Can Chickens Eat Chocolate – What Do You Think?

There is no doubt that chocolate is a great favourite of us humans…

Most of us love it.

But there is controversy about the question many people are asking.

Can chickens eat chocolate?

It’s delicious, so is there something that can stop a chicken from eating it.

Well… let’s see.

What Happens If Chickens Eat Chocolate

You would think that chocolate is fine for everything.

Why wouldn’t it!

Can chickens eat chocolate because it’s just so tasty?

But there is a dark side to chocolate when it comes to our feathery friends.

And I am afraid to say that your chickens can not indulge in chocolate whatsoever.

Chickens should not eat chocolate.

The darker the chocolate is, the more theobromine it contains and the more dangerous it becomes.

In fact, chocolate is known to cause heart problems in birds which can range from an irregular heartbeat to a full cardiac arrest.

Death will happen very quickly – within 24 hours of eating the chocolate.

So if that does not tell you that chickens just can not eat chocolate I don’t know what does…

Is White Chocolate OK For Chickens?

It does not matter what colour the chocolate is white, milk chocolate or dark chocolate.

You just can not give it to your chickens.

It is a shame…

When you consider just how much we enjoy it, but there you are.
I am not saying that your chickens would refuse it.

And there lies the problem

You need to make sure that you have no chocolate laying around in your backyard when you have your chickens out of their yard for a runaround.

It is interesting to know that chocolate itself is good for us humans if we eat it in moderation.

See…

We are no different to our chickens when we also have to eat treats in moderation.

But in this case, what is good for us is not good for your backyard chickens here.

While beneficial to humans, it is also highly toxic to all pets.

The other ingredient that so a concern is the caffeine in chocolate that raises blood pressure.

When you combine these two compounds, that is when disaster strikes.
In fact…

Chocolate can cause terrible side effects in your chickens.
The most common side effects are cardiac arrest and irregular heartbeat.

Or caused by the caffeine and theobromine combination mentioned as before.
Now, these effects suddenly can come on with no warnings.

As you can imagine if the chicken is smaller, like a bantam, for instance, they will show side effects, much quicker than a bigger-bodied breed of chicken.

If for any reason, your chickens do get hold of a small amount of chocolate, you need to keep them under watch for at least the next 24 hours.

This might be best by bringing them into the house where you can keep a constant eye on them.

Why Can’t Chickens Eat Chocolate

We have already established why chickens can not have any chocolate.

Because of the theobromine and caffeine that are the toxic elements of chocolate.

It is obvious to realise that the darker the chocolate, the more theobromine it contains and of course, the more dangerous it is.

It also happens to be on the list of most toxic foods that you can feed chickens, so watch out.

And do let other chicken lovers know this in case they might not.

Ask them…

‘Can chickens eat chocolate?’

See what they have to say first…

It might be interesting if they know.

Chocolate can also cause a lot of other issues as well…

Such issues like having diarrhoea after eating chocolate because caffeine is a natural diuretic.

See also How to Care for a Single Chicken: Tips and Tricks
If you see that any of your chickens are making a vomiting motion.

It just could be crop impaction brought on by eating too much chocolate.
So…

If for any reason that your chickens might just pick up the slightest bit of chocolate.
It does not mean the end.

They could very well just have these symptoms and you need to keep an eye on them.

But you now know that you just can not go feeding them chocolate as a treat.

Because your good intentions will not end well if your chickens react, or react so much that you could end up losing them.

This side effect of crop impaction will not resolve itself, and you will need to get treatment before any more issues arise.

If impaction is not addressed, your chickens could end up losing weight, and to top all that off, the crop will become infected.

And yes…

There are other symptoms of chocolate poisoning as well, these are kidney failure and seizures.

And it does not stop there…

Since a chicken’s kidneys are not that great at filtering poisons, this could also lead to blood poisoning as well.

Not to mention too much sugar, as they will become overweight.
Depressing isn’t it?

So keep them away from the chocolate.

Can Chickens Eat Chocolate Cookies

So if we have not already asked can chickens eat chocolate?

People then ask.

Can chickens eat chocolate chip cookies then?

