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Questions about commercial raw - Page 4

post #91 of 115
2/13/12 at 4:30pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Willowy View Post

Yup, they shipped it! And this is interesting. . .they ran out of dry ice so he's going to throw a couple more packages of meat into the order. I'm sure it'll stay frozen--the weather hasn't exactly been warm lately--but that's pretty good customer service, I think!

So they are packing it with ice? It should be alright.... I received different orders - from them, with dry ice, it gets here rock solid, like just out of the freezer....
Orders packed with Ice get here frozen, but the very outer layer a tiny bit defrosted - which is NOT a big deal at all..... you just put it in the freezer and you are set to go..... and this is to Dallas...... not like we freeze over here (aside from last night when we actually got snow for the very first time in the year laughing02.gif)
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post #92 of 115
2/13/12 at 5:49pm
Thread Starter 
No, it sounds like they'll pack it with nothing but the frozen meat. He says he does it with Northern orders all the time (in the winter) and it works. I'm not concerned. . .it hasn't gotten above freezing for a while now. It may be warmer in the UPS warehouse, but 40 pounds of frozen food in a styrofoam cooler should be fine for 3-4 days.
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post #93 of 115
2/13/12 at 6:21pm
Wow - that is REALLY great of them! laughing02.gif I agree - should be fine, and you'll get extra meat! clap.gif
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post #94 of 115
2/14/12 at 12:01pm
Thread Starter 
Well, my package is already in Omaha and UPS says it'll be delivered tomorrow. 2 days! Didn't need any ice after all. But it did only come from Wisconsin. I'll have to remember that. . .maybe if I call my orders in they'll let me skip the dry ice all the time (or at least if it's not too hot). Pricey stuff. I won't be home tomorrow eek.gif. But the package will be safe on my back porch--as long as a dog doesn't wander by! laughing02.gif.
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post #95 of 115
2/17/12 at 1:36am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Willowy View Post

Well, my package is already in Omaha and UPS says it'll be delivered tomorrow. 2 days! Didn't need any ice after all. But it did only come from Wisconsin. I'll have to remember that. . .maybe if I call my orders in they'll let me skip the dry ice all the time (or at least if it's not too hot). Pricey stuff. I won't be home tomorrow eek.gif. But the package will be safe on my back porch--as long as a dog doesn't wander by! laughing02.gif.

So did you get it? What did you think? Tell us? My babies love it - I know Lauren is already defrosting hers.... and is very impressed by all that meat - what about you? clap.gifclap.gifclap.gif
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post #96 of 115
2/19/12 at 6:54pm
Thread Starter 
I did get it. The top 2 packages were thawed a bit around the edges, I was surprised. . .it did get to 40 degrees that day but that's not very warm. But they were on top and the others were in boxes--still frozen solid. So I think if I had ordered the correct amount that it could be closely packed there wouldn't have been any thawing. So far the kitties don't like it as much frown.gif. Though the doggies are happy tongue.gif. But I've only tried the turkey and beef and maybe they only like chicken. I'll try the chicken tomorrow and see what happens. It's not the meat thing--they gladly eat raw chicken breast, no matter how large the pieces are--so I'm guessing it's either a texture or flavor thing.
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post #97 of 115
2/20/12 at 10:00am
Thread Starter 
And they do like the chicken! Snarfed it down pretty fast. I guess my kitties just aren't adventurous when it comes to flavors. I'll keep offering the turkey and beef now and then and see if they eventually develop a taste for it.
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post #98 of 115
2/20/12 at 10:07am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Willowy View Post

And they do like the chicken! Snarfed it down pretty fast. I guess my kitties just aren't adventurous when it comes to flavors. I'll keep offering the turkey and beef now and then and see if they eventually develop a taste for it.

You can now start mixing a little bit of the turkey and the beef into the chicken.... a bit more every day until you have all turkey and beef, just like you transition kibbles - that's how I do my flavor transitions.... works every time biggthumpup.gif
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post #99 of 115
2/21/12 at 8:58am
Just thought I ought to post this here. I went to mix up the Hare Today pork mix (meat/organs/bones). It's listed as a fine grind, and the first two 2-pound bags were great. This one wasn't. I think it's appropriate to let people know they need to be alert for batch inconsistencies in the grinds from the company. I don't know if the grinder wasn't set right or what, but this had large chunks of meat and fat - and large pieces of bones. And sharp large pieces of bone.

I noticed when I emptied the two pounds into the bowl that it looked very chunky. I started mixing, and there was a LOT of "clinking." I started fishing out bones. This is just a small portion of what I found. And then, when I served the cats' individual portions, I went through each, and found quite a few more. frown.gif

I still plan on using Hare Today. But I am going through any food I serve them with a fine tooth comb, so to speak.

