Good For Pets
Here at BOTL Farm, we have a deep commitment to nose-to-tail use of the animals we slaughter. However, we noticed that humans don’t usually eat some parts of animals, like horns and hoofs. But as dog owners who feed raw, we rest assured that we have some furry companion(s) in our life that do want to eat horns, hoofs, and all sorts of other things.
Horns
Both our Icelandic sheep and Kiko goats are naturally-horned species and we never disbud their horns, so when we don’t process skulls for display, we end up with horns available. Unlike pet-store horns that are cleaned of tissue, sometimes bleached, and sold shelf-stabilized, our horns are raw and unprocessed. We get the horns back from the slaughterhouse, package them, and freeze. They vary in size and shape. Because they still have tissue and bone matter in them, we recommend feeding outside.
Organs/Offal
Although organs and offal have been an important human food source of nutrients and minerals, not as many people consume organs these days. But even if we’re feeding organs to our furry friends, they are still an amazing source of nutrients and minerals! For pigs, sheep, and goats we offer heart, kidney, and liver separately packaged and frozen.
For chickens, we offer heart, liver, gizzard, necks, and feet separately packaged.
Ground Stuff
We offer two products that are ground and mixed. The first we call The Good Stuff, which is a mix of pork heart, kidney, and tongue in naturally-occurring ratios. Sometimes we’ve been known to add a bit of something else we’re working with that day, such as chicken meat.
The second ground product we make is called The Chicken Stuff. This is a fun product made after we boil chicken bone broth. We take all the solids, that is the chicken meat and bone, and grind it together leaving a pate. Combine this with The Good Stuff to have a great start on a balanced raw food diet for your pet.
Note that as of 2023, these two ground products have become so popular that we struggle to keep them in stock.
Hoofs/Feet
Also from our sheep and goats, this is the lower part of the leg bone down to the hoof. There’s basically no meat on this part of the leg, so the butcher leaves it skin-on and it’s normally discarded at the slaughterhouse. We get them back, package, and freeze as they are. This is an interesting, time-consuming treat that offers fur, bone, and toes! Even in young sheep and goats, these leg bones are well-developed because they carry the weight of the animal, so these are best for large dog breeds or especially-dedicated chewers.
We also offer pig feet/trotters. This part of the pig has lots of different names, but we offer it as toes up about 8 or 10 inches to the first joint. They come skin-on, toes-on and are not sliced in half (canoed). This is a big chewing project with a lot of bone to get through!
We have chicken feet, too. We have strong opinions about the close resemblance of chickens and dinosaurs. Our packaged chicken feet are scaley, have long claws, and sometimes bony protrusions (spurs) just like dinosaurs.
Ears
We take our pig ears raw from the slaughterhouse and bake them until crispy. This renders off most of the fat, but they’re not at all like the shelf-stable pig ears from the pet store. We don’t add salt or smoke or anything, so we sell them frozen.
Tails
We’re happy to offer a variety of tails. We have sheep and goat tails, which come raw, furry/wooly, and relatively small (about 4-5 inches long). We’ve heard horror stories of dogs pulling the fur out before eating, so this is best fed outdoors.
For pig tails, we take them raw from the slaughterhouse and bake them until crispy. This renders off most of the fat and makes our dog smile bigger as she bites through the crunchy skin, cartilage, and bone. These are basically hairless and differ greatly in size, anywhere from about 4-14 inches long.
Skin
What’s the best use for pig skin?… To hold the pig together, of course! What’s the second best use for pig skin? We haven’t found one yet. We did find that dried pork skin makes excellent pet treats. Cut into bite size pieces and crisped up, they’re crunchy and delightful. Note that these are also one step away from making super delicious chicharron. Just drop them into hot lard and they will puff up, then sprinkle with a bit of salt.
Testicles
We don’t castrate our sheep or goats, so when we take male animals to harvest they are still endowed. Testicles are another bit that farmers don’t normally recover from the butcher, but we sure do! Typically these are sold furry and frozen. Sometimes when we’re feeling industrious, we’ll slice them up, discard the fur, and dehydrate the slices to make a jerky-like testicle treat.
Page Last Updated on 2024-03-10