Cost of Raw Feeding for 5 Months

Since the end of April I've been keeping records of how much money I'm spending on raw meat for the pets. The dogs both weigh 40 lbs and eat about 12-14oz each per day, and the cats about 3-4oz each per day. That's about 2 lbs total per day, sometimes a little more or less, to feed 100 lbs worth of pets.

Prices vary widely by region, what is available, and what you're willing to spend. Some people may be able to feed their pets for free or cheap if they are able to get wild game regularly or leftover or freezer burned meat. Some people are able to pay big bucks for organic, naturally fed and raised meats. Some people even raise their own animals such as rabbits.

With that in mind, I'm averaging about $60/month to feed both dogs and both cats.

Here is the spreadsheet I have going. Almost all the meat has been bought at the commissary on a Naval base here in San Diego. I've listed the date of purchase, the item name, cost per pound, weight of package, total cost of the package, and a combined total for when multiple packages of the same item were purchased. The bottom of each purchase date includes the totals for that purchase, including the average $/lb, total lb, and total $.

Date	Item	$/Lb	Lb	Total $	Combined Total $
4/30/2012	Pork Tails	$1.65	0.86	$1.42	$1.42
	Trk Nk	$1.45	2.67	$3.87
		$1.45	2.50	$3.63	$7.50
	Pork Picnic	$1.13	3.87	$4.37
		$1.13	4.90	$5.54
		$1.13	5.41	$6.11
		$1.13	4.58	$5.18	$21.20
	Ch Qtr	$0.66	10.00	$6.57	$6.57
	Whole Ch	$0.77	4.32	$3.33
		$0.77	5.24	$4.05
		$0.59	5.13	$3.03	$10.41
	Ch Heart & Giz	$1.04	0.70	$0.73
		$1.04	0.75	$0.78	$1.51
	Sardines	$2.00	1.00	$2.00
		$2.00	1.00	$2.00	$4.00
	Ch Liver	$1.04	0.80	$0.83	$0.83
	Beef Liver	$0.97	2.03	$1.97	$1.97
	Total	$1.17	55.76	$55.41
APRIL TOTAL		$1.17	55.76	$55.41
Date	Item	$/Lb	Lb	Total $	Combined Total $
5/10/2012	Ch Heart & Giz	$1.04	1.06	$1.10
		$1.04	1.17	$1.22	$2.32
	Whole Ch	$0.99	5.38	$5.33	$5.33
	Pork Belly	$1.60	2.39	$3.82
		$1.60	2.54	$4.06
		$1.60	2.09	$3.34
		$1.60	2.53	$4.05	$15.27
	Total	$1.35	17.16	$22.92
Date	Item	$/Lb	Lb	Total $	Combined Total $
5/22/2012	Ch Heart & Giz	$1.04	1.24	$1.29
		$1.04	1.07	$1.11
		$1.04	1.17	$1.22	$3.62
	Ch Liver	$1.04	0.91	$0.95
	Pork Boston Blade	$1.46	10.23	$14.94	$15.89
	Pork Picnic	$1.27	11.97	$15.20	$15.20
	Sardines	$2.00	1.00	$2.00
		$2.00	1.00	$2.00	$4.00
	Ch Qtr	$0.66	10.00	$6.57	$6.57
	Total	$1.28	38.59	$45.28
Date	Item	$/Lb	Lb	Total $	Combined Total $
5/24/2012	Moose and Elk	$0.00	45.00	$0.00	$0.00
	Total	$0.00	45.00	$0.00	$0.00
MAY TOTAL		$1.31	100.75	$68.20
Date	Item	$/Lb	Lb	Total $	Combined Total $
6/5/2012	Ch Heart & Giz	$1.04	0.94	$0.98
		$1.04	0.97	$1.01	$1.99
	Ch Liver	$1.04	0.87	$0.90
		$1.04	0.90	$0.94	$1.84
	Beef Kidney	$0.78	2.69	$2.10
		$0.78	2.45	$1.91	$4.01
	Total	$0.95	8.82	$7.84
Date	Item	$/Lb	Lb	Total $	Combined Total $
6/21/2012	Ch Thigh Filets	$2.19	2.80	$6.13
