Canning Dog Food From Offal

[Beekissed]

Bay, have I ever told you how much I enjoy your posts, both here and on TEG? Always interesting, lots of wisdom and just fun to read.

 

[sumi]

Ever wondered what happened to the male chicks that had the misfortune to hatch on a commercial farm, where the desired produce is future laying hens?

 

[baymule]

Bay, have I ever told you how much I enjoy your posts, both here and on TEG? Always interesting, lots of wisdom and just fun to read.

Thank you Bee! I always enjoy your posts too.

Ever wondered what happened to the male chicks that had the misfortune to hatch on a commercial farm, where the desired produce is future laying hens?

DOG FOOD!!!!!

 

[baymule]

I am back to canning for the dogs. I have saved up packages of pork liver, beef heart, I found some chicken livers and gizzards from a year ago, a rabbit from 3 years ago and some pork that I deemed too old, especially when we have a LOT of pork in the freezer.

Last Friday I canned 7 quarts, Saturday I canned 4 quarts, today I have done 7 quarts plus 5 quarts are processing now. I mix it all good with cooked rice, plus the rich broth the meat is cooked in. So that will make 23 quarts of dog food. My husband splits a quart between 3 dogs, mixed with their kibble.

We have 40 Cornish cross, so when we butcher them and part them out, there will be necks and backs to process for the dogs too.

I need to make another round through the freezers, and make sure there is nothing "old" in there. LOL The offal had kinda stacked up on me, getting all caught up now.

 

[baymule]

All the prep work and cooking takes time, DH cubes up the meat because I'm not partial to his OCD and I do it wrong. LOL LOL I am busy with all that, but sitting at the bar where I can keep an eye on the pressure canner for 90 minutes, drives my nuts. I NEED to be outside doing stuff! But I needed to do this too. One hour and 6 minutes left on the timer. Sigh.....

 

[wyoDreamer]

I need to clean out my freezer - so this would be a great way to take care of the "old" stuff in there. It sounds like you cook the meat before canning it?

 

[baymule]

Yes I cook it first, then my husband cuts it in small pieces. Meat shrinks when it gets heated, so I get a better pack. If I can in the summer, I throw in squash, green beans or whatever I have a lot of. The dogs love it.

Anybody who raises their own meat should keep the offal. If they don't like it, then cook it for the dogs and can it. It's YOUR meat! Why not honor the animal that is feeding you by using all of the meat that you can?

 

[baymule]

Here I am, canning dog food again. We took 4 lambs to slaughter and I kept the offal. Liver, heart, kidneys plus 2 old pork roasts. I put half a cup of cooked rice in each quart. I just took 7 jars out and started 6 more, plus 1 quart of broth. After this batch is done, I’ll have 7 more quarts of broth and rice. I was down to 4 quarts of dog food! I still have 12 quarts of chicken backs from the Cornish Cross we raised this spring. We’ll be slaughtering 10 old layer hens, so they will get more chicken backs, necks and gizzards.

This takes 90 minutes of pressure canning. Can anybody say BORING? Just put the weight on batch #2, got to wait for it to get up to pressure before I can start timing.

I sit and stare at the canner like it’s going to blow up. It’s not, it stays right on a bit over 10 pounds, but I still won’t leave it alone. So here I sit for an hour and a half, thinking about all the other things I could be doing besides watching a dial that don’t move.

It does make me feel good to not be wasting meat, because I don’t like the offal. Dogs sure love it.

 

[frustratedearthmother]

I'll betcha your dogs loooooove you!

 

[baymule]

I'll betcha your dogs loooooove you!

They loooooove their Daddy! He feeds them! LOL

Just set timer. Going to sit here.... Neighbor lady called, she baked something sweet, DH was gone when he heard “taste tester” LOL