The Price of Meat

I'm really not sure if it's just because I have to be much more careful with my money these days, or if it's from when the gas prices peaked, or if it's simply the poor economy. To me it would seem that the cost for most meats has really gone up. Rarely can anything as simple as a whole chicken be found for less than $7. I had been accustomed to paying around $3 or $4 for whole chicken. Chicken parts for family sized (with my family, there's really no point in getting anything smaller) are running close to $10. And just forget beef or pork! An average, small steak is going for $5 to $6, and I always need at least 2 mid-size or 4 small to feed my family. Even hamburger, I cannot afford to purchase the 5 lb rolls as I once did for around $6, because now they are closer to being $12. I can sometimes get the 3 lb rolls for around $6... on sale. Regular those are going for $8. Sausage now goes on sale for $2.50 rather than the $1 sale I was accustomed to seeing every now and then. So recently, I just haven't been able to afford to re-stock our freezer as I am generally accustomed to doing. Slowly it's begun to empty. There are still some of the not-so-easily used items, pork and chicken breasts mainly, for which I have been searching for a purpose.

With all this in mind, I have been trying to consider alternatives. Buying some meat poultry chicks this spring perhaps. A dozen or so chicks and a few turkeys should do well for providing meat in the future, but does not solve our immediate problem. So there is another avenue that I am considering... rabbits. I'm no stranger to butchering, and preparing the meat is no problem either. We have more than ample space for meat storage as well. However, procuring the live animals might not be so easy. So I am planning to carry a large cage with me to the next show. I will take about $20 with me as well. All in the hopes of winning as many large raffle rabbits as possible. These animals will be brought home and butchered the next day. I only hope that I win enough of them to make it worth the effort. I'll probably do the same for the next few shows I attend. It will be a twofold service, providing my family with meat, and assisting the club in removing unwanted raffle animals while providing them with some funds.