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What Parts Of a Chicken Should I Keep?


Riika
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I'm not sure if this belongs in this section so please move it mods, if it does not.

We'll be butchering 23 meat chickens come Saturday and I was wondering what parts I can keep to feed to my dog as part of his raw food diet. So far I've heard the feet, liver, heart, and gizzard. Is that all I should keep? Or should I even be keeping these?

Thanks in advance!

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Bones, head, and feet make good stock. You can break up the carcass(es) and throw it (/them) into a pot to boil down after you've taken off everything you want to use, and then pick the last remaining bits of meat off.

 

I have fed all of the bits you mention to my dog, and eaten all of them but feet myself. Giblets can make an excellent soup: gizzard, heart and liver are nearly the best bits when cooked properly.

 

The neck, lungs and intestines can be used too, though I haven't tried them. But the latter need to be washed.

 

Damn it, now I want giblets.

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I'm with Gideon's Girl. Save everything except the feathers, intestines and stomach.

 

I actually pay a private poultry processor $.25/lb. for the stuff he'd normally compost. My dogs get parts (including uncleaned gizzards) that many raw feeders aren't able to supply, I get it all nicely packaged in gallon zip-lock bags, and the processor's pleased as punch to get a few extra bucks now and again. Talk about win-win.

 

So, yeah, save everything. Heck, I wouldn't even worry too much about separating stomachs and intestines. Let the dogs sort out what they don't want to eat.

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Thanks all! I ended up keeping mainly skin, lungs and feet as my grandpa took the liver, heart, and gizzard.

So I gave Duke a chicken foot and he gnaws on it for awhile and promptly swallows it whole. Hmmm.... Anyone know how I can prevent his doing that?

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Someone I know has a gulper and he took the metal tube vacuum cleaner attachment and used cable ties to fasten raw meaty bones to it to slow down his gulper. I know someone else that uses visegrips to slow down her gulper. Good luck!

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