So I did a little math today. We were supposed to go and harvest a goat yesterday, but at the last minute hubster decided it was "unnecessary," since we have all the beef trim we can use right now. Explaining that the girls also need bone every day to make their poops good, he said we would just buy a case of chicken drumsticks. We even got a Costco membership.
So here's what I came up with: My girls each eat one lb. per day.
The beef trim we are getting for 25 cents a pound. The girls each get 1/2 lb. of beef trim each day.
We just got a bulk package of chicken drumsticks for 96cents a lb. at Costco. The package had 30 drumsticks, which I re-packaged into 15 pairs. The girls each get one pair of drumsticks each day. This balances out their poops and makes it nice and tidy.
My in-laws will sell me a goat for $30 each. My sil said they are pygmy/boar crosses, and weigh about 120 lbs, live. I figure I would get 60% of that back after slaughter, bleeding, and removal of intestines.
So here's the math I worked out:
Beef Trim @ .25 per lb. per day, x 30 days = $7.50 per month
Chicken drumsticks @ 15 pr. Of drumsticks for $10.00, 2pr. Per day = 7.5 pr. Of drumsticks per week for $40.00 per month
Grand total of $47.50 per month
One goat yielding 84lbs. of dog food for $30 @ 1lb. per day = 84 days = $10.80 per month (60% of 120 lb. live after slaughter)
Beef Trim @ $7.50 per month
Grand total of $18.30 per month
I went ahead and slipped my sil the $30 for one goat when hubster wasn't looking, because I know they are struggling and they were really counting on the extra money-- even just $30. I told her to just keep it fat for me, lol. And she said when the time comes, I get to have my pick of any one in their herd! Is that awesome, or what?
Here's the other comparisons: Ol Roy 50lb. bag costs $20 and lasts six weeks. VF 40 lbs. bag is $23 per month.
Maybe this can help others who are still on the fence about raw feeding, and worried about the cost... Yes, you gotta have connections, but still... even buying chicken at Costco is comparable to the high-end kibbles out there!
And I have decided I am going to go get that goat. I just won't tell the hubby what my plans are, that's all. He won't know until I come home with a bunch of meat and stuff it in the freezer, heh, heh, heh.
But I'm also hoping that showing him these calculations will persuade him into realizing that a whole grass fed goat for $30 is way better than a commercially farmed chicken from Costco for 96 cents per lb.!
So here's what I came up with: My girls each eat one lb. per day.
The beef trim we are getting for 25 cents a pound. The girls each get 1/2 lb. of beef trim each day.
We just got a bulk package of chicken drumsticks for 96cents a lb. at Costco. The package had 30 drumsticks, which I re-packaged into 15 pairs. The girls each get one pair of drumsticks each day. This balances out their poops and makes it nice and tidy.
My in-laws will sell me a goat for $30 each. My sil said they are pygmy/boar crosses, and weigh about 120 lbs, live. I figure I would get 60% of that back after slaughter, bleeding, and removal of intestines.
So here's the math I worked out:
Beef Trim @ .25 per lb. per day, x 30 days = $7.50 per month
Chicken drumsticks @ 15 pr. Of drumsticks for $10.00, 2pr. Per day = 7.5 pr. Of drumsticks per week for $40.00 per month
Grand total of $47.50 per month
One goat yielding 84lbs. of dog food for $30 @ 1lb. per day = 84 days = $10.80 per month (60% of 120 lb. live after slaughter)
Beef Trim @ $7.50 per month
Grand total of $18.30 per month
I went ahead and slipped my sil the $30 for one goat when hubster wasn't looking, because I know they are struggling and they were really counting on the extra money-- even just $30. I told her to just keep it fat for me, lol. And she said when the time comes, I get to have my pick of any one in their herd! Is that awesome, or what?
Here's the other comparisons: Ol Roy 50lb. bag costs $20 and lasts six weeks. VF 40 lbs. bag is $23 per month.
Maybe this can help others who are still on the fence about raw feeding, and worried about the cost... Yes, you gotta have connections, but still... even buying chicken at Costco is comparable to the high-end kibbles out there!
And I have decided I am going to go get that goat. I just won't tell the hubby what my plans are, that's all. He won't know until I come home with a bunch of meat and stuff it in the freezer, heh, heh, heh.
But I'm also hoping that showing him these calculations will persuade him into realizing that a whole grass fed goat for $30 is way better than a commercially farmed chicken from Costco for 96 cents per lb.!