Chicken Leg Quarters?

**CaliforniaLabLover** · 03-09-2008, 11:43 PM

So, I know that there is thought that you simply shouldn't give weight-bearing bones because of the thicknesses of their cortices and so forth (ie- more difficulty digesting), but I keep hearing that many give whole/partial chicken quarters...at the store the other day, I found lots of less expensive chicken "quarters" but they all included legs... thoughts? Give/don't give? Thanks!

**ObedienceLabs4Me** · 03-09-2008, 11:50 PM

Julie, I have fed them but it's not my favorite thing to feed.

**Baloo317** · 03-10-2008, 12:00 AM

I'm interested in hearing people's thoughts on this as well, I've also seen them for sale in bulk in the grocery store.

JustineNYC · 03-10-2008, 01:54 AM

For RMB I use Chicken quarters or chicken backs or cornish hens.

Never had a problem with chicken quarters. Both my guys chomp them to bits.

I dont feed legs by themselves though, the legs and wings they dont chew, theyll just swallow. Not really the point if you want them to chew.

If your stuck i found this thread helpful

http://www.justlabradors.com/forum/i...c,27356.0.html

From what I understood the bones in a chicken are easily digested. I dont buy shanks and I shy away from the bones in a steak. I watched Dale obliterate the chicken quarter...are they really consider "weight bearing" cause when they bite into them.....their bloody and look hollow. I actually took it away from him to examine it cause i was impress with how he chew it.

I see pieces in their poo sometimes....but everything is small.

**kallie** · 03-10-2008, 03:03 PM

I have never heard that you should not feed chicken quarters, due to the leg ??? I have always fed them, with no problems what so ever..MAF this for some RAW feeders can be their main RMB source, as they are so cheap..Turkey legs are another story..

My dogs chomp chicken quarters up fast

Jen

JustineNYC · 03-10-2008, 10:21 PM

I bought 2 "split chickens" today in the super market....and they look to me like chicken quarters.....they just also have a wing on it....but same size, same section of the animal. When I cut up the chicken myself, I give the leg to them too....I just make sure its attached to something big that theyll have to chew. Like i said before...if you feed a drumstick, the dog is going to swallow it whole. I thought the object was to feed them bigger so they have to break it down.

**samrandy** · 03-11-2008, 02:32 PM

I feed quarters, too, without any problems. But since I've read recently that some do not feed these because they are weight bearing, I have pounded the bones with a mallet for my little dog, and she's done ok with it, too.

**Kzunell** · 03-13-2008, 12:28 AM

WEight bearing generally refers to the lower leg bones of things like Cattle and moose and elk. Things like chickens and turkeys are built for flight and have hollow thin bones though out their whole body to make them light enough to fly. So while technically they do bear weight it is very little and the bones don't pose any risk to a dogs teeth. Knee joint bones in cows are very very hard dense bones and do pose more of a risk to a dogs teeth.
also if you are worried about seeing bits of bone in a dogs poop all you have to do is pick out one with a plastic bag and you should find that it is very soft and flexible after its acid bath in the dogs stomach. A dogs stomach has a PH level of around 1 and a human has a PH level of around 5-6 with 7 being neutral like water.

Kelly and Amber