# If only I ate meat



## bridget246 (Oct 26, 2011)

Since Bridget has been switched to the raw diet I've been doing my hardest to find the highest quality of meats at the cheapest price. Looks like my chicken will be around 80% a pound for free range chicken that are mostly grain fed. 1 dollar a pound for pork, beef and lamb. Salmon stomach I've gotten for free. 

This is turning out to be much cheaper than kibble. I just had to spend a lot of time looking around to find the best places. I couldn't believe some suppliers were willing to lower their prices when they realized it was for a dog.


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## Sprocket (Oct 4, 2011)

For us with the 3 dogs eating 140$ worth of food a month, it is MUCH CHEAPER on raw. 

I have gotten so much for free that my 100$ a month budget can go to other things


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## magicre (Apr 7, 2010)

i'm thinking i spend more than others.



certainly more than i did on kibble.

i'm totally out of control.


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## hmbutler (Aug 4, 2011)

magicre said:


> i'm thinking i spend more than others.
> 
> 
> 
> ...



I certainly spend a lot more than I did on kibble... meat prices in Australia are pretty high, and big bags of kibble can be pretty cheap. It would probably cost me about $1-$1.50 a day on kibble, and more like $3 a day on raw. But having said that, it wasnt a good grain-free kibble (there arent any in my town, I'd have to drive 2 hours to Perth and then spend a small fortune, so yes, grain free kibble would cost me more than raw). But I'm happy to be spending more, knowing my dog is healthier than he was :smile:


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## magicre (Apr 7, 2010)

hmbutler said:


> I certainly spend a lot more than I did on kibble... meat prices in Australia are pretty high, and big bags of kibble can be pretty cheap. It would probably cost me about $1-$1.50 a day on kibble, and more like $3 a day on raw. But having said that, it wasnt a good grain-free kibble (there arent any in my town, I'd have to drive 2 hours to Perth and then spend a small fortune, so yes, grain free kibble would cost me more than raw). But I'm happy to be spending more, knowing my dog is healthier than he was :smile:


my friends in australia love coming here and seeing their lamb sell for cheaper than they can buy it.

i pay less for my lamb for the dogs.....but my goats come from australia and i don't pay for it what you pay, i'll bet.

it's just that i buy whatever i want. i have two dogs who eat less than a pound a day...they occupy two freezers and i have a shelf.


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## ciaBrysh (Dec 16, 2011)

Now that I found that supplier, I'm only paying .85/lb So I think it's safe to say I am saving A LOT on raw


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## xellil (Apr 4, 2011)

magicre said:


> i'm thinking i spend more than others.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Me too. But I figure I have such a huge savings on vet bills I can buy what I need. I am trying to cut down - I'm feeding less rib bones and more turkey necks, and I haven't found rabbit or goat since I moved here, but it doesn't seem to be reducing the cost much.


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## Huginn (Nov 21, 2011)

I think I spend a lot more than I would on kibble, but mainly because I don't plan. . . I just buy at random. . .


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## hmbutler (Aug 4, 2011)

Huginn said:


> I think I spend a lot more than I would on kibble, but mainly because I don't plan. . . I just buy at random. . .


Yeah thats my problem too... I buy some things randomly, so I often end up getting them from the grocery store and they cost a fortune! I really need to get through all the meat in the freezer, then order a whole big bulk order from the butcher, and package into daily meals (rather than into proteins)... it'll be easier to know what to defrost (wont have to weigh anything), he will get a fairly even mix of proteins and I will save money in the process!


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## sozzle (May 18, 2011)

I probably spend NZ$3 - $5 per day on my dog. Meat is not particularly cheap here although the beef and sheep are grass fed. I did manage to find some pork hearts today really cheap, by our standards for $4.25 per kg. The butcher is ordering it from slaughterhouse in a caseload which contains 20kg, so I'm chuffed and I've just had an email from a friend who is having a couple of sheep knocked off and asked whether I want the offal and bones - yay!


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## magicre (Apr 7, 2010)

xellil said:


> Me too. But I figure I have such a huge savings on vet bills I can buy what I need. I am trying to cut down - I'm feeding less rib bones and more turkey necks, and I haven't found rabbit or goat since I moved here, but it doesn't seem to be reducing the cost much.


that's my rationalisation too.

and since it's MY reality, no one can take it away from me.

i do wake my friends up at 7:30 when bubba didn't feel well yesterday...and, so far, no invoice 

he's fine now. my back hurts, but i saved money by not feeding him yesterday, does that count?


