Lost in a box of deer scraps - my first!!!

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Jewel, PCD

8.6lbs of fury- in a bow!

Barked: Fri Nov 30, '12 9:58am PST


	A fellow foster & raw family here in town gave me a rubbermaid tub of deer scraps they had gotten from the butcher. Craaaazy so heavy I had to get the guy accross the street to carry it in the house for me. I have no idea what I'm doing as Jewel eats pre-made raw patties. I have gotten deer and moose organs to dehydrated for treats before. Also I don't eat a lot of meat myself so I don't even know that much about meat. I've put some strips in the dehyrator last night trying to find the sweet spot where they're still a bit chewie to make chews for the fosters. I cut some stuff that I know is meat and organs into pieces to freeze thinking I'll just add a piece or two to Jewel's pre-made patties so I don't have to worry about bone and balance if she's still eating the pre-made. But there's big chunks of hard white stuff, is that fat? I didn't think deer had that much fat on them. Some of is is just this white stuff, some has some meat on it. What do I do with this stuff? Edited by author Fri Nov 30, '12 9:59am PST

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Charlie

The world is my- food bowl!

Barked: Fri Nov 30, '12 11:27am PST


	Hi Jewel . I have butchered quite a few scrapped deer (all the unwanted parts) in the past few years. What you'll receive is generally anything besides back straps and some of the hindquarters (butt roast, sirloin, etc). A lot of the scrap meat comes from the front legs, and sometimes back legs as well. We've also gotten extremely meaty necks before. All the meat is excellent and safe to feed right away, as long as the innards were removed correctly (they most likely were). You may have also gotten ribs or the whole ribcage. The ribcage is difficult to split and break into meals, but they make excellent boney meals, and the ribs are thin and easily broken by most any sized dog. Most hunters will gut all the organs out before hanging the deer, but if you did receive organs then they are a special treat! The heart is perfectly safe to feed, and the liver is fine as well but should be checked for obvious white/light markings (flukes). You may have gotten feet, which you can use as chews, but I personally tossed them as they are almost all bone and fur. Have fun! Hunting season is the best! We're hoping our boys bring back a few tomorrow! Edit: A few more notes... the white hard bits are fat, probably from the spine or ribs. I personally discard it, as I like venison for it's lean quality. The meat is also delicious for people. It's amazing how tender and tasty venison is, despite what part of the deer it came from. We received a bunch of random meat hunks for cooking last year because the hunter thought it would be "too tough", and it was still more tender than any steak I've eaten! Edited by author Fri Nov 30, '12 11:29am PST

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the chi-weenie

Barked: Fri Nov 30, '12 4:02pm PST


	lol sounds fun.... if you want to make the best of the meat you were given, definitely try to freeze some 'meals' out of it instead of just adding extra meat to your dogs already balanced diet. You could easily serve a balanced meal by giving your pup a bone to chew on from the deer and a little bit of organ and making most of the meal the meat scraps. Since you already feed raw patties, you just have to eye-ball how much meat to give, it will be the same amount as her patty meal. As long as your box included meat, bones, and organ, don't be afraid to make some home made meals with it. =) 80% meat, 10% bone (she can just gnaw some off if it's a big bone), and 10% organ.

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Saya

I want to play!

Barked: Fri Nov 30, '12 9:25pm PST


	Congrats! I love deer tastes yummy. Saya and Bella enjoys it too. I get free Canadian goose mostly boneless sometime bone in. I get free bone in dove.. Makes yummy small meal or snack. I've cooked bone in dove wrapped it with bacon tasted great.

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Duke

I'm king of the- world!

Barked: Sat Dec 1, '12 10:24am PST


	Congrats! That sounds like a lot of meat for your little guy. If you don't want to do full meals, just throw some into each pre-made meal. I guess if it was me I'd do no more than 25% venison to ensure balance is maintained. I have nothing to back up that figure...just what my gut tells me. We also scored a ton of free venison this year--a good 80+ pounds of it! It's all scrap meat with very little fat. I don't do venison, myself, but it makes for great dog food! I toss the chunks of white fat. I have fed it fresh and unfrozen, just a few days off the deer, but mostly I like to freeze it for a few weeks. As Charlie mentions, flukes can be a concern. Venison is about as good as it gets for lean, organic, natural red meat.

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Jewel, PCD

8.6lbs of fury- in a bow!

Barked: Tue Dec 4, '12 1:07pm PST


	Jewel's far too much of a diva to gnaw on a bone!! She'll eat little chicken wings and that's that. Which is why I wanted to just add some to her patties since they have the bone in them. I haven't found much organ, a piece of heart and a piece of something that I knew was organ but not sure which.

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Trigger

*Blackdog*

Barked: Tue Dec 4, '12 2:15pm PST


	We feed the fat in moderation, but that's because the boys don't slow down just because it's winter and the cold causes them to burn calories far faster than normal. We also usually strip the carcass to the bone because the trimmings are what we make our brats/sausages with. You're very lucky to have found someone who left them, we literally fight over those bits around here lol Organ bits are fun to play hide and seek in the snow with. Best part is, if one doesn't get found it's kept plenty cold for the next time you head out