Feeding raw, how to do it cheaply?

I love my puppies, don't have a ton of money but still buy good food as much as I can. They currently are eating Orijen ($60 bag, lasts about a month or so) as they are sensitive to some kind of filler in the other foods. I am wondering now if I was to switch to raw, how do I do it relatively cheaply. I have one pickier dog and one that will eat whatever you give her. Recipes, advice where to buy food, whatever you've got!Feeding raw, how to do it cheaply?
invest in a freezer..



buy meat in bulk, when it goes on sale.. and also local butcher shops may sell you "scraps"



if you know people who raise animals for meat, you also might be able to buy from them when they have an animal butchered.. my parents have a friend who used to raise cows, and they'd often buy "half a beef" from them when they had one slaughtered.





Also dogs can eat meat that may be a "little" past the expiration date.. so its fine to buy stuff that's not so fresh.. just freeze it, and thaw as needed. If you talk to local butchers, they may be willing to sell you the "not so fresh" stuff for a cheap price that they may have to discard soon.Feeding raw, how to do it cheaply?
Buy a freezer so that you can buy in bulk or when on sale. I cruise the supermarket and butcher looking for marked down meat.

Do you have any friends or relatives that hunt or fish? They can be a great source of cheap or free meat.

Many people advertise for old or freezer burned meat.

Organs are a great nutrtional source and vital to successful raw feeding. These are often quite cheap as well.



Things like chicken frames can often be bought cheaply and although not ideal (too much bone to meat content) they can be stuffed with ground meats or heart for a low cost meal.



I raw feed three cats and two dogs for less than the cost of commercial food. I aim to feed about 2/3 meat and the rest a combination of meaty bones and organs.



The only book I would recommend is Dr Tom Lonsdale's "Work Wonders". Easy to read without all the 'omnivore' nonsense. BARF (and Billinghurst) while better than processed foods is based on a false premise and urban myth. See the myths link for more informationFeeding raw, how to do it cheaply?
Research raw diets online, there's just no way to summarize all the details in one message here... there's a pretty good book called 'Give a dog a bone' about feeding BARF.



To do it more cheaply you can join RAW groups in your area, where dog owners get together and buy the meat in bulk and split it up between the members of the group.



You can go to farmers, butchers, etc. to get cheaper cuts of some meats and going to the source makes it cheaper overall. It might be half of what you would pay in a grocery store. Invest in a freezer, that way you can prepare meals in portion sizes and freeze them to keep them fresh... that helps if you're buying stuff on sale.



Don't feed pre-made raw diets, they are horrendously expensive.Feeding raw, how to do it cheaply?
It isn't too expensive to buy raw, think of all the vets bill you would be spending your money on if you were feeding them usual disgusting dog food. I don't know if you are in the UK or US or whatever but if you are in the UK Morrison's is really cheap for meat something like 55p for a tray of already chopped up ox liver or heart. If not then go to the butchers they often give people cut offs that no one else wants either free or for a very small fee, I got a huge bag of marrow bone from my butcher for like 50p ! Not bad eh ?! But remember if you want to feed your dog pork be careful it has to be frozen first because of bacteria or something that it contains. Oh if you are in UK Tesco sell a tray of like 12 chicken wings for like 拢1.50, it all depends how big your dogs are but my dog usually has 2-3 chicken wings for breakfast and meat for tea, he is a big black lab. But remember to feed the chicken wings raw or it can splinter and get stuck in their throats.



My mum also used to liquidize, greens, carrots and garlic (good for the heart) and then cover it with raw meat so it is like the animal is ripping open the animals stomach.



Good luck and I'm sure your dogs love you for considering this healthier yummier diet !