Calibra

Calibra Life Junior Large Breed: Chicken review

Name: Calibra Life Junior Large Breed: Chicken
Brand: Calibra

70.5/100Excellent

DryPuppy

Flavour

Two large breed puppy recipes, chicken in our Excellent band and lamb just behind in Good. Calcium is printed on both bags, 1.54% of dry matter on the chicken and 1.43% on the lamb. While a frame this size is being built, that is the line that matters most.

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Our view

Likely to suit

Large breed puppies, the only size either recipe is written for
Owners who insist on seeing the calcium figure
Big pups with a lifetime of carrying weight ahead: glucosamine at 300 mg/kg and chondroitin sulphate at 200 mg/kg
Gut support spelled out, with three prebiotics dosed
Pups that need persuading into the bowl. Hydrolysed chicken liver at 2% does the palatability work

Worth watching

Poultry fat with no bird named
Chicken liver in the lamb bag, so it is not chicken free
Rice in both, with carbohydrate above the 39.0% typical for puppy dry food

Written by our editorial team. Independent guidance, not veterinary advice.

How this scores

How we score

70.5/100Excellent

Protein and processingGood

Nutritional balanceGood

TransparencyOutstanding

ValueExcellent

The details

Dog fit

Written for large breed puppies. The daily amount climbs then falls back as growth slows, so follow the chart on the bag and keep checking condition.

Food type

Dry

Life stage

Puppy

Breed size

Large

Main protein

Chicken

The score, in context

Chicken 70.5
Lamb 68.3

Two recipes across Excellent and Good. Typical dry food: Good.

The sourcing and the declaration are the strong parts, and the analysis is more ordinary once the rice is counted.

What's in it

Chicken protein45%Dried, so it stays close to its declared share in the kibble.
Rice22%
Poultry fat10%Preserved with tocopherols. No bird named.
Brewer's rice7%Broken grain from rice milling.
Hydrolysed poultry protein5%Species not given.
Dried apple pulp, yeasts4%Gentle fibre.
Hydrolysed chicken liver, salmon oil2% eachLiver for palatability, salmon oil for brain, eyes and coat.
Prebiotics: mannan-oligosaccharides, beta-glucans, fructo-oligosaccharides150, 120, 100 mg/kg
Glucosamine, chondroitine sulphate300 mg/kg, 200 mg/kgThe joint pair, dosed while the frame forms.
Rosemary and thyme, Mojave yucca, inactivated Lactobacillus acidophilus

Vitamin D3 at 1,750 IU governs calcium use, and the trace minerals are largely organic: zinc at 120 mg, iron at 90 mg, manganese at 40 mg per kilo.

Named ingredients

Chicken protein (45 %), rice (22 %), poultry fat (10 %, preserved with tocopherols), brewer´s rice (7 %), hydrolysed poultry protein (5 %), apple pulp dried (4 %), yeasts, hydrolysed chicken liver (2 %), salmon oil (2 %), prebiotics (mannan-oligosaccharides 150 mg/kg, β-glucans 120 mg/kg, fructo-oligosaccharides 100 mg/kg), glucosamine (300 mg/kg), dried rosemary & thyme (250 mg/kg), chondroitine sulphate (200 mg/kg), Mojave yucca (100 mg/kg), Lactobacillus acidophilus HA - 122 inactivated (15 × 109 cells/kg).

Against the range

Meat protein: 45% chicken protein; 40% lamb protein
Rice: 22% plus 7% brewer's rice; 30% plus 9%
Calcium, dry matter: 1.54%; 1.43%
Carbohydrate, dry matter: 41.7%; 43.0%

The more meat-forward bag, and the one to choose for a pup that does well on poultry.

Both bags lead on a concentrated, water-free meat protein, so the declared share and the share in the kibble stay close. Rice and brewer's rice carry the starch, poultry fat with no bird named supplies the energy, and salmon oil at 2% brings the marine omega 3. Hydrolysed chicken liver sits in both. The joint and prebiotic tail is identical and dosed in milligrams per kilo, and both declare calcium inside the large breed growth window.

Nutritional analysis

Declared analysis

Energy

387 kcal/100g

Protein

28%

Fat

16%

Fibre

2.8%

Ash

6.2%

Moisture

Dry weight

Protein

30.8%

Fat

17.6%

Fibre

3.1%

Ash

6.8%

Carbs

41.7%

As-fed composition

Estimated breakdown of the finished product by ingredient category, from the declared ingredient list and ingoing weights. These are estimates, not measurements.

Meat

52%

Carbs

29%

Veg

Oils

12%

Other

Pricing & size