[beans]

I have a 63 lb nottweiler girl. I feed home-prepared raw (ground turkey, ground beef, turkey necks, turkey wings, beef liver/kidney/heart, and veggies). Though I don't feed it, chicken is usually pretty inexpensive, and you can often find good deals on cases of necks or backs. The butcher I go to sells ground meat scraps for .55 cents a lb, and chicken backs for .34 cents a lb.

I usually buy 2 months worth of meat at the butcher, and then prepare a months worth - which goes into daily gladware containers (I am a bit more anal about preparation then many folks who feed raw.) I think it works out to about 2.5 lbs of food per day (shes got a high metabolism-high energy). Since I was at the butcher this weekend, I can tell you what I spent. Total was appx $85 for a month of food (meat and vegs). Ground Turkey $1.34 lb, Ground Beef $2.50 lb, Turkey Wings $1.78 lb, Beef Kidney .89 lb, Beef Heart $1.48 lb, Beef Liver $1.10 lb. I pay an additional charge for the turkey neck to have the butcher grind it for me (they are .90 a lb as is).

Many areas will have raw food co-ops, which allow you to buy in bulk for good prices. You'll save $ in the long run if you can get a freezer, and buy in bulk. Good luck!