Post by fuzzymom on Dec 8, 2009 20:35:39 GMT -5
I want to put all four cats and the dog on 100% raw but I'm worried about cost. We spend about $40 a month on the cats when we buy kibble and wet food. We spend about $30 on dog kibble but the bag lasts us forever and he gets wet food as well. But Bailey, our dachshund is so excited about raw food. I've started giving him whatever the ferrets don't eat and he loves it! He gets much more excited about raw than he does his kibble or wet food. So I am wanting to switch everyone over. Now, because we are pressed for money (we spend about $200 a month on animal food costs but that includes the $100 for the snakes, so $100 on cats, ferrets, and dog.) our meat selection is limited. We mostly buy from Walmart (much to my displeasure). I was thinking the cats and dog could follow the same feeding menu as the ferrets, just in larger quantities. I added up everything, and I would need about 15lbs of food every week to feed everyone. Some things that I can find very cheap are ground beef (1lb for $2 or 3lbs for $5), ground turkey (1lb for $2), chicken legs (3lbs worth, I think, for about $6-7), turkey necks, and pork.
I was wondering if this menu sounds good enough. Feel free to tweak it as you see fit. I want a varied diet but I can't buy anything too expensive.
Sunday:
AM - ground turkey (1lb .5oz total) 1.5oz/ferret, 2oz/cat, 2.5oz/dog
PM - chicken leg (6 legs total)
Monday:
AM - turkey neck (unsure of weight)
PM - ground beef (1lb .5oz total)
Tuesday:
AM - chicken leg (6 legs total)
PM - ground turkey (1lb .5oz total)
Wednesday:
AM - turkey neck (unsure of weight)
PM - Pork (1lb .5oz total)
Thursday:
AM - chicken leg (6 legs total)
PM - organ (1lb .5oz total) (chicken heart/gizzards, liver)
Friday:
AM - chicken wing (unsure of weight)
PM - ground beef (1lb .5oz total)
Saturday:
AM - pork (1lb .5oz total)
PM - ground beef (1lb .5oz total)
So in total, I would need:
2lbs 1oz ground turkey (approx. $4 if you leave off the 1oz)
18 chicken legs (approx. $7-8 depending on how many legs come in a pack)
3lbs 1.5oz ground beef (approx. $4-6)
turkey necks (not sure how much each weighs or how many come in a pack) (estimating $5)
2lbs 1oz pork (not sure how much pork is right now but estimating $6-7)
1lb 1oz organ (approx $3-4)
chicken wing (not sure how many come in a pack, how much they weigh or the price. estimating $6)
...so add that all up and you get $40, estimated, per week. You could round that up to $50 just in case the prices are different or I find something interesting for them to eat. So lets say $40-50 per week for everyone, that's roughly $200 per month! So any advice on what to do?
I was wondering if this menu sounds good enough. Feel free to tweak it as you see fit. I want a varied diet but I can't buy anything too expensive.
Sunday:
AM - ground turkey (1lb .5oz total) 1.5oz/ferret, 2oz/cat, 2.5oz/dog
PM - chicken leg (6 legs total)
Monday:
AM - turkey neck (unsure of weight)
PM - ground beef (1lb .5oz total)
Tuesday:
AM - chicken leg (6 legs total)
PM - ground turkey (1lb .5oz total)
Wednesday:
AM - turkey neck (unsure of weight)
PM - Pork (1lb .5oz total)
Thursday:
AM - chicken leg (6 legs total)
PM - organ (1lb .5oz total) (chicken heart/gizzards, liver)
Friday:
AM - chicken wing (unsure of weight)
PM - ground beef (1lb .5oz total)
Saturday:
AM - pork (1lb .5oz total)
PM - ground beef (1lb .5oz total)
So in total, I would need:
2lbs 1oz ground turkey (approx. $4 if you leave off the 1oz)
18 chicken legs (approx. $7-8 depending on how many legs come in a pack)
3lbs 1.5oz ground beef (approx. $4-6)
turkey necks (not sure how much each weighs or how many come in a pack) (estimating $5)
2lbs 1oz pork (not sure how much pork is right now but estimating $6-7)
1lb 1oz organ (approx $3-4)
chicken wing (not sure how many come in a pack, how much they weigh or the price. estimating $6)
...so add that all up and you get $40, estimated, per week. You could round that up to $50 just in case the prices are different or I find something interesting for them to eat. So lets say $40-50 per week for everyone, that's roughly $200 per month! So any advice on what to do?