Product May Have Been Discontinued

Unable to Locate Complete Label Info

On Company Website

Which Castor and Pollux Organix Butcher and Bushel Recipes Get
Our Best Ratings?

Castor and Pollux Organix Butcher and Bushel Dog Food receives the Advisor’s top rating of 5 stars.

The Castor and Pollux Organix Butcher and Bushel product line includes the 2 canned dog foods listed below.

Each recipe includes its AAFCO nutrient profile when available… Growth (puppy), Maintenance (adult), All Life Stages, Supplemental or Unspecified.

Recipe and Label Analysis

Castor and Pollux Organix Butcher and Bushel Carved Turkey Dinner was selected to represent both products in the line for this detailed recipe and nutrient analysis.

Label and nutrient data below are calculated using dry matter basis.

---

Ingredient Analysis

The first ingredient in this dog food is turkey. Turkey is considered “the clean combination of flesh and skin… derived from the parts or whole carcasses of turkey”.¹

Turkey is naturally rich in the ten essential amino acids required by a dog to sustain life.

The second ingredient is chicken broth. Broths are of only modest nutritional value. Yet because they add both flavor and moisture to a dog food, they are a common addition component in many canned products.

The third ingredient is water, which adds nothing but moisture to this food. Water is a routine finding in most wet dog foods.

The fourth ingredient is chicken. Chicken is considered “the clean combination of flesh and skin… derived from the parts or whole carcasses of chicken”.²

Chicken is naturally rich in the ten essential amino acids required by a dog to sustain life.

The next ingredient includes chicken liver, an organ meat sourced from a named animal and thus considered a beneficial component.

The sixth item is pea protein, what remains of a pea after removing the starchy part of the vegetable.

Even though it contains over 80% protein, this ingredient would be expected to have a lower biological value than meat.

And less costly plant-based products like this can notably boost the total protein reported on the label — a factor that must be considered when judging the meat content of this dog food.

The seventh ingredient lists carrots, which are rich in beta-carotene, minerals and dietary fiber.

The eighth ingredient is sweet potato. Sweet potatoes are a gluten-free source of complex carbohydrates in dog food. They are naturally rich in dietary fiber and beta carotene.

The ninth ingredient is dried egg product, a dehydrated form of shell-free eggs. Quality can vary significantly. Lower grade egg product can even come from commercial hatcheries — from eggs that have failed to hatch.

In any case, eggs are easy to digest and have an exceptionally high biological value.

From here, the list goes on to include a number of other items.

But to be realistic, ingredients located this far down the list (other than nutritional supplements) are not likely to affect the overall rating of this Castor and Pollux product.

With 5 notable exceptions…

First, we find coconut flour, a powder derived from dried, defatted coconut meat. This cereal grain replacement is high in fiber and low in digestible carbohydrates. In addition, coconut flour also contains about 18% protein, a factor that must be considered when judging the actual meat content of this dog food.

Next, flaxseed is one of the best plant sources of healthy omega-3 fatty acids. Provided they’ve first been ground into a meal, flax seeds are also rich in soluble fiber.

However, flaxseed contains about 19% protein, a factor that must be considered when judging the actual meat content of this dog food.

In addition, although alfalfa meal is high in plant protein (about 18%) and fiber (25%), it can be less common to find it in a dog food recipe.

Next, this recipe includes sodium selenite, a controversial form of the mineral selenium. Sodium selenite appears to be nutritionally inferior to the more natural source of selenium found in selenium yeast.

And lastly, this food contains chelated minerals, minerals that have been chemically attached to protein. This makes them easier to absorb. Chelated minerals are usually found in better dog foods.

Nutrient Analysis

Since this recipe contains a number of organic ingredients, we feel compelled to grant this line a more favorable status as we consider its final rating.

That’s because organic ingredients must comply with notably more stringent government standards — standards which significantly restrict the use of any synthetic pesticides, herbicides, insecticides, hormones or antibiotics.

With that in mind…

Based on its ingredients alone, Castor and Pollux Organix Butcher and Bushel looks like an superior canned dog food.

The dashboard displays a dry matter protein reading of 42%, a fat level of 21% and estimated carbohydrates of about 29%.

As a group, the brand features an average protein content of 42% and a mean fat level of 21%. Together, these figures suggest a carbohydrate content of 29% for the overall product line.

And a fat-to-protein ratio of about 50%.

Which means that this Castor and Pollux product line contains…

Above-average protein. Below-average fat. And near-average carbs when compared to a typical wet dog food.

Even when you consider the protein-boosting effect of the pea protein, coconut flour, flaxseed and alfalfa, this looks like the profile of a canned dog food containing a notable amount of meat.

Our Rating of Castor and Pollux Organix Butcher and Bushel Dog Food

Castor and Pollux Organix Butcher and Bushel is a grain-free moisture-rich dog food that utilizes a notable amount of named meats as its dominant source of animal protein, thus earning the brand 5 stars.

Enthusiastically recommended.

---

---

Castor and Pollux Organix Dog Food Recall History

The following automated list (if present) includes all dog food recalls related to Castor and Pollux through November.

No recalls noted.

You can view a complete list of all dog food recalls since 2009 here.

Get Free Recall Alerts

Get free dog food recall alerts sent to you by email. Subscribe to The Advisor’s recall notification list.

More Castor and Pollux Brand Reviews

The following Castor and Pollux dog food reviews are also posted on this website:

• Castor and Pollux Organix Grain-Free Dog Food Review (Dry)