The American Beagler Forum

I started doing something last year that has worked out really well for me and my hound. I butcher my own deer each season and when I am done I take the remaining deer carcass and cut the entire thing up into nice treat size chunks for the Friz. All that I toss is the head and the hoofs. I individually wrap each chunk up in news paper and throw it in a box in the freezer. She is a small 22lb 15 inch female that runs her little heart out for me and I have a tough time keeping weight on her. I also picked up a road kill and cut up the hind quarters for her. I froze it in zip lock bags with enough in each bag to last a week. She has always been in great shape year round but in the fall when she starts getting the venison supliment along with her other food she bulks up like weight lifter, she's ripped. It really works well and costs next to nothing. Just thought I would share....

L.Waalkens

I grind a whole big ole buck into burger for mine every year. They love it and thank every deer they see in the woods!!LOL.

I was cleaning out the freezer, and found a bunch of deer meat that is a couple years old but still frozen. Guess thats what I get for not rotating stock Anyways, I was thinking about thawing some out and feeding the dogs. Should I just add some with dry food, or do you recommend to feed solely, and if so how much meat? I'm feeding pro plan performance formula right now and have no trouble keeping weight on my dogs, probably cause my 4 and 2 year old kids feed them lord knows what throughout the day when I'm at work. But I figured it would be a very lean high protein diet, and a nice break from kibble.

Any suggestions?

SgtUSMC wrote:I was cleaning out the freezer, and found a bunch of deer meat that is a couple years old but still frozen. Guess thats what I get for not rotating stock Anyways, I was thinking about thawing some out and feeding the dogs. Should I just add some with dry food, or do you recommend to feed solely, and if so how much meat? I'm feeding pro plan performance formula right now and have no trouble keeping weight on my dogs, probably cause my 4 and 2 year old kids feed them lord knows what throughout the day when I'm at work. But I figured it would be a very lean high protein diet, and a nice break from kibble.

Any suggestions?

Either way is fine. If you feed raw deer meat with kibbles it goes a little further. If you not running your hounds too much then be conservative as they will get fat quick!

hounddog
Jim Umbarger

how long will it last if it has been kept in the freezer. i guess would four year old deer meat be bad for a dog.

houndsmen06 wrote:how long will it last if it has been kept in the freezer. i guess would four year old deer meat be bad for a dog.

The amount of time in the freezer makes no difference at all. Time is a human thing and doesn't bother a dog. Unthaw it and throw it out to them and see. I think a dog is a great place to clean out your freezer. Why waste it? We all know that a hound will eat just about anything and usally , the nastier the better taste is to them. JMO

hounddog
Jim Umbarger

Frozen is just that.
I boil up deer meat on my outside burner and throw in some rice. In the winter I just scoop some over their dry food. They get something warm and some liquid out of the deal. I just cut whatever up in cubes or strip and freeze it in zip locks.

I was told on another post here to feed it separate from Kibble? Whoever told me said it was processed differently in the digestion of both. I feed it usually the days after hard running to get them back up and it. The muscle tone they can get from it if dense and noticeable. Hope this helps.

Thanks guys, so either way, raw or cooked I guess will work/

Raw or cooked doesnt matter.

My dogs ran one down the other day and had a ham eat off it before I got to them, it didnt seem to bother them!!!!

You wanna know what cracks me up?? Yesterday I was cutting up a couple of deer with my wife's uncle who I hunt with regularly and was telling him I wanna keep all the scrap for my beagles. He says to me if you feed them venison they'll start chasing deer when you take them out hunting. The funnier part is he's never owned a hunting dog of any kind and has only ever heard this "wive's tale" from other people but I'll be darned if I could tell him otherwise..........again . I even used the analogy that I feed them raw beef and they don't go chasing cows but that didn't get me anywhere either. I just couldn't help but chuckle when it was all said and done. That's the same mentality as rabbit hunters chase all the deer off of a property too.

I do have a question though. I was considering taking the rib cage sections and cutting them in half with my band saw and then just throwing the cut sections into the kennel for them to chew on. Any opinions on the good or bad of doing this???

I for one have always heard if you feed deer meat to a dog it will cause them to run deer. I have never tried it so i don't know. Now on the other hand if i was to feed my dogs fresh deer meat, won't it have deer scent on it ? What about the blood that the dog might lick of the meat ? When i start training pups i always give them some blood of a wild rabbit and let them eat the heads. So if deer meat has no effect on a beagle then the blood and head routine of a wild rabbit i guess is a waste of time too.

Salzer it's just the blood that gets the dogs fired up it wouldn't matter if you used beef blood it would get them fired up too. I do think they probably get the rabbit scent from the heads and it may help them some.

The rib cage is the best part. I saw it into 3 by 4 inch chunks and leave all the fat and lard on it. The ribs are soft enough that my dog has no problem eating the whole works in a few minutes and with the fat it really keeps her in great winter running shape. As far as chaseing deer, she has been getting this for two years and has not so much as looked at a deer in that time. She even started tattleing on friends dogs that chase deer a couple weeks ago. When they take off on one she runs back to me and stays close.

L.Waalkens

i have fed venison,beef and chicken to my hounds and beagles for about 35 years now. they do chase a deer once in a while, but no cows or chickens yet.