that's all I can get really.
Re: Raw chicken wing Surely your little darling deserves a nice rack of lamb? French trimmed, of course Can't you get pork ribs? I thought that everywhere sold them, and pretty cheap?
Re: Raw chicken wing [quote author=snowbunny link=topic=8275.msg116987#msg116987 date=1413372413] Surely your little darling deserves a nice rack of lamb? French trimmed, of course Can't you get pork ribs? I thought that everywhere sold them, and pretty cheap? [/quote] Never thought of them though think my Husband would cry if he saw his fave going to Lemmy lol. I use to have a large Greyhound who loved one of them massive turkey legs always made me think of Dino in Flintstones as he trotted down garden to enjoy it. X
Re: Raw chicken wing I first started feeding raw chicken wings at about sixteen weeks. Yes, she swallowed it whole, choked it back up again, swallowed it whole again, choked it back up, then got the idea and chomped on it a bit before swallowing it back down again. After that I almost gave up on the whole thing! But very quickly she got the idea of chomping to break the bone before eating the whole wing.
Re: Raw chicken wing The first few times I gave my spaniel a chicken wing I held it. I don't think it is a bad idea to hold it anyway as it makes them less protective over bones! It definitely helped my spaniel learn to eat it slowly and carefully. Chloe
Re: Raw chicken wing Some puppies are happy for you to hold one end whilst they gnaw on the other. I found with Rachael that she would panic and try and tug the thing out of my hand, and sometimes succeed. She would then try and swallow it whole because she was afraid of losing it. Any attempt to be near her whilst she ate raw made her very stressed even though no-one had ever taken any meat off her. So with her, I just took each wing and hit it two or three times with a mallet, to break up the bone inside the meat. And then gave it to her and retreated far enough away that she could eat in comfort.
Re: Raw chicken wing Hi I raw feed my almost 6 month old puppy and she was weaned onto a raw diet from the breeders who fed raw chicken wings from about 4 weeks old and chicken legs a few weeks later so they are certainly capable of getting through the bone. Thankfully, she has never attempted to swallow any of the bones I have given her whole, maybe it was because she was introduced to them at a very young age?? I was told not to hold the bones as this can encourage them to gobble them down as they may think your going to take it away from them. I was also informed if feeding pork be certain to freeze the meat for two weeks before feeding to reduce the small risk of parasites that can be found in pork.
Re: Raw chicken wing Thanks everyone for your replies. I think I'll try what you said, Pippa, and bash it a few times, then feed it in her crate so hopefully she doesn't feel threatened. I'll let you know how it goes - fingers crossed
Re: Raw chicken wing Well, I gave her another wing today for lunch. I was pretty nervous, I have to admit, as I put her in her crate with it. She went about it a lot more slowly and less frantically than when I was holding the end, and spent about 20 minutes getting through it. She had to cough some of it up at one point for a second attempt, but she wasn't ever in any difficulty or distress, so I didn't move to intervene. So, very successful! Thanks for the advice; seeing her so engaged by the wing has encouraged me to introduce more raw food into her diet where I can - although, since she's only been used to kibble, I'm taking the "one new food at a time" approach. Maybe next week, we'll try some rabbit!
Re: Raw chicken wing Thanks, I will. I shall also be on vigilant poo watch every time I introduce something new! I will never be able to have her on a 100% raw food diet because I simply don't have the space nor easy access to a butcher for regular trips, but I do think adding in food they have to think about and work at really enriches them, so I'd like to be able to get to the point where she can eat a good range of things. Slowly, slowly catchy monkey!
Re: Raw chicken wing I don't fully feed raw either; Poppy has one raw meal a day and one small cup of kibble for her second meal. She loves them both!
