Best Chicken Free Dog Foods For your four-legged friend who has a poultry allergy?
It’s hard to escape chicken-based dog food as it appears to be the most popular protein source in many brands today.
For some dogs, this is unacceptable and a poultry-free alternative is needed. Although many brands make dog foods with different protein bases, they are not all created equal. Even some that looked great on paper failed our puppy’s sniff test.
We looked for a chicken-free dog food that is as healthy for our furry friends as it is tasty. After testing many of these dog foods with our dogs, we wrote these reviews to share what we learned.
I hope you have everything you need to make the right choice for your four-legged companion.
Top 10 Chicken-Free Dog Foods:
1. Whole Earth Farms Chicken Free Dog Food – Best Ever
Product Detail –
| Flavor | Pork, Beef, & Lamb |
| Top 5 Ingredients | Pork meal, Potato, Peas, beef, and lamb |
| Item Form | Pellet |
| Breed Recommendation | All Breed Sizes |
Reasons to suggest–
- This all-natural dog food from Whole Earth Farms is a healthy and delicious alternative to chicken-based dog foods. With multiple sources of protein in each formula, you can rest assured that your dog’s needs are adequately met.
- No artificial colors, artificial preservatives, corn, wheat, and soy, this dog food will provide your dog with the nutrition he needs to maintain the highest level of health.
- Packed with vitamins and minerals, it will help keep your dog’s coat shiny and beautiful, helping him to maintain strong bones and joints.
- While many dog food brands stick to a single source of protein in each formula, Whole Earth Farms has taken a different approach by including different types of protein in each to keep your dog’s diet varied.
- Our dogs loved the pork, beef, and lamb recipe, but there were other options to choose from. Completely grain-free and with the addition of vitamins and minerals, we liked the focus on our dog’s good health.
- In the end, this was our favorite chicken-free dog food and that’s why it earned our highest recommendation for the best chicken-free dog food.
2. Instinct Be Natural Dog food without chicken: (The best value for money )
Product Detail –
| Flavor | Beef |
| Top 5 Ingredients | Beef, Turkey meal , Barley, Oatmeal & Peas |
| Item Form | Pellet, Raw, Dry |
| Breed Recommendation | Large Breeds, All Breed Sizes, Small Breeds |
Reasons to suggest–
- Instincts Are Natural dry dog food is one of our favorites and our dogs enjoyed it even more than we did.
- We love its filler-free, all-natural formula with animal protein from responsible sources as the first and second ingredient.
- While not a grain-free dog food, it is made with natural fruits and vegetables to keep your furry friends healthy.
- In addition, it is the first kibble with a Crudo coating. This means that each piece is coated with Raw which is made from real meat and whole food ingredients, adding more protein to this food to help it achieve its high 24% crude protein composition.
- With several options available, you can vary your dog’s diet between salmon, lamb, and beef. Our dogs loved all three.
- Because it’s free from ingredients known to trigger food sensitivity but is packed with protein and natural ingredients, we think it’s the best chicken-free dog food for the money.
- Affordable and made with the finest ingredients sourced from around the world, we feel confident recommending it in our number two position.
3. Diets with Natural Balance Ingredients – Premium Choice
Product Detail –
| Flavor | Salmon & Sweet Potato |
| Main Ingredients | Salmon & Sweet potato |
| Item Form | Dry |
| Breed Recommendation | All Breed Size |
Reasons to suggest–
- Feeding your dog a low-ingredient diet can have many benefits and this Limited Ingredients Diets dog food from Natural Balance is an ideal choice.
- It is completely grain-free and uses no artificial flavors or colors. There are many protein sources to choose from, including fish, duck, bison, lamb, venison, and beef.
- With 20% protein, it will definitely meet your active dog’s needs. It is also rich in natural fiber to aid in healthy digestion.
- With such high-quality food for your dog, you can’t expect it to be cheap. Even though it comes with a rather high price tag, we don’t think it’s outrageous considering what it does for your dog.
- It contains healthy, natural ingredients and is also full of vitamins and minerals that help your dog live a long, healthy life while promoting a shiny coat and strong joints .
- Overall, we think it’s one of the best around, which is why it earned our pick for the premium pick of the best chicken-free dog foods.
- Our dogs loved the taste and we loved the nutritional benefits of this grain-free recipe.
4. Purina Pro Plan adult dog food
Product Detail –
| Flavor | Salmon & Rice |
| Main Ingredients | Salmon, Barley, Rice, Oatmeal & Canola meal |
| Item Form | Dry |
| Breed Recommendation | All Breed Size |
Reasons to suggest–
- Purina is a well-known name in dog food, but they are sold in big box stores which tends to make us wary. However, their ProPlan FOCUS dry food for adult dogs is several steps above their traditional formula.
- For starters, it’s a high protein formula with 26% of the total calories coming from protein.
- This is one of the tallest foods we have tested and we appreciate the benefits this brings to our dogs.
