# old deer meat as dog food?



## AM1 (Dec 30, 2011)

Cleaning out the freezer. Found about 60- 80 lbs of old deer meat that we had forgotten about or either considered not very good. Most of it is 2- 3 years old. most looks burnt. Can this be thawed and ground up into dog food or should I just chunk it all?


----------



## UGA hunter (Dec 30, 2011)

Feed it raw. Just thaw it out and the dogs will love it.


----------



## redman2006 (Dec 30, 2011)

AM1 said:


> Cleaning out the freezer. Found about 60- 80 lbs of old deer meat that we had forgotten about or either considered not very good. Most of it is 2- 3 years old. most looks burnt. Can this be thawed and ground up into dog food or should I just chunk it all?



It would be fine to bake or boil some up for them.  Don't replace the whole diet that way, meat is not balanced as a canine diet.  Use it as a treat or a protein supplement during the working season.  

Introduce it slowly or a house dog will paint your house for you.

No bones!  An I would not feed it raw, especaily to pets.  they get the same salmonella and ecoli we do and then pass it to use when we pet them.

Just my 0.02


----------



## Dog Hunter (Dec 30, 2011)

Should be fine.  How do you have 60-80 lbs on meat and not know it?


----------



## Mistrfish (Dec 30, 2011)

All 9 of our dogs are on raw diet, meaning we feed nothing but meat . Chicken, pork, turkey and yes venison. As one person stated dOnt feed it as a meal or you will be cleaning up a mess.  Its cheaper than any dog food and better for them if they are rasied as pups with it.


----------



## j_seph (Dec 30, 2011)

We got two chihuahuas and I made the mistake giving them a piece or two of scrap venison  about 3 years ago. Now when I kill a deer I cannot go into the house without getting licked and aggravated to death by them. They smell it on my clothes and just go crazy wanting some. If ya can't tell, they love it when they get it raw for a treat.


----------



## shakey gizzard (Dec 30, 2011)

j_seph said:


> We got two chihuahuas and I made the mistake giving them a piece or two of scrap venison  about 3 years ago. Now when I kill a deer I cannot go into the house without getting licked and aggravated to death by them. They smell it on my clothes and just go crazy wanting some. If ya can't tell, they love it when they get it raw for a treat.



Chihuahuacabra's?


----------



## Bkeepr (Dec 30, 2011)

I give some to my blood tracking dogs, it further motivates them to find the deer!  The last deer my Pearl dog found, I had to drag deer plus dog to truck.  She was hanging on and gnawing away.


----------



## sea trout (Dec 31, 2011)

my dogs get freezer burnt deer.
and i process my own deer and put all the junk (tendons, bloodshot) in 1lb packs for the dogs.
i halfway brown it in a skillet on the stove though. not sayin thats one would have to by no means, its just what i do.
two hounds and a sled  dog love them some scrap deer!!!!!!!!!


----------



## K9SAR (Jan 5, 2012)

redman2006 said:


> It would be fine to bake or boil some up for them.  Don't replace the whole diet that way, meat is not balanced as a canine diet.  Use it as a treat or a protein supplement during the working season.
> 
> 
> No bones!  An I would not feed it raw, especaily to pets.  they get the same salmonella and ecoli we do and then pass it to use when we pet them.
> ...



Hmm - have to disagree with you a bit here. 

JUST the muscle meat is not a balanced canine diet, but the introduction of muscle meat, organ meat, and raw meaty bones comprises of a well-balanced canine diet.  This means bones, too.  Depending on what part of the deer the OP is feeding will determine what types of bones are available.

I'm going to assume they'd be weight-bearing bones so they are no good for anything than monitored recreational bones for the dogs versus softer/smaller bones for eating and deriving calcium from for the diet. 

