There are no ovens in the wild & whilst our four legged friends have become domesticated in recent years & this has seen a tendancy for larger commercial companies to produce dry kibble or wet tinned food, it is our beliefe that their natural food source is still Raw. Their hinged jaw is still designed to chop & crush, unlike us humans who’s jaw functions do allows us to chew our food. 

At Nurturing by Nature we look to nature for guidance. We have designed our diet after extensive reseach & now with many years of experiance behind us understand that with responsible pet ownership our community are thriving. A Raw Pet Food diet that contains a bone meal once or twice a week. A chicken carcass or a lamb rib offer more benifits than just a nutritional boost. 

A raw bone especially from a younger animal are soft & supple especially from smaller animals like chickens (Chicken Carcass), lambs (Lamb Ribs) & small game. These bones can be almost fully digested & consumed. Larger animals like Beef cattle have much deser bones & create a different type of meal. As Emms explains with a marrow bone. 

You should never feed a cooked bone, like the ones after a sunday roast. The cokking process changes the make up of the bones & creates a brittle, dangerous meal.

Soft Bones

We class these as non weight bearing bones, such as the bones in a chicken carcass. They are soft & supple providing a meal. Hence we sometimes refer to these as meal bones - this video perfectly illustrates this.

Meal bones

Some of the following products are great meal bone options: Lamb Ribs - Turkey Necks - Lamb Necks - Duck Carcass - Duck Necks

Hard Bones

In our case & the bones we sell at Nurturing by Nature, these are Marrow Bones, Beef Ribs & Knuckle Bones. Hard dense bones that we class as recreational Bones. A weight bearing bone of a large animal creating a hard dense bones. These are ideal as a dog treat, with some meat on them to provide interest but not enough for a meal. In the case of a marrow bone the richly nutritious marrow at the centre of the bone provides an irresistible treat packed full of nutrients. We do understand that within the raw feeding community some people shy away from hard bones, but we believe if everything if done within moderation you will have no issues. If your dogs chomps down hard on everything then these hard bones may not suit, however if your animal spends time inspecting their food & takes care at meal times you’ll have no issues.

What bone is right for my animal?

In simple terms, a bone bigger than their mouth. A bone too big so that they can’t swallow it in one. The rest is down to them & you. It’s not much fun when your house turns into a war zone because your 16yr old blind Westie is under the stairs guarding her prized marrow bone that she doesn’t want to eat!!! We believe raw feeding has to fit into our modern busy lives, so spend time to get to understand how your four legged friend eats their food & what suits your lifestyle. It might be that a marrow bone on the weekend gives you just enough time to enjoy the paper & a cup of tea, or a recreational bone in the garden provides a great distraction & entertainment that saves you throwing their favourite toy 1000 times.

I was told Bones are dangerous?

Raw bones are natural & as seen on many wild life documentaries they are part of the readily available diet, nature naturally provides. By feeding a sized appropriate bone (basically too big so it can’t be swallowed in one.) & feeding in moderation, (ie, once a week), you won't have any issues. Spend time getting to know your four legged friend & understand how they eat. By doing this you soon be able to get to know what bones will & will not suit your animal.

Cooked bones are dangerous!! So never feed a cooked bone! When a bone is cooked all of the tiny air pockets inside of the bone expand & the bones become brittle, with a risk of splintering. Most of us have cracked a Chicken wish bone, this is because the bones have become brittle after cooking.

What bones do we sell?

We sell a range of different types of bones please follow this like to see our bone selection.

You should always supervise your animal when feeding a bone & whilst we understand that out in the wild a human would not be on hand - it seems silly in the modern world not to stay close to keep an eye at feeding times. For a number of different reasons really; This may be a new meal & your pet might not be use to the bone, so you can encourage, the bone might be too small/big & you just want to remove the meal then feed an alternative. Your dog will naturally just want to swallow the meal & this may make you feel nervous, so don’t feed it.

Always feed an appropriate sized bone to your pet. By appropriate we mean a bone that is to big for them to swallow whole. In the wild cat’s & dogs would naturally just want to swallow their food to avoid another pack animal snatching their meal. By feeding a bone big enough so they can’t swallow it in one go you’ll avoid any issues.