# Meat Wholesale Questions



## Bessie7o7 (Jan 1, 2010)

There are at least two meat wholesale companies around here. Of course living here in Small Town USA, neither has a website or email so I have to call them which I hate doing. 

What should I be asking for? A list of what they offer and how much per pound? If they have a sales rep for Raw feeders? What are some of the typical questions I will need to ask or things I should look out for. 

Thank You 
Jeremy


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## DaneMama (Jun 27, 2008)

When I call our meat distributor here, I tell them that I'm a raw feeder and they know exactly what kind of things I will order. They have a program set up since there are a ton of raw feeders here in Denver. I would ask them if they have such a program and if not will they sell to you. Some do and some don't.

The things I typically order are:

Chicken quarters or backs (you could ask for any cut of chicken or whole chickens)

Turkey necks, wings and drummies

Pork riblets, ribs, roasts, kidney and liver

Beef heart [it either comes in whole ~5 pound quarter hearts I (least expensive), vacuum packs of 1 pound pieces or cubes of chunked heart] and ribs

Whole tilapia or pollock fillets

Occasionally I will order:

Wild caught salmon

lamb ribs or neck bones

When I call I ask for the prices on everything before placing my final order. I typically wont buy anything that is much over $1 per pound. Pork ribs are usually close to or a bit over $1...same with beef ribs. On average I spend about 0.70 per pound on all of it.

Hope this helps!


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## k9capture_16 (Aug 23, 2010)

Out of curiousity why wouldnt they sell to a raw feeder? Isnt it business after all lol. I never placed a bulk bulk order. Normally I call and ask for prices on everything I order. When my freezer is empty normally an order will look like this

20lbs of Chicken Leg Quarters at $1.99lb
5 whole Chickens at $1.99lb
10lbs of Turkey necks at $1.29lb
10lbs of Pork split between shoulder roasts and tongues at $1.99lb
I try to keep beef on sale for roasts because I refuse to pay $5.99 for a roast. So if I do not get sakes on beef which is rare I will get about 10lbs of Beef trim.

I could order a case of 50 for each but I just dont have that big of a freezer yet and I am only feeding 1 dog on raw...Occasionally I will order Beef Heart. My organs come from grocery stores as they are cheaper there.  

So I call in my order once a month (right now I have months worth of food in my freezer). When I first started I called a few and never mentioned I fed raw. I just asked if they carried this and the price then placed my order after I decided who to buy from. I should..look for a co-op in my area


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## RawFedDogs (Jun 16, 2008)

k9capture_16 said:


> Out of curiousity why wouldnt they sell to a raw feeder?


We are talking about meat wholesalers here. Most won't deal in sizes less than a case. Some will only sell multiple cases. The grocery store I buy my stuff from buys by the tractor trailer load from the wholesaler and gets 2 loads a week. The wholesalers generally don't want to bother selling except in large volumes. It never hurts to ask. The worst thing that can happen is they say "no".


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## Bessie7o7 (Jan 1, 2010)

I'll call them and ask probably tomorrow. I would think that living here in a small town they would almost have to sell to the public just to make a living. lol. We'll see.


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## whiteleo (Sep 7, 2008)

Have you checked for a co-op in your area, by the way where are you?


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## Bessie7o7 (Jan 1, 2010)

I live in humboldt county ca. It's about and hour or two south of Oregon on the coast.


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## magicre (Apr 7, 2010)

Bessie7o7 said:


> I'll call them and ask probably tomorrow. I would think that living here in a small town they would almost have to sell to the public just to make a living. lol. We'll see.


ask them if they put out a price list and itemise what they sell....and ask if you can set up an account and plan on ordering in bulk.


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## whiteleo (Sep 7, 2008)

There is a raw feeding group on Yahoo groups that is NCRAW Northern CA/Southern OR, that is pretty much all I could find at this time, but how far are you from Redding? I'd definitely check out this group though on Yahoo as they probably have great info as to where to get food for great prices Etc. Hope this helps


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## Bessie7o7 (Jan 1, 2010)

Thanks WhiteLeo, i will check that group out. 

My Girlfriend called around and of coarse she had to out do me, i found two Wholesalers and she found those two plus two more. lol. All four places will sell to the general public. There must be a lot of people who feed raw around here because they all guessed she was feeding dogs with the questions she asked. :biggrin: One place doesnt carry the backs and necks but they do carry there own "Dog Food" which is ground up stuff. Bone, meat, and organs No vegies. 

Out of the four she found I will be calling back two of them and asking more question. The one place that is the most promising said most people who order meat for there dogs pay right around $1 per lb. 

Now its time to find a freezer.


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## DaneMama (Jun 27, 2008)

I wouldn't buy the ground stuff that one place is offering because most likely its a lot more fat than you would want to feed. Usually a lot of the fatty scraps are used in blends like that. Not to mention ground stuff is not ideal...

Finding a freezer can be really easy...just look them up on craigslist! We've found really good deals on there!


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## Bessie7o7 (Jan 1, 2010)

I read about the ground stuff not being ideal and i must have mentioned it to her, when i asked about what was in it she said "i knew you didn't want ground up dog food so i didnt ask." lol i see freezers on craigslist all the time. now i just need to wait until after my trip to WA to buy one. :biggrin:


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