Calibra

Calibra Verve Adult Small Breed: Chicken & Duck review

Name: Calibra Verve Adult Small Breed: Chicken & Duck
Brand: Calibra

70.3/100Excellent

DryAdult

Flavour

The Verve formula shrunk for little mouths, in chicken and duck or salmon and herring, and both reach our Excellent band. Each is built meat led on one fresh meat and one dried concentrate. There is no grain in either.

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Our view

Likely to suit

Toy and small breed adults, with kibble size and amounts scaled to them
A choice of animal: a poultry version and a fish version on one pattern
Dogs fed grain free. Potatoes and pumpkin carry the starch
Fussy small eaters, helped by hydrolysed flavour ingredients

Worth watching

Salmon oil and chicken liver in both, so neither is fish free or fully chicken free
No added glucosamine or chondroitin, unlike the bigger Verve recipes

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

How this scores

How we score

70.3/100Excellent

Protein and processingGood

Nutritional balanceGood

TransparencyOutstanding

ValueExcellent

The details

Dog fit

Listed for small breed adults. If your dog needs joint support, plan for a separate supplement before ordering.

Food type

Dry

Life stage

Adult

Breed size

Small

Main protein

Chicken

The score, in context

Salmon 70.7
Chicken 70.3

All two Excellent. Typical dry food: Good.

The two all but tie, so the choice is poultry or fish, with the fish version a whisker ahead.

What's in it

Fresh deboned chicken30%
Duck protein26%Dried, so it keeps its weight through cooking.
Potatoes12%The main starch.
Poultry fatNo species named.
Hydrolysed poultry protein6%
Pumpkin, peas, dried apple pulp4%, 4%, 2%
Yeasts, hydrolysed chicken liverliver 2%Liver for flavour.
Salmon oil2%So not fish free.
Rosehips, pineapple, chicory root0.2% down to 0.1%
Prebiotics, Mojave yuccaMOS at 150 mg/kg, beta-glucans 120, FOS 100.

Organic chelated zinc, iron, manganese, copper and selenium with a full vitamin suite, and the prebiotics carry printed doses.

Named ingredients

Fresh deboned chicken (30 %), duck protein (26 %), potatoes (12 %), poultry fat, hydrolysed poultry protein (6 %), pumpkin (4 %), peas (4 %), apple pulp dried (2 %), yeasts, hydrolysed chicken liver (2 %), salmon oil (2 %), rosehips dried (0.2 %), pineapple dried (0.1 %), chicory root powder (0.1 %), prebiotics (mannan-oligosaccharides 150 mg/kg, β-glucans 120 mg/kg, fructo-oligosaccharides 100 mg/kg), Mojave yucca (100 mg/kg).

Against the range

Meat: Chicken 30%, duck protein 26%; Herring protein 32%, salmon 30%.
Protein, as fed: 30.0%; 28% on the fish version.
Carbohydrate, dry matter: 36.1%, estimated; 39.4% on the fish version.
Calcium, dry matter: 1.89%; 1.33% on the fish version.

A perfectly sound everyday food for a poultry devotee, with the higher protein of the pair.

Both versions pair a fresh meat at 30% with a dried concentrate from a second animal, over potatoes at 12%, pumpkin, peas and apple pulp, with no grain. Salmon oil, hydrolysed chicken liver and an unnamed poultry fat are on both labels. Carbohydrate is estimated at 36.1% and 39.4% of dry matter, under the 46.2% typical of adult dry food.

Nutritional analysis

Declared analysis

Energy

373 kcal/100g

Protein

30%

Fat

16%

Fibre

3.5%

Ash

Moisture

10%

Dry weight

Protein

33.3%

Fat

17.8%

Fibre

3.9%

Ash

8.9%

Carbs

36.1%

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

64%

Carbs

16%

Veg

6.3%

Oils

6.9%

Other

6.8%

Pricing & size