Quote: jessicakromer

My dogs’ diet consists of mostly chicken. I buy them whole and cheap (today I got 10 at $.59 a pound). I cut them into chucks (quarters for my dogs size) and work my way through a chicken for each dog. To me, that is as close to prey as I can get. I give them the liver, gizzard and heart that come with the chicken and throw in a scoop of tripe if I am up to it (I will also toss in a piece of pork or beef kidney or liver as well for variety and because they tolerate it well). I also feed turkey in the same manner (sales after Easter, Thanksgiving and Christmas are AWESOME!!) and rabbit, baby goat and baby sheep when I get it.

I've read that we're supposed to be feeding a variety of meats to our dogs to balance out the nutrients (or maybe protein profiles) provided by each type of source. The reality is that whole chicken is about the easiest RMB to come by for me. It's cheap and readily available. Frankly, my wife has serious issues with me paying $2/lb for meat (the minimum prices I've seen for stuff like rabbit, goat, quail, etc) to give to the dog when we're struggling to keep our expenses in check. I need to be paying less than $1/lb and that's pretty much chicken or turkey when it's on sale.

The idea of just bulking up on chickens and being in a routine of doing that is very attractive to my lazy self. How important is it to vary significantly the meat I provide? Can I provide chicken for 6 days a week and then "spice it up" one day a week with something else? Do I need to limit chicken to fewer days a week than that? 3? 4?

My opinion (non-professional, based on experience only):

variety is important, but only to the extent you can find and afford.

My four dogs' diets consist of half chicken, or maybe even a bit more. The variety they get is in the other half. And that's the half that requires work.

Cincinnati is similar in size to St. Louis where I live--so I'm confident that you have markets there that are not the big chain grocery supermarkets. For me, the best resources are smaller markets in ethnic neighborhoods. Grocery stores that cater to African-, Asian- or Hispanic-Americans traditionally have a better supply of cheaper cuts of meats. My guess is because those cultures have a tradition of not wasting any part of the animal. Whatever the reason, they do. So seek those out.

I think you'll also find that buying chicken parts can be cheaper than whole chickens--but again, you have to find the resource. Chicken backs, necks, and leg quarters are ridiculously cheap--49-59 cents a pound for me. But I can't buy them at the "nice" supermarket where I shop for myself.

So, if half my dogs' diets come from 50-cent chicken, I figure I can fill out the other half with cheap cuts of other meats that are all in the 1.50 range. For me, that's cheap cuts of pork (pork butt and shoulder), pork organs, bulk ground beef, turkey parts, lots of chicken gizzards, and lots of whole frozen sardines. The occasional duck reduced for quick sale. Delicacies like lamb, bison, quail are rare treats. I'm simply unwilling to buy them. I'm unconvinced they need that much variety.

The key, I've found, for feeding raw on the cheap is that it takes a lot of searching and a very big freezer or two which allows you to buy in bulk. Everything's cheaper in bulk.

I'm also of the belief that small amounts of vegetable matter in the diet cannot hurt, and probably may add some additional nutrient variety. Sweet potatoes are dirt cheap. So are the stems and parings from other veggies--put them in a bag in the freezer and sprinkle them on the dog's dinner. Mine love frozen blueberries, carrots, peas, brocolli--all of which aren't expensive and are nutrient dense.

I feed very much this way. My dogs get almost all their RMBs in the form of poultry, but the added muscle meat and organ meat is from other animals. And I too buy cheap sardines, mackerel, and even frozen fillets of wild fish on sale, as well as yogurt, the random egg, a piece of lamb neck, some cheap ground beef, etc. These are all protein variations.

None of it has to be expensive. Some can be no-salt (or rinsed) canned. Some is at the Dollar Store!

Excellent post Tracy! That's pretty much exactly what I do as well. And I'll stress the wonders of the ethnic market - you WILL find great deals, and amazing variety, in shops like this, and if you live in a proper city, you're bound to have more than one within reasonable distance.

It's actually not terribly difficult to feed a *variety of raw affordably (even cheaply) but you will benefit from really exploring local obscure grocery options, and having a big freezer to take advantage of bulk deals, as Tracy said...

*and variety does not need to be 12 different protein sources... it could just be 3 or 4 - but more than one IS important.

~Natalya

Another great post. I would consider a raw diet to be pretty nicely varied even with just poultry, beef, canned mackerel, and yogurt.

I wanted to throw in that several members here have mentioned the mark-downs in the supermarket meat case. They may not be gorgeous, but who's looking for gorgeous?

Oh yeah, I watch the "Reduced for Quick Sale" case like you wouldn't believe (actually, you probably would...)

They have a ton of beef heart and liver in there.
And lately, Ox Tail.

I almost forgot the occasional "gravy" from THK that I toss on the top, making sure that THK stays in the rotation and I have it for dogsitters, travel, etc. It adds a ton of variety.

 Quote: connie sutherland

I almost forgot the occasional "gravy" from THK that I toss on the top, making sure that THK stays in the rotation and I have it for dogsitters, travel, etc. It adds a ton of variety.

I should really consider THK for this reason - so far none of Oscar's dog sitters have been terribly upset by the raw "prepared meals" he normally eats, but I can tell it's not their favorite part about watching him!

~Natalya

Get samples first...Hambone despises Force. Luckily, Lucy eats almost anything.

*nod*
Danke doesn't like Keen at all.