Chickens are not picky and will eat almost anything, such as fruits, vegetables, meats, and small animals. However, can chickens eat chocolate? Chocolate is unsafe for chickens, and in this article, we will discuss how chocolate harms chickens.
Why is Chocolate bad for Chickens?
Chocolates, be it in the form of a chocolate cake, chocolate cookie, or chocolate chips, are bad for chickens. Chocolate consists of theobromine, which is poisonous to birds such as chickens. If you feed your chickens chocolate, you risk their lives, as theobromine can kill them.
Are all Chocolate varieties harmful to Chickens?
We hope you know the answer: Can chickens eat chocolate? There are wide varieties of chocolate worldwide, so are there any safe varieties for chickens? Unfortunately, all varieties of chocolates are unsafe for chickens.
For instance, a dark chocolate bar has a higher theobromine content than other chocolate varieties because it has more cocoa. Even if you feed your chickens small quantities of dark chocolate, it can be fatal.
While chocolates such as white chocolate have a lower cocoa content, it still has theobromine. Also, white chocolate has a high sugar content, calories, and fat, making it unhealthy for chickens.
What happens if Chickens accidentally consume Chocolate?
If you accidentally give your birds chocolate, their lives can be in danger. Besides being harmful to the digestive tract, chocolates can also harm the heart and cause cardiac arrest and other heart-related conditions. Your chickens can also suffer from these conditions if they consume chocolate:
Diarrhea
Diarrhea is the response of the chicken’s body to substances that should not be in the body. This aggressive response of the body to toxic and foreign substances can cause the digestive system to be upset.
Too much discharge from the chicken’s body can lead to dehydration. When several nutrients and electrolytes are lost from the chicken’s body, it can be fatal and typically causes death in chickens.
Kidney Failure
Kidneys are responsible for excreting excess fluid and wastes from the body. Kidneys have the same role to play in a chicken’s body too. However, there is a difference between a chicken’s and a human’s kidney.
In chickens, the kidneys cannot excrete highly concentrated substances. Chocolates are one food item that the chicken’s kidney cannot take.
Seizures
Caffeine and theobromine can affect and interfere with the central nervous system in chickens. Also, if your chickens eat too much caffeine and theobromine, it can lead to seizures. You cannot be lenient about seizures as they can lead to death in chickens.
There is no need to give chickens chocolates because they don’t have the taste buds for sweets. So, if you have leftover milk chocolate, chocolate treats, chocolate cake, or chocolate cookies, keep it to yourself and don’t feed it to your chickens.
What to do if Chickens accidentally consume Chocolate?
This usually depends on the type of chocolate and the amount of chocolate your chickens have eaten. Unlike cats and dogs, chickens are incapable of vomiting, so they cannot throw up when they have chocolate poisoning.
The symptoms of chocolate poisoning in chickens are not obvious, which makes diagnosis difficult. However, the best thing you can do is call up your vet. Don’t start the treatment yourself; contact the vet and go from there.
Conclusion
In this article, we focused on: Can chickens eat chocolate? Chocolate harms chickens and can cause instant death.
We also discussed the steps you should take if your chickens accidentally eat chocolates. Please remember that all varieties of chocolate, be it milk, white or dark, are unsafe for chickens.
