Chicken backs vs. leg quarters.

I feed wings (both chicken and turkey).  When I really want to up the bone, I use turkey necks.

backs are pretty boney and nonmeaty. I don't feed them.

I think the only plus for chicken backs is that they have kidneys attached.  Otherwise, I think you'd need to add a little more meat to get a good bone to meat ratio.  I feed a lot of chicken quarters, but I find that they are a little too "boney" as well and add a little more meat to that.  ;)

Wow, thanks for the info everyone! So what is a good meat to bone ratio percentage wise? 70-30?  Twice a week I feed a meal of all red meat, no bones. Should this compensate or should I do it moe often?

 You can also simply add about 1/4 teaspoon of pulverized eggshells per pound of meat (you can also use a Ca supplement or bone meal but I forget what kind or how much).  Red meat has a better mineral profile than poultry so I wouldn't choose to replace red meat with poultry for any reason other than economics (or the ability to feed "true" prey model - ie, whole dead chickens, quail, duck - with heads, feet, feathers and all).

I first got interested in tracking nutrients in what I was feeding in a more methodical manner, (rather than the "anything goes" way) when I was really relying on chicken backs many years ago, and one of my dogs had a really awful comp blood panel - something was off the scale and I don't even remember what it was.  They were getting too much calcium and almost no iron/zinc/copper, and it was binding up reserve iron and zinc and in this one dog it touched off an avalanche of issues (he was pretty messed up to begin with).

I got it straightened out with no permanent harm to him but it made me really cautious from then on. 

Brookcove, what would you suggest as a weekly regimen? Right now I do chicken backs for 4 days, boneless red meat for 2 days and fish the end of the week. Thank you much!

RP,

send me a private note and we'll talk some specifcs.  Thanks!