Pet owners that feed a Raw food diet...

[TheGrey]

...what kind of meat grinder do you use?

I'm looking to switch my cats over to a raw food diet, and need a meat grinder that will handle bones up to the size of a chicken thigh bone, but will also handle a second grind, and has a 4 mm fine plate.

Anyone have any suggestions? Thanks in advance!

[Fentonite]

I believe I have Cabela’s Carnivore 0.75hp
https://www.cabelas.com/product/home...5.uts?slotId=0
I’ll have to check if that’s the exact model, and which grind plate we use. It handles chicken thighs like butter. I think we’re about due to re-stock the freezer, I can send you some video when we do.

ETA: yes, that’s the one we have. I’ve only used the 10mm plate (mostly do it for the dogs), but the cat is able to gobble down the grind just fine too.

[Great-Kazoo]

Check out the LEM series. People say this is good for smaller bones. But they offer larger ones. I'm going to a 1/2 (.5hp) unit next, if not larger.

https://www.amazon.com/LEM-Products-...f1526b248ec17d


Or these

https://store.butchersupply.net/pro-...110v-p314.aspx

This one is for reference to see their other products

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B005F55EUQ..._PJY7AbNYNS136

[TheGrey]

Thanks, guys!

Fentonite, I'd normally go with the medium grind, but I have two cats that tend to scarf-n-barf, and I would hate for them to have gum or mouth damage from bones. I understand a 4.0-4.5 mm grind is good for avoiding that. And yes, I'd love to see a video. Is the Cabela's grinder loud? Do you know if it handles frozen carcasses?

There's so much about grinders that I don't know.

[encorehunter]

I have a 1hp cabelas grinder that handles frozen meats without a problem. I have accidently ground small bones before, and it didn't flinch.

[Fentonite]

We’ll be doing a grind this week, I’ll send you a video. It doesn’t seem particularly loud, but it’s not quiet. You don’t need hearing protection, but you won’t accidentally leave it on, either. I haven’t tried really hard-frozen stuff, usually partially thawed but still a little crunchy. I’ll test it this week. (I think almost all grinders I looked at recommend not grinding bones, but all the reviews show that most of the bigger ones grind raw chicken bones with no problem.)

[Fentonite]

We ground 160lbs of dog food today. 120lbs chicken, the remainder beef, elk, venison, organ meats and veggie mix. We’ve been getting more streamlined every time we grind, and today we were done in 1.5 hrs, including breakdown and cleanup. (Our first grind was only about 80 lbs and took us over 4 hours.). Deep freeze is full!

Thanks to those who recommended Shamrock! We paid 67.5?/lb for leg/thigh quarters, way better than we’ve found before.