Would share your Raw Diet Menu? Please?

[whatszmatter]

I go to a meatmarket and get everything for 70 cents or less per pound, some things are only about 40 cents per pound. If I had to pay twice that I would or more so I know what my dog is eating

 

[DanL]

I have 3 dogs large dogs all over 80lbs...would be great to feed raw...but gotta look into the cost. Also how did you figure out how much to feed your pups? I haven't a clue how much I would even start feeding my boys.

Start by giving them a percentage of their bodyweight each day. 2 to 3 percent is the rule- 2% for less active, 3% or more for more active. Once you've been doing this for a month or so then you can evaluate their condition. Maybe one dog is getting fatter and another is thinning out too much, then you adjust their amounts up or down accordingly.

When you start to feed raw you need to give them ONE source of food for a couple weeks to get them used to it. Something like chicken leg quarters is a good place to start. An 80lb dog would need about 2lbs of chicken per day. After a couple weeks, you can gradually introduce other food sources, but do it one at a time. Ground turkey is a good 2nd meat to introduce. At this point you want to break down the percent of raw meaty bone to muscle meat in about a 65/35 ratio. So you'd lower the amount of chicken quarters to about 1 1/2lbs and give about a half pound of the turkey, so the weight of the meal stays about the same. I would keep a close eye on the dog after introducing each new food type, in case of allergies or other reactions. That's why you don't want to start feeding a bunch of things at once. Also keep in mind there is an adjustment period, your dog will most likely have loose stools for a few days while they get used to the new food. This is a good reason to do the switch cold turkey, stop kibble one day, and start raw the next. They will adjust faster that way.

As far as cost goes, you'll have to do some calculations. See what you can get regarding purchasing cases of items or other bulk quantities. Learn to purchase things on "reduced for quick sale". Get your friends to give you game or other hunting proceeds, and the freezer burnt meat in their freezers. Generally shop for bargains. Sometimes we'll see something like beef roasts on sale for 1.29 a lb, we stock up on a bunch of them. We get all our chicken by the case, both whole broilers and leg quarters, so you can save some in that way.

 

[shazbot]

you guys are missing that i am feeding over 5 lbs a DAY total - the cats alone also eat 1-2 lbs a day.

so thats MINIMUM, 6 lbs a day right now, even if everyone is eating "light" meals, and on heavy meal days my animals can eat close to 8-9 lbs! (ie rabbit day)- youre looking at over 40 (and typically closer to 50) lbs a WEEK of food. thats about 200 lbs of meat MINIMUM a month!!!

so when i say i pay 200-300 a month for raw food, that IS cheaper.


if rah was eating kibble, it would be innova EVO. based on esimates of what he would be eating of that, he would be eating over 200 a month worth ot that kibble.

my cats would be eating canned only. that would be 4 cans a day total minimum - the food i feed is average 1 dollar/can (actually more than that, but we will round down for math sake this early in the am) - thats 120 bucks a month just in canned food.

so MINIMUM if i fed my cats and dog kibble and canned, id be looking at spending over 300 bucks on their food easily.

and now, i know exactly what i am feeding. i pay approximately 1 dollar/lb for all my meat, which is a great deal. when i take out the very expensive things like rabbit and beef (which is incredibly spendy right now), im paying about 60 cents/lb for everything else, since i buy in bulk.


is it a lot of money each month? yes - but its worth it to me to know exactly what i am feeding my animal. i refuse to feed a crap kibble or anything subpar to my animals, and it pays off. and its no more expensive than feeding lesser foods. by the first of next year, ill have 6 raw fed cats in the house and probably another doberman, and our feeding bill will go up accordingly, i expect to easily feed 12-15 lbs of meat a day at that point, which will effectively double our feeding bill.

I'm not saying that's outragous to feed your animals that. All I was saying is that is way too much for my budget right now. Trust me, if I could at all afford that much right now I would feed them raw. I think with me having 3 dogs over 80lbs a piece I would be spending that much money if not more.

 

[shazbot]

Start by giving them a percentage of their bodyweight each day. 2 to 3 percent is the rule- 2% for less active, 3% or more for more active. Once you've been doing this for a month or so then you can evaluate their condition. Maybe one dog is getting fatter and another is thinning out too much, then you adjust their amounts up or down accordingly.

When you start to feed raw you need to give them ONE source of food for a couple weeks to get them used to it. Something like chicken leg quarters is a good place to start. An 80lb dog would need about 2lbs of chicken per day. After a couple weeks, you can gradually introduce other food sources, but do it one at a time. Ground turkey is a good 2nd meat to introduce. At this point you want to break down the percent of raw meaty bone to muscle meat in about a 65/35 ratio. So you'd lower the amount of chicken quarters to about 1 1/2lbs and give about a half pound of the turkey, so the weight of the meal stays about the same. I would keep a close eye on the dog after introducing each new food type, in case of allergies or other reactions. That's why you don't want to start feeding a bunch of things at once. Also keep in mind there is an adjustment period, your dog will most likely have loose stools for a few days while they get used to the new food. This is a good reason to do the switch cold turkey, stop kibble one day, and start raw the next. They will adjust faster that way.

As far as cost goes, you'll have to do some calculations. See what you can get regarding purchasing cases of items or other bulk quantities. Learn to purchase things on "reduced for quick sale". Get your friends to give you game or other hunting proceeds, and the freezer burnt meat in their freezers. Generally shop for bargains. Sometimes we'll see something like beef roasts on sale for 1.29 a lb, we stock up on a bunch of them. We get all our chicken by the case, both whole broilers and leg quarters, so you can save some in that way.

