home-ground raw - pictorial

[technodoll]

for those who are thinking of making their own ground raw food (for dogs or cats), here's what it looked like this afternoon in our kitchen... price calculations are after the photos (and please ignore the crappy surroundings, i can't wait to get out of this rental and into my OWN place where i will have a NICE kitchen! sigh)

Here are 16 lbs of thawed beef heart, pre-preparation:



Beef heart after slicing into proper-sized pieces:



This box contains 35 lbs of chicken frames:



Hubby chopping up the frames for the grinder:



Here are 25 lbs of chopped chicken frames, ready to go:



The trusty grinder doing its job:



The finished product: 41 lbs of ground chicken frames and beef hearts (mixed), and 8 lbs of intact frames for recreational chewing (we kept 2 lbs to make a nice chicken veggie broth for us humans, LOL). Before bagging, some people like to add stuff to the meat mix but we add it just before feeding, this allows for a greater variety of "mixers".



These 41 lbs of ground cost $21.50, so $0.52/lbs (frames were $0.22/lbs, and the beef hearts $0.99/lbs)
We have 8 lbs of intact chicken frames for $1.76
Our soup broth frames were a whopping $0.44

Prep time is fairly quick if "the man" has a good chopping arm, it's the cleanup time that's not too fun. gotta clean, wash and disinfect every surface and utensil. For us it's more than worth it, it cuts our monthly feeding costs in half and it only takes about 3 hours from start to finish, going slooowly.

The reason we grind: easier to get more raw food into the dogs (since they don't always like the "additions" such as raw fish, avocados, raw eggs, cottage cheese, chicken hearts, raw organ meats, baby-food veggies, etc), though they do like it when we add green tripe, yogurt, boneless meats... They do eat a significant portion of their raw diet in "intact form", which cleans their teeth beautifully.

Hope some of you find inspiration in this!

[hazelrunpack]

So how long does that amount of food last?

[barkley21]

That was a fantastic post Technodoll
I'm sooooo jealous thinking of how well stocked your freezer is right now
I would totally do this if only I had the freezer space! We don't have room in our freezer for this much meat and we don't have room in the house anywhere to fit an extra freezer We have discussed getting a larger refrigerator with more freezer space in the near future.
I can't believe how cheap all that meat is! It makes me cringe at how much we spend to feed our little furry bottomless pit
Good job TD! Your dogs are very lucky to have a mom and dad who devote that much time preparing their meals.
Thanks again for that pictorial. I think a lot of people will find it very helpful.

[technodoll]

So how long does that amount of food last?

if we fed the ground raw exclusively (nothing else), we'd go through about 4.5 lbs/day for the two dogs (some days less), so the lot would last about 10 days. but we add stuff to the mixture to stretch it out and add a variety of nutrients, dakotah gets 1/3 of his diet in kibble, they eat whole meaty bones, etc... we'll make this lot of ground last a month, i'm too lazy to do it all again before December!

oh and for the record... we managed to squeeze a small (2 x 3) chest freezer into a corner of our living room, we put stuff on it and it serves as a table of sorts too, ha ha! and the kitchen is at the complete other end of the appartment - so where there's a will, there's a way

[Frenchy]

Originally Posted by technodoll

Hope some of you find inspiration in this!

Yes I did can't stand raw meat

[technodoll]

me neither frenchy... but it's for the kids and they deserve the best, so i just "get over it"

[Prin]

It's interesting, but I'm still not convinced it's for me... I'd be doing all the chopping alone and I'm not good with carcasses...

[TeriM]

Wow, looks like a lot of work. I have one dog (long story, very bad allergies only thing that worked) but am very lucky that we have 2 great stores very close that sell prepackaged (and cheap) raw products. Raw is a booming industry on the west coast and many local companies have jumped to fill the need.

[rainbow]

Originally Posted by Prin

It's interesting, but I'm still not convinced it's for me... I'd be doing all the chopping alone and I'm not good with carcasses...

That's me too.

[technodoll]

yes, thank goodness for big man-muscles!

[Frenchy]

Originally Posted by technodoll

yes, thank goodness for big man-muscles!

please don't tease me TD .

[technodoll]

i DID mean my hubby! i'm mad at my bro right now so he's not worthy of being mentioned. so there.

ok back to the topic... just be happy i forgot to include the raw liver in the ground mix

[Frenchy]

Originally Posted by technodoll

i DID mean my hubby! i'm mad at my bro right now so he's not worthy of being mentioned. so there.

