Shopping for raw
 

I didn't find [i]anything[/i] when I went shopping today for the first time for raw foods for my dog!!!

I couldn't find ANY whole fish, and found sardines, mackerel and herring only in small cans for like $3. I found "whole" salmon (gutted, headless, and tailless) for $1.49/lb.

Here's some other prices I checked butchers, Save On, and Extra Foods:

"Whole" duck $1.88/lb
"Whole" chickens $1.48/lb
Chicken livers $1.81/lb
Frozen pork rib chop or tenderloin $2.72/lb
Beef kidney or liver $2.26

I couldn't find anything cheaper...not even in the bulk frozen section. Anyone have any other ideas? Where are you guys finding whole fish? I didn't try the Asian market yet, but this isn't an Asian dominant city, so I'm not sure how much luck I'll have there...

so for RIGHT NOW we are feeding whole chicken from SAMS Club @ $0.77 a pound, eggs (at whatever they cost), ground beef from Wal-Mart at $1.07 per pound, talapia(whole gutted) from SAMS Club at $1.24 per pound and turkey parts (wings, breast, legs) from any grocer for around a buck a pound. we then supplement with chicken liver, beef liver, pigs feet, canned sardines (in water, drained) and deer meat and organs (cost nothing because we are relieving hunters of organs and cast off meat/bones) but to a lesser degree because it is all well over $1.50 per pound and we are poor folk. :)

we PLAN on building a butchering table outside (we live in a rather warm climate) and talking to a local goat farmer and rabbit farmer and butchering our own whole goat, rabbit, chicken, turkey, peacock and fish (my grandad lives on a lake) and then supplementing with store bought foods for convenience. it might sound like a lot of work but honestly id rather spend a day once every two weeks hacking up fresh meat and sticking it in our future chest freezer. :)

im fairly confident you can chimera your animal meats for short periods (ie no more than a few months) and still be better off than kibble.

perhaps you can find a raw feeding friendly butcher in the area?? have you tried any of the yahoo groups in your area?? i was surprised to find one here. :)

-ashley

[QUOTE=want4rain;541121]im fairly confident you can chimera your animal meats for short periods (ie no more than a few months) and still be better off than kibble.

perhaps you can find a raw feeding friendly butcher in the area?? have you tried any of the yahoo groups in your area?? i was surprised to find one here. :)

-ashley[/QUOTE]

Chimera...?

I've received the names of a few butchers who work with the local farmers, so I'm hoping that will follow through. I've also been given a few different links to forums and Yahoo groups (via PM) that I'm going to be looking into as well.

I did find whole fryer chickens for $1/lb, and a "picnic" pork shoulder for $1/lb (lots of throw away on the shoulder though). I really need to find some whole fatty fish...maybe I can find a butcher who will order some in for me when I need it.

Americans generally get much better prices for raw meat then we do in Canada :sad:. I wanted to mention to be careful when buying fish. If these salmon are wild-caught from the Pacific Ocean, you should freeze them for about a month before feeding them raw. There's a parasite that is sometimes in wild-caught Pacific salmon which can cause salmon poisoning in dogs. It can be killed with freezing or with cooking. If they're farmed and/or Atlantic salmon, you don't have to worry about the parasite (although probably lots of other yucky chemicals).

You could check our your local specialty pet stores as well. Many of them stock raw foods now and that is sometimes a good source for serving variety. Many people go with grocery stores for the stuff that is cheap (chicken, pork etc) and then use the others for more exotic variations fed occasionally.

Thanks for the heads up on the Salmon parasite! :eek: So far I haven't found any cheap Salmon anyway though! :frustrated:

[url]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chimera_(mythology[/url])

chimera, used to describe an animal made up from the parts of other animals. perhaps i should have said Cherub?? :D

[url]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cherub#Artistic_depictions[/url]

-ash

[QUOTE=TeriM;541658]Americans generally get much better prices for raw meat then we do in Canada :sad:. I wanted to mention to be careful when buying fish. If these salmon are wild-caught from the Pacific Ocean, you should freeze them for about a month before feeding them raw. [/QUOTE]

To the best of my knowledge, it is only the NW pacific salmon that has the parasitic problem, and the salmon should be avoided at all costs for raw feeders and there seems to be a lot of skeptism as to whether freezing actually works or not with the parasite. (not worth the risk), especially since there is tons of other fish around.

I call the farmed Atlantic salmon "Frankenfish", and you couldn't pay me to eat that stuff. Like you said, they are full of antibiotics, colouring and steroids. Definitely on the "not-wanted", list!

I don't know about prices versus the US. It really is area specific. I find food prices here in Montreal amazingly affordable as compared to many cities in the US. Toronto isn't bad at all either. As a matter of fact, the only meat I've ever really seen cheaper in the US, (as compared to Montreal), is turkey. Yes, turkey is hands down a great deal, but the rest... not really.
:)