Which Meat to feed my pet Part 2

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One of the first questions asked by pet owners who’ve made the choice to switch their pets to a natural, fresh-meat based diet, is ‘What meat should I feed?’.

Last week I took a look at the pros and cons of kangaroo, beef, chicken. This week I’m turning my attention to some of the other fresh meats you may consider feeding your pets…

Lamb & Mutton
Lamb has recently become a popular meat source for pet food. Due to cost, the majority of lamb sold as pet meat is actually mutton, older sheep. Nutritionally, lamb is very good. It does have high fat content, much like beef, but it is all pasture grown, under good conditions, and the meat is of high quality. Lamb shanks are a common choice for a good meaty bone.

Turkey
A close relative of the chicken, turkey meat is becoming a more popular choice of meat for pet foods. It combines both 70% white meat and 30% dark meat, is both high in protein and low in fat (except for the skin). Turkey is a good nutritional source of iron, zinc, potassium and phosphorous, and contains vitamin B6 and niacin.

Goat
Goat meat is the most widely eaten meat in the world. Feral goat meat is now commonly fed as pet meat. Goat is available at many butchers, and is becoming more widely available in supermarkets. Goat meat is lean and lower in fat and cholesterol than chicken, lower in calories than beef, lamb and pork and contains iron levels higher than beef.

Venison
Venison is also very high in protein and low in fat, and is an excellent choice as a unique protein source when managing food allergies. Venison is generally easy to purchase from butchers and some pet meat suppliers.


In Part 3 next week I will cover pork, fish, rabbit, tripe and offal choices.