You need to think that chocolate is in a different form here.
Just because these items of food are called cookies, you still have solid chocolate pieces in them.

So it should be obvious for this reason that chocolate pieces, hoverer small.

Are not going to be any good for your backyard chickens.

The smaller amount might just make them sick.

But no one wants to do that to their chickens on the chance…
And as the chocolate chips are of the darker variety mainly.

Then they are the most poisonous of the chocolates as they have the purest intensity of chocolate in them.

Can Chickens Eat Chocolate Chips

Again…

No.

It is really just a different form of chocolate and we have seen here that any amount of chocolate can make your chicken sick.

Even if it is a chocolate chip a little of that chocolate is there.

In fact, chocolate chips have concentrated amounts of cocoa, and this means massive amounts of theobromine.

Many chickens will most probably start showing symptoms within only just a few hours of eating chocolate chips.

Is It Safe For Chickens To Eat Chocolate Cake

The chocolate cake itself is usually flavoured with a small amount of unsweetened cocoa powder.

The rest of the cake is mainly of other ingredients.

I would not change it.

Even if they get a small amount of chocolate cake, hopefully by accident, they should be fine.

But really…

There are no guarantees.

So as you can imagine…
This also goes for any cakes that have chocolate in them.

How Much Is Too Much?

Can chickens eat chocolate, even the tiniest bit?

Just keep away from chocolate.

The problem here is that chickens will eat it.

It looks good and also smells and tastes good.

You might want to know why a chicken will eat chocolate when it is no good for it.

Yet there are other foods that they will steer clear of.

In their wild state, they have evolved not to touch natural foods that they have come across that are poisonous to them.

Here you have a substance that has literally been man-made.

See also Unleashing the Power of Chicken Breeds: Which One is Right For You
Through different cooking processes chocolate has been made.

The seeds that the chocolate actually is quite different in their natural state and does not taste anything like the finished product that man has made.

So your chicken now and in the past have no experience of this.
So, therefore, they do not know that it is bad for them.

In the case of your chicken getting a bit of chocolate accidentally.
A toxic amount of chocolate for a chicken is actually hard to pinpoint.
Look at it this way…

If one of your big chickens found a small piece of chocolate and ate it.

It most probably will be as bad if one of you smaller breeds like the bantams got hold of a little piece.

It is not easy to say how each might react.

One might be worse than the other.

Between the breed, size, or even age of the chicken.
Not to mention their overall health…

Too are many factors here to judge.

And since there has been no study in science to work out what might be the perfect amount of chocolate one chicken can have.

Do not even risk it!

There are also other considerations, like the different cocoa concentrations as well.
The mind boggles…

No chocolate flavoured treats are the best course of action to take don’t you think.

What To Do If Accidentally Eaten?

Now that we have established that it is a no-go to give our fowls chocolate.

What do you do if you for some reason accidentally gave your chickens some chocolate, buy mistake…

The first thing on the agenda for you to do is to call your local vet to get some advice..

They will ask you some questions like…

What type of chocolate was it.

How much of the chocolate they consumed, to how much your chicken might weigh for instance.

With this information given to them.

The vet will then determine if you need to bring your chickens or chicken into them or wait for any symptoms that might show up at home.

If your vet is happy that you will not need to bring in your chicken unless it shows symptoms thereon.

You will then need to keep watch on your chicken for the next 24 hours at least.

You will need to watch for low energy, diarrhoea and seizures.

Also, try to get your chicken or chickens to drink some fresh water, this will help flush their systems out.

So put some freshwater beside them for this amount of time…

But do not go trying to force the water on your chickens, no matter how much you want them to drink, to help them get better.

All you need to do is put them under any more stress.
This could also end in disaster.

You need to keep them quiet and comfortable.

If, after 24 hours, your chicken seems to be okay in itself.

You can then breathe easily and put them back into their own chicken coop.

But do still keep an eye on them just to make sure that they are going along fine.
I think that we have now answered the question.

Can chickens eat chocolate?

And this answer was a big no!

It could not be more apparent that any chocolate white or brown just does not have any place near your chickens.

So if they are out in the garden, do not leave any chocolate about.
As they might just come upon it and they will try to eat it.