Yay freezer!

[Willowy]

So I finally got a freezer (after, what, like 6 months of saying I was going to get one? :lol3. Now I can start ordering! What are some good things to get from Hare Today? I see duck hearts recommended a lot. I'm definitely getting some chicken and pork and rabbit. Maybe goat? I dunno about llama :tongue2:.

I'm also this close to ordering a meat grinder. . .it's in my Amazon cart and I'm just itching to press "place order". I have to wait until I try the Hare Today grinds---what if several of the kitties can't have bone, then it's a waste to buy a grinder. . .but I want to!

Oh, and now I can fit actual people food in my people freezer . Yay popsicles!

 

[carolina]

So I finally got a freezer (after, what, like 6 months of saying I was going to get one? :lol3. Now I can start ordering! What are some good things to get from Hare Today? I see duck hearts recommended a lot. I'm definitely getting some chicken and pork and rabbit. Maybe goat? I dunno about llama :tongue2:.
I'm also this close to ordering a meat grinder. . .it's in my Amazon cart and I'm just itching to press "place order". I have to wait until I try the Hare Today grinds---what if several of the kitties can't have bone, then it's a waste to buy a grinder. . .but I want to!
Oh, and now I can fit actual people food in my people freezer . Yay popsicles!

YEEEEEEEEYYYYYYYY
Ok, so are you going to order ground meats?
LOVE LOVE the ground rabbit!!! Goat is good too..... Pork..... All their meats are good.... Just make sure to get the fine ground. Don't forget the Alnutrin supplement, of course!

As far as raw, not ground, I Always get the Turkey hearts, the Venison, and the duck hearts.
The Turkey leg cubes are a good way to get deboned turkey legs :nod:

Congrats on the freezer.... and of course, we need pictures of your baby :lol3:

 

[Willowy]

Erg! I'm reading the manual and it says not to keep it in an unheated garage. But everybody does, right? I probably could bring it inside but it would be annoying and in the way. Everybody I know has one in their garage, so even if it's not recommended, it should still be OK? Well, I hope so anyway.

And I have to wait 24 hours to plug it in because the delivery guy tipped it. Hmph.

 

[Willowy]

Pictures!

 

[carolina]

Pictures!

WOW NIIIIIIIICEEEEEE
GIIIRRRRRRLLLLL You went all the way
You can fit a whole lot of meat in that baby!!!
So exciting!! Goodness! That looks AWESOME!!!

 

[Willowy]

Inside!



It's a 10.6 cf

 

[ldg]

It is GORGEOUS!!!! And HUGE! SO EXCITING!

Yes, it should be fine in your unheated garage. We keep ours behind the RV on a platform covered with a tarp. :lol3: I think summer's harder on it than winter.

Ooooooooo, ordering stuff to try. SO MUCH FUN! I ordered basically one pound of everything. :lol3: I even tried the mouse (and Spooky and Chumley like it! ).

Mine like the ground rabbit, pork, and llama reliably. :nod: Duck and turkey hearts are their FAVORITE. I think you don't really work with meat, so I'd recommend skipping the turkey hearts. But the duck hearts are little, and you can just scoop them.

You might want to try the ground rabbit organs. :nod: They're 50% heart, 25% liver and 25% kidney - so not a meal you want to feed too often, but VERY nutritious! Even my kitties that don't like kidney like it (though warning you up front, it IS bloody when dethawed).

It's expensive, but to get that additional protein in, I do order the venison cubes. VERY nice! I feed it once a week. :nod:

And they turkey thigh cubes are also more than you pay when you buy a turkey leg - but it's boneless, and usually doesn't need much trimming.

I source beef kidney from Hare Today, but I don't think you're going that route right now. :lol3:

Obviously you should at least TRY the ground chicken, turkey, and lamb. I mean - you have to find out if they like it!

Oh - ORDER THE FINE GRINDS ONLY. I THINK pork is the only one that has both options, but just make sure for all of them you're not getting course ground - those are some SHARP bones! (They accidentally sent me course ground pork once. Customer service is great and they refunded my money right away, but there is no way you want your cats eating that!)

 

[ldg]

Oh - because it's ground there and shipped - I would consider ordering the alnutrin supplement (for meat/bones/organs) to add to it. Hare Today sells it in the supplement section. It does mean dethawing it, adding some water and the supplement (one little scoop per pound). But at least you're sure it'll have enough taurine and B vitamins without worrying about the grinding (oxidation) / freezing / thawing thing. :nod: If I remember correctly, it costs about $22 for the packet that makes 40 pounds of meat? So it adds roughly $0.50 to your per pound cost.

 

[wolcar]

This is a nice freezer!

 

[Willowy]

Well, I wasn't going to buy it yet. I had the model picked out (wider than most this size) but I didn't know about delivery. So I just went into Menard's to ask about their delivery charges and policies (I was afraid I would have to stay home all day on a work day waiting for them). And it was on sale! And they deliver on Saturdays! So, well, it just sort of happened :lol3:.

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

Very nice!  And I keep mine in the garage, and I live in the Phoenix area, where it gets to be probably 150 degrees in that garage in the summer

!  I DO admit that at least once a day I check it to make sure things are still frozen solid, 'cause I'm slightly worried that it won't last long, especially since I bought it used and have no idea just how old it is, but I figure it's already paid for itself  even if it does "expire" on me.  Plus I have 2 more fridges with freezers  than I can stuff  the cat's frozen raw to in a pinch if it breaks down. 

