Questions about commercial raw

[carolina]

I didn't want to start a whole new thread about this. . .does anyone know what the "discount" is if you buy 60 pounds of Nature's Menu? I suppose I could contact them but I thought I'd ask here first.

Don't know - but I just introduced the lamb, and it it GREAT meat. Really fresh, really great stuff - kids did well in it here. It is no BS type of meat - there is meat, and meat and meat, and nothing else - great stuff!
Now......Something else for you to consider - Cheap shipping and very high quality.... huge Variety, is Hare Today..... The price is very very low too.....
The only thing you need to do is to add the supplement (they sell their own and it is quite good actually) to it. The meat comes ready, fine ground.
Here is the Pork, for example: $2.99/lb; Turkey, $2.79/lb, Goat, $3.95/lb..... You get the idea.... They have many many types of meat.... all, USDA, pasture fed.... good stuff

 

[Willowy]

I did buy some Nature's Menu---but "only" 36 pounds (beef, turkey, and chicken). Came to $4.57 a pound after shipping/dry ice/cooler charges. Which is more than I'm paying for Nature's Variety 2-pound chubs but less than the NV patties. . .and I do like the convenience of patties. So any discount would be a bonus, I was just wondering how big of a discount it would be.

I looked at Hare Today and I will be ordering from them at some point. Their prices are great. I don't want to introduce a lot of proteins like llama or goat or anything, but I think some rabbit would be nice. Cats are supposed to eat rabbits. And the prices on chicken are really good. I have to see how the 36 pounds of Nature's Menu fit in my freezer and then decide how much I can order. The only reason I didn't order from them yet is because I was nervous about the bones. . .let me know how big the bone bits are. I know that kitties who aren't on 100% raw can have issues with large bone bits.

 

[carolina]

I did buy some Nature's Menu---but "only" 36 pounds (beef, turkey, and chicken). Came to $4.57 a pound after shipping/dry ice/cooler charges. Which is more than I'm paying for Nature's Variety 2-pound chubs but less than the NV patties. . .and I do like the convenience of patties. So any discount would be a bonus, I was just wondering how big of a discount it would be.
I looked at Hare Today and I will be ordering from them at some point. Their prices are great. I don't want to introduce a lot of proteins like llama or goat or anything, but I think some rabbit would be nice. Cats are supposed to eat rabbits. And the prices on chicken are really good. I have to see how the 36 pounds of Nature's Menu fit in my freezer and then decide how much I can order.

You will really like their meat - right when you get it, you will see the difference - you can see right away that it is 100% meat and nothing else (well, there is supplements) - but no veggies, fruits, etc. I LOVE that about them. All the brands I feed mine are 100% meat - I do not feed anything with fruits and veggies, so I am very very glad I found them :nod: and very impressed with their quality - and oh so glad the kitties are as impressed!
Pricing is great too
PS - The patties defrost faster than NV - If you put them overnight in the fridge, they will be good to serve in the am :nod:

I did get the goat from hare today as I wanted another dark meat besides lamb, and Hope can not deal with beef.... :nod:
I also got quail, pheasant and rabbit. I will definitely get pork next time :nod: AWESOME prices..... and I think they will love-it!

Good luck, and I hope your kids love it love it!!
Oh, and IMHO they fit the freezer quite nicely, as the patties are smaller and are laying horizontally - they take less space than NV patties, I find - you will see

 

[Willowy]

Let me know how big the bone bits are in the Hare Today rabbit. I know that kitties who aren't on 100% raw can have problems with bone. That's one reason I thought the Nature's Menu sounded good.

 

[carolina]

Let me know how big the bone bits are in the Hare Today rabbit. I know that kitties who aren't on 100% raw can have problems with bone. That's one reason I thought the Nature's Menu sounded good.