- You can choose salmon or lamb as your protein source and it will be listed as the first ingredient.
- Free of corn, wheat, and soy, this blend is great for dogs with sensitive stomachs. Despite what it lacks, it is rich in fiber, Omega-6 fatty acids, and zinc for a healthy coat and to improve your dog’s overall well-being.
- For dogs with skin problems, this food has not introduced any new problems. Indeed, it helped to reduce the severity of the conditions that existed in our case. However, we have discovered several bugs at the bottom of our bag, a problem that prevents this dog food from reaching our top three.
5. Blue Buffalo Basics Skin & Stomach Care
Product Detail –
| Flavor | Lamb & Potato |
| Main Ingredients | Lamb & Potato |
| Item Form | Dry |
| Breed Recommendation | All Breed Size |
Reasons to suggest–
- Unlike lower-quality dog foods that use cheaper substitutes instead of quality protein sources, Blue Buffalo Basics Skin & Stomach Care Dog Food lists its quality protein as its first ingredient.
- Instead of chicken, you can choose from lamb, turkey, duck, and salmon to offer your dog a varied and healthy diet. All are grain-free to support gentle digestion, making this dog food excellent for dogs with sensitive stomachs.
- The limited ingredient formula means this dog food is a great option for dogs with allergies, food sensitivities, or other health concerns.
- However, we were a little disappointed with the protein level, which is only 20%. While this is adequate, we prefer the higher protein formulas available on foods like Instinct Be Natural dog food in our second place.
- The Blue Buffalo was also priced premium and we didn’t think it offered the same value as competing brands for the same price.
6. Nature’s Recipe Mature Dry Dog Food, Lamb & Rice Recipe
Product Detail –
| Flavor | Lamb Meal & Rice |
| Main Ingredients | Real lamb |
| Item Form | Dry |
| Breed Recommendation | All Breed Size |
Reasons to suggest–
- Some of our favorite chicken-free dog foods list a high-quality protein source as their first ingredient.
- Nature’s Recipe lists lamb meal as the first ingredient. While this isn’t a headache, we prefer a higher quality protein like a boneless lamb. That said, Nature’s Recipe is one of the more affordable dog foods, likely due to the use of lamb meal, at least in part.
- There is no grain-free formula, but healthy, high-fiber vegetables such as oats, barley, and brown rice have been used.
- For the health of your dogs, this food has added vitamins, minerals, and nutrients for healthy digestion and optimal muscle strength.
- Unfortunately, some of the calories come from poultry fat, which is listed as one of the ingredients.
- Although it is lamb-based, the inclusion of poultry fat means Nature’s Recipe dog food may not be a good choice for dogs with allergies or sensitivities to chicken, which is one of the major flaws that have prevented this food. to reach a position higher on our list of the best chicken-free dog foods.
7. ACANA Grain Free Dry Dog Food
Product Detail –
| Flavor | Seafood |
| Main Ingredients | Fish |
| Item Form | Dry |
| Breed Recommendation | All Breed Size |
Reasons to suggest–
- ACANA is known for its premium dog food, but we feel this one missed the mark. Use real meat from premium protein sources such as freshwater fish, which provides your dog with a variety of protein sources in the same formula.
- Freshwater fish includes wild-caught rainbow trout, yellow perch, and blue catfish. There is also a red meat option that does not have chicken.
- We appreciate the quality and unique protein sources used for this dog food, but you will pay an absolute premium for it, as this is one of the most expensive we have tried.
- With a composition with 60% meat inclusions, we knew there would be a lot of protein, .
8. Merrick Grain Free Dry Dog Food
Product Detail –
| Flavor | Beef with Raw Bites |
| Main Ingredients | Deboned Beef, Lamb meal, salmon meal |
| Item Form | Pellet |
| Breed Recommendation | Small Breeds |
Reasons to suggest–
- We’ve enjoyed Merrick pet products in the past, so we had high hopes for their grain-free dry dog food.
- What we tried was real Texas beef and sweet potatoes, which looked great to us, but some of our dogs disagreed and didn’t eat it.
- Since it is grain-free, we thought it would be a great choice for our sensitive dogs. However, it ended up causing some skin allergies in some of our dogs!
- After a few days on this food, their skin seemed to dry out and flake off and they became very itchy. Going back to their previous food seemed to remedy the problem.
- Rich in Omega-3s and 6s, this food should be great for your dog’s coat, even if this hasn’t been our experience.
- It’s also very expensive and as we’ve gotten better results with some low-priced foods we’ve tried, we think the Merrick is overpriced for what it is and would recommend something like Whole Earth Farms Grain Free Dog Food in our first location instead. .
9. GENTLE GIANTS Natural dog food
Product Detail –
| Flavor | Beef |
| Main Ingredients | Real Beef & Bacon |
| Item Form | Dry |
| Specific Uses For Product | Nutrition, Bones, Digestion, Joints |
Reasons to suggest–
- Made by Burt Ward who played Robin the Boy Wonder in the Batman TV series, the GENTLE GIANTS natural dog food is a non-greasy formula that is meant to help your dog live a long, healthy life.