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## magicre (Apr 7, 2010)

hmbutler said:


> Yeah thats my problem too... I buy some things randomly, so I often end up getting them from the grocery store and they cost a fortune! I really need to get through all the meat in the freezer, then order a whole big bulk order from the butcher, and package into daily meals (rather than into proteins)... it'll be easier to know what to defrost (wont have to weigh anything), he will get a fairly even mix of proteins and I will save money in the process!


you're like that, too?

i have two freezers that are still full...but there is some stuff in there i bought when i had no clue what i was doing....so not all that i have is appropriate nor will i get through it in a timely manner.

when honey gets home, it's cleanout time.

to get ready for the new stuff...and i DO have a plan LOL


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## xellil (Apr 4, 2011)

magicre said:


> that's my rationalisation too.
> 
> and since it's MY reality, no one can take it away from me.
> 
> ...


I'm glad he is ok! Hopefully your back is not far behind on getting better.

And of course it counts


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## hmbutler (Aug 4, 2011)

magicre said:


> you're like that, too?
> 
> i have two freezers that are still full...*but there is some stuff in there i bought when i had no clue what i was doing*....so not all that i have is appropriate nor will i get through it in a timely manner.
> 
> ...



Yep, exactly, my first bulk order had HEAPS of beef heart in it... little did I know, Duke would take forever to become tolerant of beef lol he only gets the tiniest bit so I dunno when I'll ever need to buy beef heart again :tongue: big problem though was I froze it all in 500gram portions, and now he would only have about 100gram per meal lol... one weekend I really need to defrost all the meat and re-portion it lol


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## magicre (Apr 7, 2010)

i'm so glad i'm not alone. 

i'm better now...but i will drop sixteen dollars on a rabbit....

i need serious mental help. i would spend the same on honey, so i can't be that bad.


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## Makovach (Jan 24, 2012)

Money is tight, so I've scavenged for the lowest prices. I've gotten to about 60-70 cents per lb. So I can feed both of my dogs PMR for about $2 a day. Compared to spending $120-$180 a month on Earth Born (lord knows I can not afford acana/orgin). I can spend that $120-$180 and feed my dogs PMR for 2.5-3 months. Which is part of the reason I had no comments from the peanut gallery (aka my Bf) when I told him I wanted to feed PMR when we move.

If I have one small dog, I probably wouldnt be so careful. I wouldnt be able to buy the 40lb bulk boxes because they would last forever and not have enough variety. So I would probably be one of those random type shoppers and spuraticly buy meats.


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## Kat (Jul 12, 2011)

I spend way more on raw then I did on kibble too. But, I buy mainly organic meat, and like others have said, I rationalize it with how much money Im saving from not going to the vet. I bought a whole rabbit back in november, but I still havent even portioned it out, its just sitting in my freezer. With the re-intro to beef, and introing liver, who knows when Ill get around to using that rabbit!


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## magicre (Apr 7, 2010)

rabbit's lean. you could probably intro that now.


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## Kat (Jul 12, 2011)

Really? Yay! Just didnt want to do too much too soon. I am up to .50 oz of chicken liver 4 times a week right now, and Ruby is doing really well. Also doing .50oz of beef 2 times a week without issue so far. I think I just needed the lamb to buffer between introing beef. Nice, so Ruby can have rabbit bones now too, not just boring old chicken bones.


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## liquid (Dec 28, 2011)

I cant buy in bulk because of space constraints, so I buy my meat from multiple grocery stores and I watch the sales. I average around $0.95/lb this way buying chicken, beef and pork. It's the best I can do without buying in bulk, so I'm happy with it. I feed Eevee (estimated 50lbs adult weight) for less than $30 a month.

Eevee's my first puppy and I started her on raw the second day she was here, so I dont really know what a bag of kibble costs... I'm sure raw is cheaper though! And WAY healthier! :tongue:


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## magicre (Apr 7, 2010)

Kat said:


> Really? Yay! Just didnt want to do too much too soon. I am up to .50 oz of chicken liver 4 times a week right now, and Ruby is doing really well. Also doing .50oz of beef 2 times a week without issue so far. I think I just needed the lamb to buffer between introing beef. Nice, so Ruby can have rabbit bones now too, not just boring old chicken bones.


with her, i'd intro rabbit the same way i intro'd every thing else...little bits at a time. see how she takes to it.

it is a game meat, but very lean.


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## BoxerParty (Nov 9, 2011)

Kat said:


> I bought a whole rabbit back in november, but I still havent even portioned it out, its just sitting in my freezer. With the re-intro to beef, and introing liver, who knows when Ill get around to using that rabbit!


I'm so glad I'm not the only one who does this - I kept the organs from my (Canadian) Thanksgiving turkeys, and JUST gave the first piece of the liver this morning. I also have beef kidney in my freezer 'cause it was SO cheap. :noidea:


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