Most chicken producers, whether organic, all-natural or conventional, use animal fat or vegetable fats and oils as a significant ingredient in their feed in order to keep their feed costs down and increase the amount of fat in the animal. Certified Organic chicken producers can use vegetable oils and vegetable fats as a feed ingredient under the National Organic program. Most producers also give their birds less than or around 6 square inches of space per bird, even other organic producers.

People must have heard about the nasty conditions which broiler chickens - which are bred for their meat - are raised in? These chickens have no more floor space than a sheet of A4 paper. Chickens are over-fed to reach slaughter weight in six weeks, when it would normally take four months.

Yes. Chicken manure has lower levels of nutrients and is not usually as thoroughly decomposed so takes longer for the plants to be able to use the nutrients. Chicken manures often contain a high percentage of sawdust.

We chill our organic chicken using an immersion process, as do most chicken processors. Our difference is in how we cleanse our chicken, which we do by using ozonated water. Ozonated water is created by using Ozone (O?), a compound which occurs naturally in our atmosphere. When we use it as a cleansing agent, it is about 3400 times more efficient in killing bacteria than chlorine, which is the normal cleansing agent used for chicken.

The reasons why our organic chicken retains so much less water than other brands resides in what we don't do and don't have in our chicken. Our chicken has about half the fat of other chicken brands, which results in a much leaner product and higher muscle content. Fat acts as a sponge, and absorbs a lot more liquid than muscle. Fat takes up approximately 3 times the amount of space as the same weight of muscle. We also use a different cleansing process than most other chicken producers.

Chicken fat contains high amounts of the polyunsaturated fat, Arachidonic Acid (AA). AA is one of the essential fatty acids required by cats. Little or no AA is found in plant sources and must be derived from animal sources. Cats require AA but are not able to synthesize it on their own (vs. dogs that can synthesize AA when Linoleic acid is present in their diet). Cats must consume it from an outside source.

We can definitely accommodate your special requests - just give us some advance notice. There may be an additional cost with these types of orders

Chicken pox has a fancier medical name called varicella zoster. It is a virus which infects the body causing the typical illness. To understand why it is called "chicken pox" see "Why is it called Chicken Pox?".

Almost never. Except for children and adults who have immune system problems, getting chicken pox confers life-long immunity. Now, the minute I say never, someone will come up with a story about how he or one of his family got it twice. While this is a possibility, it is extremely rare. Most of the time, these stories turn out that the original chicken pox "infection" was a rash that was mistaken for chicken pox.

In the case of cat food, yes, we do believe in using an animal fat (see above). Previously most chicken fat was rendered using synthetic/artificial preservatives like BHA or BHT. Wellness would not use an ingredient that contained these chemicals. We are sourcing a chicken fat that is naturally preserved with Vitamin E. This chicken fat is low temperature processed and is a co-product of chicken broth for the food industry.

The National Organic Standards Board (NOSB) was formed ten years ago to advise USDA on uniform standards for the production of all organic products. The NOSB Livestock Committee has developed standards for organic poultry along with the California Organic Food Advisory Board and the Organic Trade Association. Third party certifiers verify that products labeled "organic" have met these strict standards.

It is important to keep the level of fat low for this diet because fat delivers the calories. We chose not to include chicken fat to maintain the calories to facilitate weight loss. Cats on our Healthy Weight diet are still getting a substantial supplement of Arachidonic Acid from the fresh chicken and chicken meal, but not at the same level as the other formulas. This is a win-win for overweight cats!

Organic food production is based on a system of farming that maintains and replenishes soil fertility without the use of toxic pesticides and fertilizers. Organic foods are minimally processed without artificial ingredients, preservatives, or irradiation to maintain the integrity of the food. Conventional agricultural methods can cause water contamination.

I find this question pretty interesting. Some people really think they are in one weight category when they are really in a very different one, be it more or less. A doctor is the best person to determine whether you have a weight problem. Doctors measure your weight and height and given your age and growth patterns, he would assess where you stand from that perspective. The next best way I know (for adults only) is to calculate your BMI, the body mass index.