I wasn't talking about your bro ! Just that you are lucky to have a big man with muscle ! Sorry about the family problems

[technodoll]

Sorry about the family problems

oh he doesn't know i'm mad at him... i'll let him know, once i figure out how to save his doggies

[Prin]

I know a good home for his pyr....

[Frenchy]

Originally Posted by technodoll

save his doggies

But I tought Churchill was spending more time inside?

[technodoll]

well that has changed now... i'm still fuming, it's getting from bad to worse

[Frenchy]

Originally Posted by technodoll

well that has changed now... i'm still fuming, it's getting from bad to worse

My door is open for both dogs if needed.

[Prin]

That's what I thought.

[mummummum]

Nice grinder Technodoll! For raw fruits veggies I used my juicer, the pulp went in the food and I used the juice as the liquid base for their "treats" dough instead of water. Even though they eat kibble now I still do the same thing but use both pulp and juice in their treats (and Mum gets any left-over juice!!).

[technodoll]

we bought a juicer when we first ventured into raw, because we didn't know about the "prey model" method of feeding and thought that fruits and veggies were necessary. what a mess! we used that thing maybe 3 times and it's been in the back room collecting dust ever since, LOL! i guess laziness has "levels"

oh and we LOVE that grinder! it has more than paid for itself since we bought it 2 years ago!

[Lissa]

Originally Posted by technodoll

yes, thank goodness for big man-muscles!

Sorry that can't be the excuse because I get to do it ALL on my own *pouting*

I wish I had a grinder (SO jealous!)!!! My family would die if I filled up our white sinks with raw meat - I get to work on a tiny cutting board!

[meb999]

Good for you....but.... that's alot of raw meat. and bacteria. in your sink -- said the germaphobe

[Skryker]

My guy would be the one doing ALL the work here...I love to cook but can't stand to handle most types of raw meat. I still have many bad memories of meat from working in a grocery store for years. Ewwie!! No one should be able to tell what type of meat they just grabbed without looking at it.

Hubby loves beef hearts. He'd be thrilled to find 'em at 99c/pound! He'd even share them with the hounds.

[jiorji]

how long is that gong to last TD?

[technodoll]

jiorji, see post #4 in this thread

meb999, if you could see what you track in your house every day (via shoes, boots and dog paws) you'd realise how *clean* a sink full of raw meat actually is

hot water, dish soap, Clorox disinfecting wipes... we've never ever gotten the slightest bit sick handling raw meats, there is no problem when you use common precautions. IMO the whole "germ" business surrounding raw meat is totally blown out of proportion. i'd rather lick the sink than lick the floor, at least there are no traces of poop, vomit, pee, spit, chemical crap, etc in there! (yes that is what is on the bottom of your shoes, and on the feet of your doggy)

[meb999]

I know, I know -- I'm alot more likely to get sick from the germs on a public bathroom door

It's just alot of meat. and it's raw. and it's alot of meat. Can you tell I'm not a big meat-eater? Your beanies are very lucky

[100%doglover]

Very impressive! That's certainly much cheaper then the raw food I'm buying for our shepherd (mostly healthy paws at about CDN$13 for a 5lbs bag).....

I used to cook for my dog when I started about 8 years ago because she just couldn't digest the crappy commercial food and I got quite disguisted with it after reading up on the subject (anyone familiar with Ann Martin?) and didn't trust any brand at the time..... The difference is though that I didn't give raw but rather used to boil some egg noodles/brown rice, lightly fry meats & then also cook veggies or add fruit. That was a lot of work so I can imagine what making food for your 2 doggeis must be like!

I was happy to start buying raw when the option became available quite a few years ago even though it was pricey....But I'm likely going to do it myself again at some point, to help bring the cost down so we can keep doing it if/when we have more then one doggy. Right now though with a toddler & a baby on the way it just wouldn't be feasible. I'll have to consult with you when the time comes though

[technodoll]

Can you tell I'm not a big meat-eater?

me neither, hun... i eat very little meat and can go for days without touching any (well except to feed the carnivores, LOL). i don't LIKE the concept of "meat" but... i didn't design the dogs and have to live with it

ps: i had the best veggie and tofu vietnamese dish tonight, on crispy noodles !!!! and the dogs are getting a raw pork rib roast. i got the better meal!!

[meb999]

LOL! I guess if i ever decide to try raw again I'll have to SLOWLY work my way up to the grinder