700

After taking the pic, I realized there was no scale. So here you go (I found a nickel to use for comparison) :

(Examples of some of the fat chunks at the left)

359

359
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post #100 of 115
2/21/12 at 9:03am
thud.gif that looks scary
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post #101 of 115
2/21/12 at 9:04am
Thread Starter 
I don't know if I consider the fat to be a big problem--when I give my cats chicken breasts they go for the fat first, and pull it off in a big chunk. But those are some huge pieces of bone! Probably the cats would just spit them out/eat around them but it's still alarming. Did you contact the company? Maybe they got a batch of coarse grind wrongly labeled as fine grind?
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post #102 of 115
2/21/12 at 9:05am
I'll contact them. agree.gif

I'm not worried about the fat chunks either. They're just there to indicate how chunky things were in what was supposed to be a "fine" grind.
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post #103 of 115
2/21/12 at 9:15am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Willowy View Post

I don't know if I consider the fat to be a big problem--when I give my cats chicken breasts they go for the fat first, and pull it off in a big chunk. But those are some huge pieces of bone! Probably the cats would just spit them out/eat around them but it's still alarming. Did you contact the company? Maybe they got a batch of coarse grind wrongly labeled as fine grind?

They do not have a meat/bone/organs in course or even medium grind - only in fine grind. So this is definitely a quality control issue. Someone loaded the wrong blade in the grinder. I would contact them - and send the pictures with it agree.gif
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post #104 of 115
2/21/12 at 9:35am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Carolina View Post

thud.gif that looks scary

yeah.gifjaw-dropping.gif OMG - those are HUGE bone shards !!!!! Clinking ..... you mean clunking laughing02.gif SO glad you picked them out and thank you for sharing. I have been picking out bones too in any bone-in meats I am serving... BUT WOW those are very large YIKES !!!!!!
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post #105 of 115
2/21/12 at 1:35pm
Well, good lesson. I contacted the company. The pork used to be only coarse ground. They thought it was all gone. Obviously not. rolleyes.gif They refunded my money for the batch. I appreciate that but.... it's kind of a bummer batches aren't tracked.

But one thing is for sure... I will NOT be buying any course bone-in grinds from anyone, anywhere! eek.gif
Edited by LDG - 2/21/12 at 1:52pm
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post #106 of 115
2/21/12 at 3:28pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Carolina View Post

They do not have a meat/bone/organs in course or even medium grind - only in fine grind. So this is definitely a quality control issue. Someone loaded the wrong blade in the grinder. I would contact them - and send the pictures with it agree.gif

The first time I looked at the site they did have coarse-ground pork as a choice (I looked right now and they don't have it). They still have some coarse-gound chicken. I'm not really sure why anyone would want coarse-ground? Even for dogs that size seems wrong. Either give them whole bones or finely-ground bones, not big broken chunks, IMO. But anyway, glad to hear they refunded for their mistake, and hopefully (it sounds like) they aren't doing coarse grinds anymore so there shouldn't be further trouble.
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post #107 of 115
2/21/12 at 5:07pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by LDG View Post

Well, good lesson. I contacted the company. The pork used to be only coarse ground. They thought it was all gone. Obviously not. rolleyes.gif They refunded my money for the batch. I appreciate that but.... it's kind of a bummer batches aren't tracked.
But one thing is for sure... I will NOT be buying any course bone-in grinds from anyone, anywhere! eek.gif

I am very happy that they refunded your money!!! As they should have after seeing that shocker.gif!!! Well, that explains the situation. Odd that they don't have those coarse ground packages marked dontknow.gif. I am just glad you are getting your money back agree.gif
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post #108 of 115
2/21/12 at 5:50pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Feralvr View Post

Odd that they don't have those coarse ground packages marked dontknow.gif.

Yeah, or separated or something. agree.gif My thinking exactly.
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post #109 of 115
2/22/12 at 8:52am

Ok, silly question.  WHAT were you mixing in to this "fine ground" mix in the first place?  Where you just mixing it with another protein when you noticed the "clinking"?  Just curious? 

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post #110 of 115
2/22/12 at 9:00am
NOT a silly question! hugs.gif

The meat/bone/organ mixes from Hare Today are not supplemented, like commercial raw foods are. So with the Hare Today grinds, Carolina and I purchased Alnutrin https://www.hare-today.com/product_info.php?cPath=24&products_id=289&osCsid=262071c56199ce3d757eede432b0e086 to add to the meat/bone/organ mix. You use one scoop per pound. I dethaw the 2 pound bag, add two scoops of alnutrin and the smaller end of the recommended amount of water. I think Carolina refreezes some of the mix, because she's feeding three cats. I'm feeding 8, so I just keep it in the fridge and keep using it.

