Skip to content
In The Kibble
My dogs

Ingredient file // Flavor

Turkey And Chicken Broth

Savory liquid with a little poultry protein

Turkey and chicken broth is liquid made by cooking poultry parts in water and removing the solids. In wet food it supplies moisture and savory flavor. How much protein it contributes depends on how concentrated the broth is.

Role in the food Does a job
What it is
A cooking liquid from turkey and chicken bones, parts or meat, with the solid pieces removed.
Made from
Turkey and chicken bones, parts or meat
Main job
Moisture and poultry flavor
Typical amount
Not published
Watch for
A diagnosed chicken or turkey allergy
Not the same as
Turkey or chicken meat

Straight answer

Is Turkey And Chicken Broth safe for dogs?

Read the meat lines beside the broth

Broth near the top of a wet food list carries weight partly through water. Look for turkey or chicken meat on its own line, then compare the finished food's protein and moisture guarantees. Treat the broth as a useful liquid and flavor ingredient, not a promise of extra meat or joint support.

Why it is in the food
Moisture and poultry flavor

Our read // In our catalog

In 1 of every 3,204 foods we track

Share of foods that list it

<1%

1 of the 3,204 foods with an ingredient list on file, from 1 brand. All wet dog food.

Each square is 1% of the catalog

Where it sits on the label

Median position 1. In the top five of 1 food, so it is usually a main ingredient.

Top five List position, heaviest first

Above the salt

100%

Almost always listed before the salt, so there is more of it than a pinch.

Who leans on it

100%

of the foods that list it are from Purina. 1 brand use it in total.

What it is

How it is made

Poultry processors have bones and parts remaining after meat preparation. Cooking them in water draws soluble proteins and flavor into the liquid. Suppliers offer broth as a liquid, concentrate or powder for pet food.4,8,9,10

  1. 01 // Source Poultry parts Turkey and chicken bones, parts or meat supply the material used to make the broth.
  2. 02 // Process Cooked in water Heat draws soluble material from the poultry into the surrounding water.
  3. 03 // Process Solids removed Bones and other solid pieces are separated from the cooking liquid; suppliers may also remove fat.
  4. 04 // Output Poultry broth The liquid enters a wet food recipe directly or after a concentrate or powder is mixed with water.

What is in it

Composition, dry matter

93

% protein

The calculated dry matter protein in one retail chicken bone broth. Its liquid form was still mostly water.

Crude protein 93%7
Collagen 62%7
Sodium 11,487 mg/kg7

These values come from one retail chicken bone broth containing carrots, converted from its reported as sold analysis. They illustrate concentrated broth solids; they are not measurements of a turkey and chicken blend.7

Why it is in the bag

Mostly there for water and savory flavor

  1. Main nutrition
  2. Supporting nutrient
  3. Does a job
  4. Mostly filler

Broth gives a wet recipe the liquid it needs plus poultry taste, so it is a working ingredient, not filler. Labels rank ingredients by weight, so when broth is listed high, much of that weight is likely water. It does carry some dissolved poultry protein, but in a rooster assay spray dried chicken broth had the lowest digestible amino acid scores of four chicken ingredients tested.1,5,9

  1. 01

    Supplies recipe moisture

    Wet food needs liquid for mixing and texture. Broth provides that water along with dissolved poultry material; the finished food's moisture guarantee describes the whole recipe.4,5,10

  2. 02

    Adds savory flavor

    Cooking transfers poultry flavor into water. Suppliers sell broth for this purpose, although the available dog comparison does not show it improving intake over plain water.9,10,11

  3. 03

    Uses poultry parts

    Bones and other poultry parts become a saleable liquid. Concentrates and shelf stable powders also give manufacturers transport and storage options.8,9,10

How much A supplier test fed dogs 0.8% poultry broth against 0.8% alternatives within a gravy, but what share of the finished wet food that gravy makes is not stated.11

Our read // The claims

What the evidence supports

Strong: controlled studies in dogs agree. Some: small or mixed dog data. Thin: mechanism or lab work only. None: nothing, or the evidence points the other way.