	Pork Belly	$1.61	2.58	$4.15
		$1.61	2.93	$4.75	$15.03
	Ch Heart & Giz	$1.04	1.24	$1.29
		$1.04	1.21	$1.26
		$1.04	1.20	$1.25
		$1.04	1.13	$1.18
		$1.04	1.11	$1.15
		$1.04	1.22	$1.27	$7.40
	Pork Picnic	$1.31	4.66	$6.10
	Beef Heart	$0.98	6.07	$5.95
		$0.98	5.62	$5.51
		$0.98	5.68	$5.28
		$0.98	5.22	$5.12	$21.86
	Total	$1.21	42.67	$50.39
JUNE TOTAL		$1.13	51.49	$58.23
Date	Item	$/Lb	Lb	Total $	Combined Total $
7/9/2012*	Ch Qtr	-	-	< $4	-
	Ch Drumsticks	-	-	-	-
	Ch Thighs	-	-	-	^ < $5
	Total		~9	~ $9
Date	Item	$/Lb	Lb	Total $	Combined Total $
7/16/2012	Trk Nk	$1.21	2.12	$2.57
		$1.21	1.99	$2.41	$4.98
	Beef Liver	$0.92	2.08	$1.91
	Ch Qtr	$0.94	10.00	$9.44
	Ch Liver	$1.25	1.25	$1.56
	Ch Thigh Filets	$1.99	2.68	$5.35
	Pork Belly	$2.05	1.98	$4.06
		$2.05	2.16	$4.43
		$2.05	2.23	$4.57	$13.06
	Total	$1.52	26.49	$36.30
Date	Item	$/Lb	Lb	Total $	Combined Total $
7/27/2012	Sardines	$2.00	1.00	$2.00
		$2.00	1.00	$2.00
		$2.00	1.00	$2.00	$6.00
	Chicken Thighs	~1.8	~ 5	~ $9
	Total	$2.00	8.00	$15.00
JULY TOTAL		$1.64	43.49	$51.30
Date	Item	$/Lb	Lb	Total $	Combined Total $
8/3/2012	Turkey Drumsticks	$1.38	2.38	$3.28
		$1.38	2.56	$3.53	$6.81
	Total	$1.38	4.94	$6.81
Date	Item	$/Lb	Lb	Total $	Combined Total $
8/18/2012	Beef Heart	$0.96	3.27	$3.14
		$0.96	2.77	$2.66
		$0.96	2.71	$2.60
		$0.96	3.24	$3.11	$11.51
	Beef Kidney	$0.72	2.70	$1.94
		$0.72	2.53	$1.82
		$0.72	2.60	$1.87	$5.63
	Beef Liver	$0.92	2.02	$1.86
		$0.92	2.03	$1.87	$3.73
	Turkey Neck	$1.12	1.98	$2.22
		$1.12	2.24	$2.51	$4.73
	Total	$0.92	28.09	$25.60
Date	Item	$/Lb	Lb	Total $	Combined Total $
8/28/2012	Pork Spare Ribs	$1.68	3.94	$6.62
	Ch Heart & Giz	$1.00	1.37	$1.37
		$1.00	1.45	$1.45
		$1.00	1.53	$1.53	$4.35
	Ch Qtr	$0.80	10.00	$7.99
	Ch Thigh Filet	$1.99	2.82	$5.61
	Ch Drumstick	$0.99	4.47	$4.43
	Pork Belly	$2.28	2.08	$4.74
		$2.28	2.01	$4.58	$9.32
	Total	$1.45	29.67	$38.32
AUG TOTAL		$1.18	62.70	$70.73
Date	Item	$/Lb	Lb	Total $	Combined Total $
9/12/2012	Trk Nk	$1.11	2.10	$2.33
		$1.11	2.14	$2.38
		$1.11	1.98	$2.20
		$1.11	2.13	$2.36	$9.27
	Total	$1.11	8.35	$9.27
Date	Item	$/Lb	Lb	Total $	Combined Total $
9/24/2012	Turkey Drumstick	$1.31	2.29	$3.00
		$1.31	2.39	$3.13	$6.13
	Beef Kidney	$0.72	2.03	$1.46
		$0.72	2.22	$1.60
		$0.72	1.97	$1.42
		$0.72	2.18	$1.57	$6.05
	Pork Picnic	$1.27	5.71	$7.25
	Ch Liver	$1.25	1.25	$1.56
		$1.25	1.25	$1.56	$3.12
	Ch Qtr	$0.80	10.00	$7.99
	Beef Liver	$0.92	2.07	$1.90
		$0.92	1.92	$1.77	$3.67
	Beef Heart	$1.06	2.08	$2.20
		$1.06	2.27	$2.94
		$1.06	2.51	$2.66
		$1.06	2.36	$2.50	$10.30
	Total	$1.01	44.50	$44.51
SEPT TOTAL		$1.03	52.85	$53.78

*Note: The receipt was lost for the first purchase in July. We were out of town and I didn't remember to record it.

Also note that at the end of May I got about 45 lbs of wild moose and elk for no cost.

I have not included the cost of fish oil supplement, which was about $20 from what I remember for 400 softgels.

