[Kristofski]

DH and I walked down the road to the Mexican market, and went in to the back where they sell all their meat. They have chicken thighs, drumsticks, wings, feet, beef stomaches, tripe, ribs, ground beef, liver, pork feet etc. We asked if they sold Chicken Backs, and the guys at the counter just laughed at us! But then, another guy walked up to us and asked if he could help us. He explained that he was just in the process of buying the place, and was turning it into an International market and wanted to bring in lots more stuff. We told him we were looking for chicken backs and other organ meats. He smiled and said "For the dog, right?" We told him yes, and he explained that he also owned another market in a different area and that he had a few customers that came in to buy that stuff regularly for their dogs. He said he would gladly order some in for us on a regular basis, and give us a discounted price, and also all sorts of organs and other stuff!! He even came outside to see our dog! This is so great So we are going to start RAW right away. We will feed chicken thighs until Tuesday when our chicken backs come in, and then we are set. Both DH and I are very excited, and so is our Chelsea! (She told me so) LOL :tongue:

 

[whiteleo]

Thats great! sounds like you found a good market for one stop shopping, chicken feet are great for the dogs to chew on and they have glucosamine, tripe in the raw form (not bleached) is great, stinky but great. Remember to be dilligent about not giving in to your dog if at first she won't eat raw, sometimes it will take a couple a days for a new raw eater to get the hang of it. Good Luck!

 

[Kristofski]

Thats great! sounds like you found a good market for one stop shopping, chicken feet are great for the dogs to chew on and they have glucosamine, tripe in the raw form (not bleached) is great, stinky but great. Remember to be dilligent about not giving in to your dog if at first she won't eat raw, sometimes it will take a couple a days for a new raw eater to get the hang of it. Good Luck!

Thanks! I'm glad we found them! Also, I don't think I will have too much problem with her not liking raw. DH tossed her a piece of raw chicken the other day, and she scarfed it down and then followed HIM around for an hour! This may not seem like a big deal that she followed him, but truth is, she is my velcro dog, and wont leave my side... till DH feeds her that! *pouts* LMAO

 

[CorgiPaws]

Yay, I'm glad you found a place that is going to be so easy to work with. I've got nothing like that here, just chain stores, and definately none willing to order anything for me. Jerks. lol.
Out of curiosity, what price did he give you? I'm hoping to find something like this when I move, and just curious of other's going rates.
Don't feel bad, whomever has the raw meat, is the favorite in my house! lol.

 

[Kristofski]

Yay, I'm glad you found a place that is going to be so easy to work with. I've got nothing like that here, just chain stores, and definately none willing to order anything for me. Jerks. lol.
Out of curiosity, what price did he give you? I'm hoping to find something like this when I move, and just curious of other's going rates.
Don't feel bad, whomever has the raw meat, is the favorite in my house! lol.

I'm not sure of the special price he is going to give us, but he gave us his card and told us to call on Monday to see what price. I can get thighs for about $0.75/lb and the backs will be cheaper then that, for sure. The organs will be super cheap cause "not many people want em" apparently. I will let ya know when I know the prices on the rest.

 

[DaneMama]

We try not to spend more than $1 per pound on meat. Sometimes we end up spending more like $1.50 per pound but that is on stuff we cannot get on a regular basis like game meat and fish. Nothing over $2 per pound tho...

Here is a link to another thread I did a while back about our breakdown of cost (we have 4 big dogs all weighing 70-120 pounds....oh and a 4.5 pound kitten LOL)

If getting started on RAW, breaking down your cost of meat and freezer space is VERY important especially if you have big dogs or multiple dogs.

Here is our breakdown for our dogs (we don't include the cost of the cat...she gets the scraps LOL)

Finding a freezer is easier than you think, free ones are posted on craigslist all the time so I would say that cost is neglegible.

Here is a guide for determining how much freezer space you will need:

28 cu. ft. of freezer space for ~500 lbs. of meat
14 cu. ft. of freezer space for ~250 lbs. of meat
7 c u. ft. of freezer space for ~125 lbs. of meat

We have an upright freezer that is about 24 cu. ft. and we routinely buy ~300# of meat at a time. We could fit much more considering we package our meat into containers that hold 2-3 days worth of meat.

300# of meat usually will last about a month and a half or two.

We have 4 dogs that weigh:

Shiloh: 65
Emmy: 65
Akasha (currently growing): 65
Bailey: 120

We buy meat that is on average (adding up all the costs of the different meats we buy and dividing by the # of meats) 60-75 cents per pound

Shiloh, Emmy and Akasha all cost us ~ $1 per day to feed

Bailey costs us ~$2 per day to feed

The meats we buy on a regular basis:

chicken backs, turkey necks, beef heart, pork ribs, pork roasts, whole tilapia, pollock fillets, lamb ribs, beef liver, chicken liver, beef kidneys, etc.

This breakdown does not include all the free meat that we have found to come in contact with (trust me its out there, ya just gotta know where and how to look for it

So, looking at the breakdown, is RAW worth it???

