RAWHIDE ANIMAL CHEW INCLUDING MICROPORES AND METHOD OF FORMING
A microporous animal chew comprising a rawhide sheet having a thickness in the range of 0.1 millimeters to 3.0 millimeters and a plurality of micropores extending through said rawhide sheet. The rawhide sheet provides a digestible yet chewable and durable animal chew.
1 . A microporous animal chew comprising:
a rawhide sheet having a thickness in the range of 0.1 millimeters to 3.0 millimeters; and
a plurality of micropores extending through said rawhide sheet, wherein said micropores exhibit a longest linear dimension across a cross-section of said micropores in the range of 1 micrometer to 2,000 micrometers and are present at a density of 1 to 100 pores per square centimeter.
2 . The microporous animal chew of claim 1 , wherein said micropores exhibit multiple arms, in the range of 3 to 6 arms.
3 . The microporous animal chew of claim 1 , wherein a support additive is retained in said micropores.
4 . The microporous animal chew of claim 1 , wherein said rawhide is a rawhide resin composition.
5 . The microporous animal chew of claim 1 , wherein said pores are at an angle a relative to a surface of said rawhide, wherein a is in the range of 10 to 80 degrees.
6 . The microporous animal chew of claim 5 , wherein said micropores exhibit a length that is greater than said thickness.
7 . The microporous animal chew of claim 1 , wherein said rawhide sheet is in the form of a roll, ring, pretzel, stick, braid, chip or knotted to assume the general geometry of a bone or a knotted bone.
8 . The microporous animal chew of claim 1 wherein said chew indicates a dry matter disappearance in small intestinal fluid containing pancreatin in the range of greater than 70.2% to 100%.
9 . The microporous chew of claim 1 wherein said chew has a water content of 1% to 20% by weight.
10 . A method of forming a microporous animal chew, comprising:
providing a wet rawhide sheet having a thickness in the range of 0.5 millimeters to 4.0 millimeters including water present at 60% to 80% by weight of the total weight of the rawhide sheet or greater;
piercing said rawhide sheet with pins and forming micropores in said rawhide sheet, wherein said micropores have a largest linear cross-sectional length in the range of 1 micrometer to 2,000 micrometers and are arranged to provide a pore density in the range of 1 to 100 pores per square centimeter;
drying said rawhide sheet, wherein said rawhide sheet includes 1 to 20% by weight water of the total weight of the rawhide sheet.
11 . The method of claim 10 , further comprising removing a portion of water present in said rawhide sheet prior to drying.
12 . The method of claim 10 , further comprising stretching said rawhide sheet prior to drying.
13 . The method of claim 10 , wherein said rawhide sheet is provided between a carrier plate and a receiving plate, wherein said carrier plate carries said pins, and piercing said rawhide sheet includes forcing said plates together.
14 . The method of claim 13 , wherein said receiving plate includes holes to receive said pins therein.
15 . The method of claim 14 , further comprising compressing said rawhide sheet between said plates to remove at least a portion of water present in said rawhide sheet.
16 . The method of claim 10 , wherein said rawhide sheet is fed into calender rollers, wherein one of said rollers includes said pins and said pins pierce said rawhide sheet as said pins bear against a bearing roll.
17 . The method of claim 16 , further comprising compressing said rawhide sheet between a squeeze roll and said bearing roll and removing a portion of said water present in said rawhide sheet.
18 . The method of claim 17 , further comprising stretching said rawhide sheet prior to drying by passing said rawhide sheet between tenter rolls.
19 . The method of claim 10 , further comprising filling said micropores with a support additive prior to drying.
20 . The method of claim 10 , wherein said pins pierce said rawhide sheet at an angle a relative to a surface of said rawhide, wherein a is in the range of 10 to 80 degrees.
21 . The method of claim 20 , wherein said micropores exhibit a length that is greater than the thickness of said rawhide sheet.
22 . The method of claim 10 wherein said wet rawhide sheet includes a rawhide resin composition.
23 . The method of claim 10 wherein said dried rawhide has a thickness of 0.1 millimeters to 3.0 millimeters.