How to balance a BARF diet — step by step.

Balancing a BARF diet is more than the ratio of meat, bone and organs. For a healthy adult dog or cat, you can start from an empty diet, add your own products and analyse 68 parameters. The result recalculates live, while available values from the implemented NRC, FEDIAF and AAFCO reference sets stay separate.

Balance a diet in the calculator
  • 68parameters in the diet analysis
  • S–Fdiet grade (BARFLAB Score)
  • 3implemented reference sets: NRC, FEDIAF, AAFCO
  • MR·RA·SULvalues available for a parameter and set

Step 1: estimate the portion and enter real ingredient amounts

Start with a daily portion estimated from the energy requirement. Some raw-feeding and PMR communities use 80/10/10 (muscle meat / bone-containing ingredients / organs, with liver making up half the organ share) as an informal convention, and variants exist. It is not an NRC, FEDIAF or AAFCO requirement, a safety assessment or proof of energy need or nutritional adequacy.

  • 80% muscle meat
  • 10% bone-containing ingredients
  • 10% organs (of which 5% liver)

Portion detail for a dog is in the BARF calculator for dogs; for a cat, in the cat calculator.

Step 2: review recipe-dependent parameters

Percentages do not account for the nutritional values of the selected products. Recipe-dependent checkpoints include:

  • the Ca:P ratio in the selected healthy-adult reference context
  • iodine, vitamins D and E, and manganese results and product contributions
  • omega-3 (EPA/DHA) from products with declared EPA and DHA values
  • taurine in the healthy-adult feline reference context
  • supplements assessed from the whole-recipe result and declared composition

For a cooked diet, also account for the preparation method and changes estimated from available retention and yield factors.

Step 3: calculate, assess and adjust instead of guessing

BARFLAB analyses 68 parameters. Those covered by an implemented reference set labelled NRC 2006, FEDIAF 2021 or AAFCO 2023 can be compared with the available MR, RA and/or SUL values in the standards view. Product contributions explain the result, and every amount change recalculates it live.

A balanced-BARF checklist

  • a portion derived from the energy requirement
  • real ingredient weights and their product contributions
  • Ca:P in the range relevant to the profile and reference source
  • iodine, vitamins D and E, manganese, selenium
  • omega-3 (EPA/DHA)
  • taurine in cats and the effect of supplements on the whole analysis

Is the informal 80/10/10 convention enough for a balanced diet?

It is an informal raw-feeding and PMR convention, not an NRC, FEDIAF or AAFCO requirement or proof of energy need or balance. Variants exist, and the same ratios can supply different values because the products differ. Assess the whole recipe.

Where do I start balancing a BARF diet?

Start with a portion estimated from the energy requirement and a rough recipe structure. Then analyse the actual products, including iodine, vitamins D and E, omega-3, Ca:P and taurine for cats.

How do I assess the whole diet?

Assess the whole recipe, the healthy-adult animal profile and the analysis results. BARFLAB analyses 68 parameters and shows available MR, RA and/or SUL values for parameters covered by an implemented reference set. Not every parameter has every threshold, and a missing value is not zero.

Do I need a nutritionist to balance BARF?

BARFLAB supports healthy adult profiles and helps compute and organise diet data. Puppies, kittens, pregnancy, illness and therapeutic diets are outside the current scope and require individual assessment by a vet or animal nutritionist.

Bibliography

The full list of scientific sources, nutritional standards and composition databases behind BARFLAB's calculations, limits and content.

Bibliography →