[CorgiPaws]

Just curious to see what cuts of meats people buy or order in bulk for their dogs, and what do you pay for them?
Also, kind of an off topic question, but what percentage of their diet is chicken?

Chicken Cuts: I buy quarters ony, and cut them to appropriate meal sizes. It's the most cost effective. $.60/lb

Turkey: I buy whole turkeys and cut them down. I paid $.69/ lb on sale

Beef Cuts: Have not introduced it yet.

Pork Cuts: I have only bought pork necks, and my corgi seems to have a tough time getting through these bones $1.20/lb

Fish cuts, whole, or cans: I have only fed fish twice, both canned, one tin of sardines, and one can of red salmon $1.40/can salmon $.90 tin of sardines

Lamb:Have not introduced it

Duck: have not found it

Game: He's had ground venison, elk, and buffalo before being on PMR. $4/lb

(eta) Organs: Have not introduced them yet, but have beef liver on hand. Do not remember what I paid.
Anything else?:

 

[JayJayisme]

Linsey,

I don't have a lot of freezer space so I don't buy in bulk. But in Southern California, it's pretty easy to find meat on sale or every-day cheap, especially in the Asian supermarkets. When I find deals, I buy enough to feed some and freeze some but without a ton of freezer space, I often have to pass up on some of the really good deals that pop up from time to time.

My goal is to pay less than $1.00/lb. whenever possible without having to buy mountains of meat. About the only thing that I can never find for under a buck a pound are chicken wings, which are important as one of my dogs is pretty small and wings are well suited for him. When I was a kid, wings were junk meat and could be bought for pennies a pound. Now they are trendy thanks to the popularity of hot wings so they are never cheap any more.

Here is what I usually buy:

Chicken: quarters @ .59/lb, whole chicken at .69/lb, wings @ 1.18/lb.

Beef: ribs @ .89/lb

Pork: ribs @ .79~.99/lb (their favorite), pork shoulder or butt roast @.69~.99/lb. (their second favorite)

Turkey: necks @ .89/lb. I also bought a whole turkey recently at .59/lb but I have never fed turkey other than necks to them. It will have to be cut up into pretty small portions since neither of my dogs is very big and I haven't had the time to do that yet. It is frozen.

Fish: I've tried several, including canned mackerel but neither of my dogs can stand fish. I've tried to give fish to them several times and they will let it sit and putrefy before they eat it. I've also tried some farm raised salmon and a couple other types of fresh raw fish but they show no interest in it and I haven't put the time into pursuing it yet.

Organs: I have found chicken and beef liver, and pork kidneys all for around .99/lb but the dogs still refuse to eat organs, raw, cooked, lightly thawed, or otherwise. As soon as they smell it, they walk away. If I want a break from them, all I have to do is put out a bowl of liver or kidney near my feet and they will stay away. :biggrin:

No lamb, duck, or game yet. All is either too expensive or, in the case of game, not commonly available around here.

Fortunately I only have two dogs and one is about 15 lbs and the other is about 40 lbs. so I only need about 2 lbs. or so a day for them total. If I had bigger dogs or more of them, I'd probably invest in a larger freezer and seek out volume pricing on meat.

 

[oakley]

Chicken Cuts:
40LB of Backs- $.59/lb
Quarters- .50/lb (frozen 10lb bag) -.99/lb fresh
Bone in Breast - $.99/lb fresh

Fish: $.99 tin of sardines

Game: all the venison/goose I want for nothing! :biggrin:


I'm probably going to add a protein this week. Maybe some goose since I have some in the freezer already. I bought sardines too but havent tried it yet. She was on a fish based kibble- so I think she will like the sardines.

The chicken backs I bought have a surprising amount of organ meat on them. I also have lots of beef liver in the freezer, which I have baked for treats for her.

I also aim to spend less than $1/lb. I scour the grocery ads now! :biggrin:

 

[Ania's Mommy]

I, too, am trying to stay under $1/lb, but am willing to go higher for essential things. I think that beef is essential. I am curious, though, about which cuts of beef are good. I read in a previous post somewhere here that t-bone steaks are a big choking hazard due to the size and pointy-ness of the bone. In looking at my local stores, it seems that all steaks have somewhat similar shaped/sized bones. That leaves me with boneless cuts, roasts, and hamburger.

So what kind of beef do you all feed?

 

[DaneMama]

I, too, am trying to stay under $1/lb, but am willing to go higher for essential things. I think that beef is essential. I am curious, though, about which cuts of beef are good. I read in a previous post somewhere here that t-bone steaks are a big choking hazard due to the size and pointy-ness of the bone. In looking at my local stores, it seems that all steaks have somewhat similar shaped/sized bones. That leaves me with boneless cuts, roasts, and hamburger.

So what kind of beef do you all feed?

Unfortunately since cows are such large animals, you are not going to find many bones that are suitable for a dog to eat. That is why you just simply go with boneless cuts more often than not, but here are the beef cuts that we feed on a regular basis:

Beef ribs are great, not a lot of meat though. We give them more for treats since the bones are pretty hefty and last a while. You can often find them at grocery stores for $1-$2 per pound. We stock up when they are on special.

Stew beef is a great source of good muscle meat, but can be a bit more pricey...~$2-$3 per pound. We don't feed this that often, but the girls love it when we do.

Our main source of beef protein comes from beef hearts. They are ~$.75-$1 per pound. We get them from a local meat distributor at wholesale cost. I don't think that you can get them from regular stores, but you might try and find a butcher that will order them for you.

Other types of meat:

Chicken backs: ~$.30-$.40 per pound

Chicken quarters: ~$.60 per pound

Turkey necks: ~$.60 per pound

Whole tilapia: ~$1.20 per pound

Kidney and liver: ~$.50 per pound

Pork shoulder roasts: ~$.80-$1 per pound

Pork ribs: ~$1 per pound

Venison/Elk: ~$1.50 per pound (or free :biggrin

Canned fish is a rarity since its super expensive in comparison.

 

[oakley]

I just found Pork should blade pork steaks for .99/lb... are the bones in these really hard? I figure we will try, and if shes having trouble with the bone I can take it away and feed a chick back the next meal.

 

[CorgiPaws]

I bought two of these last week. The bone is rather large, too big for Griss, I felt, and I gave it to Champ GSD/ Golden mix as a rec bone, and he chewed through it like it was nothing. Probably too big for Oakley now, but my larger dog had no problem with it whatsoever.

 

[CorgiPaws]

Just kidding, I bought a shoulder roast. Not steaks. lol