It sadly has come down to this....

[bigsis7]

Well I was looking through my food log the other day and it turns out I'm almost paying double for meat than I thought I was. About $10-15 a week for two ferrets!! Oliver has grown and Chewie's starting to eat more, so I'm starting to spend more. Ember also LOVES to eat! She almost eats as much as the boys! So then I would be paying $15-20 a week for three ferrets, which really is just not possible. The Sam's Club near here doesn't have much variety (like two different kinds of meat). All the other stores that I usually shop at are super expensive! So now it looks like I'm only going to be able to supplement with raw ! I could try a commercial raw diet, but that's almost as expensive buying from the store. Now for my questions...

1. What are good grain-free and corn free kibbles?

2. How's stink when just supplementing with a raw diet?

3. Teeth?

4. Do you soak the kibble when you feed it?

5. Is it any less expensive?

If I can not find a kibble that would be equally as healthy as meat all the time, then I'll find a job or something to keep up with the costs. I refuse to feed kibble if it's going to cause health problems. I'll still supplement and hopefully be able to find a store with cheaper meat. Until then though, my ferrets have to eat.

[Forum Administrator]

If this is what you must do then here is what I'd recommend:

1. Try to feed atleast 70% raw and no more then 30% kibble as their total diet.

2. The only kibble I recommend is EVO (ferret, cat, and red meat bites)

3. I would serve the kibble moist, never hard. Feed only little bits as a time as wet kibble spoils.

4. You will need to start brushing your ferrets teeth atleast 1x per week. I would try to followup a mushy kibble meal with a nice RMB, like a chicken neck to help get the residue off their teeth.

[bluedove]

What about canned cat food to dilute the cost? The general consensus among raw-feeding cat owners is that canned cat food is better than kibble for cats... I think they even make canned ferret food.
I really don't expect you'll be saving much money with either Evo or commercial raw... it's all pretty pricey stuff. Have you been watching for good sales? This article talks about being able to feed 3 cats a raw diet for $1.25 per day... that's less than $10 per week.
abnormalloveofcats.com/nutrition/cost-raw-feeding-cats-time-money

Maybe if you describe your buying/storing habits, we can help come up with a strategy to help save some money?

[bigsis7]

Canned cat food may help, but it's not a complete diet (or at least I'm pretty sure it isn't). I can only go shopping when my mom does, so when I do it's usually every two-four weeks. I have not once seen a sale on meat over at Giant when I go. Their variety is pretty limited too, but at least it has three kinds of meat (ground turkey, pork, chicken). Sam's Club has fish, chicken, and pork. I can't afford the beef over at the stores to feed often. The ferrets get it once in a while, but not very often. Jojodancer did go over the costs with commercial raw, and even with that it's cheaper. With EVO, I don't think I would save a whole lot though. Maybe I'm worrying to much? I want what's best for my ferrets and this decision is really hard for me.

Giuli, With the 70% raw would I still include RMB, boneless meat, and organs?

[mayhemkb]

I am thinking you could get a good amount of nutrition making EVO canned food into soupies with some water. Right now about 1/3 of my boys diets are soupie like this. It is easy to make and fast to prep.

We go through about 1/2 to 3/4 cup of food daily in EVO kibble-and the mix I take on the canned food soupie is about 3 cans to a can or so of water (all depends how your group likes their soupie). Pour in Ice Cube Trays, and freeze. 4 Cubes serves my 2 for a day. (again only as 1/3 of the diet) 3 trays (usually a tray per can of EVO) lasts about 2 weeks. Here the large cans cost (for beef or the chicken 1.69/can) That could offset your weekly food costs quite a bit.

[harrisi]

One of my mates has recently had to do the same, I emailed him and asked him how he did it and I got this back:
> From: [e-mail]
> To: [e-mail]
> Date: Fri, 23 Mar 2009 02:47:48
> Subject: RE: hiyaaaaarh

Out of interest, whos asking?
Everyday I gave them 3/4-1 cup of raw meat including bones in the morning, then at night I free-fed a good quality kibble soaked in wam water for 1-2 hours, took away any that was left and binned it. I have never had to brush teeth as their teeth are sparkling. I basically feed smaller protions of what I would have with a full raw diet so its 70% meat, 15% bone, 15% organ. I have found it a bit cheaper - not much to be honest as I have been feed a good kibble (Orijen), but I dont pay anything for meat or very little. I have my ways when needing such little amounts !
Oh and cat kibble is better then looking for ferret kibble, easier to find something grain-free.

If whoever it is thats asking needs any tips or tricks on getting free or cheap meat tell them to email or IM me ([e-mail]), okay?

