chicken gizzard

What it is

Chicken gizzards are the muscular stomachs birds use to grind food — dense, lean muscle tissue with connective texture, some natural taurine, and honest protein. They appear in wet foods and freeze-dried treats.

Why it's in pet food

Gizzards are economical named protein with a texture pets enjoy working on. Nothing glamorous, nothing hidden — a named organ doing quiet work.

How Bowlmark scores it

Scores are deterministic math over the printed label — the rules below apply to every product identically, and nothing estimates or fills in a blank.

Chicken gizzard is a named protein source to the engine — the word "chicken" is what it reads. When it is the first ingredient it earns the 15-point fresh named-protein bonus on the ingredient-quality pillar; in any other slot it earns nothing, because only named meals score in the second and third slots. No deduction applies — an organ sold under its own name is the transparent version of what "by-product" hides.

Read the full methodology

Foods that list chicken gizzard

Ranked by score where scores exist. Placement here is never sold.

• Stella & Chewy's Chewy's Chicken Freeze-Dried Raw Dinner Patties90
• Stella & Chewy's Yummy Lickin' Salmon & Chicken Freeze Dried Raw Dinner Morsels88
• Stella & Chewy's Raw Coated Cat Kibble Cage-Free Chicken Recipe78
• Stella & Chewy's Wild Red Raw Blend Wholesome Grains Prairie Recipe78
• Stella & Chewy's Wild Red Raw Coated Grain & Legume Free Prairie Recipe78
• Stella & Chewy's Wild Red Raw Coated Wholesome Grains Prairie Recipe78

Sources

• WSAVA Global Nutrition Committee — Selecting a pet food

Related ingredients

• beef lung
• beef spleen
• beef tripe
• chicken heart
• chicken liver
• duck liver

Further reading

• By-products and meals, without the panic
• Protein quality vs quantity — why the % is only half the story