Topic: Cold Turkey

[markyb23]

Hi everyone,
                     I know I've mentioned about feeding foxes before but.I've got loads of turkey meat leftover including wings and four legs.The meat is all cooked.I thought It would be a shame to waste It.Would this be Ok to give to the foxes,or,should I just put it all in the wheelie bin.
  Sorry If it's a daft question,I'm just concerned about whether the foxes could choke on the bones or whatever.
     Cheers-Marky.

[Robert_Brenchley]

I should imagine they'd eat it quite happily since they will occasionally eat chickens. I know what you mean about the turkey; I remember one year when I was a kid we had one that was far too big; we ate turkey for a week till we couldn't face any more, and threw the rest away. We never have them these days; it's horrible dry tasteless stuff.

[Jesse]

It seems a terrible waste to throw the turkey away or even to leave it for the fox. Can't you make turkey soup and freeze it or something? Or at least make stock from it and freeze to use later in cooking.

If you do leave it for the fox I'm sure he'll be happy. We lost a hen to a fox on christmas night.

[joji]

Marky

Take the turkey off the bone mate. Cooked turkey bones can kill a fox or a dog. They can Peirce the intestines and the fox will die in agony.

[Robert_Brenchley]

I've heard that too, but I've also known dogs that are chicken regularly, bone and all, and were quite happy on it. I wonder how often these accidents happen.

[joji]

You are right Robert.

I feed my huskies RAW chicken. Dogs can digest the whole chicken feathers too. But cooked chicken bones can kill. I would never feed my dogs cooked meat bones at all. To much risk involved.

Here is a post that I have had permition to repost here.
This  dog is an Alaskan Malamute and this is still on going.

It has been 9 days now since dogs name edited out has not eaten or drunk,
He was rushed in the vets last Monday evening as he didn't want to eat Saturday or sunday, he seemed very quite at the rallie but just thought maybe he had a tummy ache or something, so owners name edited got out his harness  and he was up for running so we thought ok let him go, when he came back he had a little sip of water but brought it back up didn't think much about it then did the same on sunday but still didn't want his food but seemed fine in himself,
Come Monday morning he was very lazy  fed him his food but he brought it straight back up then tried a bit later and he did the same then he refused to , so at this stage I was quite concerned so off we went to the vets and he gave him an antibiotic jab and pain killer and says see how he goes, so we took him home,

That night he seemed to get worse so off we went to the vets on Tuesday morning , by now dogs name edited out had totally dehydrated, so they kept him in and put him on a drip, at this stage he was too weak to give a General Anaesthetic so they tried to sedate him which took quite a while he had several xrays done at first they couldn't see anything then we got a phone call saying his intestines is filled with bones, yes dogs name edited out does have a mixed diet dry and raw, the only bones he had was necks of lamb and some carcase's the week before, anyway they then gave dogs name edited out several enema's and pulled quite a few out, dogs name edited out then decided he didn't want the drips in his front legs so he pulled them out numerous times, in the end one of the nurses had to sit with him and stay with him while they sedated him again and put them back in, They did want to give him general anaesthetic again but it was too risky so they carried on with what they were doing.

Then we got a call and collected him 2 days later with loads of medication and the vets was hopeful that me given him this medicine would make dogs name edited out pass the bones, also loads of blood tests were done ,

When we got him home he  had some rice and mince lamb liquidized just a tea spoon, within 5 Min's he was screaming and didn't know what to do with himself, so I phoned the vets and we had to up the medication from 3 times a day to every hour day and night, the medication should of worked in 4 hours but it didn't so we were back up the vets, the problem is the vet doesn't want to operate as the intestines are still full of bones I felt them they are like glass, so if he operates where dogs name edited out is so weak he may not come through the general anaesthetic also it's all through the intestines which means he has to cut the intestines everywhere and it is too risky as there is only a 15 % he will live, so at the moment My dogs name edited out can't have any medication and I have to force feed him every 2 hours with a syringe 10 mils of water every half hour and hope he can push the bones out, it's so horrible to see him like this he is my beautiful boy and all he does is lie there and let me do anthing I have to do sometimes he screams ,
If he starts vomiting we have no choice he has to have the operation done,

 Let me add  he  got hold of cooked bones.



dogs name edited out goes back to the vets tomorrow so we just have to wait and see what will happen and take it day by day.

 :(
So there you are. Need I say more?

[Jesse]

Joji that post is so upsetting, and to think I wouldn't have thought it a bad thing to leave a turkey carcass for a fox :o I'm so pleased Marky asked the question and you were here to answer :)

[Paulines7]

Oh that poor dog, what he must be going through.  We stopped giving our dog bones as they always gave her diarrhoea. 

[joji]

* Up date *
Over Christmas day dogs name edited out was not very well at all, and was taken up the vets for assessment on Boxing day. It now appears that somehow dogs name edited out has managed to sick up one of the bones and it has now lodged its self in his throat.
It seems that it just goes from bad to worse.
He will be sedated and have the bones removed from his throat and have more xrays on his stomach to see if he has passed the remainding bones.

 :(

[lorna]

joji. That is such a sad story. I never give Elsa bones. My sister once had a Springer spaniel and  she had to be put down because of bone damage. I used to give the bigger dogs uncooked marrow bones. Are they OK to give?

[joji]

Hi Lorna

 yes marrow bones are perfect. They are the best thing you can give a dog as long as they are raw and have plenty of meat to chew on. They are the best dog tooth brushes too. :)


2nd update of the day.

The dog is fine and is back eating normally. I have just had a phone call to let me know. ;D

The bones were removed from his throat successfully. All the other bones were passed out in the normal way ;D

[Jesse]

That's good news joji :D

[lorna]

joji That is brilliant news and thanks for answering my question, will pass info on to family. We are not out of the woods with Sharne yet, had to be taken back to the vets on Sunday she had managed somehow to tear 3 stitches and the vet said the stitches were too tight!! Who the heck did that?  That vet said the wound is' nt healing quite as it should and has told them to leave her until this coming weekend to have stitches removed. Then we will have to wait for Xrays.

[joji]

Finger crossed for her Lorna. My thoughts are with  Sharne.
I am not really religious but I believe in St. Roch. He is the patron saint of all animals and those that love them. :)

[Hot_Potato]

Have just been reading the distressing posts above about the dogs that somehow 'got at' the turkey carcass.....

this happened to our lovely dog many years ago now (over 20) at exactly this time of year.....the carcass had been wrapped in newspaper and 'dumped' into the incinerator (with lid) that was far away at the end of our long garden - where the veggies grew - an unbeknown to us, our beautiful golden retriever X breed had upturned the incinerator & scavenged and eaten the lot!!....

it wasn't until 4/5 days later when the dog had appeared 'off colour' and getting worse that we became seriously worried about her.....the story is so similar that I won't go into details but we were told originally by the Vet who'd carried out a blood test at that stage (but no X-ray) that she appeared to have all the signs of cancer!!....however, because they'd decided to do further tests - it was discovered that she'd a severe 'obstruction' in her intestines and surgery would have to be carried out.....this was done and they'd had to remove so many bones and we were told her intestines were 'cut to bits' and the chances of her surviving were very slim....

she was hospitalised at the vets' for several days & on a drip but eventually thankfully, did recover and was returned to us a very sad, sorrowful dog....thankfully she had no signs of cancer - it was the obstruction causing the problems with the blood test....

so pleased to hear the 'other dogs' are now making progress....

we must never give our dogs (or other animals) poultry bones & personally, I don't like giving them bones at all - just terrifies me!