Thank you for the great info
With the chicken they get the whole thing correct? Including all bones, skin, cartlidge? And muscle meat you mean like organs? Geesh this is confusing...hoping that by the time I figure this out I will be able to afford raw.

 

[dk666]

Thank you for the great info
With the chicken they get the whole thing correct? Including all bones, skin, cartlidge? And muscle meat you mean like organs? Geesh this is confusing...hoping that by the time I figure this out I will be able to afford raw.

Yes I to want to be clear I have a Husky who is a real picky eater and underweight, He will eat some Canned but sometimes just lets it sit all day and will also eat some Canidae kibble in the eve, after he goes out but not a lot. I was going to make a Chicken soup this week have a large pkg . of Chicken Thighs to make it with, so if I wanted to give him one as a treat there's nothing special to do just give him the whole uncooked Thigh bone skin and all ?? and I'm assuming the same applies to legs or breast quarters etc . the usual prepacked cut up pkg. of pieces all of those bones are ok as long as there not cooked and the chicken is raw straight from the package no special prep?
Thanks for the help

 

[DanL]

Shazbot, muscle meat is not organs, it is stuff like ground beef or turkey, boneless beef, pork, chicken, beef heart, etc. Organ is usually liver and kidneys, which are very rich and should be fed in small amounts. Feed the chicken as it comes out of the package. Whole chickens are 2 meals for me, one half goes to Gunnar, Midnite and Bruzer split the other half, but otherwise, yes, it's everything- skin, bones, connective tissues, meat.

DK666- yes, the bones are fine as long as they are raw.

 

[Pomp]

I don't do completely raw, but here's what I do. I have two beagles.

They each get:

In the morning:
1 cup of Innova EVO (for my male beagle) and 1 cup of Solid Gold's Barking at the Moon (female beagle who didn't like EVO), with added salmon oil and a supplement which includes kelp, nutritonal yeast, bonemeal, and lethicin granules.

In the evening:
Frozen chicken wing, drumstick, beef, or turkey wings

For treats during the day, they usually get some type of freeze-dried liver or chicken.

 

[ihartgonzo]

Check out this thread that I made on a different forum. It has 921 posts of daily Raw meals! http://petoftheday.com/talk/showthread.php?t=105084

Today, my boys got....

Gonzo ~
BIG slab of pork ribs, like 3, with part of the shoulder attached.
2 tbs Cottage Cheese
Tomato
Turkey Organs (heart, liver & gizzard)

Fozzie ~
3 Pork ribs
2 tbs Cottage Cheese
Tomato
Ground Turkey
Turkey Organs (heart, liver & gizzard)


And I filled their Kongs with banana & vanilla yogurt "frosty paws" that are freezing right now... their Solid Gold supps are included in those. I feed supps a few times a week, mostly it's just RMB's. I feed Evo for a few meals a week. Here are some pics of them getting pork ribs before. It's one of their favorite things ever ;]

 

[dogsarebetter]

I JUST gave Ruckus his first raw meal. i am feeding half kibble and half raw.
Today he had about three fourths of a chicken thigh and a few teaspoons cottage cheese. i skinned my chicken, i didnt know any better

i am just learning all of this myslef.

It just cost 3 dollars for 7 chicken thighs, so that will last me a week. But dont i need to feed more than just chicken?
can they have lamb? they had some sheltie sized (if that makes since) cuts of lamb on sale today i was tempted to get.

 

[dogsarebetter]

oh BTW tomorrow deer in on the menu. freshly killed, and cleaned! i just dont know what part of the deer he is getting tomorrow...

 

[DanL]

rabbitsarebetter- you need to do some reading 1st, you already started out wrong. You want to go cold turkey on the raw- don't mix it with kibble. You want to feed a single source of food for about 2 weeks to get them adjusted, then slowly add in more food sources- 1 per week at most. Deer is fine, they can eat any part of it, but I wouldn't be giving them that for at least 2 weeks. Then I'd give them some as muscle meat along with their chicken legs.

Do a search on this forum for raw food posts, there has been a lot of discussion that will help you get started. Ratios of meaty bones to muscle meat, how much organ meat, other foods such as raw eggs or yogurt, what supplements if any, stuff about veggies and fruits and why some people don't use them at all and why some do.

 

[RedyreRottweilers]

http://www.rawlearning.com

 

[dogsarebetter]

i dont mix it with his food...
well he gets a meal of kibble and a meal of raw.

if its as complicated as it sounds i will stop feeding raw at all. it doesnt apear to be practical at all

 

[RedyreRottweilers]

I am a FIRM BELIEVER that ANY fresh food is better than no fresh food at all.

This is one reason why I'm so certain I will stick to a fresh food raw diet FOREVER with my dogs. I have never thought it logical to think that any animal should live with no fresh food in the diet.

It does not make good sense, not to me anyway.

 

[DanL]

rabbits, it's not that complicated. You just have to research it and understand how to incorporate it. You are going from a single prepackaged food that allegedly has all your dogs nutrients to having to provide that yourself with raw food. Variety and introduction of new foods is important and takes time. Don't abandon it because it seems hard. It's really not.

 

[dogsarebetter]

yes, i am doing more research on it.
right now he is getting this nutro natural choice kibble in the morning, and at night he is just getting half of a chicken thigh (didnt have wings) and a few spoonfuls of cottage cheese.
I plan on doing this for a week and a half and just gradually adding new things as i learn more and he gets adjusted.
i honestly dont think i will be feeding all raw for a long time. i want to do this.

so i googled up some stuff of raw diets... i will get the hang of it