RAW Feeding (BARF/RMB) for newbies

[Tillies reptile rescue]

I feed both my staffie crosses raw but need to find a cheaper way, i have seen on here alot of people get there stuff for free or cheap from butchers, none of the butchers round here are willing to help and its costing us a fortune, so any advice would be great :0)

[fenwoman]

Originally Posted by Tillies reptile rescue

I feed both my staffie crosses raw but need to find a cheaper way, i have seen on here alot of people get there stuff for free or cheap from butchers, none of the butchers round here are willing to help and its costing us a fortune, so any advice would be great :0)

Where are you currently getting the meat and bones from?

[Tillies reptile rescue]

Local pet shop,so its bit pricey, plus they only really do mince, chickens wings and turkey necks....which are good size for miley but monty needs something bigger, plus i want to give them more variety

[Fuzzball]

You can try private breeders of birds (chickens, turkeys, geese, pheasants etc) I am currently getting my RWB at a very good prive and its costing me about a fiver a week to feed 4 large breed dogs, 9 adult ferrets and 14 kits. Only sacrifice is I dont have any say in what I get, how it looks (i am squeemish so my OH has to chop them up for me) and I get a phone call one afternoon and we have to collect that evening, but at that price im certainly not complaining! Any weeks that im short I get anglian meat stuff, only cos I can get it at 50p a block though which does in emergencies.

Before that, I ordered from Landywoods and I cannot fault their produce. Albion meat is also a very good company which I have used in the past and Berriewoods

[fenwoman]

Originally Posted by Tillies reptile rescue

Local pet shop,so its bit pricey, plus they only really do mince, chickens wings and turkey necks....which are good size for miley but monty needs something bigger, plus i want to give them more variety

Where is your nearest abattoir? Try them. But you could always order from someone like Landywoods who deliver.
Have yuou gone through your yellow pages to find a proper butcher as opposed to a meat seller? Proper butchers buy a whole cow and bone and joint it on the premises and so have lots of waste which they get rid of free or cheap. Meat sellers buy their meat already jointed and only sell the stuff.

[Tillies reptile rescue]

Originally Posted by fenwoman

Where is your nearest abattoir? Try them. But you could always order from someone like Landywoods who deliver.
Have yuou gone through your yellow pages to find a proper butcher as opposed to a meat seller? Proper butchers buy a whole cow and bone and joint it on the premises and so have lots of waste which they get rid of free or cheap. Meat sellers buy their meat already jointed and only sell the stuff.

I have contacted our local butchers and had to laugh because according to them all their meat comes in ready boned !!
I have just contacted one just outside the area and he does big bags of mixed bones for 50p and is going to get me prices direct from his supplier for boxes of chicken wings, hearts etc, because he said it will work out cheaper than getting them direct from the shop. So fingers crossed it comes up good.
Im trying to track down local abattoir, only thing is i know the one i used to use when i worked on farm use all the bones etc and sell them onto local zoos and breeders and not cheap ether but anything is work ago.
Thanks for all the help will keep you all updated

[LoveForLizards]

Originally Posted by Tillies reptile rescue

I have just contacted one just outside the area and he does big bags of mixed bones for 50p and is going to get me prices direct from his supplier for boxes of chicken wings, hearts etc, because he said it will work out cheaper than getting them direct from the shop.

[LoveForLizards]

Anybody know where I can get horse meat and bones in the west Midlands? don't mind if it has to be delivered but don't want to have the pay a fortune for it.

[fenwoman]

Originally Posted by LoveForLizards

Anybody know where I can get horse meat and bones in the west Midlands? don't mind if it has to be delivered but don't want to have the pay a fortune for it.

I'm not sure you can get horsemeat in this country. It might be worth phoning around some horse slaughteres to see if you could buyt direct from them. I suspect however the answer will be "sorry, elf and safety" because I'm not sure they are allowed to slaughter for human consumption and for animal consumption, I have a feeling the meat had a dye sprayed on it. Try your nearest hunt kennels also ?

[sarahc]

before I trawl through all the info you have all posted could anyone answer a couple of things for me.Are chicken wing type bones safe for flat faced breeds with narrow wind pipes.Do any pug,peke,boston or bulldog owners on here give them.Can anyone recommend a specific processor grinder I could get for crunching up the bones.I've just about knackered the Kenwood Chef on the first go.