Natural Balance Original Ultra Grain-Free Chicken Formula Dry Dog Food
The first five ingredients are Chicken, Peas, Chicken Meal, Lentils, Chicken Fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols). 3 of them are a named animal protein. We put the starch at 41.1%, above the 38.51% average across the foods we hold.
Reasonable protein and a fairly typical starch load. Comfortably mid-range for a dry food.
How we got to 64
Five things, one hundred points, and the reason for every one. We would rather show our working than ask you to trust a number.
26-32% dm reads typical mainstream.
Estimated, 6% ash assumed.
Count of named animal proteins.
Matched against the flag list.
Manufacturer, not recipe.
The numbers, without the water
Percentages on a bag include the water in the food, so a wet food always looks lower than a dry one. Taking the water out puts any two foods on the same footing. This one is 90% dry matter.
That is 2.6 points above average, so proportionally more of the bag is starch.
Everything on the label
Printed exactly as the manufacturer lists it, heaviest ingredient first. A dog food needs very little salt, so the 18 ingredients listed after salt are present in even smaller amounts. That is the salt divider, and it is why we only weigh the top of the list.
Chicken, Peas, Chicken Meal, Lentils, Chicken Fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols), Sweet Potatoes, Flaxseed, Pea Starch, Natural Flavor, Dried Egg, Menhaden Fish Oil (preserved with mixed tocopherols), Dried Tomato Pomace, Salt*The Salt Divider. Ingredients are listed heaviest first, and a dog food needs very little salt, so everything after this point is present in an even smaller amount., Potassium Chloride, Dicalcium Phosphate, Taurine, DL-Methionine, Dried Apple, Dried Cranberries, Dried Spinach, Dried Pumpkin, Dried Carrots, Minerals (Zinc Proteinate, Zinc Sulfate, Ferrous Sulfate, Iron Proteinate, Copper Sulfate, Copper Proteinate, Manganese Sulfate, Manganese Proteinate, Calcium Iodate, Sodium Selenite), Choline Chloride, Vitamins (Vitamin E Supplement, Niacin Supplement, d Calcium Pantothenate, Vitamin A Supplement, Riboflavin Supplement, Thiamine Mononitrate, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Folic Acid, Biotin, Vitamin B12 Supplement), L-Ascorbyl-2-Polyphosphate (source of Vitamin C), Lactic Acid, Citric Acid (used as a preservative), L-Carnitine, Yucca Schidigera Extract, Rosemary Extract
What those first ingredients actually are
The top of the list is most of the food by weight, so it is worth knowing what each one is. Green marks a named animal protein.
Chicken
The clean flesh of the chicken, with or without skin, used fresh. Roughly 70% of its weight is water, most of which is driven off during…
Peas
The seed of the pea plant, used whole, split or dried as a carbohydrate and plant protein source.
Chicken Meal
Chicken that has been cooked, dried and ground into a concentrated meal, with most of the water and fat removed.
Lentils
The dried edible seed of the lentil plant, used in grain-free recipes as a carbohydrate and plant protein source.
How much of this to feed
A starting point, worked out from the resting energy formula vets use and this food's own calorie density. Every dog is different, so watch their weight and adjust. Your vet's advice beats a calculator.
How it compares
Same figures, same method, put next to another recipe from Natural Balance and the archive average.
| Metric | This recipe | Natural Balance L.I.D. Limited Ingredient… | Archive average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Open Score | 64 | 59 | -- |
| Protein, water out | 30.0% | 26.7% | -- |
| Starch, water out | 41.1% | 48.3% | 38.51% |
| Named in first five | 3 of 5 | 2 of 5 | -- |
Recall history
Recalls are matched to the manufacturer, not this exact recipe. A recall on a different product still tells you something about the plant it came from.
We have not matched any FDA recall to Natural Balance. We check the feed daily and this page updates when that changes.
Other flavors
More from Natural Balance, scored the same way.