Tommy

[fuzzymom]

Question. Do you have a Food Lion near you? There are a few here in Richmond, but I'm not sure about anywhere else. If you do, Food Lion tends to have nice sales on meat on Sundays. I went this past Sunday and was able to get 9 chicken legs for less than $3. We also got some beef, gizzards and hearts, and a little pork, all for under $10. That would last our 4 about 5-7 days. I haven't calculated it all out yet, but something like that would last you a while.

Also, could you breed feeder animals? We are trying to get a mouse colony together to help cut the feeding cost.

[bigsis7]

I think there's a Food Lion about 30-45 minutes away. The problem with shopping at another store though is that my mom has three different stores she shops at for food. That's it. So until I can drive, that's all I get. And my parents refuse to let me breed feeders. I've tried, but they just won't go for it.

[novemberkris]

You know, its a shame more of us don't live in the same area. A lot of people put together the food buying clubs right now, where someone gets all the meats wholesale and then the members split the cost and the food (which is a lot of food). That could be so helpful in situations like this.

If you could drive, I'd say look for a butcher. Is there any way to buy your cheaper meats at Sam's and then add the other meat(s) from the other stores when they go on sale? Oh, and BBQ season is coming, you know. Meat prices will fall to get people buying. If you have a freezer stock up then! Have any friends with family that farm. They might be able to get you meats (I know because my cousin could help me there).

I would also suggest EVO so far as ferret kibbles go. One of the raw/kibble clerks at Pet People suggests Wellness CORE and Blue Buffalo Wilderness cat food. I'd also consider high quality canned foods though, maybe price both? I know in some parts of Virginia there's not a lot of competition in the pet food department, so prices can be sky high.

Just some additional thoughts.

[bigsis7]

It's possible I could do that, but the cheaper meats at Sam's are mostly the ones I get at the other store. So I would get cheaper meat, but no variety. Stocking up is a good idea! And no I don't have any friends with a farm... Unless I want to get meat shipped from Western Canada, lol!

[bluedove]

Ok, since you said you were considering getting a job to help with costs, I thought you must have your own transportation.
Do you receive sales pages from the grocery stores your mom shops at? We get one weekly in the mail and it really helps to plan out purchases based on what's on sale. If not, they're bound to be available in a local paper. Worse come to worse, maybe you could call the stores and ask about specials in the meat dept. Maybe tell the people at the meat dept that you are buying meat to "make your own pet food" (I've found people react more positively to this phrase than telling them you feed your pets raw meat, lol!) and would be interested in buying extras or meats nearing expiration for a discount. They are likely tossing stuff as it is, so they might make you a special deal to avoid the loss.
Also have you looked into buying frozen meats? Often these are much less expensive than fresh.
You mentioned Sams... what about Wal-mart? The Super Wal-marts around here have a pretty big selection in the meat dept.

If the commercial raw will work out for you, definitely go with that over kibble or canned. At least having some on hand will probably make you feel less stressed over it all. I just know that there's a way that will work for you to be able to feed raw for much less than you are spending now. A failure to plan is a plan for failure!

[bigsis7]

I don't recive any sales pages, but I'm sure I could find some! The wal-mart doesn't have ANY meat, but I think it will be a super walmart soon. Hopefully I'll get some commercial raw and see how that goes!

[mayhemkb]

Once you get a Super Wal Mart their 16 oz CGH are all natural, no preservatives, no additives (at least here they are). In my area they are $2.00 each. They also have great whole tilapia for $2.50 a pound here. We also have natural gizzards for $1.20 a pound. Also their chicken liver runs about $1.50 a pound here too. I know that is a lot of poultry but it keeps costs way down on my dogs and helped tremendously with Arte. Then you can go all out on some variety meat.

Now I do not know how organic, natural you are in your feeding but I feed my dogs the 10lbs bag of .60 cents a pound chicken quarters. They are not organic or garaunteed natural and the have a salt brine solution they are soaked in-but my chemistry buff friend told me if soaked for several hour in cold water- dump and refill every so often-the salt is drawn out by the low concentration of salt in the plain water. I bet you could cut up the quarters to get legs, and partial backs (sloppy butchering often leads to a back here and there) for the weezils and trim up the thighs for you to eat.

[bigsis7]

Well I ordered the commercial raw and it finally came yesterday!! Ember loves the AFS, Chewie will eat it, and Oliver's still not so sure. All three of them love the Ziwipeak though! It's funny because all together they weigh 6 pounds and for AFS it's 1- 1 1/2 patties a day per 6 pounds! So I cut it up in 4 pieces and then after they finish it I give them Ziwipeak for the rest of the day. They haven't tried Stella's and Chewie's yet, but they've had Ziwipeak lamb, vesion and fish and for AFS they've had beef and chicken and beef!

[mayhemkb]

AFS is based in Green Bay right down the street from me they are great! Their frozen has been used in Zoos around the country for big cats for years. Their freeze dried is comparable to wysong, but without the extras and for far cheaper. Good choice!