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Post by tink80 on Dec 5, 2008 17:06:40 GMT -5
no luck on the processors or farms :-( one actually told me it wasn't legal so maybe that is a thing around here? anyway...
maybe i'll get lucky and the stores i use my food stamps at will start carrying organs again..seems to be seasonal or just luck when i find it. there is one other store i'm thinking of trying that might have a better butcher department. think i'll see what that brings. i get my stamps on the seventh so i'll let you know :-)
p.s. i still have gizzards at least!
also, some old (as in it's been in the freezer for ages) beef liver but i'm a little nervous about using it.
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Post by tink80 on Dec 5, 2008 17:18:42 GMT -5
guess what? i totally forgot about lynden meat (left a msg and called again) and they say they don't give away but will sell for $1.50 a pound, that's reasonable! think i'll go today or tomorrow :-) thanks, tss!
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Post by tink80 on Dec 5, 2008 19:38:33 GMT -5
okay so this is what i got for seven dollars   it was so crazy hectic in there, there were people with bloody aprons running around like chickens with their heads cut off, LOL. there was no sign on the building and i went through a maze of meat asking people where to buy stuff and i finally got to this tiny closet which is the cashier/office. it was very interesting, confusing, yet pretty cool. kinda like a secret place to buy meat, i've never been to anything like that. now, I NEED YOUR HELP. i came home and some things weren't listed and the last two pics i'm not sure what's what, though i have an idea. everything was hidden behind various freezer doors so she was looking everything up for me and i'm not sure if she or i got confused with all the hustle and bustle. tell me what you think. first this is what i ordered: 1 pound lamb liver (i got home and the label says beef liver which i'm a little annoyed about)  2 pounds lamb heart (it is one HUGE heart)  1 bag tendons  okay these two i'm confused on, one should be bone shavings (i wanted the powder but i think she just gave me the meaty type) and one should be ground chicken neck. seeing as i have no idea what either looks like in person i need help clarifying.   so, that's it. i'm pretty satisfied but whew! it was confusing to think in there. people shouting and running and meat flying..a little bit of stimulus overload. but with these prices, i can get used to it. i think i got a good deal ...what do you think? i feel so stupid not really knowing how to recognize what in the world i got, i hope i did good. everything and everyone was so fast paced my mind was kind of reeling. |
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Post by tink80 on Dec 5, 2008 21:04:27 GMT -5
so for your recipe i am cutting livers and heart into the size of a chickens and measuring from there. the heart is far from defrosted so they got a tiny amount of liver and some gizzard today with their soup. baby bear ate half, monkey maybe a quarter.
i blended up the liver and gizzard for 8 oz. meat worth and with the water got 8 half cubes (perfect serving for 1 oz. meat serving). i am defrosting the heart and will cut a chicken hearts worth off and add to the eight small cubes (then all i have to do is remember one tiny organ cube per 2 raw meat cubes (the ground turkey is already in cubes so i'm avoiding defrosting all that just to mix in some organs)..i'm guessing 2 cubes of raw that is watered down a lot before freezing is about one ounce worth of meat to them.
confused yet? LOL.
basically i'll sum it up: i'm working on getting your recipe accessible and easy for me to figure out daily.
think i'll mix the bone shavings and ground neck together seperately and make cubes for that as well for when they are ready to have that added.
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Post by tss on Dec 5, 2008 21:57:17 GMT -5
I'd say that is a pretty good deal, lamb is always nice. A young animal and more variety.
I'm not so sure that thing is a lamb heart though, judging by the size of the package it's almost as big as the beef hearts I've gotten. The top tub would be chicken neck and the bottom one is bone shavings. It might look really meaty but it is probably just about 50% meat 50% bone.
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Post by tink80 on Dec 5, 2008 22:10:40 GMT -5
hmmm yes, my gut agrees with you. that is just way big to be a lamb heart..unless it was like a really big sheep!!! and that's not likely i don't think.
well, i'm a little annoyed that the two things i thought were lamb are not (at least the liver is definitely not per the label and that package i thought was littler hearts and i opened to see one big thing).
so i'm assuming these are fine to use instead of chicken hearts or livers? (they are still eating kibble so not totally dependent on this balancing their daily nutrition)
well, i am pretty stoked about the ground chicken neck, bone shavings (thanks for clearing it up-it does look just like pure meat!), and the tendons (which i'm not really sure what animal that's from but it looks like poultry in coloring so i'm assuming turkey or chicken.
i added it up and i got about 5 lbs. of organs/meat and 1 bag full of tendons. so for seven bucks it is just over a buck a pound(ish).
things to think about next time they had was kidneys and head meat which i guess is some kinda mix of everything (wonder if i should have gone that route! but i think it's all beef again). guess i'll have to give everything a try. oh and i believe there were pork chunks too.
but since these kids are just supplemental and starting out i guess i'm getting ahead of myself. my boyfriend is gonna kill me for all the room i take up in the freezer now..it's already pretty packed with all their chicken breast and gizzards and all this (it's pretty tiny), LOL.
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Post by tss on Dec 5, 2008 23:15:38 GMT -5
Sorry for hijacking.. I just know that Giuli hasn't really dealt with this kind of stuff.
Those are fine to use in place of the chicken hearts and livers.
I'm sure the tendons are probably beef, fresh beef tendons are white/off white.. They look almost like fat but are very firm. Kidneys are good, it will give you more organ variety. Head meat will be good and fatty. Have you looked for a raw co-op in your area? With the way that place sells their scraps there must be a lot of demand around there.
