Is chicken meal bad for dogs?

Chicken meal is on a lot of dog food bags. The word “meal” can sound cheap. Here is what it really is, and what the rules and research say.

What is chicken meal?

Chicken meal is chicken meat and skin that has been cooked, dried and ground. It may have some bone. It can’t have feathers, heads, feet or guts. The heat takes out most of the water and fat. What is left is mostly protein and minerals.

The rules for this come from AAFCO, a group of state feed officials that writes pet food ingredient names. Its name for the base ingredient is “poultry meal.” It is made from “clean flesh and skin,” with or without bone, the AAFCO page says. Heads, feet and guts are left out.

Cooking it this way is called rendering. It also kills germs before the meal is shipped to the food plant, AAFCO says. “Meal” just means it was ground into small bits.

Is chicken meal bad for dogs?

No rule or study says chicken meal is bad for dogs. It is a real, named meat. It is high in protein. The open question is quality. One lab study found it was harder to digest, or break down and use, than lightly cooked chicken. So “meal” is not a red flag, but it is not a gold star either.

In that study in the Journal of Animal Science, the team tested four kinds of chicken: raw, steamed, pressure cooked, and chicken meal. The test was done in roosters, a common lab stand in for pet food tests, not in dogs. The study was paid for by a company that sells fresh pet food, the paper says.

Chicken meal had the most protein of the four, the study found. But it was the hardest to digest. Steamed chicken did best. The authors said chicken meal “may not provide all” of the key protein parts a dog needs if a food has only the least protein allowed.

The same study said chicken foods can vary a lot. How they are cooked changes what is in them. It also said chicken meals can differ from each other. So two bags that both say “chicken meal” may not be the same.

A dog food is judged as a whole, not by one line. If your dog has a health issue, your vet is the best person to ask about protein.

Is chicken meal better than chicken?

Neither one simply wins. Fresh chicken is mostly water, so it weighs a lot going in. Chicken meal has had the water taken out, so it packs more protein in each pound. But the lab study above found lightly cooked chicken was easier to digest. Each one has a plus and a minus.

Raw chicken breast is about three quarters water, USDA data shows. That matters for how a label is read.

By law, the ingredient list goes from most to least by weight. Each part is weighed as it goes in, water and all, the FDA says. So wet chicken can land at the top of the list because of its water. Chicken meal is dry, so it may sit lower but still bring a lot of protein.

This is why the first word on the bag does not tell the whole story. The guide to reading a dog food label walks through the rest.

Is poultry meal the same as chicken meal?

Not quite. Both are made the same way. The difference is the name. Chicken meal must come from chicken. Poultry meal does not have to say which bird it came from. If you want to know the bird, the more exact name tells you more.

The AAFCO rule says that if a meal is named for a kind of animal, it must match that name. So “chicken meal” has to be chicken.

Poultry meal is also not the same as meal made from a by-product, the parts of an animal that are not the main meat. Poultry by-product meal can include necks, feet and guts, AAFCO says. Plain poultry meal leaves those out. The by-products guide explains more.

What should you look for on the label?

Look for a named meat, like “chicken meal,” over a vague one. Look at where it sits in the list, and keep in mind that water can push fresh meat up. Then check that the food says it is complete and balanced. That line tells you more than any one ingredient.

The complete and balanced guide explains what that line means. And if you are weighing fresh food against dry food, see fresh dog food vs kibble.

You can check any label’s ingredients with Altie.