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Post by miamiferret2 on Sept 8, 2012 9:44:12 GMT -5
Wow. I assume you are referring to the Bravo frozen patties. Wherever you are buying from, they are seriously over charging you. i find that the big frozen chubs (the blends with meat/bone/organ) are more economical. Downfall is you have to slice them up yourself. You can use a bandsaw and slice them up while they are frozen. Then bag them up. For me, a 5 lb bag of the duck patties is $24.99 but i try to feed duck only once a week bc expensive. I had a coupon for $5 off this week and i got a bag of the duck bravo patties for 20 bucks.
I do not buy the beef frozen patties bc those are sourced in USA. The frozen beef chubs are New Zealand beef. Much better quality.
But, the 5 lb bag of beef patties is 21.99 whereas the 5 lb chub of new zealand beef is 18.99! So the price is even better!
The turkey 5 lb bag of patties is 16.99 whereas the 5 lb chub is 12.99. The turkey chub and turkey patties are exactly same ingredients. You are only paying for the packaging. The lamb patties in the 5 lb bag are a whopping 27.99 for me while the 5 lb frozen chub is 18.99 Again, same ingredients in both but you are just paying for them to put them in those little vacuum sealed patties.
Go to some yard sales or craigslist and find a band saw. Easier to cut them up that way. :-)
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Post by miamiferret2 on Sept 8, 2012 10:02:11 GMT -5
Oh you are in Canada. My bad.
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Post by Sherry on Sept 8, 2012 10:49:35 GMT -5
1badmonkey- don't give up on the salmon oil just yet. Ours all hated it at first as well. I mixed it half and half with tone and got them into it that way. Just keep increasing the ratio of oil to tone. And bitbyter- shooting a Canadian goose here would bring about the same sentence as shooting an eagle where you are ;D
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Post by darlene on Sept 8, 2012 11:46:28 GMT -5
Thanks for the suggestions. Yup sure wouldn't want to go to jail for shooting "flying rats" as I call them.
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Post by katt on Sept 8, 2012 12:25:29 GMT -5
Meat costs here are ridiculous too. Unfortunately, since I first brought Koda home almost 3 years ago the cost of meat has more than doubled.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 8, 2012 17:37:11 GMT -5
Unfortunately ethnic markets here are secretly boutiques. Their prices are only a few cents cheaper than the super markets, and they are a much longer drive to the worst parts of the city. The only draw for them is they carry more of the "offal" cuts Caucasian people don't generally eat.
We have 2 butcher stores now open across the street from one another. Again, they are mostly high end boutique style things that carry upscale marinated meats, sandwich meats and imported beer and goods along with spice rubs and whatnot. They're not "proper" butchers, though they both claim they'll order stuff for you. I haven't had a chance to ask them about ordering for me since it tends to be in larger quantities and I don't have my new freezer yet.
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Post by darlene on Sept 9, 2012 22:25:44 GMT -5
Meat costs here are ridiculous too. Unfortunately, since I first brought Koda home almost 3 years ago the cost of meat has more than doubled. The humans in this house will become vegetarians soon
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Post by Sherry on Sept 9, 2012 22:38:25 GMT -5
I know that feeling only TOO well Darlene ;D
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Post by darlene on Sept 12, 2012 23:14:08 GMT -5
Sherry,went I told my family about the possibility of no meat, this is what I get
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Post by Deleted on Sept 13, 2012 9:05:06 GMT -5
We seem like we may have reached the peak and are slowly backing off on food consumption thank god. I am starting to have leftover soup in the bowl in the adult group and can get away with putting in less the next meal time.
The babies barely touch the soup if I put in some frakenprey, they love getting a couple of chicken thighs or a "side" of chicken and will reduce it down to a few well gnawed on bones. Stormageddon and Sigma singlehandedly inhaled an entire cornish game hen in under 24 hours. Just a few large bones left from it. ;D
It's like having piranhas.
Today I need to run out on my lunch break and grab some more barf as my variety is low again, need some lamb and duck to go with the chicken.
We're basically just waiting on Mayhem. As soon as Mayhem will eat chunks we will start looking into a mentor and frakenprey. I got her to lick ferretone off of a sliver of chicken in my hand and put it in her mouth and nibbled at it. She didn't eat it, but she didn't act like she was being poisoned either. I'd say that's a small bit of progress.
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Cynde
Junior Member
Posts: 237
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Post by Cynde on Sept 13, 2012 9:36:34 GMT -5
I found the raw diet is becoming eaiser as I go. I only have Thor that is a meat eater. Herc & Pande are kibble eaters. (Even though Pande ate chicken wings when she came from the breeder.
I know it is much easier with 1. Thor eats about 6-8 oz a day. He gets a mouse in the morning. With his evening meal he basicly eats what we eat. If I have pork chops, he has pork (Country Style Spareribs). Fish, when I have salmon I will get a few onces extra and he will get some, Beef Cubes, If I am having something ferrets should not have like barbacue,chili, spagets, etc. He has his mixed organs once a week, He gets chicken wings, backs, necks, legs too. I try to feed him like he is a baby - a well rounded diet, with variety. He is my baby. I found that if you ask at the supermarket, they almost always have meats that they have pulled that are at the end of their time (Expired) They cannot sell as fresh. You can usually get them pretty cheap. They are still fresh enough for the ferret. but do not take rotten meat. Just fresh pulled of the shelf. I cut it up, and weight out 3 oz portions. put them in a snack bag and freeze. Or if the store has fresh meat a By one Get one special. I stock up. I cube his meat, and chop up his chicken parts. I can get necks for less than $1.00 a lb. I buy 5 lbs, chop them up. and freeze. If Thor still seams hungry, I usually give him another mouse or chick. I finally got him to eat bones, so I chop up the chicken backs with my new trusy cleaver. I found he eats the meat off the wings, and likes to just chew on the bones...theething? I feel better that I am getting bone in him. I was very fortunate, that he ate whole meats from the start. No soupees. I am still learning about the raw diet, the vet says I am doing good but I hear of things like green tripe, and lungs, uterus etc. I just cannot deal with that, so he eats people meats. I have to admit, it is a lot easier to feed him kibble, but I want the best for him. He also get furrotone, has( oils and vitiamins). So far the only thing Thor will not eat is canned sardines. A couple of paks of meat a week is not that expensive. If you are feeding a crew, a family pak of chicken goes a long way.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 13, 2012 9:52:17 GMT -5
The problem is sourcing and variety. We are a no beef house for the ferrets since Artemis is severely allergic. That leaves my options to be chicken and pork if I buy human meat at the super market. Once in a while they have cornish game hens, and turkey in the fall/early winter. We have liver around as the only organ pretty much. I need to talk to the local butchers and see what they can get. Getting bones and organs at the super market is well nigh impossible. The Asian market has more offal options, but they are expensive and a long drive to the worst part of the city.
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