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violet0019 · Nov 28, 2009, 10:07 AM

A senior - who does not have a computer, asked me to post this question for her. She wants to know opinions of the members on this site, if it is safe to take cooked chicken bones and crush them up very very well (so that there are absolutely no traces of splinters or anything dangerous at all! ), and add to the dog and cat's food, as a sort of additional treat. :confused: Do the crushed bones have any nutritional value > calcium? And if she is very very careful, (because responsible pet owners know of the fact that cooked chicken bones should NOT be fed to pets because of the definite danger of splintering!)... can she continue to do this? Thanks.

affinite · Nov 29, 2010, 06:55 PM

Hi there. I can't think of a reason not to do this. I feed my dog a prey model diet--A diet based on species appropriate natural foods rather than processed, pre-packaged dog foods. I can say that while it is dangerous to feed whole cooked chicken bones there is nothing harmful in the bones themselves--just the splintering effect. My dog eats raw chicken bones with her meals often and has never had any problems (raw, they do not have the same splintering effect and are safe.) Bones are the primary source of her calcium (so yes they do have a high calcium value) and she loves them. I don't know if the same is true of cooked bones, but it is possible. They are also more nutritious than one would think! Remember, just like with people, nature always makes the best food.