Nature's Variety

Nature's Variety Selected Adult Mini: Free Range Chicken review

Name: Nature's Variety Selected Adult Mini: Free Range Chicken
Brand: Nature's Variety

61.5/100Good

DryAdult

Flavour

A grain-free kibble cut for small mouths, built the same way under three headline animals. The protein leans on a dried entry at 19% straight behind the fresh meat, which is why the finished figures hold up. All three sit in our Good band.

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Our view

Likely to suit

Small adults, with a feeding guide that starts at a 1kg dog
Cereal-free homes. Peas, potato and sweet potato supply the starch
Rotation feeding, since only the lead animal changes
Small appetites: the chicken and the salmon pack 401 kcal into 100 grams
A sensitive tummy, helped by the hydrolysed protein

Worth watching

Poultry, pork and fish hydrolysate in all three, so none is single species
Dried chicken protein at 19% in the turkey recipe
Poultry fat in the salmon, so it is not a fish-only bowl

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

How this scores

How we score

61.5/100Good

Protein and processingGood

Nutritional balanceGood

TransparencyOutstanding

ValueGood

The details

Dog fit

Listed for small-breed adults; the label asks 25 grams a day at 1kg and 80 grams at 5kg. Let the waistline set the portion.

Food type

Dry

Life stage

Adult

Breed size

Small

Main protein

Chicken

The score, in context

Turkey 64.6
Norwegian Salmon 62.2
Free Range Chicken 61.5

All three Good. Typical dry food: Good.

Strong meat positions earn the Good band across the board; the unnamed poultry fat and the three-animal hydrolysate keep it there.

What's in it

Deboned free range chicken meat20%
Dried chicken protein19%Carries much of the protein that reaches the bowl.
Dried peas, dried potato17%, 13%Most of the binding.
Poultry fat7%No bird named.
Hydrolysed animal proteins (poultry, pork, fish)4%Gentle on a touchy gut and good for flavour, but three animal groups in one entry.
Sweet potato, dried turkey protein4%, 3%A small second bird.
Beet pulp, pea starch, mineralsBeet pulp is behind a firm, tidy stool.
Dried carrot, dried apple0.5%, 0.3%Equal to 4% fresh carrot and 2% fresh apple.
Dried seaweed (kelp), dried rosemary0.01% eachKelp for iodine, rosemary guarding the fats.

Dosed in print as sulphates: zinc at 135 mg, iron at 86 mg and selenium at 0.11 mg per kilo, with vitamin E at 650 mg and vitamin C at 300 mg.

Named ingredients

Deboned Free Range Chicken meat* (20%), dried chicken protein (19%), dried peas* (17%), dried potato* (13%), poultry fat* (7%), hydrolysed animal proteins (poultry, pork, fish) (4%), sweet potato* (4%), dried turkey protein (3%), beet pulp*, pea starch*, minerals, dried carrot* (0.5% equivalent to 4% of fresh carrot), dried apple* (0.3% equivalent to 2% fresh apple), dried seaweed (kelp)* (0.01%), dried rosemary* (0.01%). *Natural ingredients

Against the range

Carbohydrate, dry matter: 38.0%; Highest; 34.8% to 35.3% on the others.
Energy: 401 kcal per 100g, declared; Same on the salmon; the turkey is 364.2.
Protein, dry matter: 31.5%; 34.8% on the turkey.

The most starch of the three, though still well under the typical dry food.

All three open with a named deboned meat at 20% and a dried protein at 19%. The dried entry carries much of the protein that reaches the bowl, since the oven takes the water out of fresh meat. Dried peas, dried potato and sweet potato do the binding, with no cereal anywhere.

Poultry fat and hydrolysed animal proteins (poultry, pork and fish) run through every recipe. Protein converts to 31.5% to 34.8% of dry matter and carbohydrate to 34.8% to 38.0%, under the 46.2% typical.

Nutritional analysis

Declared analysis

Energy

401 kcal/100g

Protein

29%

Fat

17%

Fibre

Ash

Dry weight

Protein

31.5%

Fat

18.5%

Fibre

3.3%

Ash

8.7%

Carbs

38%

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

46%

Carbs

44%

Veg

1.7%

Oils

Other

1.3%

Pricing & size