Can Chickens Eat Chocolate?
Chickens aren’t choosy when it comes to eating. For a farmer, this is both good and bad. It’s good because you don’t always have to buy commercial feeds.
However, it’s bad since the birds can’t control their appetite – they’ll eat almost everything, including harmful stuff. Chocolate is among the foods that can hurt your chicken.
Is Chocolate Safe for Chickens?
No, chickens should not eat chocolate. Chocolate contains a chemical called theobromine, which is toxic to chickens. Theobromine can cause an increase in heart rate and blood pressure, leading to arrhythmia and death. Even a small amount of chocolate can cause serious health problems in your chickens.
Why is Chocolate Toxic to Chicken?
Chocolate contains two ingredients that are harmful to your bird’s health. These are caffeine and theobromine. Independently, these compounds can cause severe health issues. When combined, as they are in chocolate, they can be deadly.
Caffeine is a stimulant found in many beverages, like tea, coffee, and cocoa. In humans, it improves alertness and energy. However, traces of this substance are dangerous to chickens. Why?
Caffeine is a stimulant and a natural diuretic (a substance that increases the rate of water excretion). Increased stimulation causes irregular heartbeat while losing too much water weakens the chicken and affects other bodily functions. These two can kill your bird.
On the other hand, theobromine is an alkaloid found in cocoa beans. Like caffeine, it’s a stimulant that benefits human beings. However, it has adverse effects on poultry. Chickens have smaller organs than humans and can’t process large amounts of theobromine. Some also claim that birds can’t process theobromine, leading to potential fatalities.
It’s worth noting that caffeine and theobromine are not slow-acting. Symptoms can set in within an hour after ingesting chocolate. If the quantity is high, your chickens can die in a few hours.
Can Chickens Die from Eating Chocolate?
Yes, eating chocolate is potentially deadly to chickens. The mortality rate correlates with the amount of chocolate consumed and the course of action taken once you notice the symptoms.
Consequences of Chocolate Intoxication in Chickens
If your chicken eats chocolate, the time it takes for symptoms to show depends on the ingested amount. The first signs of chocolate poisoning are diarrhea, abnormal thirst, and restlessness. If untreated, these symptoms might cause further complications, which include:
– Kidney Failure
Like other foods, chocolate has several compounds that the body must digest and process before excretion. While humans can process these substances without any issues, it isn’t easy for chickens because they have smaller organs.
Chickens can process only a tiny amount of these compounds – the majority will remain unprocessed and interfere with regular bodily functions. Your chicken will often strain its organs in an attempt to restore normalcy.
The increased strain results in multiple organ failures, with the kidneys being the first victim. Chicken kidneys are just too small to excrete large amounts of the toxins found in chocolate. When they can no longer function properly, your birds die.
– Increased Heartbeat
Theobromine reduces the concentration of red blood cells in the blood, disrupting the transportation of oxygen to body cells. When the oxygen supply is interrupted, chickens start gasping in the air to compensate for the deficit.
In this state of hyperactivity, the heartbeat also increases. Over time, the faster bears become irregular, increasing the risk of heart attack and death.
– Diarrhea
When a chicken eats toxic foods, one of the ways it uses to eliminate the harmful substances is diarrhea. It’s also a sign of upsets in the digestive tract.
Experienced poultry farmers are familiar with the effects of diarrhea on chicken. Once your chicken starts producing loose, watery stools, it takes a short time for the bird to get dehydrated.
Dehydration causes rapid electrolyte and nutrient loss in chicken. If you don’t correct it in time, it often causes death within three hours.
– Seizures
Caffeine and theobromine are stimulants that act on the central nervous system, both in humans and poultry. In the latter, excessive consumption of the compounds causes seizures that later cause death.
In most cases, the amount of chocolate consumed determines the severity of the symptoms. However, darker chocolates usually have a high concentration of caffeine and theobromine, which are deadly even if consumed in small amounts.
Also, most of the symptoms mentioned above are side effects of caffeine and theobromine. Given that chocolates contain several other compounds, it’s likely that it has several other risks.
What to Do if Your Chicken Has Eaten Chocolate?
If your chicken eats chocolate, call your avian vet immediately. It’s advisable to describe the type of chocolate by reading its wrapper so that they give an accurate diagnosis and first-aid recommendation.
Even if your vet assures you that it isn’t an emergency, observe your bird for at least 24 hours for any potential symptoms. During this period, provide plenty of clean water to help eliminate the toxins. But if the bird isn’t interested in the water, don’t force it.
If the symptoms mentioned in the previous section appear, take your chicken to the vet immediately. If possible, carry a sample of the chocolate it ingested. Don’t wait until diarrhea and seizures persist, as these cause death.
Unfortunately, there’s little you can do to help a chicken once its organs fail. This is why it’s better to be proactive and avoid feeding your chicken with chocolate.
Whatever the case, the first 24 hours after chocolate ingestion give you an idea if your bird will make it or die. It’s worth noting that your chicken can develop chronic digestive issues and heart complications in the future, especially if it survives.
How much Chocolate is Harmful?
In most cases, a few specks of chocolate won’t harm your chickens. However, if you give chocolate to your chicken more than once, the amount doesn’t matter. The effects might take longer to show, but eventually, they’ll be as devastating as eating a huge chunk at once.
There’s no point in risking your chicken’s life trying to safely assess how much chocolate they can consume. Keep the treat to yourself and buy them recommended foods.
Is White Chocolate Toxic to Chickens?
White chocolate doesn’t contain cocoa, meaning that it’s free of caffeine and theobromine. However, it has high fat and sugar content. Eating white chocolate doesn’t have short-term effects, but it causes long-term problems like obesity.
Can Chickens Eat Chocolate Cookies?
A few sprinkles of cookies are in as an occasional treat to your birds. However, it would be best if you didn’t give large pieces of chocolate cookies to chickens.
Cookies might contain small and non-harmful concentrations of cocoa powder, but they have egg, refined sugar, and flour in abundance. The latter ingredients increase the risk of obesity. When combined with the traces of caffeine and theobromine, they can cause chronic illnesses.
Can Chickens Eat Chocolate Cereal?
Chickens like feeding on sweet cereals, but this isn’t an excuse to make such substances a significant part of their meals. Ensure that the grains have low sugar and fat content and don’t contain chocolate. For instance, granola is fine, but chocolate cereal isn’t. If you accidentally feed Coco pops to your birds, provide a lot of water and watch out for symptoms.
Other Foods that are Toxic to Chickens
Besides chocolate, here are other foods you shouldn’t give to your chicken.
- Uncooked beans (raw and dried)
- Onions
- Garlic
- Ground coffee
- Any rotten food
- Avocado skin
Conclusion
As seen above, chocolate is harmful and deadly to chickens, even if consumed in small amounts. Even worse, there’s little you can do to save your bird once the symptoms appear. The best you can do is provide a lot of water and hope for luck.
If your chicken survives, it’s at a higher risk of developing chronic illnesses like heart disease and digestive issues.
Please avoid feeding chocolate to your chicken, irrespective of its packaging. All chocolate products, including cookies, cereal, and bars, are harmful to your little birds.
Moreover, chickens can’t perceive sweet taste because their genes lack taste receptors. So, giving them chocolate doesn’t make them feel any good – instead, it induces suffering and causes death.
