So earlier this week, I discovered the concept of clabber (i.e., curds and whey). I had never heard of it before, outside of the nursery rhyme, but now my mind is racing with possibilities. One is to completely replace my dog's food with clabber! He currently eats between 1 and 2 pounds a day of dry food (he's a big ol' mastiff). About how much clabber would that translate to? Also, I hear that it is a complete food - so would I be able to put the dog on a 100% clabber diet, supplemented with bones for chewing?
Clabber = Dog Food ?
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Britesea
Sustainability Master
A dog shouldn't have too much protein. He only needs about 30% of his diet to be protein; the rest can be a mix of veggies and easily digested grain, such as brown rice. Dogs have been in a relationship with humans, and eating the same food alongside humans, for so long that they are no longer true carnivores. Your dog will get an upset tummy if you try to feed him nothing but cheese (which is what clabber is).
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OK, good to know. What is the protein % on clabber?
I'm leaning toward a cow in the spring, and would like to have the added benefit of getting off bagged dog food. :/ Seems like this will only be able to be part of the solution...
I'm leaning toward a cow in the spring, and would like to have the added benefit of getting off bagged dog food. :/ Seems like this will only be able to be part of the solution...
Why use curdled milk? Do you have excess milk? If you're paying retail prices for milk, I can't imagine you'll be getting ahead. Or maybe I'm just revealing the low price of the dog food I buy.
Dogs and cats have certain requirements that differ from humans. I hear a lot about calcium for dogs. So curds and whey may not be complete.
Cheese is about 10:1, so 1 gal of skim milk will produce about 1 lb of cheese/protein. However much milk you use, I would guess that 10% of it is protein.
(Thought I posted this already but I don't see it... Is there some rule that I don't know about?)
Dogs and cats have certain requirements that differ from humans. I hear a lot about calcium for dogs. So curds and whey may not be complete.
Cheese is about 10:1, so 1 gal of skim milk will produce about 1 lb of cheese/protein. However much milk you use, I would guess that 10% of it is protein.
(Thought I posted this already but I don't see it... Is there some rule that I don't know about?)
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Thanks. I'm weighing (pun intended) the options on getting a milk cow next year, and replacing my dog food bill whilst using excess milk makes it more economically viable. Just planning and gathering info right now. I appreciate the input.k15n1 said:
Britesea
Sustainability Master
1 cup of milk has about 8 grams of protein, 1 oz of beef has about 7 grams of protein. So the two are close to interchangeable.
The recipe I use for my home made dog food is:
2 lbs of meat, ground up (trim most of the fat as that can cause other issues)-
1 lb of mixed veggies - whatever you have on hand, like green beans, sweet potatoes, carrots, kale
3 cups brown rice
1/2 gallon water or broth
cook for 1 hour until water is absorbed.
Instead of meat, you would be substituting 32 cups of clabber- or 2 gallons. I don't know if it would be better to cook the rice and veggies in the clabber, or cook them separately in water and mix with the milk.
I calculated that a cup of this dog food comes out to about 210 calories. I feed my lab/aussie cross about 3 cups of this a day (plus homemade dog cookies) , and this recipe provides 5 days' worth. YMMV
I also give her a capsule of calcium (the ground up coral, because the powder is more easily assimilated). Wild canids get the calcium they need from the blood of their kills primarily; gnawing on bones only provides a tiny amount.
I started making my own dog food when I found out what the law allows in commercial dog foods- like euthanized animals from shelters (not only does the idea disturb me, but the poison used to kill them is not neutralized by cooking- so you may be feeding your dog a little bit of poison with every meal).
When I started giving my dog the homemade food 3 years ago, I noticed changes-- her coat is softer and sleeker, she had more energy, and her breath became less foul. I have read that a dog has a potential life span of 25 years, but most dogs only make it to 15 , possibly because of a substandard diet. I am hoping that by doing this she will live longer. She is about 12 now, and only just barely slowing down.
The recipe I use for my home made dog food is:
2 lbs of meat, ground up (trim most of the fat as that can cause other issues)-
1 lb of mixed veggies - whatever you have on hand, like green beans, sweet potatoes, carrots, kale
3 cups brown rice
1/2 gallon water or broth
cook for 1 hour until water is absorbed.
Instead of meat, you would be substituting 32 cups of clabber- or 2 gallons. I don't know if it would be better to cook the rice and veggies in the clabber, or cook them separately in water and mix with the milk.
I calculated that a cup of this dog food comes out to about 210 calories. I feed my lab/aussie cross about 3 cups of this a day (plus homemade dog cookies) , and this recipe provides 5 days' worth. YMMV
I also give her a capsule of calcium (the ground up coral, because the powder is more easily assimilated). Wild canids get the calcium they need from the blood of their kills primarily; gnawing on bones only provides a tiny amount.
I started making my own dog food when I found out what the law allows in commercial dog foods- like euthanized animals from shelters (not only does the idea disturb me, but the poison used to kill them is not neutralized by cooking- so you may be feeding your dog a little bit of poison with every meal).
