Chicken By-Product

Poultry plants dress birds for the meat trade and set aside clean parts that are still usable for feed. Collected without rendering, those parts reach the kibble maker wet and need cooking.^5,6,7

1. 01 // Source Slaughtered chickens Dressing birds for the meat trade leaves usable chicken parts outside the cuts sold as meat.
2. 02 // Process Parts collected Heads, feet and viscera may enter the stream; the ingredient name gives no proportions.
3. 03 // Process Kept unrendered Unlike meal, these parts are not cooked to remove most water and fat before shipment.
4. 04 // Output Wet chicken input The ingredient enters pet food production wet, and the finished kibble receives a heat treatment.

1. 01

   Supplies animal protein

   Chicken parts contribute protein to the recipe. In a dog comparison, amino acids from diets containing fresh poultry were highly digestible at the small intestine.^1,3

2. 02

   Uses remaining parts

   Selling usable parts left by the meat trade gives poultry processors another outlet from the same bird and supplies pet food makers with an animal ingredient.⁷

3. 03

   Adds fat and minerals

   Raw viscera carried more fat in Feedipedia's samples, while heads and feet carried more ash and calcium. The undisclosed mix decides how much arrives.³

4. 04

   Adds wet weight

   Ingredients are listed by weight before cooking. Because raw chicken parts carry water, a high list position does not measure their share of the finished dry food.^3,5

How much A controlled dog study compared fresh poultry with by-product meal, but the opened sources give no typical chicken by-product percentage for commercial kibble.¹

1. Brands say

   Chicken by-product supplies digestible animal protein

   Evidence

   1. Strong
   2. Some
   3. Thin
   4. None

   A controlled dog study found amino acids highly digestible in diets containing fresh poultry. That supports usable protein, but its tested poultry inputs cannot predict the protein quality of an undisclosed commercial mix.^1,3

2. Brands say

   Fresh by-product digests better than rendered meal

   Outruns the evidence

   Evidence

   1. Strong
   2. Some
   3. Thin
   4. None

   In one controlled dog comparison, most amino acids were more digestible at the small intestine with fresh poultry than with poultry by-product meal. Total tract digestion was similar, so this does not prove a better finished food.¹

3. Owners say

   Chicken by-product triggers reactions in chicken-allergic dogs

   Evidence

   1. Strong
   2. Some
   3. Thin
   4. None

   A review found chicken reactions in 45 of 297 dogs with identified food reactions. Chicken by-product remains chicken tissue, so diagnosed chicken-allergic dogs should avoid it. Those counts do not describe the risk for all dogs.^2,6

4. Brands say

   Organ parts deliver special health benefits

   Outruns the evidence

   Evidence

   1. Strong
   2. Some
   3. Thin
   4. None

   Feedipedia reports protein, fat and minerals in separate raw chicken parts, with one sample per part. The dog study measured digestion, not a special health effect from organs, and the bag does not disclose its organ share.^1,3

5. Critics say

   Chicken by-product is just filler

   Outruns the evidence

   Evidence

   1. Strong
   2. Some
   3. Thin
   4. None

   Feedipedia's separate samples of viscera, heads and feet each contained about 53 to 57% crude protein on a dry basis. The mix is uncertain, but calling an ingredient that supplies protein and fat useless goes too far.³