Definitely - that's my issue too..... For Bugsy bone free foods are way better.... in fact, for cats with IBD, that is thought to be generally better as it is easier to be digested by a compromised digestive system.... So at least 1/2 of his meats will be Rad Cat and Nature's Menu for that very reason..... My hope is that Hare Today's bones are tiny..... NV were too big for my taste.....
I have rabbit defrosting right now to mix the supplements - will start transitioning them tomorrow. Will post it here and in my thread what I notice about the bones.... They say it is "Finely ground" But you never know exactly what that means, until you see it :nod:

 

[carolina]

This is pretty much a copy of what I entered in my thread, but I wanted to enter in here too -

Ok - just mixed the "batch" of Hare Today rabbit for our intro..... Gotta say.... WOW!
Let me put it this way..... I don't think there is a lot rabbit on NV patties..... Hare Today's meat is bright pink :lol3: I mean..... it looks sooooo fresh.... sooooo meaty..... and sooooo pink :lol3::lol3::lol3: Nothing like the Whitish patty from NV Rabbit - IMHO there is a lot of pork in it :nod:

So.... back to Hare Today - Very very easy to mix the supplements (the meat comes ground Muscle/bone/organs, but you have to mix the supplements in). You defrost the little 1lb chub.... It takes a bit over one hour under cold water.... Then you mix one measuring spoon of supplement with about 1/3 cup of water (the instructions call for in between 1/4 and 1/2 per pound - so I averaged out) - mix it well, and mix it into the meat.

What I did was I separated what I needed for tomorrow, which is only about 4.5oz and put that in the fridge. In a second container I put 9oz - that is going to be used on day 2 of my intro - it is back in the freezer. And the rest in a 3rd container also in the freezer..... One pound is not enough for the whole intro.... So I will definitely need to mix some more around day 3, but it's alright.... It only takes a few minutes to prepare :nod:

The meat is gorgeous, I mean - GORGEOUS. Rad Cat is fresh... But this puts the "F" on Fresh!

I can barely see the bones in it - there IS bones, but they are small.... way smaller than NV, at least the pieces I found. This is definitely finely ground. I will see better tomorrow when I feed them by what is left in the plate :nod:

I gave a little bit in my finger for both Bugsy and Hope, and they both liked it a whole lot...... let's hope they will like it tomorrow when it is mixed in their food :nod:

I will be posting my reviews and their likings and how they do on it in my thread. I am hoping Lucky will do well on it..... Would be great to have another protein to rotate :nod: Will keep all posted

 

[Willowy]

Yay! Glad to hear the bone bits are small. I don't really think I'm even going to add the supplement since I'm not feeding 100% raw. Or maybe I'll add supplement to some batches and not others. But it sounds good, and you can't beat those prices! I would never be able to find rabbit in a grocery store for $4-something a pound, and it sure wouldn't be ground up.

 

[Willowy]

I hope I got my Nature's Menu order in in time for them to ship it today. . .I have to check my e-mail!

 

[ldg]

Let us know!!!!

OK - news on the Hare-Today meat/bone/organs ratios. The information is in the FAQs: https://www.hare-today.com/faq.php

Q: In you ground meat options, are the ratios of meat to bone to organ to fat proportionate to that of one whole animal?


A : What we do is grind whole animals, i.e, whole turkey, rabbit, goat, etc. Only exception is beef as I cant grind leg bones in my grinder.

A turkey for example will weigh 15+ lbs. We typically will grind 600 or more lbs. at a time as this is a commercial 25 horsepower grinder and will not operate properly with less then 100 lbs. Once ground it is put in a vacuum stuffer which portions out into the specific size bags.

If you are buying 1 lb of something obviously you would not be getting an entire species. What you are getting is part of the whole animal though and everything is mixed thoroughly. You are not getting the cheapest cuts of product like ground up backs or necks which is what many companies do that are advertising ground turkey. Might be ground turkey but it is NOT the entire turkey like we do.

Backs, necks, etc are fine when attached to the entire animal but not okay if that is all they are using. Backs and necks are way to high in bone and not enough meet. When you stick to "whole animals" the meat, bone, fat ratio, will be as mother nature intended. Our products might not be the cheapest out there but we only use the best.

I also do not add unneeded fruits or vegetables to my grinds as fruits or vegetables are not a species appropriate diet for a carnivore. It is a filler, dogs or cats do not have any nutritional need for carbohydrates.

Can't really beat "as nature intended."

 

[Willowy]

Yup, they shipped it! And this is interesting. . .they ran out of dry ice so he's going to throw a couple more packages of meat into the order. I'm sure it'll stay frozen--the weather hasn't exactly been warm lately--but that's pretty good customer service, I think!