  1. Brands say

    Broth adds moisture to wet food

    Evidence

    1. Strong
    2. Some
    3. Thin
    4. None

    The feed standard allows liquid broth to carry up to 135 parts water per part crude protein. Adding it adds water; the finished food's moisture guarantee tells you how wet the complete recipe is.4,5

  2. Brands say

    Broth collagen protects a dog's joints

    Outruns the evidence

    Evidence

    1. Strong
    2. Some
    3. Thin
    4. None

    A controlled study in 31 dogs found better gait after a measured porcine collagen peptide supplement. It tested neither poultry broth nor the amount present in a wet food, so its result does not support a broth claim.2,7,9

  3. Brands say

    Broth protein is as good as meat

    Outruns the evidence

    Evidence

    1. Strong
    2. Some
    3. Thin
    4. None

    In a 16-rooster comparison of chicken ingredients, spray dried broth had the lowest amino acid quality scores. Roosters are a model for ingredient testing, not dogs eating wet food, but the result points away from equivalence.1

  4. Brands say

    Broth makes picky dogs eat more

    Outruns the evidence

    Evidence

    1. Strong
    2. Some
    3. Thin
    4. None

    In a supplier run split bowl test with 30 dogs, poultry broth gravy at 0.8% was less preferred than 0.8% tested alternatives. There was no plain water comparison, so the test provides no positive evidence that broth increases appetite.11

Straight answers

What owners ask

  1. Q01

    Is it just filler?

    No

    It supplies liquid, poultry flavor and some dissolved protein. Its main job is to provide part of the water a wet recipe needs. Judge the finished food by its guarantees rather than treating broth as meat.4,5,10

  2. Q02

    Does broth high on the list mean more meat?

    No

    Ingredients are ranked by weight, and liquid broth brings water into that ranking. The list gives no amount for each ingredient. Look for named turkey or chicken meat separately, then read the finished food's protein and moisture guarantees.4,5

  3. Q03

    Is this safe for a chicken allergy?

    Avoid it

    The broth contains chicken derived material. A review found chicken reactions in 45 of 297 dogs with proven food reactions. A dog with a diagnosed chicken allergy should skip this ingredient.3,4

Who uses it

Brands, best sellers and the company it keeps

Top brands, by foods that list it

  1. Purina 1 / 185

Foods that list it / all the brand's recipes we track.

Usually listed with, share of the foods that list it

  1. Turkey 100%
  2. Chicken 100%
  3. Liver 100%
  4. Tapioca 100%
  5. Spinach 100%
  6. Pasta 100%
  7. Wheat Flour 100%
  8. Egg Whites 100%
  9. Fish Oil 100%
  10. Vegetable Oil 100%
  11. Vitamins 100%
  12. Riboflavin 100%

On the shelf

Foods that list Turkey And Chicken Broth

1 food in our catalog lists it, highest on the label first.

Sources

What we read

Checked October 1, 2026.

  1. 1 Protein quality of chicken-based protein sources evaluated by precision-fed cecectomized rooster assay Journal of Animal Science, 2025 // Journal
  2. 2 The oral intake of specific Bioactive Collagen Peptides (BCP) improves gait and quality of life in canine osteoarthritis patients - A translational large animal model for a nutritional therapy option PLOS ONE, 2024 // Journal
  3. 3 Critically appraised topic on adverse food reactions of companion animals (2): common food allergen sources in dogs and cats BMC Veterinary Research, 2016 // Journal
  4. 4 Commercial Feed Laws and Regulations California Department of Food and Agriculture, 2025 // Government
  5. 5 Reading Labels AAFCO, n.d. // Regulator
  6. 6 Garlic and Onion (Allium spp) Toxicosis in Animals Merck Veterinary Manual, 2024 // Book
  7. 7 Hokuō® Chicken Bone Broth Hokuō, n.d. // Industry
  8. 8 Turkey broth powder IQI Petfood, n.d. // Industry
  9. 9 Chicken broth powder IQI Petfood, n.d. // Industry
  10. 10 Chicken Broth: Classic Taste & Trending Nutrition Nuvin Pet Nutrition, n.d. // Industry
  11. 11 Proof of Concept: Evaluate Use of Spray Dried Plasma (SDP) and Cravings in Gravy Recipes to Produce the Most Desirable Product APC, 2023 // Industry
An ingredient on its own tells you very little. What matters is how much of it there is and where it sits in the list. That is why we weigh the top five rather than reacting to any single name further down. Back to the wiki

Keep In The Know,
Know What's In The Bowl

The In the Kibble newsletter. Useful emails for dog owners: what we find inside dog food, how to feed well, and a heads-up when a food is recalled.
DOUBLE OPT-IN // ONE CLICK TO STOP // NEVER SHARED