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Post by tink80 on Dec 5, 2008 23:38:50 GMT -5
argh..more beef..LOL, j/k. it's really alright if the tendons are too, i guess i should have asked and didn't realize that only ONE of my purchases was not beef...ah well. it'll be fine for now and i have poultry i can ground here at home in my freezer. i guess the goal was to get some other things besides ground meat so that i did get.
i've never heard of a raw co-op but it doesn't mean it doesn't exist. lynden is a small religous town and lynden and everson have a lot of farming going on. also, this place is right down the street from several grocery stores so i wonder if they are supplying them?
i live in a hokey area (i'm a CA girl but been here three years and still have some city in me) and i'm not yet one of the "regular townspeople" that know the ins and outs of where to go for what. just like this place...it was BEHIND THE CEMETARY and no sign, just a bunch of semis and a small wooden sign with an arrow that said "office". that is the kind of thing i am dealing with right now, ROFL :-) so yes, i am totally lost, i don't seem to catch wind of it unless it's on a big bilboard or some kind of advertising and that just doesn't happen here, LOL :-)
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Post by Forum Administrator on Dec 6, 2008 2:17:20 GMT -5
Sorry for hijacking.. I just know that Giuli hasn't really dealt with this kind of stuff.. Hijack away! I need your experience! I'm no help right now lol  thank you maria! |
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Post by Forum Administrator on Dec 6, 2008 2:19:15 GMT -5
On a side note, I think that $1.50 per pound sounds pretty reasonable.  I am not sure what the "grocery store meats" go for per lb in your area, but $1.50 isn't that bad. If you can find something for less then $1 then you've got a STEAL, but $1.50 is still a very moderate price. Some meats go for almost $3 per lb! I'm happy you were able to find a good place locally! I'm thirlled Tss was able to help. I knew she'd come through! Maybe she can show me where are some good local deals near ME! |
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Post by tss on Dec 6, 2008 11:25:47 GMT -5
Well, beef is really good too,,, But are you sure the liver isn't lamb? That makes two non beefs.
The place may be supplying the small stores but they know what raw feeders want so that makes me think there is more of a demand in the area.
Giuli, I will try and look for places near you soon, I'm just booked right now.
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Post by tink80 on Dec 6, 2008 16:42:09 GMT -5
i'm pretty sure the liver isn't lamb because when i got home and went through the bag there was a sticker on the tub that said "beef liver, 12/08/, not for sale". also i bought beef liver once before for another animal a long time ago and it looks exactly the same as that one did.
she got really confused when i told her what it was for and kept thinking it was for feeding my dogs so after awhile i kind of just shrugged and thought "oh why not" and let her think i was using it for dogs (same differrence, right?). but that might have confused her in her choices, i don't know why though it would. everything was pretty overwhelming so i just let it go she didn't understand it was for ferrets.
i'm thinking the next time i go in i'll say something like "so what non beef items do you have?". at this point i think the only thing i got that was truly non beef was the ground chicken neck.
the lamb was seasonal and listed as 50 cents a pound for heart and 75 cents a pound for liver and i do know i specifically pointed and asked for that deal. maybe she just charged me the seasonal sale price but gave me the beef version as it is more expensive? she could have thought she was doing me a favor..i have no reference what a lamb or sheep heart for that matter's size is. i even tried to google it last night, LOL. next time i will be much more specific instead of the point and ask option on the "dog food prices" that were written on a paper in sharpie marker and scotch taped to the freezer door, LOL.
but i'd say all in all i got some pretty good items. everything was behind huge freezer doors she kept dissapearing behind so i couldn't see the produce. though i did see the guy come out with a huge thing of bone shavings on his board and she said that was good b/c now she didn't have to charge me for packaging it as it had just come out and was ready :-)
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Post by tink80 on Dec 6, 2008 23:14:52 GMT -5
well, i'm a little annoyed with myself. monkey threw up today after soup with new parts and this is now the third or fourth time he's vomited after beef product so he definitely has an allergy to it. i felt bad plus i had to clean up all the vomit in the cage. poor guy. why didn't i remember that i was worried about a beef allergy? a little mad i wasn't given lamb either. guess i'll look for organs as usual at the grocery (with prob not much luck) when i get food stamps tomorrow. annoyed i was ignorant enough to buy the wrong thing and dumb enough to waste what little money i had alloted for this.
giving everything but the ground chicken neck to the dogs. guess they get a treat.
i'm gonna take a day or two or three off raw...it's not the problem but i am just being annoyed right now and having a lot of frustration with myself and i feel like i don't want to deal with worrying about preparing foods right now.
*sigh*
(nothing against raw feeding or anybody..i'm just really cranky at this point in time)
my senior rescue kitty that is seventeen is nearing death due to a tumor, our older dog is getting incontinent, and one of my cats peed on the mattress this morning too because of behavioral issues going on. and i can't afford much of anything besides their needs. just stressed out and don't want to deal with it right now.
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Post by Forum Administrator on Dec 7, 2008 1:32:42 GMT -5
Awww, I'm really sorry he threw up. Thats not good. I guess he really does have an intolerance to beef. Strange.
Take all the time you need, dear. This is switch will only go as quickly as YOU feel comfortable with. There is no rush or obligation. Just take your time and ENJOY the transition, don't worry about rushing, there are no deadlines for this switch.
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Post by tink80 on Dec 8, 2008 3:48:56 GMT -5
thanks, i just need to slow down.
i do have a question though for something for future.
i blended the ground chicken necks in my blender for future use as it finally thawed out today from the package it was in so i could make it into liquidy cubes.
well, this is dumb but is that bone i feel floating around in there? i couldn't ground it anymore with what i have and i tried to fish out the hard sharpish chunks out of there. is chicken neck even okay to blend? i stuck em in the freezer anyway after monkey took a few smooth liquid licks off my finger for future but i feel they're a little haphazard like i shouldn't trust it.
i'm not going to be feeding it to them anytime soon so it's not urgent but should i just toss this out as well? i don't want my babies eating something sharp.
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