- It is advertised as a great smell, which we all agree is quite subjective.
- No Fillers, No Corn, No Wheat, No Soy, No BHA, No BHT, No Ethoxyquin, No By-Products, No Artificial Colors or Dyes, No Artificial Flavors, and No Artificial Preservatives.
10. Zignature goat dry dog food
Product Detail –
| Flavor | Kangaroo |
| Main Ingredients | Kangaroo |
| Item Form | Dry |
| Breed Recommendation | All Breed Sizes |
Reasons to suggest–
- Another premium-priced dog food, the Zignaturebrand name food is made with goat as a protein source.
- It makes sense that it’s so expensive with goat listed as the first ingredient. We love dog food formulas that prioritize quality protein, but the price of this one is pretty hard to top.
- Thanks to the limited ingredient formula, this food is an excellent choice for any dog with food allergies or sensitivities.
- None of our dogs had a problem digesting this food and it seemed to be easy on the stomach, even for those with digestive issues. That said, it caused very rancid breath, which we didn’t like.
- Between the breathtaking and the high price, we recommend that you choose a different brand that won’t detach you from your dog when he tries to give you love!
Buying Guide:
After reading our reviews and recommendations, you could easily go out and buy a bag of chicken-free dog food right away that will keep your dog happy and healthy. However, we think it’s a good idea to get a little more information first.
In this section, we will cover what we were looking for in dog food that made it better or worse in our eyes. After reading, you should be able to make an informed decision about which dog food will suit you and your fur-covered partner best.
What is the first ingredient?
When you look at the ingredient list of any dog food, they will be listed in the order in which they are present.
Therefore, the first ingredient is the most popular in the formula and the second ingredient listed will be found in the second-highest amount and so on. This way you can easily recognize the quality of the food and the protein source used.
If the first ingredient is something like a boneless lamb, you can rest assured that high-quality lamb meat has been used and that there should be sufficient quantities for your dog’s health.
On the other hand, if lamb meal is the first ingredient, you know that a lower quality protein source was used as lamb meal is a conglomerate of lamb parts and not just good meat.
Lower-quality foods often use byproducts of protein sources to increase the crude protein rating without significantly increasing production costs. We recommend that you stay away from dog foods that use animal by-products as they are only of lower quality and less healthy for your dog.
Diet with limited ingredients
Diets with limited ingredients have become popular recently, and with good reason. Some dog food brands contain so many ingredients that it can be difficult to pinpoint which might be the culprit when your dog experiences adverse reactions.
Dogs are susceptible to food allergies and sensitivities just like humans, and when that happens, you need to be able to figure out which ingredient is causing it. Foods with limited ingredients contain only a few ingredients, which makes it easier to spot food allergies, as well as avoid them altogether.
If your dog has known sensitivities or allergies, we recommend sticking to foods created for a limited ingredient diet.
Protein content
Dogs need high protein content in their food as they are carnivores. Getting sufficient amounts of protein will help your dog maintain a healthy, happy, and long life. For us, the minimum is 20% protein, although we prefer higher concentrations.
Many dog foods today offer protein levels of 25% or higher which is excellent, especially for more active dogs. We are always looking for the highest protein dog food and think it is definitely the best choice for our furry friends.
Added nutrients
Just like us humans, our dogs are prone to a myriad of health problems as they age. Also, just like us, these can be mitigated with proper nutrition.
High-quality dog foods will often fortify their formulas with important nutrients that will boost your dog’s health. Vitamins and minerals are often added, which can help keep your dog’s bones strong and is great for his overall well-being.
Additionally, joint supplements such as glucosamine are often included which can help prevent joint problems that many older dogs experience. Omega-3 and 6 fatty acids are also often incorporated into dog foods to help keep their coat shiny and luxurious.
Our final thoughts
Many dog foods are made without chicken, but for our canine companions, only the best will do. That’s why we’ve tested as many chicken-free dog foods as possible. You’ve read our top ten reviews, but before you make your decision, we want to quickly review our top tips so they’re fresh on your mind.
Our all-time favorite was Whole Earth Farms grain-free dog food. Each formula includes a large selection of high-quality protein sources, is completely natural, and is free of by-products, artificial colors, and artificial preservatives. Dogs loved the taste and we loved the health benefits.
For the best value for money, we think it’s hard to beat Instinct’s Be Natural dog food. Free of fillers, raw coated and with a 25% protein content, it’s a great choice for any dog and we think it’s worthy of our second choice recommendation.
In the third position, Natural Balance Limited Ingredients Diets dog food was grain-free, 20% protein, and contained limited ingredients for dogs with allergies or sensitivities.
Plus, they had a great selection to choose from. We’re sure you and your dog will love all three of these foods.
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Conclusion –
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