When I started giving my dog the homemade food 3 years ago, I noticed changes-- her coat is softer and sleeker, she had more energy, and her breath became less foul. I have read that a dog has a potential life span of 25 years, but most dogs only make it to 15 , possibly because of a substandard diet. I am hoping that by doing this she will live longer. She is about 12 now, and only just barely slowing down.
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- #8
I thought about this today, and it seemed odd to me. Doesn't a dog's "natural" diet consist mostly of meat, which is very high in protein?Britesea said:
This sounds EXCELLENT. We'll have plenty of garden veggies, and are planning on growing small oats and corn patches next year as well. So I could, in theory, feed the dog on all homegrown food. That would save me hundreds of $$$, and start to have the cow investment make some real economic sense.Britesea said:
Yeah, the wife and I are pretty horrified at what passes for food these days - human and animal. We have the dog on the best dry food we can reasonably afford, after comparing ingredients and whatnot. But the more we get away from the grocery store, the better, IMHO.Britesea said:
pinkfox
Super Self-Sufficient
personaly I feed limited to NO grain, dogs stomachs arnt designed to digest grain and the only vegetable matter they cn digest is if its bee cooked or blaneded (dog would only naturally get green matter in the form of the vegetable content of the prey animals stomach) the would however eat fruits and some root crop (ie carrots) if they find em (sweet so they eat em like candy)
I wouldn't do 100% clabber...the phosperous to calcium ratio isn't idea, and dogs are actually lactose intolerant...they can handle a little milk here and there, but not a a main food source. dogs milk is actually very low in lactose...and they handle goats milk well too but cows milk even curcled tends to make them sensitive in the tummy.
you don't ay what dry food your feeding right now..but I can tell you if you switch to a brand with no grain and the first ingredient an identified meat (ie chicken, lamb meal ect) and not byproduct, your dog will eat about 1/2-1/3 the amounts it would a diet high in grain...
if you must feed grain go with brown rice, oats, barley ect instead of corn and soy...
personally I feed prey model raw and the diference it makes in condition, health and poop size is amazing...
its just raw meat, bone, organ and occasionally green (unwashed) tripe. they get eggs and fish too (eggs ARE a complete and properly balanced "meal" as long as you feed shell too.
its not cheaper right ow becaue im still not producing my own meat, but once I start getting more meat kits form the rabbits and raising the quail the feed bill will be whatever the cost is to feed the "prey" to processing age...
mine do occasionally get excess raw goats milk as a treat but too much and watch out...
and I cant think of anything worse than a huge mastif with a upset tummy! lol.
you could however raise pigs on clabber...might be something to think about lol
I wouldn't do 100% clabber...the phosperous to calcium ratio isn't idea, and dogs are actually lactose intolerant...they can handle a little milk here and there, but not a a main food source. dogs milk is actually very low in lactose...and they handle goats milk well too but cows milk even curcled tends to make them sensitive in the tummy.
you don't ay what dry food your feeding right now..but I can tell you if you switch to a brand with no grain and the first ingredient an identified meat (ie chicken, lamb meal ect) and not byproduct, your dog will eat about 1/2-1/3 the amounts it would a diet high in grain...
if you must feed grain go with brown rice, oats, barley ect instead of corn and soy...
personally I feed prey model raw and the diference it makes in condition, health and poop size is amazing...
its just raw meat, bone, organ and occasionally green (unwashed) tripe. they get eggs and fish too (eggs ARE a complete and properly balanced "meal" as long as you feed shell too.
its not cheaper right ow becaue im still not producing my own meat, but once I start getting more meat kits form the rabbits and raising the quail the feed bill will be whatever the cost is to feed the "prey" to processing age...
mine do occasionally get excess raw goats milk as a treat but too much and watch out...
and I cant think of anything worse than a huge mastif with a upset tummy! lol.
you could however raise pigs on clabber...might be something to think about lol
Hinotori
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I feed 5 cups of food a day (little less than a pound and a half) between the 70 pound german shepherd and 50 pound Aussie mix. They are free fed and a good portion of the time won't eat it all. I give them eggs a few times a week. Can't let them have to many eggs or the gsd will get an upset stomach. We don't give them anything with wheat. It makes the poor gsd very sick.
They get beef short ribs a few times a month and will eat the whole thing. Mom says she might as well take them even though she doesn't eat them since she's paying for them so she gives them to me for the dogs. They also get some of the meaty soup bones and any old meat that is freezer burned. They will only eat a few veggies raw, but like most of them cooked. They won't eat most fruit. Watermelon is one of the few they like.
I don't let them have very much milk products. Cheese gives them such nasty gas and to much causes them stomach upset. I wouldn't even consider trying to feed them a diet of cottage cheese and whey.
They get beef short ribs a few times a month and will eat the whole thing. Mom says she might as well take them even though she doesn't eat them since she's paying for them so she gives them to me for the dogs. They also get some of the meaty soup bones and any old meat that is freezer burned. They will only eat a few veggies raw, but like most of them cooked. They won't eat most fruit. Watermelon is one of the few they like.
I don't let them have very much milk products. Cheese gives them such nasty gas and to much causes them stomach upset. I wouldn't even consider trying to feed them a diet of cottage cheese and whey.
