I hope someone can tell me if my interpretation of this would be accurate or not. I am trying to "compare" if you will, that feeding raw is actually about the same price to feeding crappy kibble. Since with raw I generally gauge by weight (i.e., pounds or kgs) while kibble is generally measured by cups, I am trying to come to some sort of comparison using one of these metrics. With that said, since kibble is dry food that has been dehydrated, would soaking the kibble in water until it does not retain any more be a "fair" comparison in terms of weight to raw?

In other words, using my pup for example that eats about 2.25 pounds of raw per day, and if she were to eat kibble is advised to eat 3 cups, would soaking the 3 cups of kibble in water until it is fully hydrated be a fair comparison of amount of food by weight the dog would be eating?

Thanks!

Siaty, I don't think you could compare it that way.

Better to weigh out (dry weight) the 3 cups of kibble, then extrapolate based on dry weight how long a bag would last you.

No, I agree that you cannot compare them like that.

What you want to know is how much it costs to feed it, right?

I'd figure the cost per day of each.

 Quote: Siaty Mantak

... my pup for example that eats about 2.25 pounds of raw per day, and if she were to eat kibble is advised to eat 3 cups .... Thanks!

How much did the 2.25 pounds cost? How much did the 3 cups of kibble cost?

It costs me about $4 per day. I've never bought kibble before, so was hoping to get a sample bag or something and weigh out 3 cups. Also, I was curious if feeding raw you actually feed less food compared to dry kibble, which I am not sure if 3 cups can be compared to 2.25 pounds. I know, I may be asking ridiculous questions, but I get asked a variety of these sorts almost every week when I go to the supermarket and requesting animal necks.

Here's the thing. You cannot compare kibble-as-an-all-around-item cost to raw cost. You cannot even say that raw costs such-and-such.

Kibble varies widely in its contents and its cost (and the amount that the dog needs).

Raw varies widely depending on what per-pound cost the owner gets for whatever RMBs s/he feeds.

The answer is really in two parts. Part one is How much does your kibble cost per day (or week, or month). Part two is How much per pound is the RMB you'd buy instead. (And Part 2-A is to extend the per-pound cost by about 2% of the dog's weight.)

You can roughly figure your own, because you know your raw per-pound cost. You even know your extension, which turns out to be $4 a day. So to answer the question for yourself, all you need to know is the approximate amount your dog would need on a certain kibble (which answers you, but only for that kibble).

But you can't figure out anyone's unless you name the kibble (and find out how much their dog would need to eat in a day of that particular kibble) and figure out their per-diem raw cost.

There is no dry-matter-basis conversion for raw v. kibble that really makes sense the way there is for kibble vs. canned because there are too many variables.

Siaty, If you would like to do a very rough comparison of the two, on a dry matter basis you can estimate 55-75% water for raw meat. The leaner the meat, the higher the water content, at least that's what I'm calculating. 73/27 ground beef would be about 60%, boneless, skinless chicken breasts and 95/5 lean ground beef would be about 75%. This does not include bone which would be much drier (I would guess that raw bones might have roughly the same DM as kibble). Fruits and veggies have a much higher water content (90% or above). As you can see it gets complicated very quickly.

http://www.nutritiondata.com/facts/beef-products/8004/2
This website has a huge amount of data if you want to try comparing them directly yourself. Just take the total water weight (way at the bottom) and divide it by the total serving weight (at the very top) just remember to make sure whatever your looking at is RAW.

Oops, that would be 55-75% water content, not Dry Matter (DM). Just subtract the water percentage from 100 to get the DM, in case anyone was confused.











Edited by Kristin Mortensen (07/08/2008 02:02 PM)
Edit reason: confusion

 Quote: Kristin Mortensen

As you can see it gets complicated very quickly.

Yes.

That is an interesting site. But it would take a better brain than mine to get a helpful comparison between the two based on dry matter conversion when one is calcium-supplemented and one has bones. If you do, I would love to see it.

Bones have more water than kibble does, BTW.

For my 27 pound dog phoenix I would pay 38 for a month worth of kibble.
For raw it is 40 a month.
Now I Do pre made raw but being in the city we dont have a butcher so the drive in gas alone would be the some as buying pre made.
And also i get it at cost for the kibble.
She eats 2 cups of kibble a day and 1 cup of raw a day
So 2 cups to
1 cup of food and better fur it is worht it if that helps.
That is based on instince by parie grain free kibble.
And the same company makes the raw I buy

 Quote: Stephanie St Julian

instince by parie grain free kibble.

What is parie?