As to Hare Today, I would order at least one or two lbs of just plain old ground turkey thigh, for those times with the kits are a little constipated from too much calcium.  I divided mine up into 1 oz portions so i can easily mix it into whatever they are eating, and thankfully, they are finally accepting  "mix-ins".  I just defrosted some of that today for Darko, as he seems to be straining a little in that dept.

For my first order, I ordered duck hearts, the ground turkey thighs, ground rabbit, ground goat, ground lamb and ground duck, along with the Alnutrin.  Mine did NOT take to the rabbit at all, but I think they are the exception to the rule.  And I've not given up on it.  Now that they are finally accepting the turkey as a "mix-in", I'm going to start trying the other stuff again.

Oh yeah

.  Cat food on one shelf / lots of ice cream on another

 

[Willowy]

OK, so I made an order from Hare Today. . .I ordered 2 pounds of everything :tongue2:, except 4 pounds of tripe, 6 pounds of rabbit, and 10 pounds of chicken. I made the full 51-pound order because I'm a sucker for getting my money's worth on shipping . With shipping it averages out to $3.93 a pound which I can live with, although I'd prefer to keep the cost a bit lower than that. Probably if I didn't order ground mouse and venison chunks for $8 a pound it might have averaged lower :lol3:.

Has anyone here tried tripe for their cats? I mainly bought it for the dogs but of course I'll offer a bit to the cats too. I just don't know if cats are "supposed to" like it.

Oh, and I forgot to order Alnutrin :anon:. Is it mainly for the taurine or is there something else vital in there? I mean, the meats are ground whole animals, right? Should be reasonably complete? I have some NOW taurine already. . .I just have to decide whether I'll make another order for the Alnutrin or just forget it this time because I won't be going 100% raw yet.

 

[ldg]

Yeah, that Venison hurts! And I never re-ordered the ground mouse - not enough of them liked it enough to pay for it. :lol3:

But HOW EXCITING! It was so funny, being so excited about the arrival of frozen pet food. :lol3: Hope you're enjoying the "new freezer" fun!

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

I actually have the same thoughts on the Alnutrin (WHY is it really necessary).  It's got added vitamins, etc.  Sometimes i add it sometimes I don't, but my cats are mainly eating Primal and Radcat, which are nutritionally complete already. 

You can probably just call Tracy at Hare-Today and have her add it to your order, so you don't have to pay extra to ship an additional order.

 

[ldg]

Oh, and I forgot to order Alnutrin :anon:. Is it mainly for the taurine or is there something else vital in there? I mean, the meats are ground whole animals, right? Should be reasonably complete? I have some NOW taurine already. . .I just have to decide whether I'll make another order for the Alnutrin or just forget it this time because I won't be going 100% raw yet.

Since they're not eating 100% raw, I wouldn't worry about it this time. Basically the Alnutrin has similar ingredients to Dr. Pierson's recipe. Taurine doesn't degrade from freezing, but it is water soluble, so basically just make sure to mix the watery stuff that separates when it dethaws. :nod: I'm not sure what all's in it, but B vitamins, clearly some egg yolk, and Vitamin E, which helps protect everything from oxidation (from being ground, and being frozen). I use it, just because the stuff is ground, stored frozen, shipped, I dethaw it, and then refreeze it, so I'm not confident in how much of what might have oxidized through the process.

 

[Willowy]

Yeah, I only put out about half a pound every night. Not a big percentage of their diet.

So nobody has tried tripe for kitties? It's practically considered a necessity for raw-feeding dogs. I hope it doesn't smell too bad :tongue2:.

 

[carolina]

Yeah, I only put out about half a pound every night. Not a big percentage of their diet.
So nobody has tried tripe for kitties? It's practically considered a necessity for raw-feeding dogs. I hope it doesn't smell too bad :tongue2:.

You can always supplement it just with Taurine at the time of feeding....
Nope, no tripes here.... Was always curious especially since it comes with the spleen..... And I have been in the look out for a "good organ" (that almost sounds like an oximoron :lol3.
Some have fed freeze dried green tripes..... I heard the smell was not that good though.... I can't imagine the fresh, real deal!

Let us know how it goes!

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

Yeah, I only put out about half a pound every night. Not a big percentage of their diet.

So nobody has tried tripe for kitties? It's practically considered a necessity for raw-feeding dogs. I hope it doesn't smell too bad

.

Well, I've tried the freeze dried tripe.  Cats LOVE it, and it smells to high heaven

.  I have to keep it triple bagged in the cupboard, then have to wash my hands immediately after touching it.  Smells just like a cow patty!  I tell my kits on the days I give it to them that "there will be no kissing me today"

 

[feralvr]

WOW Willowy!!!!!!!!!!!!! LOVE YOU NEW FREEZER!!!! It is certainly a BIG BAD BOY for sure. Happy to hear you ordered so much from Hare Today. I think you will love HT!!!!!!! Really, really nice meat. :bigthumb:

:lol3: on the Tripe. OMG THE SMELL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :dash: But, yeah, my dogs love the stuff. The cats... NO WAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Not even Wendall Walden will go for it though. Although the HT ground beef has tripe in it and three of my six will eat that.

 

[Willowy]

I didn't actually order any beef (since I have a 5-pound hunk o' beef that I bought at Sam's Club in the fridge right now--only $2.88 a pound!), but I did order some of the ground venison, that's mixed with beef and beef tripe. They really like the venison pre-made I bought so I hope they like "real" venison, too.

I don't mind buying a lot because I know it won't go to waste. The doggies will eat anything that picky kitties don't like!