The complete total so far is $357.65.When that number is divided by 5, to cover the 5 months of May through September (not counting April since that purchase was the last day of the month), the average is $71.53. This is a little misleading as I usually have about 3-4 weeks worth of meat in the freezer. I buy more of a specific item when I run out or when it goes on sale, and it's extremely rare for my freezer to be truly empty. So really, the $357.65 would be able to cover me for almost 6 months, which would be $59.06 per month. 

Total amount purchased over the last 5 months is 367.04 lbs. That's an average of $0.97/lb. Not bad, and certainly much cheaper than a high quality kibble! Without factoring in the free moose and elk, the average would be $1.11/lb which is still really low.

Assuming the meat I have now could last through the end of this month, meaning for 6 months total, cost per day is $1.94. On average, the amount fed per day is 1.99 lbs. I don't think I could quite make it to the end of the month but at least 2-3 weeks as of now before the freezer was completely empty.
 
Again, prices vary widely by region and what you're willing and able to pay for. You may be able to spend a lot less, or you may have to (or be able to) spend a lot more. If your pets are bigger or smaller, or if you have more or less pets, that will be a major factor as well.

There are many ways to help cut costs of raw feeding. Look for a local co-op in which people bulk order to save on shipping costs, and bulk orders cost less per lb. They often have more variety than you may be able to find in stores as well. Check in reputable ethnic and foreign markets as well. Often you can find great variety for great prices in Asian or Hispanic markets. You can post a want ad on Craigslist or Kijiji for unwanted, leftover, freezer burned meat. Often hunters will be looking to clear out their old freezer burned meat from previous years to make room for the upcoming hunting season. You can consider roadkill too. Check on Freecycle and other such sites for meat. You can also contact slaughterhouses, abattoirs, taxidermists, and contact farmers and ranchers to see if they could sell you stillborns, animals that need to be culled, animals that have stopped producing, and get any "scraps." Check the advertisements for your local stores for weekly sales so you can stock up when prices are low, and check to see if they have a discount bin for meat that is about to expire.

Be creative and don't be shy! It can help if you phrase your inquiries in such a manner that it appears you are doing a service by taking/purchasing unwanted meat that would otherwise be wasted, and I've also found it helpful to say I make a "healthy homemade diet" for my pets instead of saying "raw" as ill-informed people may panic at the R word and decide not to give you the meat.

Diesel's Box, and Saying Goodbye

[Edit: I jinxed myself! The potential fosters didn't work out. I'll update this post when he absolutely for sure has a new foster home.]

Tomorrow Diesel is going to his new fosters and will be staying there assuming all goes well. They sound like a perfect fit for him! The process has been long, taking 9 and 1/2 weeks to find a potential foster, and I really hope things work out. I have a commitment to Diesel and need to watch out for his best interests and as much as he needs a new foster I'm not about to leave him in a situation I'm not comfortable with. Honestly I think things will go very well and I'm very excited for Diesel! He'll have a great playmate and a lot of room to run. I'm going to miss his wiggly butt bouncing down the stairs every morning!

Pics taken today, click any pic to see it bigger.Compare these pics to when we got him in May!

Here is the final Before & After I put together:

I also wanted to share a couple videos of him learning how to bounce on the box. He's made up many tricks on his own but this time I wanted to specifically shape him to bounce on the box.

For this session I was aiming to mark when he put both front feet in the box, and for any shuffling of his feet in the box with the desired end behavior being to bounce on the box. In the session previous to this, he was rewarded for one foot in the bottom of the box and just starting on two feet in the bottom of the box. No training is perfect and I have a couple mis-marks but he was catching on.



This session was the day after the Part 1 believe it or not, with no sessions or training in between! For this session I was planning to mark shuffling his feet and any motions toward a bounce. Sometimes a plan doesn't matter!





Goodbye Diesel
Diesel, you are a good dog. You are always happy and loving. Your face may ooze drool and make everything from our walls and furniture to the cats and my legs slimy, but it's a handsome face and one that I will surely miss. You got on my nerves and stressed out my dogs and punched my cats in the face, but despite all that I can't help but smile when I think of all your shenanigans and how nothing matters to you but having a good time. Never lose your exuberance for life, sweet boy. Enjoy your next adventure!

Science Diet to Have Plastic Coated Kibble?

Susan Thixton posted on her site Truthaboutpetfood.com about some changes being made to Science Diet which should be taking place by this coming December 2012. Apparently Science Diet is coming out with more natural kibble. Before you get your hopes up about Hill's offering a potentially more species-appropriate kibble than their regular corn and grain based products, there is evidence that their new more natural kibble will be coated in plastic, specifically low-density polyethylene, to extend the shelf life. So we're clear, polyethylene "is the polymer that makes grocery bags, shampoo bottles, children's toys, and even bullet proof vests."

