raw feeding question

I am trying to save some $$ on Jakes raw diet. right now I buy ground beef frozen made for animals. it has bone and the heart in it. it costs a fortune so I am thinking of doing this.

buy regular ground beef and supplement with the good stuff. Like maybe 3 days regular gournd beef and 4 days the premade. or maybe like morning the regualr groudn beef and night the good stuff.

It is cositng about $2 a day since it costs $1.75 per #. Now I dont eat ground beef but can I get it like at costco a lot cheaper than that??

thanks

honeybear

 

Change it up wiht Chicken and fish periodically and go by the sales you have... You know that ratios??? Mostly bone and meat and then about 20% organ meat...no need to add veggies unless you feel the need... If you just buy whole Chickens and fish and stuff like that from the grocery or a meat processing place it'll be a LOT cheaper than pre-made stuff... Like if you are going to eat chicken breast for dinner...get the whole bird and you eat the breast and wings and let the dog eat the rest...

There's a list also for Raw feeding and a list that gives raw food co-ops in certain areas...I can see if I can find the addy to them...they're strict in how you post and stuff but worth it if you need to learn more and if you need to find suppliers.

 

Thanks Sarah, I have the ratio from my vet. sounds right on the 20% organ meat. right now I cant get into grindng my own (I may try it eventually and buy a grinder) and still cant get into feeding him like whole raw things.

So for instance on the organ meat and bones. does he need that every day? I am sure for optomal health yes. but maybe every other day

I did buyt he premade organ meat and it was the grossest thing I have ever seen. I threw it out it made me gag, the texture

honeybear

 

What most Raw people do is feed in the same manner as wolves eat... So you'd want to do organ meat a couple times a week and then a couple times feed JUST meat and bone and even just bone from time to time... Also you can feed LARGE peices, watch and make sure your dog will chew them and can manage them but if you stick to chicken necks and backs then it should be easily chewed up by the dog... The chewing on the bones is what's beneficial for the teeth...but you HAVE to be carefull and make sure the dog learns how and maybe even just feed when you can watch for quite awhile... So say monday you do Organ meat and add some Yogurt and Egg... Then Teusday do like meat and bone, necks backs...then Wed. maybe a combination of both... Then maybe on Thursday do a little fasting because wolves do fast at times... If you keep on a schedule or get to where your dog learns to eat more naturally he/she will fast on his/her own... My dogs are on Kibble and Monty, the male Pit will even fast at times... WEIRD but it's true...not sure if it's giving their digestive system a rest or what... Change meats too...like monday give beef and stuff like that... Don't switch too fast...stick to chicken for awhile and/or beef...then add some fish etc... I'll see if I can get the addy to that list...they're great on there about getting food sources and ways of feeding raw cheaply and so that it's best for the dog...

 

Here's the link to the raw group...it's only for raw information sharing etc... Not any kind of recreational visit or chatter... and they'll also point you to a group where you can find co-ops in your area for suppliers etc...

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/rawfeeding/

 

WE just butchered two deer. This is what I do

We take what we want. Then the rest of the carcas I feed to Smokey. I keep the Trachea, liver, heart, and brain. And ALL the bones. I tan the hide and mount the heads so I keep those, but allthe rest of the guts I dispose of.

Last night he got a half a back about 6 spinal bones. It had LOTS of meat all on it. Tonight he'll get the liver and ground greenbeans, and corn with a little oatmeal in it.


Tomorow, he'll get the shoulder (minus all the good meat) but with lots of meat still on it. Then the next night he'll get the brain and trechea along with more ground veggies.... I alternate days. One day he gets meaty bones, the next organs and veggies.

He always has kibble available to him to snack on. This winter I won't let him have much, He does less work right now and will spend most of the winter at home in his kennel. Or out when we're home.

So he doesn't need as much. But during the spring and summer, he has a bowl of kibble in the back of the truck all the time, and then gets the raw at night.

You reallyneed to have variety with him. I don't feed beef all the time, or just deer all the time. He gets a variety. This week it'll be predominatly deer because we just harvested two. But as soon as that runs out he'll have fish and chicken and beef.

 

thanks for your help. He is only eating beef now because I thin he has a reaction to CHicken which I will try again.

Sam yo reminded me, my neighbor goes duck and pheasant hutning and has a ton left over, I may ask him for some

Sarah good web site, sends you to lots of good sites

honeybear

 

I thought that Jake was allergic to chicken and that is why he had to sitch to raw in the fist place?
This is a funny story pertaining to raw feeding of Luther and another dog (who lives with me 3 weeks out of the month), this dog usualy eats normal kibble, but one day he stole one of Luthers peices of meat and since then when I seperate them to eat, the other dog sits by the door and whines and whines and whines until a, he knows Luthers food is all gone or b, he gets a piece too. So I give Luther a pig heart, look outside to check on him, I think he is done so I open the door, the other dog (a very lazy, non active dog who loves to eat) darts out the door and runs to the pig heart, which Luther hadn'T even taken a bite of. So I take it away and give it to Luther, he cowers away like gross get that thing away. So then I give it to the other dog he happily takes it and chomps down, swallows that bite and drops the rest of it and runs away. Later on (just before their dinner time) I am outside playing with them, the other dog comes with the pig heart again and is chewing on it like, this is disgusting, but I must eat it just one more bite, then when he was finished he shook like eeewwww that was gross. It was cute
Good Luck with Jake!

 

LIl you are right, I think he is allergic to chicken but havnt tried it in a long time so now that he has been off everything else I thought I would buy a few tubes of the chicken and see what happens. Ewww, pigs hearts! you have a tough stomach. I cant get into the total howle raw thing, that is why I am buying the preprocessed raw.

cute story about luther

honeybear

 

You might want to hand him some "real" chicken and see how he does. If you have a Wal-Mart Neigborhood Market, you can get a 10-lb. bag of chicken leg quarters for $3.90. Or, buy a whole chicken at $0.99/lb.

 

Well I thought about telling you to give him just whole carcass, rabbit, quail, chicken, and piglets...but since you don't want to do that...nevermind!