 

[carolina]

Yup, they shipped it! And this is interesting. . .they ran out of dry ice so he's going to throw a couple more packages of meat into the order. I'm sure it'll stay frozen--the weather hasn't exactly been warm lately--but that's pretty good customer service, I think!

So they are packing it with ice? It should be alright.... I received different orders - from them, with dry ice, it gets here rock solid, like just out of the freezer....
Orders packed with Ice get here frozen, but the very outer layer a tiny bit defrosted - which is NOT a big deal at all..... you just put it in the freezer and you are set to go..... and this is to Dallas...... not like we freeze over here (aside from last night when we actually got snow for the very first time in the year :lol3

 

[Willowy]

No, it sounds like they'll pack it with nothing but the frozen meat. He says he does it with Northern orders all the time (in the winter) and it works. I'm not concerned. . .it hasn't gotten above freezing for a while now. It may be warmer in the UPS warehouse, but 40 pounds of frozen food in a styrofoam cooler should be fine for 3-4 days.

 

[ldg]

Wow - that is REALLY great of them! :lol3: I agree - should be fine, and you'll get extra meat!

 

[Willowy]

Well, my package is already in Omaha and UPS says it'll be delivered tomorrow. 2 days! Didn't need any ice after all. But it did only come from Wisconsin. I'll have to remember that. . .maybe if I call my orders in they'll let me skip the dry ice all the time (or at least if it's not too hot). Pricey stuff. I won't be home tomorrow . But the package will be safe on my back porch--as long as a dog doesn't wander by! :lol3:.

 

[carolina]

Well, my package is already in Omaha and UPS says it'll be delivered tomorrow. 2 days! Didn't need any ice after all. But it did only come from Wisconsin. I'll have to remember that. . .maybe if I call my orders in they'll let me skip the dry ice all the time (or at least if it's not too hot). Pricey stuff. I won't be home tomorrow . But the package will be safe on my back porch--as long as a dog doesn't wander by! :lol3:.

So did you get it? What did you think? Tell us? My babies love it - I know Lauren is already defrosting hers.... and is very impressed by all that meat - what about you?

 

[Willowy]

I did get it. The top 2 packages were thawed a bit around the edges, I was surprised. . .it did get to 40 degrees that day but that's not very warm. But they were on top and the others were in boxes--still frozen solid. So I think if I had ordered the correct amount that it could be closely packed there wouldn't have been any thawing. So far the kitties don't like it as much . Though the doggies are happy :tongue2:. But I've only tried the turkey and beef and maybe they only like chicken. I'll try the chicken tomorrow and see what happens. It's not the meat thing--they gladly eat raw chicken breast, no matter how large the pieces are--so I'm guessing it's either a texture or flavor thing.

 

[Willowy]

And they do like the chicken! Snarfed it down pretty fast. I guess my kitties just aren't adventurous when it comes to flavors. I'll keep offering the turkey and beef now and then and see if they eventually develop a taste for it.

 

[carolina]

And they do like the chicken! Snarfed it down pretty fast. I guess my kitties just aren't adventurous when it comes to flavors. I'll keep offering the turkey and beef now and then and see if they eventually develop a taste for it.

You can now start mixing a little bit of the turkey and the beef into the chicken.... a bit more every day until you have all turkey and beef, just like you transition kibbles - that's how I do my flavor transitions.... works every time :bigthumb:

 

[ldg]

Just thought I ought to post this here. I went to mix up the Hare Today pork mix (meat/organs/bones). It's listed as a fine grind, and the first two 2-pound bags were great. This one wasn't. I think it's appropriate to let people know they need to be alert for batch inconsistencies in the grinds from the company. I don't know if the grinder wasn't set right or what, but this had large chunks of meat and fat - and large pieces of bones. And sharp large pieces of bone.

I noticed when I emptied the two pounds into the bowl that it looked very chunky. I started mixing, and there was a LOT of "clinking." I started fishing out bones. This is just a small portion of what I found. And then, when I served the cats' individual portions, I went through each, and found quite a few more.

I still plan on using Hare Today. But I am going through any food I serve them with a fine tooth comb, so to speak.



After taking the pic, I realized there was no scale. So here you go (I found a nickel to use for comparison) :

(Examples of some of the fat chunks at the left)

 

[carolina]

that looks scary