 

[oakley]

:biggrin: Yay. Oakley has had more raw than kibble this week. :tongue: And tofay I ordered 40 lb of chicken backs. Great thing about the backs is they often have some organs on them yet! I ordered the backs from a private owned market here and got them for .59 a lb. Thats less than $25 for a months worth of meat! It sounds like it still might not be the best deal out there from what I'm reading on here, but a different place I called was going to charge 89 cents a lb for backs... I was like um I'll call you back. hehe

 

[Kristofski]

We try not to spend more than $1 per pound on meat. Sometimes we end up spending more like $1.50 per pound but that is on stuff we cannot get on a regular basis like game meat and fish. Nothing over $2 per pound tho...=Quote]

Thanks for that breakdown! Very interesting to see how others plan things out. I still haven't figured out the exacts, but Chelsea is about 43 lbs, and my only carnivore lol. I am still going to look on CL for a small stand-alone freezer, specifically for her meats, cause I know when we do a big grocery shopping, we come pretty close to filling our freezer. Good part about it, is if I want, while I'm waiting for a freezer, I can walk the 1/3 mile to the market, and buy it fresh. Kinda an advantage I guess lol. Hmm, I wonder if I can talk him into ordering me non-domestic animal meats. *ponders*

 

[DaneMama]

Thanks for that breakdown! Very interesting to see how others plan things out. I still haven't figured out the exacts, but Chelsea is about 43 lbs, and my only carnivore lol. I am still going to look on CL for a small stand-alone freezer, specifically for her meats, cause I know when we do a big grocery shopping, we come pretty close to filling our freezer. Good part about it, is if I want, while I'm waiting for a freezer, I can walk the 1/3 mile to the market, and buy it fresh. Kinda an advantage I guess lol. Hmm, I wonder if I can talk him into ordering me non-domestic animal meats. *ponders*

I find it helpful to have it laid out to really know what you are spending. That way you know you are making it as affordable as possible.

I highly recommending getting a fridge with a freezer, or just a freezer. We pull meat out for the dogs the night before and let it thaw out on the top all thru the next day.

The two danes are the only ones that eat twice a day, since they are roughly twice the size of the other two, or at least we hope Akasha will grow to full Dane potential LOL

Feeding raw is not rocket science at all. Its super easy, you just have to make sure that all your bases are covered most of the time. If you skip an organ meal one week or your dog eats the same meat source for 3 days in a row, no biggie.

Balance happens over time. You don't sit down and eat a balanced meal every time right? Well...most of us don't that is. Same with dogs. They need organs in their diet for it to be balanced, but not with every meal. Same with bone and varieties of meat sources.

We just pull out something different every night. We don't have an explicit schedule of when they get what. That is not the way it happens in nature. Wolves eat whatever they can in the wild. They don't think "Oh, I had deer last night, so tonight I'm gonna catch me a rabbit!" But they do have variety. Whether that happens over a months time or a week, it balances out.

 

[Maab]

I find it helpful to have it laid out to really know what you are spending. That way you know you are making it as affordable as possible.

I highly recommending getting a fridge with a freezer, or just a freezer. We pull meat out for the dogs the night before and let it thaw out on the top all thru the next day.

The two danes are the only ones that eat twice a day, since they are roughly twice the size of the other two, or at least we hope Akasha will grow to full Dane potential LOL

Feeding raw is not rocket science at all. Its super easy, you just have to make sure that all your bases are covered most of the time. If you skip an organ meal one week or your dog eats the same meat source for 3 days in a row, no biggie.

Balance happens over time. You don't sit down and eat a balanced meal every time right? Well...most of us don't that is. Same with dogs. They need organs in their diet for it to be balanced, but not with every meal. Same with bone and varieties of meat sources.

We just pull out something different every night. We don't have an explicit schedule of when they get what. That is not the way it happens in nature. Wolves eat whatever they can in the wild. They don't think "Oh, I had deer last night, so tonight I'm gonna catch me a rabbit!" But they do have variety. Whether that happens over a months time or a week, it balances out.

I wish I had space for a freezer... But I only have one dog and I hope be be able to manage it.

A few times I gave to my giant schnauzer chicken leg+back in frozen state, what do you think about it? Is that safe? She seems to like it anyway.

Also, I'd like to ask: when you guys say chicken back, does that include the leg as well? Wouldn't the back itself be too small?

Thanks

 

[DaneMama]

I wish I had space for a freezer... But I only have one dog and I hope be be able to manage it.

A few times I gave to my giant schnauzer chicken leg+back in frozen state, what do you think about it? Is that safe? She seems to like it anyway.

Also, I'd like to ask: when you guys say chicken back, does that include the leg as well? Wouldn't the back itself be too small?

Thanks

We occasionally give the girls frozen meat...they just have to chew it a bit more to get it down LOL so it doesn't hurt in the slightest bit.

A chicken back is just that. No leg or wing. It might have a bit of organ meat on it, but its mostly bone and muscle meat. They don't weigh very much. Bailey the Dane could eat about 10 of them and have a full tummy LOL

 

[oakley]

The two danes are the only ones that eat twice a day, since they are roughly twice the size of the other two, or at least we hope Akasha will grow to full Dane potential LOL
out.

So how often do the others eat? How many meals a day should I do for the 12 week pup? I've had her on 3 a day with kibble...

 

[jdatwood]

The other 2 eat once a day. We fed Akasha 2-3 times a day as a puppy

 

[Lynn In Tenn]

I feed my dogs 2x a day. Just my preference. Although I will be out of town next week for a few days and they will only get fed once a day while I'm gone. They probably won't like it, but they'll get over it:frown: They'll be so glad to see me when I get back they won't even remember how neglected they were:biggrin:
BTW. I don't think you'll ever go back to kibble again.