Note: I love the jab Hill's makes about consumers "making product choices based primarily on a set criteria for ingredients, rather than the overall promise of nutrition and clinical research." Ok ok hold on a darned second. They are, right there in the statement, saying they are including "more natural ingredients" but at the same time saying that their current food is based on the promise of nutrition and clinical research. Did they just admit that their current foods are not natural? Seems they did.

As noted in Thixton's post, Hill's has gotten a patent. The patent says of the polymer coating: "wherein the thickness of the polymer film is between 1 and 2000 microns." How big are microns? Sounds small, and they are. But 2000 of them adds up. 2000 microns is 2 mm. Up to 2 millimeters of plastic coating on the kibble to extend the shelf life. The polymer, as noted in the patent, would be designed to quickly dissolve once in the pet's mouth. I wondered about that part so began searching.

It is specified in the patent that it will be low-density polyethylene polymer. What is low-density polyethylene used for? According to DynalabCorp, " Low Density Polyethylene (LDPE) is a most useful and widely used plastic especially in dispensing bottles or wash bottles. It is translucent to opaque, robust enough to be virtually unbreakable and at the same time quite flexible... LDPE is ideally suited for a wide range of molded laboratory apparatus including wash bottles, pipette washing equipment, general purpose tubing, bags and small tanks." It has "Excellent resistance (no attack) to dilute and concentrated Acids, Alcohols, Bases and Esters." I've looked and looked trying to find where LDPE is used as a pill coating or something similar to no avail, including searches adding the word 'polymer.' The only information I'm able to find states how it is used for making inorganic food packages, plastic bags, or other plastic products. How exactly is plastic supposed to dissolve in the dog's "oral cavity" when dogs don't have a piece of kibble in their mouth more than a second anyway? Dogs don't have the physical capability of chewing their food and certainly have no reason to hold food in their mouth to allow a 2mm coating to dissolve. Most dogs swallow kibble pieces whole as fast as possible.  Hill's can't honestly expect it to dissolve in the dog's mouth. It'll have to dissolve in the stomach and the rest of the digestive tract- if at all from the sounds of it. That's not the real point though, the real point is that from everything I can find, LDPE is a pretty tough plastic that wouldn't dissolve at all.

Another claim in the patent is that the "polymer film further comprises a polymer selected from zein, casein, starch(es), cellulose(es), gum(s), gelatin, and combinations thereof." Maybe that's how the LDPE will be able to be dissolved? Let's do a quick look at what each of these items is derived from, what it is, and common uses.

Zein : The principal protein of corn. It is "a mixture of water insoluble proteins" and "Zein is not a valuable feed component since it is water insoluble and deficient in some of the important amino acids, lysine and tryptophan. Zein is also an alcohol soluble protein in corn which has been used as a water barrier and protective coating for foods such as nuts and confectionery products."

Casein: The principal protein found in cow’s milk. "It is responsible for the white, opaque appearance of milk" and "The major uses of casein until the 1960s were in technical, non-food applications such as adhesives for wood, in paper coating, leather finishing and in synthetic fibres, as well as plastics for buttons, buckles etc. During the past 30 years, however, the principal use of casein products has been as an ingredient in foods to enhance their physical properties, such as whipping and foaming, water binding and thickening, emulsification and texture, and to improve their nutrition."

Starches : "Starches" is very vague but includes foods such as potatoes, cereals, wheat and other grains, and rice. "Food starches are typically used as thickeners and stabilizers in foods such as puddings, custards, soups, [etc]"

Cellulose: Substance that makes up plant cell walls. "Cellulose can be used to make paper, film, explosives, and plastics, in addition to having many other industrial uses."


Gums: Also very vague, but "Food gums have an ability to stabilize liquids, thereby allowing other ingredients to be dispersed and suspended in the solution.  Food gums can also be used as an emulsifier, which means they disperse fat to allow it to become more water-soluble." They come from many sources. "Food gums come from all over the world, from both the land and the sea.  For example, carrageenan and alginates come from seaweed.  Many food gums come from plants, such as guar, locust bean gum, pectin and gum arabic.  Some food gums are derived by microbial fermentation (e.g. xanthan) while others are synthesized, such as (cellulose gum).  Others, such as gelatin are derived from animal tissue."

Gelatin: See above.


I'm seeing a lot of uses for making inedible plastic products apart from starches and gums. Not very promising but I guess we'll have to wait and see.

I'm very concerned that Hill's believes it is acceptable to coat their food in a plastic polymer simply to extend shelf life, and it's even more appalling that they are using it on their supposedly more "natural" formulas to be released. In what horrible world does natural mean plastic-coated?