Are chicken hearts OK??

[phoebesmom]

More feeding questions... sorry guys! In the morning Phoebe has a good quality (I hope) kibble mixed with cooked minced beef, and in the afternoon she has a homemade meal consisting of rice, 3 veg, a fish oil capsule, plus either chicken, rabbit, tuna in oil, minced beef or veal. I alternate at lunch times with one day a raw egg and the next day a natural probiotic yoghurt. How often could I add a chicken heart into her cooked meal, and how many at a time? I don't think she could go onto a raw diet, as when I give her bones all she does is stare at them for a while, then bury them!!!

Thanks for all the good advice on this forum. :D

[miserlou]

I give chicken hearts, sometimes livers (not more often that once per week), and stomachs (just a few days ago didn't even know they sell stuff like that!) to my dogs. I haven't been counting how many I give at a time... They are tiny, aren't they? You may not want to give eggs every other day though, once or twice per week is enough.

[gmacleod]

Chicken heart is just fine for your dog. She could have a whole meal of them without issue, so how many you want to add into your mix is really just whatever you prefer.

On eggs - no more than a couple a week. Or if you must feed more than that, leave out the egg white. What's wrong with too many raw eggs is that the advin in the raw white binds to one of the D vitamins (biotin) and causes a deficiency. No problem at all when you limit yourself to a moderate amount. But feed them every day and the end result is that your dog's hair will fall out :lol: Like so many things in life, a little is very beneficial, but too much does more harm than good. True for eggs as well.

[phoebesmom]

Thanks for the advice Miserlou and gmacleod!! Omigosh, thanks for the tip about overdoing it on the eggs, imagine my little bald Phoebe girl!!

I think I will continue to bug you all for advice re nutrition as I find the topic very interesting and love to learn new things. :D

[JERMAINE]

how about chicken gizzard? is it ok to mix liver heart and gizzards?

[gmacleod]

Yes, absolutely fine :) Remember that a dog would naturally eat the whole animal, so it would certainly get some liver, heart, kidney etc in the same meal.