Freezing Raw Meat

[Cat]

sorry I seem to having a blank today and been having such a hard time finding frames lately I've forgotten.

Do I need to freeze raw turkey and chicken before giving to the dogs? If so, for how long. I seem to recall you have to freeze red meat for two weeks to kill parasites but not sure about white meat.

Thanks in advance.

[RuralPug]

My information has always been that there is no need to freeze good quality fresh meat before feeding, unless of course it is organ meat or from an unregistered-type butcher. If you have dodgy meat (been at room temp for more than a few hours or in the fridge more than a few days), then I dare say a couple of weeks in the freezer will handicap most bacteria etc. Edited to add - after freezing any dodgy for two weeks, you need to feed as soon it it is thawed.

I freeze most of mine before feeding raw, simply because I find it more economical to purchase in bulk. ( And some of mine, if I don't watch carefully, will deliberately bury theirs as it is apparently tastier when fours days old and stinking! I try not to let that happen, as it sorts of defeats the whole purpose of getting good fresh stuff in the first place!)

It is quite interesting to note that there is actually a very good argument for freezing KIBBLE before feeding as this will kill the storage mites which commonly infest even the best kibble, and to which a surprising number of dogs have an allergic reaction. It doesn't kill their bodies or byproducts though, so it pays to get the freshest kibble that you can and freeze it early...) Sorry, a bit off-topic.

Edited February 1, 2016 by RuralPug

[DeltaCharlie]

The only reason I freeze anything is because I buy in bulk. With 13 dogs even the frozen stuff is lucky to stay in the freezer for a week, certainly no more than 2, we go through it quickly. The day I buy it they eat it fresh. Our dogs eat lamb brisket, roo tails, chicken frames, turkey wings, fish heads and roo mince. All fresh.

ETA: We only feed human quality meat with the exception of the roo. The roo tails are already frozen when we buy them and the roo mince is very high quality with no smell so we feel pretty safe feeding it.

Edited February 1, 2016 by DeltaCharlie

[Scottsmum]

It is quite interesting to note that there is actually a very good argument for freezing KIBBLE before feeding as this will kill the storage mites which commonly infest even the best kibble, and to which a surprising number of dogs have an allergic reaction. It doesn't kill their bodies or byproducts though, so it pays to get the freshest kibble that you can and freeze it early...) Sorry, a bit off-topic.

To continue the off-topic aspect: I heard years ago (on Oprah I think - LOL) that you should always keep nuts (walnuts, almonds etc) in the fridge - as they're full of oils and they stay fresh longer that way / they're less likely to go rancid.

Then, very recently I read an article which suggested that you keep kibble in the freezer if you're not going to get through it in a week or two for similar reasons - to help slow the oils going off. Made total sense to me - but I just don't have the freezer space for that.

To get back on topic: I only feed human grade meat as a general rule - only having one small dog makes that an easier choice. So I don't think meat marked for human consumption required freezing - only if you freeze as part of your storage.

However I think fresh caught wildlife does require 3 weeks. I don't have a reference on that - but I think that's what I've seen on raw feeding groups.

[Cat]

Thanks for that! Google was surprisingly unhelpful.

[The Spotted Devil]

I always freeze for 48 hours. There's a couple of bacteria or something (sorry vague on the details tonight) that are killed by freezing.

[Airedaler]

I frequently feed fresh frames or chicken mince to my dogs have ever had a problem.