BARF and salmonella

[grainne]

Where do we stand re feeding raw chicken and the risks of salmonella?

Want to spice Louie's diet up a bit, but my mum is very wary about feeding raw chicken

xxx

[pinkpoodle]

Hi in my opinion take great care make sure it is always completley fresh feed soon after thawing i fed chicken to my dogs but was not happy with results best safe than sorry

[Jac]

It's a bit of a worry especially if your dog is pregnant or feeding pups.

[Bid]

I don't feed Barf but have fed the odd chicken wing, but always fresh, never frozen. Actually I don't ever buy frozen poultry, and neither did my mother when we were growing up - my Dad was a health inspector & he put us all off it

[grainne]

so if it is fresh they won't get salmonella?

Why is it so dangerous for humans to have uncooked chicken but not for dogs?

Really confused, does frosty not come on here anymore?

xxx

[Bid]

so if it is fresh they won't get salmonella?

There is less risk if it is fresh. It's something to do with chicken that has started cooking without being thoroughly defrosted, so not cooking properly,and at some point in the process it reaches the ideal temperature for all the little nasties to breed. I never listened to my Dad as a child so the details are all a bit vague in my brain. It's supposed to be OK if you do everything right, but I'm never convinced that I have (This is a veggie giving advice on cooking chicken )

[Emma]

Amos ate BARF for 18 months and loved it.
Then my 16 yr old son got Campila bacta. I dont know where from or how. Maybe it was from here, or maybe it was from the holiday in Turkey we had just been on.
Anyway, it was sufficient for me to stop the raw. Shame really.
But as for the dogs getting salmonella etc, its because their stomach acids are so strong ( they digest bones after all ), but do beware the wet beard after they have eaten and I beleive the bacteria can survive in there for several hours. Do you want to be careful with the kisses?

[freedom]

The risk of Salmonella is to us when handling the raw chicken but not our dogs.
Dogs digestion starts in the stomach. Which is why dogs don't need to 'savour' their food or chew it up in to tiny pieces. Saliva is just a lubricant to get the food chunks down to the stomach. Unlike dogs, our digestion starts in the mouth with saliva breaking down the starches and sugars in food. Which is why we need to chew our food.

A dogs stomach has a very low ph level between 1 and 2.The same as 0.4 % of Hydrochloric acid . Which is why dogs can eat rotting meat and not get sick, being natures' scavengers. The ph level is too low for salmonella or e- Coli to live . Whereas humans ph level is quite high, almost neutral, not low enough to kill these bacteria so we are prone to food poisoning. Our ph level is just right to digest cooked food and to digest carborhydrates such as rice and corn and wheat. A dogs ph level cannot digest these carborhydrates. Cardorhydrates also cause tartar on teeth because there is no saliva to break it down.

[grainne]

thank you, that makes a lot of sense

Guess I'll have to try the chicken wings now!!

xxx

[susiegill]

Hiya

It took me "ages" to put my two fully onto Barf but I am so glad I did.

Once you get your head around the fact that they can eat a full rib bone, crunch through chicken wings etc. and eat raw meat then it's easy They love their food, never suffer any tummy upsets, poos very compact and easy to dispose of and no flatulance!!! Well of course they do get the odd gust of wind, but nothing compared to when they had dried complete

They have a huge marrow bone each which they are going to have this afternoon, we get them one a week from the local butcher, keeps them occupied for ages and cleans their teeth nicely.

It's not for everyone, some of the meat especially tripe stinks so for that you need a strong stomach

[gilly39]

I love giving Charlie and Madison chicken wings and rib bones.. still a little worried about Madison as she is so ickle but the look on her face tells me it's worth it!

I am worried now though as of course if you buy wings you cant feed them all at the same time so I freeze some and then make sure they are thoroughly defrosted and kept chilled before feeding. I have never had any dodgy tums!

Good tip about the beards though! I never even thought about that.

[grainne]

louie has cooked chicken (boneless) and raw beef mixed in with his complete and a weetabix and gravy and a can of tuna (smells yuck but he loves it!!) and has bones from time to time (esp when my lambshank goes wrong) but I saw some chicken wings in tescos for £1.50 and I thought it was about time I gave them a whirl too.

xxx

[susiegill]

Here's a little pic of my two enjoying their bones today

[amber]

louie has cooked chicken (boneless) and raw beef mixed in with his complete and a weetabix and gravy and a can of tuna (smells yuck but he loves it!!) and has bones from time to time (esp when my lambshank goes wrong) but I saw some chicken wings in tescos for £1.50 and I thought it was about time I gave them a whirl too.

xxx

Hi Grainne
You would be better to swap the tuna for mackerell, or sardine. Tuna has mercury in too high level for dogs. The rest of it sounds lovely
Ours have JWB, Nature diet , cooked chicken, and raw beef, mackerell in oil, drained. No bones though, i worry about the risk of internal piercing. I am also prone to Campilobacter
Amber

[pinkpoodle]

i agree bones (fresh) ( chicken fresh) great but make sure they are dogs will bloom and grow on real meat after all that is what it is all about !!! they are dogs who wants proccesed food in tins and bags ?