All of our dogs are fed a raw diet, and I've also directed some GON members into feeding raw with great responses from them and their dogs' Veterinarians.  A dog's digestion tract is different than a human's digestion tract so they do NOT pass along salmonella, E. coli, etc. the same way that humans would in their feces.  Because a dog's digestion tract is shorter than that of a human's and is more acidic, the parasites don't have time to thoroughly process in the system (they both require an incubation period to "set up shop") and are often killed by the higher acid content before being passed back out of the system.


----------



## UGA hunter (Jan 5, 2012)

Thank you!!!! I was too frustrated to type all of that. Let's not forget that our dogs were once wolves!


----------



## skeeter1 (Jan 5, 2012)

i feed  all my  deer hounds   all the  fresh  raw  bloody  parts     that  i don't  eat    ,  bones  and all   ,  while  i am skinnin it ,  and  if there  is  pups  around  they get chunked in the gut  bucket  ,to lick all the  fresh blood  this  is  how  you make  a deer  runnin blood thirsty  fool  i saw  up  the  back bone    and   cut  all  the  ribs  up   so  they  all get plenty,they all  get  legs  to chew on, and   when it's  a buck  and   i saw  off the  horns i feed  the brain  to them  also  everything  but  the stomache  and  the  intestiens  get  eatin and  the  hide   and head  so there  really isn't  much  that don't get used , shoot  i  even  dry  and  stretch the  intestiens  sometimes  for   my bow  strings  like  my paw paw  used to do for me ,    my skinnin rack  is  right beside  my dog pen,  

  but i  want  feed  them cold   raw  meat   ,   and   freezer burnt  meat  ,   i will throw  in a old  crab pot  i got  beside  the pen    with the propane  cooker  and  heat it  up  and  add   a 20 pound  bag  of  rice  and  feed  all the  hounds  a  good  hot meal,   i do the  rice thing  very offtin    along  with  day old  bread  helps  with the  feed bill,   but  i have  lots  of  hounds  for all kinds  of  critters!!


----------



## redman2006 (Jan 6, 2012)

To each their own.....
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC339295/

http://www.petmd.com/dog/conditions/digestive/c_dg_salmonellosis

The list goes on and on.  These are scientific studies and CDC studies of actual cases.  A quick search yields many actual cases in the dogs as well as in the humans in contact with the pets.

Part of the issue is bacteria grow continuously above a minimum temp.  Food that is in the fridge for longer periods grows it but slower than on the counter.  

In the wolf's fresh kill, the bacterial count is very low excpt for that in the intestinal tract.  It takes a minimum count to infect an animal. 

Fresh meat off a new kill is not nearly the problem that chicken from the store that is refrigerated and near its used by date is going to be.  The bacterial count has not had a chance to climb.  

Anyway, to each their own.  A quick google search will yield MANY actual confirmed cases.


----------



## K9SAR (Jan 6, 2012)

And I can turn around and show similiar links to you to various Journals of Veterinary Medicine.  I stand by what I say. 

I don't rely on Google and the internet.  I rely on Canine Nutritionists (aka Veterinarians that decided to pursue nutrition as their primary focus) and actual case studies.

I noticed your primary argument was salmonella and chicken as well as chicken being left on the counter for long periods of time?  ("Part of the issue is bacteria grow continuously above a minimum temp. Food that is in the fridge for longer periods grows it but slower than on the counter.")

I believe the question here was in regards to frozen venison as well as all-around raw diets in general: not improper food storage and one protein source.  As you mentioned, feeding just muscle meat is not a well-rounded diet, and neither is feeding one protein source (such as chicken.)


----------



## shakey gizzard (Jan 6, 2012)

K9SAR said:


> Hmm - have to disagree with you a bit here.
> 
> JUST the muscle meat is not a balanced canine diet, but the introduction of muscle meat, organ meat, and raw meaty bones comprises of a well-balanced canine diet.  This means bones, too.  Depending on what part of the deer the OP is feeding will determine what types of bones are available.
> 
> ...



This! Dont forget the veggies!


----------

