Natural Balance Chicken & Barley Recipe

Part of the Natural Balance Original Ultra line. On a dry-matter basis this recipe is 26.7% protein and 15.6% fat, at 3,590 kcal per kilogram (380 kcal per cup). Its adequacy statement says the recipe is formulated to meet an AAFCO nutrient profile.

Label nutrition data

First ingredients

Ingredients are listed by weight before cooking, so the first few describe most of what the recipe is made of — and nothing about the quality of any of them.

Chicken · Chicken Meal · Pearled Barley · Peas · Oat Groats · Chicken Fat (Preserved with Mixed Tocopherols) · Dried Plain Beet Pulp · Natural Flavor · Brown Rice · Dicalcium Phosphate · Flaxseed · Dried Vegetable Broth

First 12 of the published list, in the manufacturer's order. The full list is on Natural Balance's product page ↗ .

AAFCO statement

“Natural Balance Original Ultra Chicken & Barley Recipe dog food is formulated to meet the nutritional levels established by the AAFCO Dog Food Nutrient Profiles for All Life Stages including growth of large size dogs (70 lb. or more as an adult).”

Quoted verbatim from Natural Balance's published label data, and not scored.

The two wordings are different claims. Formulated to meet means the recipe was matched to an AAFCO nutrient profile on paper. Animal feeding tests using AAFCO procedures substantiate means the finished food was fed to dogs under a defined protocol — a minimum of eight dogs over twenty-six weeks. Both are legal standards of adequacy; only one involved dogs, and neither is a statement about ingredient quality. We quote whichever appears verbatim, and weight it in the score above: 20 points for a feeding trial, 12 for a formulation claim.

Try it with your dog's numbers

The feeding calculator turns this food's published calorie density into a daily portion for a given weight. The cost tool converts whatever you actually pay into a cost per 1,000 kcal, which is the only way to compare a subscription box against a bag.

Similar foods across every brand

Same format, nearest protein on a dry-matter basis. One food per brand, and this recipe's own brand is held back so the comparison actually crosses a brand line.

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The label, charted

Everything above, as one square you can save or send. It is generated from this page's own figures, so it cannot drift from them, and it is ours to publish — no manufacturer supplied it and none can withdraw it.

Manufacturers reformulate without announcing it, and a website can lag a bag by months. The panel on the pack in your hand outranks this page; where the two disagree, the pack is right and we want to know.

Source naturalbalanceinc.com ↗ · Captured 2026-07-25 · Methodology