McAdams

McAdams Small Breed: Free Range Chicken review

Name: McAdams Small Breed: Free Range Chicken
Brand: McAdams

55.5/100Good

DryAdult

Flavour

The brand's chicken recipe in a kibble a little mouth can manage, with a second bag that adds Scottish salmon. Named, sourced meat makes up half the recipe and every trace mineral has a printed figure. Both finish in our Good band, held back by a plant side that runs a little starchy.

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

Small breed adults. The kibble is scaled to a small jaw
Owners who want the meat named and sourced: British free range chicken on both bags
Grain free homes, with sweet potato, tapioca and lentils in place of cereal
One-dog homes. The 2kg and 5kg bags get finished while still fresh

Worth watching

Salmon oil in both, so neither is fish free
Chicken leads both bags. For a dog with a known chicken problem, the McAdams turkey recipes are the route

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

How this scores

How we score

55.5/100Good

Protein and processingAverage

Nutritional balancePoor

TransparencyOutstanding

ValueGood

The details

Dog fit

Listed for small breed adults; the bag's own table runs from 50 grams a day for a 3kg dog. Check whether your dog has any history with fish before picking the salmon bag.

Food type

Dry

Life stage

Adult

Breed size

Small

Main protein

Chicken

The score, in context

Free Range Chicken 56.1
Free Range Chicken 55.5

All two Good. Typical dry food: Good.

The salmon version edges the plain chicken bag by a whisker, so let your dog's palate choose between them.

What's in it

Whole British free range chicken50%Fresh meat gives most of its weight back as water during baking.
Sweet potato24.5%The main carbohydrate, bringing fibre with its starch.
Pea proteinThe entry to weigh. It lifts the protein figure but is nowhere near the equal of the meat.
TapiocaStarch and little more.
Chicken fat, yeast, pea fibre, chicken gravyGravy is the palatability play, and it works on a fussy eater.
Lentils, salmon oil, vegetable fibreSalmon oil means the bag is not fish free.
Prebiotics: FOS, MOS0.23% and 0.15%
Marigold, yucca extract
Seaweed, green lipped mussel, marigold, orange, camomile, carrots, cranberries and more0.03% down to 0.01%The flourish. Irish seaweed brings iodine and the mussel is the joint nod; the rest are too small to change how a dog feels.

Every trace element has a figure: zinc and iron at 48 mg per kilo, manganese at 34 mg, copper at 14 mg. Iodine follows at 0.96 mg and selenium at 0.29 mg, in the ordinary sulphate and selenite forms.

Named ingredients

Whole British Free Range Chicken (50%), Sweet Potato (24.5%), Pea Protein, Tapioca, Chicken Fat, Yeast, Pea Fibre, Chicken Gravy, Vitamins and Minerals, Lentils, Salmon Oil, Vegetable Fibre, Prebiotics (FOS (0.23%), MOS (0.15%)), Marigold, Yucca Extract, Hand Cut Irish Seaweed (0.03%), Dried Orange, New Zealand Green Lipped Mussel (0.01%), Camomile, Carrots (0.01%), Cranberries (0.01%), Rosemary, Spinach, Tomatoes, Lavender.

Against the range

Chicken: 50%; 40% in the salmon bag, plus 10% salmon.
Fibre, dry matter: 4.9%; 3.3% in the salmon bag.
Energy: 354.5 kcal per 100g; 372 in the salmon bag.
Calcium, dry matter: 1.3%; 1.2% in the salmon bag.

The leaner of the pair, and the bag to start on for a small dog that gains weight easily.

Both bags are built on whole British free range chicken, with sweet potato leading the plant side and tapioca, pea protein and lentils behind it. No cereal appears. Salmon oil, chicken gravy, yeast and a named prebiotic pair sit in both, and the same itemised mineral panel and tail of botanicals close each list.

What varies is the salmon: the second bag takes chicken down to 40% to fit in 10% Scottish salmon, which lifts protein and fat a little.

Nutritional analysis

Declared analysis

Energy

354.5 kcal/100g

Protein

20%

Fat

13.5%

Fibre

4.5%

Ash

8.5%

Moisture

Dry weight

Protein

21.7%

Fat

14.7%

Fibre

4.9%

Ash

9.2%

Carbs

49.5%

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

51.2%

Carbs

44%

Veg

0.2%

Oils

2.4%

Other

2.2%

Pricing & size