Yes, raw chicken necks are one of the most common raw bones, and they pair naturally with a chicken-based diet. Feed them raw, never cooked, choose a piece your dog has to chew, and supervise. Handle them with the same hygiene as any raw chicken.
Chicken necks are cheap, easy to find and soft enough that plenty of dogs crunch through them happily. That’s why so many raw feeders use them as a first bone.
Why raw feeders like them
A raw chicken neck is a mix of meat, cartilage and small, soft bones. Raw chicken bone is softer and less brittle than cooked bone, which is why raw necks are widely fed and cooked ones never are. They count towards the bone part of the 80/10/10 guide, along with some muscle meat.
Feeding necks safely
Necks suit a dog that already eats chicken, since the bone matches the rest of the diet. Whatever the dog, the piece needs to be one they chew rather than swallow whole, because gulping a bone is a choking risk. If your dog bolts necks, a different bone may suit them better, and our guide to which raw bones dogs can eat lists the options.
Stay with your dog while they eat a bone, and give each dog their own space if you have more than one.
Never cooked
Cooked chicken bones go hard and brittle and can splinter. That includes roast chicken carcasses and bones from takeaways.
Hygiene
Raw chicken can carry bacteria such as Salmonella and Campylobacter, the same as the chicken you buy for dinner. Keep necks frozen until you need them, thaw them in the fridge, feed them somewhere easy to clean and wash your hands afterwards. Our guide to raw chicken for dogs covers the routine in more detail.
Bone without the necks
If you’d rather not feed whole necks, chicken minced with the bone gets the bone into the diet in an easier form. Our Chicken Mince is 100% NZ chicken, minced with the bone, and many owners mix it with Balance Mix for the organ part.
Something worth knowing
In 2018, researchers at the University of Melbourne reported a link between eating raw chicken, particularly necks, and a rare paralysing condition in dogs called acute polyradiculoneuritis. Small dogs were more often affected, and the researchers suspect Campylobacter bacteria as the trigger. The condition is rare, but if you have a small dog, it’s worth talking to your vet about chicken necks before you start.
How many necks?
Bone makes up about 10% of a raw diet. For a small dog, that might be a neck a few times a week alongside their usual food. Count necks as part of the daily amount so the total stays about the same. Our guide to how much raw food to feed has amounts by weight.
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More guides
Can dogs eat raw chicken?
Raw chicken is one of the most common proteins in raw feeding. How to handle it safely, and why cooked bones never go in the bowl.
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What raw bones can dogs eat?
Raw meaty bones, the ones to skip, and how to pick a bone that matches what your dog already eats.
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How much raw food should I feed my dog?
Daily amounts by weight, how they split across the 80/10/10 guide, and how to tell if you've got it right.
Read the guide →