We all know that chocolate is awful for certain animals, right? If you gave your dog even the smallest amount of chocolate, it could cause some serious issues. This means death in some smaller breeds, serious illness in larger ones. So, what about chickens? Do chickens fare a little bit better if you gave them a little bit of chocolate? Can chickens eat chocolate or Is It bad and toxic for them?
Let’s take a little look.
Can Chickens Eat Chocolate?
Absolutely not! Chickens should not eat chocolate, in the same way that it is going to be poisonous to most other animals the chocolate is bad for chickens.
We know that there are some people who have handed a small amount of chocolate to their chicken every so often and their chickens have been fine. However, honestly, we wouldn’t risk giving your chickens chocolate.
We have heard some horror stories about what it can do to their system. We are willing to bet that more people have given their chickens chocolate and ended up having dead chickens. It just isn’t worth it. Not when there is just so much else out there that you will be able to feed a chicken to keep them nice and content.
Is Chocolate Toxic to Chickens?
Yes, the chocolate is toxic to chickens. There are two compounds in chocolate which are toxic to chickens. This is caffeine and theobromine. We are sure that you already know the effect of these two. They are used for boosting energy.
They will also boost the heart rate too. The chicken’s hearts simply can’t handle the amount of pressure they are being put under. The result is the chicken having a heart attack. Not really a good thing, is it?
The compounds are not slow acting either. Many people will have noticed a change in their chickens within an hour or so of the chickens having been fed it. If the chickens are impacted enough, then they could be dead in mere hours after the consumption of the chocolate. It really is that deadly.
Generally speaking, the darker the chocolate is, the more poisonous it becomes. This is because there is a higher concentration of the compounds that we spoke about previously.
So, one would assume that most of those people who claim their chickens are fine when they are giving them chocolate are probably going to be giving them something like milk chocolate. Although, once again, we still wouldn’t risk it.
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Can Chickens Have Chocolate – Conclusion
So there you have it. The definitive answer to ‘can chickens eat chocolate?’. The answer is that they simply can’t.
There are no exceptions to this rule. Under absolutely no circumstances should you be feeding your chickens chocolate.
Absolutely no good can come from it. Even if your chicken seems fairly fine when they have eaten it, you still do not know what is going on in their insides. For all you know, they could be dealing with an increased heart rate and they are going to be feeling terrible at the same time.
They certainly are not going to want to be producing any eggs during that time.
Related articles:
– Can chickens have pumpkin?
– Is onion toxic for chickens?
