Raw on a tight budget

[SaraB]

I always pursue the clearance meat bins at the grocery store, the reduced priced ones. I rarely pay full price for any meat I feed the dogs. The other thing you can do is post an ad on craigslist for freezer burned meat. With hunting season coming up soon, people are going to be clearing out their freezers! Let friends and family know as well, my mom just purchased a quarter of a cow from the butcher and was able to save the extra pieces for my dogs.

[JustaLilBitaLuck]

Originally Posted by SaraB

I always pursue the clearance meat bins at the grocery store, the reduced priced ones. I rarely pay full price for any meat I feed the dogs. The other thing you can do is post an ad on craigslist for freezer burned meat. With hunting season coming up soon, people are going to be clearing out their freezers! Let friends and family know as well, my mom just purchased a quarter of a cow from the butcher and was able to save the extra pieces for my dogs.

This!

Ask friends/family to save any freezer burned meat for you. If you know anyone that hunts, ask them if you can have any cuts/pieces that they won't use.

Also, invest in a large freezer (sometimes you can find them for cheap on Craigslist) so you can stock up if you find any awesome deals!

[monkeys23]

Originally Posted by Lyzelle

Organ meat like Chicken Gizzards and Hearts are really cheap. Turkey necks are cheap. You can usually get buckets of raw liver at the grocery store, if not your local Sport House (people use it for catching catfish-just make sure there's nothing added to it).

Coconut oil can be a little pricey, but you only need a spoon or so every other feeding if you need to stretch it.

Also, check what you're making for dinner. Chicken breast too small or fatty to bother cooking? Throw it to the dog, not the garbage can! Same with cutting any fat off your meat.

Zander gets dinner scraps above all else, and the larger meals only once or twice a week. I fill in everything else with plain kibble/Seameal by Solid Gold.

Gizzards and heart are fed as boneless meat, not organ. Organ = liver, kidney, spleen, etc.

I would buy organ and tripe. I though eh tripe is no big whoop.... until I got some high quality grass fred tripe and actually fed it. Its done some real nice things for Scout especially. It really helps regulate her digestion in a big way.