Offal and raw diet! Help!!

[BCalltheway]

Hi 

can I please have some advice.. how can I feed a balanced raw diet if feeding offal is not safe? 

I currently have lambs kidneys, brains and kidney that I only just minced today and packaged into the 10% portion of the meal. But as I continue to research, especially Australian sites, I keep having the dont feed offal come up.. I understand this stems from hydatids.. 

But how can I feed a balanced raw diet if I can't feed offal .. want to do what best for my pups but don't want my family infected either! 

 

[persephone]

Don't panic  

found this old thread for you ..some info in there which may be helpful
 

 

[persephone]

also..this  might help  
 

 

[Scrappi&Monty]

I feel like it's a personal decision to weigh up the pros and cons. 

I was raw feeding before I ever read about hyditids, so I thought about it for a bit but I just kept raw feeding because it was doing my dogs a lot of good. 

There is a little bit of a risk, but if you take actions to prevent it it should be fine. I freeze my dogs meals for a week at least (most of the time), because A) that's how I store it, and B) the cold temp should kill off any worms. 

I also worm my dogs monthly with a wormer that covers hyditids (Sentinel or Interceptor Spectrum, I get them mixed up. One kills flea larvae and the one I use doesn't.)

Also I buy my meat from the supermarket as unfortunately we can't order bulk around here, so the risk of hyditids should be minimal because it is intended for human consumption. 

So hopefully all of that keeps the hyditids away! 

 

If you're in Tasmania though, I've heard it is illegal to feed dogs offal. I'm not sure how they enforce this though, are humans not able to buy it either? 

And if you're still worried, perhaps just cook your offal. Cooked offal is better than no offal in a raw diet. 

[BCalltheway]

Thanks guys.. I'm from tassie but living in WA.. you can buy offal so policing it in tas would be impossible!! So I'm going to continue research how to feed offal and prevent hydatids.. will try my best to freeze for as long as possible and worm every month.. the offal thing is pretty gross though.. I minced up brains, liver and kidneys and so gross . I bet the dogs will love it though!! Thanks for the links and advice 

[Scrappi&Monty]

8 hours ago, BCalltheway said:

Thanks guys.. I'm from tassie but living in WA.. you can buy offal so policing it in tas would be impossible!! So I'm going to continue research how to feed offal and prevent hydatids.. will try my best to freeze for as long as possible and worm every month.. the offal thing is pretty gross though.. I minced up brains, liver and kidneys and so gross . I bet the dogs will love it though!! Thanks for the links and advice 

Yeah, no idea how they'd police it... 

 

Freezing isn't necessary but if you're worried about worms it's a good idea to freeze. Google the temp and time needed, I'm sure it will tell you some handy info.

Offal can be a bit "icky" haha but you get used to it. I chopped up lamb kidney for the first time in ages yesterday... it wasn't as smelly as last time (first time it smelled like wee and seaweed haha) 

Personally I use food prep gloves when doing the dogs meal prep (in bulk). Just prevents the feeling that you need to wash your hands a billion times and still feel like they're meaty haha. 

[westiemum]

Quote

Scrappi - There is a little bit of a risk, but if you take actions to prevent it it should be fine. I freeze my dogs meals for a week at least (most of the time), because A) that's how I store it, and B) the cold temp should kill off any worms. 

Yep this is what I do too - because I buy in bulk I freeze up to 20 or so kgs of raw dog food at a time so it stays in the freezer for some time before use - in combination with a supplier who absolutely promises me that he only uses human grade meats.