# What meat to get?



## solefald (May 16, 2013)

So I finally picked up a pretty decent 7.0 cu. ft. GE chest freezer at Home Depot yesterday. Now i need to fill it up with meat, but I have no idea what to get, exactly. I know i need 80% meat, 10% bone and 10% organs, but can someone dumb this down for me, please? Living in San Diego,we don't exactly have a wide variety of wild game at rock bottom prices available, so I need to keep it simple, at least in the beginning.

What should I be buying to achieve the 80/10/10 formula? If i use his projected weight as 60lbs., by my calculations I should be feeding him 1.5-2lbs per day.


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## Kafka (Jul 24, 2013)

Unfortunately I can't really help you but would also be very interested in advise. I'm considering switching to raw.
I got Kafka some raw chicken wings the other day..I was wondering if she would eat it.. she LOVED it.
I was considering going to local mexican grocery stores where they have a butcher in the store to try to get some bones and cuts of meat. They usually have decent deals. What exactly to get..I hope someone else has some ideas.


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## Rudy (Oct 12, 2012)

I LIKE THE 80/20/0 SPLITER WITH POWER ;D

1. REAL CORE MEATS REAL FISH, NO BY PRODUCTS  ALL FREE GRAZERS AND WILD COLD WATERS FISH 

2. FRUITS VEGGIES AND BOTANICALS PLANTS 

3. NO GRAIN NO STARCHES NO GMO'S 

AND MY LIFE GRABBING CELL AND BLOOD GIVING SUPPLEMENTS AS WELL


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## redbirddog (Apr 23, 2010)

Solefaid,
We have for the last five years used ground turkey that we cook. Dark meat for Bailey and white meat for Chloe. We use frozen green beans that we defrost in the microwave and add to kibble. The kibble for Bailey is Loyall Active Adult and for Chloe we use Timberwolf Venison and Lamb formula. We feed them twice a day. Bailey is 5 and Chloe is 6. 

The difference is Chloe adds weight quickly and Bailey has always tended to get skinny when run hard and long.

The ground turkey is available and freezes well.

RBD


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## Rudy (Oct 12, 2012)

Kibble To Kibble there is one ;D

that cannot be defeated by none


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## einspänner (Sep 8, 2012)

Yay! I'm going to need to get one of those eventually. It's strange how excited I get when I come across some strange cut. Never thought I'd get excited over pig feet for example. So before I know if I've bought a ton of meat and have no place to put it!

I really like the raw forum over at dogster.com. This thread in particular is awesome: http://www.dogster.com/forums/Raw_Food_Diet/thread/737490/1

Gives a whole list of cuts and approximate bone content. 

The idea is to aim for balance over time both with variety of proteins and with the muscle/bone/organ breakdown. You don't need to achieve that every day, which makes prep a little easier. I aim for a weekly balance, but others go for monthly and do just fine. I got the first two pages of the below spreadsheet from dogster.You input the expected full-grown weight and the activity level and it'll give you the breakdown per day, week, month, etc. It's pretty complicated. I don't use it that much, so I made the third page just to help me track Scout's daily intake. That should give you a good idea protein choices. https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?
key=0Agtr66I7ZWoQdEk1WXhFUERiTWwxN2RzYXQtWnItY0E&usp=sharing


I found an affordable supplier of preground raw-Blue Ridge Beef. So I get venison, duck, quail, beef, and green tripe from them and buy chicken, pork, organs, and canned sardines/mackerel in spring water from the grocery store. A lot of people also go around to ethnic markets for more unusual proteins or put up a listing on craigslist to get scrap cuts from hunters. 

I'd start out with chicken for at least a week, maybe two. Chicken wings, chicken leg quarters, and thighs tend to be the most affordable and the bones are highly digestible. Introduce new proteins in small amounts. Organs in particular can cause runny stools, so it's good to introduce those with a bonier meal. 

What else? I feed everything frozen. I like that even ground stuff will give her a good oral workout when frozen. 

If you're on facebook, join the Vizslas, Raw and Natural group. There's an ongoing photo series called "What's in the Bowl." 

I could go on, so if you want to know more let me know. Good luck!


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## Capa (May 19, 2013)

I have fed raw for about 13 years now. My favorite, easy/inexpensive go-to are chicken backs. They have a higher meat to bone ratio than necks, often times have organs attached, and the dogs love them. 

You might have to ask around to find someone who carries them, but they are well worth the effort. The price is also right!


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## Darcy1311 (May 27, 2012)

Darcy loves raw chicken wings or a raw duck neck......pardon the pun, but they go cheap.. ;D


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## mswhipple (Mar 7, 2011)

I'm sure you'll do just fine, solefald -- lots of good advice on the forums!! Sounds like a nice little freezer, too.

I don't feed raw, but I do feed supplemental protein fairly often, and every now and then a little dairy (like yogurt, regular cheese, or cottage cheese). My rule is that I never feed Willie anything that I wouldn't eat myself. ;D


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## GarysApollo (Nov 27, 2012)

Try local meats. If you can find a form or local produce stand that sells local meat a lot of times you can work with them to get what you need at a good price and better quality than that you would get at a grocery store.


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## solefald (May 16, 2013)

Thanks everyone for suggestions. I drove around this weekend a little bit and found a pretty good Mexican meat market and spoke to couple of the butchers. There was definitely a language barrier, but next time I go there I am busting out the big guns and brining my spanish-speaking friend with me. 

I was mostly concentrating on chicken and duck for now, but saw some guys selling fresh rabbits and a bunch of other things, including ostrich! I think the entire family is going to appreciate our new freezer. It's getting delivered on Wednesday and I already cleared up some space for it, which forced me to finally unpack the rest of my books, hang the bikes and organize the shelves. 

Unpacking books was the most beneficial, since i finally got to Raw & Natural Nutrition for Dogs


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## Kafka (Jul 24, 2013)

Not sure if you already have great places to go to, but I just discovered that 99 ranch is a great place!
I don't feed raw but will give Kafka bones. I used to get some from the pet store..never again..waaaay overpriced. At the local (Mexican) grocery store I can get beef soup bones for a lot less.
At the 99 ranch I got a great bone for Kafka, and also some other cuts that are really cheap like heart and liver. I cook that and she loves it.
I'm trying to get her to gain some weight after being sick and these special meat treats seem to work 

Kafka enjoying her bone:


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