Poultry By-Product Meal

Poultry slaughter and cutting leave parts outside the main meat cuts. Renderers cook this stream, remove much of its water and fat, then grind the solids so pet food plants can store and use them.^3,4,5

1. 01 // Source Poultry parts Clean parts from slaughtered birds may include necks, organs and feet; feathers are excluded apart from unavoidable traces.
2. 02 // Process Rendered Heat cooks the collected parts and reduces the bacteria present in the raw material.
3. 03 // Process Water and fat removed Cooking and pressing remove much of the water and fat, leaving protein and minerals concentrated in the solids.
4. 04 // Output Ground meal The cooked solids are ground into a dry ingredient that a kibble plant can weigh into a recipe.

1. 01

   Adds animal protein

   Removing water and some fat concentrates the protein. Dogs digested most of the protein in the tested meals, though the measured values differed between samples.^1,4

2. 02

   Supplies fat and minerals

   Rendering leaves some fat and mineral-rich material in the meal. The amounts depend on the incoming parts and how much fat the renderer takes out.^3,4

3. 03

   Uses a large slaughter stream

   Feedipedia estimated about 17 million tons of broiler offal worldwide in 2009. Rendering turns part of that stream into an ingredient pet food plants can store.^3,5

How much One dog digestibility study tested diets with 30% by-product meal as fed; that was a test amount, not a published typical recipe.¹

1. Brands say

   It gives dogs usable animal protein

   Evidence

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

   In a controlled dog study, protein digestibility across 8 poultry by-product meals ranged from 80.4 to 89.1%. That supports its job as a protein ingredient, while the spread shows why no bag guarantees a particular batch's digestibility.¹

2. Brands say

   It makes dogs' stools firmer

   Outruns the evidence

   Evidence

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

   The full text of a review reports higher fecal dry matter in 4 of 7 studies that measured it. Diets and methods differed, and the review's abstract describes the direction differently. Firmer stools are not a dependable promise.²

3. Critics say

   It is worse protein than poultry meal

   Outruns the evidence

   Evidence

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

   No cited study compared matched by-product and poultry meals in dogs. The 8 tested by-product meals digested at 80.4 to 89.1%, and AAFCO's definitions describe permitted parts without ranking protein quality.^1,4

4. Owners say

   It is mostly feathers

   Outruns the evidence

   Evidence

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

   AAFCO excludes feathers apart from traces unavoidable during processing. Feet are permitted, but the ingredient name gives no proportions for any permitted part. The label therefore supports neither a feather claim nor a claim about a particular batch's mix.⁴