Ground Rabbit Bone

Dressing a rabbit for meat removes the head, feet, skin and guts, leaving a carcass with its bone in. Commercial raw foods commonly grind bone in with the meat and offal to supply minerals.^9,10,11

1. 01 // Source Dressed rabbit Head, feet, skin, intestines and lungs come off. Liver, kidneys and heart stay with a carcass about 55 to 60% of live weight.
2. 02 // Process Ground raw Bone is ground raw with meat and offal. In one survey of commercial raw foods, 59% listed bones and cartilage.
3. 03 // Process Freeze-dried Water is removed so the blend keeps on a shelf. Freeze-drying preserves bacteria rather than killing them.
4. 04 // Output Raw rabbit blend Arrives inside the frozen or freeze-dried rabbit mix, not as a separate cooked powder.

1. 01

   Balances meat's minerals

   Boneless meat runs about 1 part calcium to 25 phosphorus. Raw bone at 22% calcium and 10% phosphorus corrects that without an added mineral supplement.^1,6

2. 02

   Uses the whole carcass

   Bone is a slaughter by-product, usually rendered into bone meal. Raw foods often grind whole carcasses in instead, so that weight becomes the recipe's mineral source.^1,11

3. 03

   Keeps one protein source

   A recipe that takes its calcium from rabbit bone stays single-species, which matters for dogs avoiding the common triggers: beef, dairy and chicken.⁴

How much No published trial has tested ground rabbit bone in dogs; a 6-dog trial fed meat and bone meal at 6 to 24% of dry food without lowering protein digestibility.³

1. Brands say

   Bone balances the calcium in a meat diet

   Evidence

   1. Strong
   2. Some
   3. Thin
   4. None

   Plain arithmetic. Raw bone carries 22% calcium and 10% phosphorus on a dry basis, while boneless meat runs near 1 to 25. Four dogs fed only raw meat developed suspected hyperparathyroidism, and 10% of 95 owner-fed raw rations supplied under a quarter of recommended calcium.^1,2,6

2. Owners say

   Bone in the food firms up the stool

   Evidence

   1. Strong
   2. Some
   3. Thin
   4. None

   In a 6-dog trial, raising meat and bone meal from 6 to 24% of the diet moved stool scores toward the firm, ideal end, with protein digestibility steady at 81 to 83%. Nobody has tested ground rabbit bone itself.³

3. Owners say

   Bone in the food cleans teeth

   Outruns the evidence

   Evidence

   1. Strong
   2. Some
   3. Thin
   4. None

   The cleaning comes from chewing. In a 12-beagle trial, gnawing 4 cm pieces of beef bone cut calculus by 65 to 90% in 2 weeks. Bone milled into a raw blend gives the teeth nothing to work against.⁵