Cost Of Feeding Raw

[Guest MissynDulcie]

I feed prey model raw to my gang which is just raw meat, bones, and organs, no veggies or pasta or anything. The cost definitely depends on where you live and how cheap you can get your meat for. Look for raw feeding yahoo groups in your area to find out about the local co ops where you can get bulk meat at a discounted price. Also, some restaurant suppliers will sell to normal people if you order in bulk. There's a whole list of ways to get cheap and free meat called the lis list including posting ads on Craigslist for people wanting someone to clean out their freezer etc. I haven't gone that far as of yet, we just have 2 freezers and I watch for great deals at the supermarket and I also buy some meats in bulk from our local co op. My other dogs eat pork (picnic/shoulder roast) and beef heart (which is a meat not organ when feeding this way) as their staples. I stock up on the pork when it is under $1.50 per pound and the beef heart is $1.25 per pound when I get a 60lb case at our co op. They will usually get bone in chicken as their bone source which is as low as .99 cents a pound at the grocery store or .69 cents a pound when buying a case of chicken quarters from the co op. I will get other things here and there to add variety, but they cost more and I usually have to order them so shipping makes it cost more. Dulcie should be eating between 1.25 and 2 pounds of food per day (it should vary some depending on the fat content). So if you average what I pay for the staples and bone in chicken it's costing me $1.15 per pound for just the bare minimum so I'm paying at least $1.44 - 2.30 per day for just Dulcie who weighs 56 pounds. I do like to spoil my little monsters though and do buy them extras when I can like lamb heart (Dulcie is going crazy over the training treats I made with some lamb heart), duck, rabbit, bison heart, goat, mutton, and turkey. Something to remember when thinking of cost is that raw fed dogs in general tend to be healthier so you should be saving in vet bills later on. Oh and to make life easier on you and your family who will be helping with the feedings, divide everything up into meal sized portions (invest in a kitchen scale) and freeze everything in ziplock bags. You can even label them Monday, Tuesday, etc so everyone knows what to feed and when. Then all they have to do is open the bag and give it to the dog, very simple!