Organ Meat is Essential in The Raw Diet.
Think of organ meat as the multivitamins of the diet.
In my opinion one of the biggest mistakes I see in raw diets are people not including enough organ meat. Don't stop after the secreting organ portion! Feed the non secreting organs too! A raw diet is put together to as closely replicate the nutrition found in an entire animal. Animals are not 10% organ in make-up, they are closer to 25% total organ.
If your following a ratio based diet then use this guide to help you with what organ to add in your organ percentage.
In my opinion one of the biggest mistakes I see in raw diets are people not including enough organ meat. Don't stop after the secreting organ portion! Feed the non secreting organs too! A raw diet is put together to as closely replicate the nutrition found in an entire animal. Animals are not 10% organ in make-up, they are closer to 25% total organ.
If your following a ratio based diet then use this guide to help you with what organ to add in your organ percentage.
LIVER
Liver is fed as secreting organ. In a ratio diet (80/10/5/5) liver is set to 5%, this can actually be too much if always feeding ruminant livers (beef, lamb, goat ect.) I recommend ruminant livers be fed at 2%-3% and livers from chicken, turkey, pork be fed closer to the 5% mark. FIY pork liver has zero bioavailable copper.
KIDNEY
Kidney is fed as secreting organ. This is fed as part of the other 5% in ratio diets. However this organ can often be feed at a higher amount than 5% if you have a general idea of the nutrition in the bowl, otherwise stick to around 5%, you can go a little higher without issue.
PANCREAS
Pancreas is fed as secreting organ. This is fed as part of the other 5% in ratio diets. However this organ can often be feed at a higher amount than 5% if you have a general idea of the nutrition in the bowl, otherwise stick to around 5%. This is a great source of digestive enzymes, especially from pork.
SPLEEN
Spleen is fed as secreting organ.This is fed as part of the other 5% in ratio diets. However this organ can often be feed at a higher amount than 5% if you have a general idea of the nutrition in the bowl, otherwise stick to around 5%. This is a iron rich organ.
THYMUS
Thymus is fed as secreting organ. This is fed as part of the other 5% in ratio diets. However this organ can often be feed at a higher amount than 5% if you have a general idea of the nutrition in the bowl, otherwise stick to around 5%.
TESTICLES & OVARIES
Testicles & ovaries are fed as secreting organ.
BRAIN
Brain is fed as secreting organ. Brain is rich in EPA/DHA.
LUNG
Lung is an organ but not counted as secreting organ, count in muscle portion.
HEART
Heart is an organ but is not counted as secreting organ, fed as muscle. Heart is a great taurine rich source for cats.
TRIPE (green)
Tripe is the lining of a ruminant's stomach, it is fed as muscle meat. Is a great source of manganese. Don not feed the cleaned tripe found in grocery stores, this is not the same as green tripe.
TRACHEA
Trachea is fed as muscle. Its mostly cartilage, so keep it a small bit. Makes a great treat when dried.
GIZZARDS
Gizzards are the unique stomach of birds, they are an organ but fed as muscle.