Years

Years Puppy Complete Nutrition System: Chicken Thigh Vegetable Casserole review

Name: Years Puppy Complete Nutrition System: Chicken Thigh Vegetable Casserole
Brand: Years

84.5/100Outstanding

FreshPuppy

Flavour

Years' gently cooked trays pointed at growth, all three in our Outstanding band. The label habit is what marks them out: every ingredient carries a figure, down to powders at 0.01%. Organ meat does much of the heavy lifting, and liver is on every list.

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

Puppies headed for any adult size, toy through to giant
Owners who want to know exactly which cuts of which animal go in
Pups just off milk. A soft, moist tray asks very little of a young mouth
Households already on the adult range, with the same shape of label
Small or picky puppies, since gently cooked meat smells of itself

Worth watching

Calcium printed per kilo as fed, not as a share of dry matter; ask the maker for the dry-matter figure if your puppy will finish large or giant
Fridge space and a routine, easier to sort before the puppy arrives

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

How this scores

How we score

84.5/100Outstanding

Protein and processingOutstanding

Nutritional balanceOutstanding

TransparencyOutstanding

ValueOutstanding

The details

Dog fit

Listed for puppies of every size. Weigh your puppy every week or so and step the amount up against the tray's guide as the growth chart climbs.

Food type

Fresh

Life stage

Puppy

Breed size

Toy, Small, Medium, Large, Giant

Main protein

Chicken

The score, in context

Steak 84.8
Chicken Thigh Vegetable Casserole 84.5
Turkey Thigh Cranberry Fricassee 83.0

All three Outstanding. Typical fresh food: Outstanding.

The three sit so close together that a puppy's protein history, not a ranking, should make the choice.

What's in it

Fresh chicken leg: thigh, drumstick15%The muscle meat, split 60% thigh to 40% drumstick.
Fresh chicken gizzards, heart, liver15% eachOrgan meat at three times the muscle share. Liver is about as nutrient-dense as food gets.
Fresh sweet potato11%
Fresh red pepper9.5%
Fresh pre-soaked buckwheat7.2%Softened before cooking; no cereal in the tray.
Spinach, courgette, apple2.8% down to 1%
Rosemary-infused sunflower oil, hempseed oil2.17%, 0.2%Most of the added fat.
Nutritional yeast, vitamins and minerals1% each
Pre-soaked quinoa, taurine0.8%, 0.25%Quinoa holds every amino acid a dog needs.
Oregano, algae, alfalfa, nettle, chicory, kelp, chamomile, dandelion0.05% down to 0.01%Chicory's inulin feeds a young gut's bacteria.

A per-kilo panel with calcium at 4874mg and phosphorus at 2411mg, plus zinc, iodine and vitamin D3.

Calcium is printed as fed. For a large or giant puppy, ask Years for the dry-matter figure.

Named ingredients

Fresh Chicken Leg (15%) [Fresh Chicken thigh 60%, Fresh Chicken drumstick 40%], Fresh Chicken Gizzards (15%), Fresh Chicken Heart (15%), Fresh Chicken Liver (15%), Fresh Sweet Potato (11%), Fresh Red Pepper (9.5%), Fresh Pre-soaked Buckwheat (7.2%), Fresh Spinach Leaf (2.8%), Cold-Pressed Rosemary-infused Sunflower Oil (2.17%), Fresh Courgette (2%), Deactivated Nutritional Yeast (1%), Fresh Apple (1%), Vitamins & Minerals (1%), Fresh Pre-soaked Quinoa (0.8%), Taurine (0.25%), Cold-Pressed Organic Hempseed Oil (0.2%), Sun Dried Oregano (0.05%), Algae Powder (0.05%), Alfalfa powder (0.05%), Nettle Powder (0.04%), Chicory Root Powder (0.04%), Kelp Powder (0.03%), Chamomile Powder (0.02%), Dandelion Powder (0.01%).

Against the range

Protein, dry matter: 42.7%; Highest in the range; the turkey is 36.1%.
Carbohydrate, dry matter: 15.0%; Lowest of the three.
Energy: 140 kcal per 100g; Gentlest; the steak reaches 177.

The most protein-led tray here and the gentlest on energy.

Muscle and organ cuts come to 60% of every tray, listed cut by cut with a figure against each, and each tray keeps to one animal. Pre-soaked buckwheat and quinoa stand in for cereal, with sweet potato, parsnip and red pepper behind them.

Cold-pressed sunflower oil infused with rosemary supplies most of the fat, hempseed oil supports it, and taurine is added at 0.25% on every label. The mineral panel is the same across the three, printed per kilo as fed, with calcium at 4874mg. What varies is the animal, the organ mix and the energy.

Nutritional analysis

Declared analysis

Energy

140 kcal/100g

Protein

12.8%

Fat

9.7%

Fibre

0.5%

Ash

2.5%

Moisture

70%

Dry weight

Protein

42.7%

Fat

32.3%

Fibre

1.7%

Ash

8.3%

Carbs

15%

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

72.8%

Carbs

13.2%

Veg

4.2%

Oils

1.6%

Other

8.2%

Pricing & size

Price per kilo: £9.48 (RRP)
Pack: 280 g, 630 g, 770 g, 875 g, 980 g, 1155 g trays (single tray, or 1-4 of each); also sold as a "pack of 4", and to retail stockists as 8 × 320 g and 8 × 630 g
A 15kg dog eats: 330 to 420 g a day, 375 in the middle
Cost per day, 15kg dog: £3.56

Strong value for what is in the recipe.

Ingredients and nutrition are taken from manufacturer data. Retailer pricing is not yet live for this food.