McAdams

McAdams Air Dried: Free Range Chicken review

Name: McAdams Air Dried: Free Range Chicken
Brand: McAdams

78.7/100Excellent

DryAdult

Flavour

Gently air dried and never extruded, and the labels show what that buys: a single meat at three quarters of the bowl or more. The trace elements are protein hydrolysate chelates and the joint package is dosed in print. All three sit in our Excellent band, with protein and processing reading Outstanding throughout.

Where to buy: coming soon

Live retailer links are coming soon. Once we have them from UK retailers, where to buy and the best price will appear here.

Our view

Likely to suit

Owners after food with no extrusion heat anywhere in its history
Older or stiffening dogs, as glucosamine, chondroitin sulphate and MSM come as standard
A dog meeting a new meat. Wild boar is the range's unusual option
Fussy eaters, since gentle drying keeps far more of the meat's own smell
Small dogs, with a 400g pack beside the 1.5kg one

Worth watching

Fermented whey on every recipe, so none is dairy free
Listed for adults only, so this is a range to come to once your dog is grown
Dense food: a portion looks smaller than a usual scoop and is best weighed

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

How this scores

How we score

78.7/100Excellent

Protein and processingOutstanding

Nutritional balanceExcellent

TransparencyOutstanding

ValueExcellent

The details

Dog fit

Listed for adults of every size. Weigh the first few portions, as air dried food is dense and easy to overpour.

Food type

Dry

Life stage

Adult

Breed size

Toy, Small, Medium, Large, Giant

Main protein

Chicken

The score, in context

Free Range Chicken 78.7
Free Range Turkey 77.7
Free Range Wild Boar 77.1

All three Excellent. Typical dry food: Good.

The three sit close together, so your dog's preference decides between them more than the ranking does.

What's in it

Free range chicken74.7%Air dried slowly, so the headline figure is a lot of actual animal.
Free range chicken liver6%Organ meat on its own line, bringing vitamin A, B12 and copper.
Sweet potato6%The only carbohydrate of any size.
Vegetable oil glycerine (rapeseed), mineralsKeeps the texture pliable, and the plant is named.
Fermented wheyThe single dairy entry.
Blueberries, chia seeds, flaxseed0.5% eachThe busiest tail of the three.
Dental seaweed (Ascophyllum nodosum)0.5%A kelp included for its reputation on plaque.
Chicory root, beet pulpThe fibre. Chicory's inulin feeds the gut bacteria you want.
Spinach, calcium carbonate, carrots0.25% spinach
Glucosamine, chondroitin sulphate, MSM2,000mg/kg, 2,000mg/kg, 1,000mg/kgThe joint package, dosed per kilo.

Vitamins A and D3, with iron, copper, zinc and manganese as protein hydrolysate chelates, plus iodine and selenium.

Named ingredients

Free Range Chicken (74.7%), Free Range Chicken Liver (6%), Sweet Potato (6%), Vegetable Oil Glycerine (Rapeseed), Minerals, Fermented Whey, Blueberries (0.5%), Chia Seeds (0.5%), Flaxseed (0.5%), Dental Seaweed (Ascophyllum Nodosum) (0.5%), Chicory Root, Beet Pulp, Spinach (0.25%), Calcium Carbonate, Carrots. Joint Care Package: Glucosamine 2,000mg/kg, Chondroitin Sulphate 2,000mg/kg, MSM 1,000mg/kg.

Against the range

Meat: Chicken 74.7%, chicken liver 6%; Turkey and liver on one; wild boar at 80% alone on the other.
Fat, dry matter: 28.6%; The leanest; the other two are 33.9% and 33.6%.
Energy: 358 kcal per 100g; Up to 407 on the boar.
Plant tail: Blueberries, chia, flaxseed, spinach; Kale and turmeric on the turkey; pumpkin and banana on the boar.

The gentlest of the three on fat, so the bowl runs a shade larger.

Each recipe keeps to one animal at three quarters of the bowl or more, and the two poultry recipes count 6% liver as its own line. Sweet potato at 6% is the only carbohydrate of any size, with beet pulp and chicory root doing the fibre work and rapeseed glycerine keeping the texture pliable. Fermented whey and dental seaweed appear on all three, and every label closes with glucosamine, chondroitin sulphate and MSM at printed doses.

What varies is the fruit and vegetable tail, each item declared down to a quarter of a percent, and the density. Moisture runs from 18.7% to 24.9%, and energy from 358 to 407 kcal per 100g.

Nutritional analysis

Declared analysis

Energy

358 kcal/100g

Protein

24.8%

Fat

21.5%

Fibre

1.8%

Ash

5.7%

Moisture

24.9%

Dry weight

Protein

33%

Fat

28.6%

Fibre

2.4%

Ash

7.6%

Carbs

28.4%

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

80.7%

Carbs

7.3%

Veg

2.3%

Oils

3.6%

Other

6.2%

Pricing & size