Now that I'm not introducing proteins, however, I'll probably start refreezing (or dethawing less), because I don't plan to feed the same thing all day.

...or at least I'm working in that direction. laughing02.gif
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post #111 of 115
2/22/12 at 9:49am
I am posting this here as I know several feed Nature's variety Raw, and this ingredient is in all their formulas:
Quote:
Hi fellow holistic cat food feeders,

I just heard back from Nature's Variety Instinct and I have some bad news that I thought may be worth sharing. They use the dangerous type of Montmorillonite Clay in their dog and cat food, i.e. sodium Montmorillonite Clay also known as Bentonite. They claim that it is in only 2% of the food, however in the canned formulas its the 6th ingredient so I'm not sure how accurate that is. In case your not familar with sodium montmorillonite clay it used in cosmetics, plaster, cat litter and cement tiles to name a few. The "healthy" type of montmorillonite clay is calcium montmorillonite clay which is used as a detoxifer and to treat many ailments such as diarrhea, stomach ulcers, anemia, etc. because of its high mineral content unfortunately that's not what they're using.

We've put the picky eater on kitten food to help her gain weight and found out that she likes her red meats better than poultry so were feeding her venison and/or beef at the moment. I came across Before Grain and Merricks canned food and I am pretty content with them for holistic brand with not so many fruits and veggies.http://www.thecatsite.com/t/241447/ive-decided-to-go-grain-free#post_3176934

Example:
Nature's Variety Chicken:
Ingredients
Chicken, Raw Ground Chicken Bone, Turkey, Turkey Liver, Turkey Heart, Apples, Carrots, Butternut Squash, Ground Flaxseeds, Montmorillonite Clay, Chicken Eggs, Broccoli, Lettuce, Spinach, Dried Kelp, Apple Cider Vinegar, Parsley, Honey, Salmon Oil, Olive Oil, Blueberries, Alfalfa Sprouts, Persimmons, Duck Eggs, Pheasant Eggs, Quail Eggs, Inulin, Rosemary, Sage, Clove.

Organic Chicken Formula:
Ingredients
Organic Chicken, Organic Chicken Liver, Organic Chicken Heart, Raw Ground Organic Chicken Bone, Organic Chicken Eggs, Organic Bok Choy, Organic Carrots, Organic Apples, Organic Pears, Montmorillonite Clay, Organic Persimmons, Organic Flaxseed Oil, Organic Yogurt [Organic Milk, Organic Skimmed Milk, Fructooligosaccharides, Pectin, Live Yogurt Cultures (Lactobacillus Acidophilus, Bifidobacterium Animalis, Enterococcus Thermophilus, Lactobacillus Bulgaricus, Lactobacillus Casei)], Organic Alfalfa Sprouts, Organic Parsley, Organic Blueberries.
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post #112 of 115
2/22/12 at 1:38pm
OMG- jaw-dropping.gif Thank you, Carolina for posting this. That is terrible news as this was the only raw food Pipsqueak would eat - the NV Organic Chicken. I am going to return the unopened bag I have in the freezer too. Thank you very much..... hugs.gifhugs.gif
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post #113 of 115
2/22/12 at 6:42pm
Nerdrock, who works for Nature's Variety, checked with her supervisor. The person who posted the information about the montmorillonite clay was WRONG. It is NOT sodium montmorillonite clay, it is calcium montmorillonite clay in Nature's Variety products:
Quote:
Originally Posted by nerdrock View Post

That's odd that you were told it was sodium and not calcium, I was told the opposite in my training... I'm going to email my supervisor and double check though. 

EDITED TO ADD: I just got word back from my supervisor, it is NOT sodium montmorillonite clay that is in Nature's Variety. It IS calcium montmorillonite clay. 
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post #114 of 115
2/23/12 at 10:02am
Quote:
Originally Posted by LDG View Post

Nerdrock, who works for Nature's Variety, checked with her supervisor. The person who posted the information about the montmorillonite clay was WRONG. It is NOT sodium montmorillonite clay, it is calcium montmorillonite clay in Nature's Variety products:

OMG OMG THANK YOU, Laurie - you just saved my life flail.gif BECAUSE I just posted in my thread. PIPSQUEAK JUST ATE A WHOLE NV ORGANIC CHICKEN MEDALLION FROM MY HAND thud.gifjive.gifdance.gif. You know how awfully difficult this has been on my and the four P's. BUT now I think I have them eating the NV Organic chicken - they eat it readily from my hand now woohoo.gif I am very much relieved to hear this news about the Montmorillonite Clay... hugs.gifsunshine.gifhugs.gifsunshine.gifhugs.gifsunshine.gif
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post #115 of 115
2/23/12 at 10:06am
woohoo.gifwoohoo.gifwoohoo.gif
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