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Calculate An Estimated Raw Feeding Monthly Budget

Estimated reading time: 3 min

Pet parents who are interested in raw feeding are often curious about the monthly budget required to feed a dog or cat a balanced raw diet. The price of a home-prepared raw diet can vary greatly depending on several factors. However, a monthly raw feeding budget can be identified with a few simple calculations.

Identify Daily Feeding Amounts

The amount of food needed for one day serves as a foundation for the estimate calculations.

Determine Weekly Ingredients

The amount of ingredients needed within one week (7 days) helps provide guidance for weekly meal prep.

Calculate Monthly Estimate

Multiplying the daily feeding amounts by one month helps provide a monthly raw feeding cost estimate.

It is important to remember that the cost of home-prepared raw diets can vary from household to household. In addition to individual needs, there are several other variables that dictate a raw feeding monthly budget:

Location & Resource Availability

Different ingredients are available throughout different areas of the world. Some ingredients are difficult to source affordably in certain locations, whereas those same ingredients may be easy to source in another location.

Spending Money for Convenience

There are many options pet parents can utilize to make raw feeding convenient, such as online pet food suppliers and commercial raw foods. These make raw feeding easier for busy lifestyles. However, these convenient options will have a higher price tag to account for this luxury.

Investing Time to Reduce Cost

In contrast to paying for convenience, pet parents can spend time to keep raw feeding costs lower. Monitoring meat sales, sourcing freezer cleanouts, and networking with hunters are ways to reduce the cost of raw feeding. However, these options involve spending time...

Outside of these variables, calculating an estimated monthly budget can be completed in a few simple steps. The steps to calculating an estimated raw feeding monthly budget are as follows:

While these steps will help calculate an estimated raw feeding monthly budget for a dog or cat of any size, they do not factor in additional costs for individual supplements or variables that may affect the final cost.

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Identify Daily Feeding Amounts

There are two ways to calculate how much to feed in a raw diet. Calculations using adult maintenance percentages will identify the volume of food, while calculations using resting energy requirements and activity levels will identify the amount of calories needed.

Maintenance Percentage Calculations

This is the most common way to calculate the amount of food (volume) to be fed in one day. These calculations are very useful in order to estimate a monthly budget. Adult dogs have different maintenance percentage recommendations in comparison to growing puppies.

Daily Calorie Calculations

This method is a way to calculate the amount of calories a dog needs to consume in one day. These calculations are very useful for identifying the amount of essential nutrients needed to achieve optimal health. However, calories are not a good guideline for calculating volume of food due to the wide range of calorie levels in various foods.

When calculating an estimated monthly budget it is best to use the daily maintenance percentage calculations since this method will identify the volume of food required in one day.

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Calculate Daily Intake Articles

Learn how to calculate daily feeding amounts for adult dogs and growing puppies by following the step by step guides for calculating daily intake. 

Determine Weekly Ingredients

Once daily feeding amounts are calculated, weekly calculations can be completed. Identifying how much food is needed for one week (7 days) provides a total of food needed for short term meal prep.

Math Example:
A 40 pound adult dog fed at 2.5% maintenance will require 16 ounces (453 grams) of food a day. Multiply 16 ounces by 7 days to determine the amount of food needed for one week.

16 x 7 = 112 ounces

Weekly feeding amount in ounces.

453 x 7 = 3171 grams

Weekly feeding amount in grams.

There are 16 ounces in one pound (1000 grams in one kilogram). Divide the total amount of ounces (or grams) to determine the amount of food needed for one week in pounds (or kilograms).

112 ÷ 16 = 7 pounds

Weekly feeding amount converted to pounds.

3171 ÷ 1000 = 3.171 kilograms

Weekly feeding amount converted to kilograms.

These are the final calculations to identify how much food is needed for one week (7 days) and can be used for further calculations.

Once the weekly estimates are complete, more accuracy can be achieved in the budget by tracking the costs of each ingredient used in the diet!

Calculate Monthly Budget

Once daily and weekly amounts are calculated, monthly totals and budget calculations can be completed. Identifying how much food is needed for one month (30 days) provides the total amount of food needed for long term meal prep and the option to calculate a monthly budget.

Math Example:
A 40 pound adult dog fed at 2.5% maintenance requires 16 ounces (453 grams) of food a day. Multiply 16 ounces (453 grams) by 30 days to determine the amount of food needed for one month.

16 x 30 = 480 ounces

Monthly feeding amount in ounces.

453 x 30 = 13590 grams

Monthly feeding amount in grams.

There are 16 ounces in one pound (1000 grams in one kilogram). Divide the total amount of ounces (or grams) to determine the amount of food needed for one month in pounds (or kilograms).

480 ÷ 16 = 30 pounds

Monthly feeding amount converted to pounds.

13590 ÷ 1000 = 13.59 kilograms

Monthly feeding amount converted to kilograms.

These are the final calculations to identify how much food is needed for one month (30 days) and can be used for further calculations. Once the monthly totals are calculated, an average cost per pound (or kilogram) can be used to determine a monthly estimate. For continental US citizens, $2.50/lb is a good price point to use. For other countries, $6/kg is a good price point to use, but this will vary based on currency conversions.

Math Example:
These are the final calculations to identify how much food is needed for one month (30 days) and can be used for further calculations. Once the monthly totals are calculated, an average cost per pound (or kilogram) can be used to determine a monthly estimate. For continental US citizens, $2.50/lb is a good price point to use. For other countries, $6/kg is a good price point to use but this will vary based on currency conversions.

30 x $2.50 = $75/month

Monthly budget based on $2.50/lb average.

13.59 x $6 = $81.54/month

Monthly budget based on $6/kg average.

The calculations and prices above are just examples and use an average cost per pound/kilogram. These costs will vary based on location, resource availability, and the amount of time spent sourcing products.

Raw Feeding Monthly Budget Calculator

CLOSING COMMENTS

While there are several variables that can play a part in how much it will cost to feed a raw diet, calculating an estimated budget can be easily achieved through organization, preparation, and a few simple calculations.

Identify Daily Feeding Amounts

The amount of food needed in one day serves as a foundation for the estimate calculations.

Determine Weekly Ingredients

The amount of ingredients needed in one week (7 days) helps provide guidance for weekly meal prep.

Calculate Monthly Estimate

Multiplying the daily feeding amounts by one month helps to provide a monthly raw feeding cost estimate.

Once the monthly budget is calculated for a pet’s raw diet, pet parents can continue to expand the ingredient variety in their pet’s diet by adding in new foods occasionally while still making sure they are not exceeding their budget.