For several years, I have subscribed to a blog, The Kitchen’s Garden written by a New Zealander living on a farm in the midwest. She is definitely a soulmate in philosophy, avoiding waste, reusing, recycling, growing organically, re-establishing trees and converting fields to organic practice growing. Though her farm has many more and varied animals than ours, she does raise chickens and has two older dogs.
For a while, I have been bothered by both the cost and quality of commercial dog food, but had not taken the time to research a homemade healthier alternative. I have often made feed for the hens in lieu of the commercial layer pellets, though a good organic layer pellet and a multi grain scratch are usually less expensive than making it as the grains that are needed to get organic come from the local natural foods store. Recently, Cecilia posted her recipe for homemade dog food and the quantity she feeds her dogs. I purchased the ingredients that I didn’t have on hand and compared the cost to the commercial feed and it is about $1+/day cheaper to make it. Everything in the mix is human grade food, the “stew” though unsalted could easily be eaten by us. The mix contains meat, whole grain, pulses, fruit or sweet potatoes, pumpkin, vegetables. For her recipe, you can go to her blog. The recipe makes enough to feed both of our dogs for 6 or 7 days, 2 meals per day.
The first time I made it in a large pot and had some scorching at the bottom of the pot. Today, the rice, lentils, oats, sweet potato, and pumpkin with the water were cooked first in the Instant Pot, the meat in the large pot on the stove, and then mixed together with the frozen peas and carrots before ladling it into reusable containers and wide mouth pint jars, some to freeze, some to go into the refrigerator for the next couple of days meals.
This was prepared this morning before hubby got up.
The dogs love it. It is healthier, less expensive, and hopefully both pups will shed a few pounds on it. A side benefit is that Shadow, the German Shepherd who seems to be constantly on some med or another will take the pills in the food without having to resort to trickery and it should help reduce the UTI’s that she experiences.
As the meat can be of various sources and since there are too many frozen chickens in the basement freezer, a couple of them may be the protein source for a few batches before the next round are replaced with younger birds and more tough old hens added to the supply.